Dale Appleby

Talking about God 17 Oct 10

Talking about God

It has been wonderful to hear so much talk about God and Jesus in the Chilean mine rescue. I wonder whether you saw the amazing interview with the Protestant Chaplain to the President of Chile on ABC24? The Revd Alfredo Cooper, is a CMS UK mission partner.   You can see a transcript of one interview with him here. Certainly there are plenty of opportunites to engage in discussions about God from this news story. The other news this week will be Mary McKillop.

Here are some suggestions by Elizabeth Smith, the Director of Evangelism in the Diocese of Perth, to get us started talking about God, as the wider Australian community gets talking about Mary McKillop.

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Key Builders of the Church – 5. Martin Luther 10 Oct 10

Key Builders of the Church – 5. Martin Luther

Born in Germany in 1483, Luther joined an Augustinian monastery after a terrifying experience in a thunder storm in which he feared for his soul. However his experience in the monastery led him to despair of ever being saved.

The reason was that the practice of the time was that penance had to be done for sins so that grace could be received (mostly through the sacraments) as a reward and thus  they could move towards a state of justification. Except that none of this seemed to break the cycle of sinful acts.

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Is it more blessed to give? 3 Oct 10

Is it more blessed to give?

Did you work out who said this? It was Jesus, but the quotation is not found in the gospels. It is quoted by Paul, but not in any of his letters. It occurs in a very interesting place.

Paul was on his way back to Jerusalem from Greece and had stopped over at Miletus in order to meet briefly with the elders of the church at Ephesus. Luke tells the story in Acts 20.17-38. Paul reminds the elders of the church how he had declared the whole purpose of God to them, warning, proclaiming, teaching – for three years.

And he did not do it in order to get something back. He told them the gospel free of charge. For Paul this meant that he refused the reciprocal side of gift-giving. He did not want them to think he was in it for the money, like many itinerant teachers and philosophers of his day.

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When is a gift not a gift? 26 Sep 10

When is a gift not a gift?

• When it is left in its wrapping paper?
• When it is described as an achievement and not a gift?
• When something is given in return?
• When an obligation is implied?
• When it is regarded as a right?
  When it is a reward?
• When it binds the giver and receiver together?
• When it is misused?
• When it is refused?
• When it is payment?
• When it is an inducement?

When is a gift really a gift?

• When it is not required?
• When it is unmerited and undeserved?
• When there is no obligation to give it?
• When it is received as a gift?
• When it benefits the receiver?

Is it more blessed to give or to receive?

Why?

Who said this?

Dale

Key Builders of the Church – 4. Thomas Aquinas

Key Builders of the Church – 4. Thomas Aquinas

Born in 1225 near Aquino in Italy, Thomas studied at the University of Naples and became a Dominican friar at the age of 19. Soon after he went to Paris where he spent most of the rest of his life teaching theology.

Unlike Augustine he turned away from the traditions of thought that had developed from Plato and joined the growing group who looked to Aristotle for help. Aristotle’s influence was partly due to his rediscovery as a result of European interaction with Islam.

Thomas developed a detailed and closely argued system of explaining Christian theology that depended on observation and understanding of what God has made known – through creation but also through revelation, reason and the teaching of the church.

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Too crowded? 12 Sep 10

Too crowded?

Joy and I have just got back from a holiday in Coral Bay -  where they had sunshine. We camped in a tent in a camp ground that must have held 500 people. Noise travels a long way at night so there were a few nights when various disputes broke out about who should be quiet.

Living with other people is often a strain, and camp grounds show the good and the bad of living at close quarters. Ordinary homes are similar although usually relations are helped by the mutual family love that keeps the family together.

Having a boarder or sharing a flat is different. In the absence of family love a bit more effort seems to be required to be together in a small space.

Love is one of the motives that leads people to want to live together, and the thing that sustains such living. Amazingly, it is a motive that God admits to. Imagine God needing to live with humans. No that is too hard to imagine. God doesn’t need humans.

Read more: Too crowded? 12 Sep 10