Christian claim #9: “He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom shall have no end.” “When Christ bids a man, he bids him come and die.” The man who penned these words, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was a preacher in Germany during the years of Adolf Hitler. He took the calling of Christ seriously,…
Christian claim #7: “We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.” I have long appreciated this fascinating quote from Reinhold Niebuhr: Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore, we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore, we must…
Christian claim #1: “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.” When Tom Wright was a chaplain at the University of Oxford, he would conduct a welcome service for “freshers,” newly arrived to the iconic city. One by one, each student would file out, greeting the speaker. Every year, a handful of students would say something…