Saturday, August 26, 2017

Justin Peters addresses interfaith dialog

I thought this video was important enough to share. Justin Peters has been unfairly drawn into the recent James White - Brannon Howse controversy. Regarding this unfortunate fiasco: I don't think things are as black and white as some people present them (no pun intended). There have been some worthy points on both sides.

I've disagreed with Dr White in the past re statements he's made about Islam, and I've mentioned Nabeel Qureshi in a previous post. But I thought the Janet Mefferd interview was woefully done. She threw too many questions at Dr White and didn't give him time to respond. It isn't White's style to be brief. Mefferd should have known this and allowed for it.

Many of us have been praying the whole thing goes away as it isn't edifying to the church. Some of the back and forth tweets and name calling have been shameful. Sadly, some "mature" Christians have indulged in gossip and character assassination, and Peters has been a victim.

Here is Justin Peters' response to various accusations:


Wednesday, August 23, 2017

The Beast that is Anti-Semitism

This is a recent piece I wrote for the Omega Letter and my website:
Racism can be like an incurable spreading cancer. It will eventually kill the body it invades. It’s a Beast which has consumed White Supremacists, Neo Nazis and other groups. But racism doesn’t always wear white hoods and cloaks. Its tentacles reach a much broader base.
Before I go on, I should acknowledge that some people do not like the term “race.” Sometimes it has been used to classify people of certain ethnicities as a sub-species. We are all made in God’s image (Gen 1:26). That said, for the sake of simplicity I’m using the term race as meaning ethnicity.
Not all white people are racist, even though some think it is wired in. Moreover racism isn’t confined to white people. As a new “white” Australian, many years ago, I experienced a mild form of it. But it wasn’t representative of the larger community...keep reading

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert

Some time ago I reviewed Rosaria Butterfield's book The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert:
Not long after I left my New Age past behind me, I came across an article about homosexuality and Christian evangelism. The author was a celibate Christian who left the homosexual lifestyle after he was saved. The theme of his essay advised Christians as to how best to evangelize those caught up in same-sex attraction and lifestyle. He wrote that it was best to first lovingly introduce Jesus Christ to the sinner rather than immediately confronting the person with his or her sin. At no point did he condone the practice – it was about first introducing the Sinner to the Savior.
This approach struck a chord with me. I’d been conditioned by my past to accept homosexuality as a natural (not sinful) alternative expression of sexuality. My collection of New Age books included one authored by Mystic Andrew Harvey who had dedicated it to his husband. I had learned to empathize with the struggles he’d encountered even within the New Age movement...keep reading