The greatest miracles of all
This blog is based on articles by Frank Turek and Duane Caldwell.
Many people find it difficult to believe that miracles are possible, particularly when they are influenced by materialism.
Number one – creation
The creation of the universe out of nothing is the greatest miracle of all. Space, time and matter had a beginning out of nothing. Nature had a beginning. (more…)
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Prophecies about Jesus: He would live in Galilee
There are many prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament. For example, Isaiah said that honor and “a great light” would come to the region of Galilee. Galilee was part of the northern region of Israel. In Old Testament times, Israel was mainly invaded from the north because there was desert on the east and south and the Mediterranean Sea on the west. So, Galilee was targeted in many enemy attacks. (more…)
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Four lessons from the life of Joseph
I spent last week at a holiday camp for children aged 8-12 years. During this time the children learnt about four lessons from the life of Joseph, who lived about 3,700 years ago (~1680 BC). They also learnt some verses from the Bible (see Appendix). (more…)
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Because you’re worth it
The L’Oreal slogan “Because you’re worth it” spearheaded a revolution in beauty product marketing. The original line “Because I’m worth it,” spoken by a woman directly to camera in the 1971 L’Oreal tv commercial, broke the mold of women’s beauty products being about women being attractive to men. Rather, the groundbreaking commercial celebrated the woman’s perspective and experience of her hair care and self-worth without mention of a man. (more…)
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What the early church believed about Jesus
This post comes from Brian Chilton, of North Carolina, USA.
Throughout the New Testament there are early creeds and hymns that predate the New Testament itself. These texts are often called “proto-New Testament texts.” Proto-New Testament texts date back to the earliest church from those who were eyewitnesses of Jesus Himself. (more…)
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Rescued by a substitute
Sports like football and cricket have concussion substitutes. A player is replaced after they suffer concussion. Did you know that there are substitutes in the Bible? (more…)
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Terms and conditions
The terms and conditions (T&Cs) of the multinational tech company, Apple, have been the subject of controversy. The T&Cs length, complexity, and potential to be used to entrench Apple’s market power have led to serious criticism. Can we compare Apple’s T&Cs to the T&Cs God put in around the “apple” of the Garden of Eden? (more…)
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Easter didn’t end at Easter
What do you like to do on the Easter long weekend? Most of us get two extra days off giving us the opportunity to go away, spend time with friends or family, relax at home or do something a little different to our normal weekends. Our family tradition is to spend the weekend in the beautiful autumnal Blue Mountains of New South Wales, staying with friends, eating, drinking and playing together. (more…)
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Is the Torah fact or fiction?
Were the ancient Israelites ever really slaves in Egypt? Did the Exodus really happen? Was the Torah (see Appendix) written by Moses in the mid second millennium BC, or by Jews about 1,000 years later? Is it fact or fiction?
In this post, the content of the Torah is examined to see how it matches with the existing archaeological record to help throw light on its origin. When was the Torah written? (more…)
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God’s power, justice and mercy in Egypt
Last Sunday Tim Tszyu beat Joey Spencer in a super welterweight boxing match at Newcastle in Australia.
Thousands of New South Wales doctors went on strike last week in a dispute with the state government over pay and staffing levels. The doctors’ union is seeking a pay increase of up to 30%.
And in the Australian Federal election on 3 May we have Albanese versus Dutton.
Confrontation happens everywhere. Today we are looking at a confrontation that happened in Egypt about 3,470 years ago. (more…)
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The paradox of the cross
What does the death penalty have to do with love? The crucifix was a brutal means of capital punishment in the ancient Roman empire. Death by crucifixion could take between 6 hours and 4 days resulting from excessive bleeding, dehydration or progressive suffocation. It was an extremely painful and shameful way to die, inflicted upon those considered repugnant. And yet today we hang pretty crosses from our ears and necks, tattoo them into our skin, hang them on our walls – bejeweled, ornamental, celebrated. (more…)
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Ten cases of theophany in the Bible
The word theophany is a combination of two Greek words, meaning “God” and “appearance”. A theophany is an appearance of God. More precisely, it is a visible display to human beings that expresses the presence and character of God. (more…)
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In the Bible, what does “a land flowing with milk and honey” mean?
God promised to rescue the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and bring them into Canaan, “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Ex. 3:8NIV). He also called it “a good and spacious land”. According to the NET Bible, this means that it was good (in terms of quality) and spacious (in terms of size). Also see the Appendices. (more…)
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God knows each star by name
Have you seen those images comparing the size of the earth to the sun and then comparing the sun to other supergiant stars? The size of our galaxy, the size of the universe is beyond human comprehension. In comparison, we, our lives, our whole world, are minuscule… tiny, microscopic specks floating in infinity. It’s the kind of stuff that may bring on an existential crisis. But the Bible makes a different point. (more…)
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Buffer zones in Exodus
In urban planning, a buffer zone is an area that separates different land uses to reduce conflicts and negative impacts between them. Like between houses and noisy motorways or houses and smelly industries. Or it can be protective like the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. Did you know about the buffer zones in the book of Exodus? (more…)
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Climate and the church
The Climate Realism podcast begins with some crazy climate news items.
On 7 February 2025 the third news item was “Going to climate church”. This was based on a WCC news story, “The World Council of Churches (WCC), with churches in the Caribbean and North America debuts training on climate litigation”. “The WCC has offered the first in what will be a series of training workshops on climate litigation. In partnership with the Caribbean and North America Council for Mission (CANACOM), the WCC led the training through a lens of child protection and our future generations.” … “It was the children from our churches who asked us to take this new route of climate litigation, which is new for the WCC and is the only way that really gives solid hope for children in the face of what science tells us about the climate emergency.” (more…)
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Clean forever
Sometimes getting dirty can be fun. Painting, cooking, gardening, sport, can all be activities we do for fun that may get us a little messy. Sometimes getting clean can be fun. Having a shower and putting on fresh clean clothes after a sweaty, muddy, football [soccer] game feels great. (more…)
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Is carbon dioxide a pollutant?
On 9th January 2025, nine people were hospitalised due to carbon monoxide poisoning in Hobart, Australia. Authorities say the incident was caused by inadequate ventilation of petrol fumes while cutting concrete. (more…)
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Comprehensive outline of the book of Exodus
The second book of the Old Testament, Exodus, was written by Moses. The information in chapter 1:1-2:10 may have come from his parents or his sister, or some other source.
I like having titles on the paragraphs or sections of my Bible. This helps to indicate the context of a particular passage of scripture. A comprehensive outline (section headings) of the book of Exodus is given below. (more…)
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Relying on God at Ephesus
Ephesus was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the eastern Mediterranean area. It had an inland harbor that was connected to the Aegean Sea and a population of about 50,000 people. Because it was also at an intersection of major trade routes, Ephesus became a commercial center. The temple of the Greek goddess Artemis (completed around 550 BC) was located there. This temple was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was four times larger than the Parthenon. Ephesus was a city of idolatry and pagan superstition. (more…)
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Why the Bible can be trusted
Sometimes I get phishing messages from myGov, Centrelink, the tax office, banks, tech support and internet providers. And I see clickbait for investment frauds, fake prizes, fake jobs, shopping scams, romance scams, ticket scams and inheritance scams. And photos and videos can be generated by AI. Did you know that not everything online is true? (more…)
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Our civilizational moment?
Four threats
In October 2024, Os Guiness published a book titled, “Our civilizational moment: The waning of the west and the war of the worlds”. An earlier essay is also available here.
Civilizations rise, flourish, and then decline and fall. Guiness asks, is the West facing its own civilizational moment today? (more…)
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Abortion and the culture of death
How did we get to become a culture that celebrates the choice to kill pre-born babies?
This article comes from Seth Gruber who researched this topic in a documentary, The 1916 project. This is a study of the past in order to understand what’s happening now.
Over 65 million unborn children have been murdered (aborted) in the USA since 1973. What bred this culture of death that is targeting our families? (more…)
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False gospels
Recently I attended the funeral of a neighbour. The priest assured us that we will see him in heaven because he had been baptised as a child and he had confessed his mortal sins to the priest at the last rites. Holy water was sprinkled on the coffin as a reminder of his being cleansed of original sin and made a Christian through baptism. This is a different gospel (Gal. 1:6-9) because it contradicts John 14:6 where Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. The true gospel is to trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin – no one comes to God except through Jesus. Baptism is not a part of salvation – it’s a consequence, not a cause (Acts 10:47-48; 16:14-15; 31-33; 18:8). (more…)
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