Why Do Different Bibles Include Different Books in the Old Testament?
How many books are there in the Old Testament? This might seem like a fairly straightforward church trivia night question. But actually the answer can vary depending on which Bible you are reading. The Hebrew Bible has 22 or 24 books. Your English Old Testament probably has 39. Roman Catholic Bibles have 46 Old Testament books. Eastern and Russian Orthodox Bibles have even more. I find this discrepancy often comes up in dialogue with atheists and Muslims about the reliability of the Old Testament. Why the difference? …
Anglicans and Moses: the law from another time but for all time
Perhaps it is time for Christians to admit that the Law of Moses is an embarrassing irrelevance, and stop reading it altogether in church. That’s what some popular preachers are saying – echoing no doubt the unspoken position of many around the world (many congregations would baulk at the thought of a sermon series on Numbers). Thankfully, this is an error which our Anglican heritage provides a bulwark against.
Are Christians Hypocritical to Avoid Sexual Immorality but Allow Tattoos?
A Christian expresses their belief in a traditional biblical sexual ethic. Their friends are quick to pounce: “You’re being inconsistent! Leviticus prohibits all sorts of things that you accept! What about bacon (Lev 11:7), rare steaks (Lev 19:26), and washing your car on Saturday (Lev 23:3)?”.
Why we keep disagreeing on the Bible
“So you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.” This is what Abraham Lincoln reportedly said on meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Published in 1852, Stowe’s novel might not be solely responsible for the American Civil War, but it certainly roused many Christians in the north to the intolerable suffering of slaves in the south.
Thinking Through Old Testament Violence
We are studying Judges at church this year. I love our church’s commitment to expository teaching because it forces us to preach through the whole counsel of God—even the tricky bits. And Judges certainly has...
The man who taught Australia to read the Bible
If you read the Bible as “one big story” it’s likely you owe that largely to Donald Robinson, a former Anglican archbishop of Sydney who died last week aged 95. Australian Christians more than most have a ‘big picture’ view of the good book and Robinson was key to giving Christianity in our land – not just Anglicans – that special characteristic. Andrew Judd, a Bible scholar at the start of his career, remembers his grandfather for Eternity.
Save thousands on your next trip to a foreign land
Australians love to travel. More than half of us own a passport, and by world standards we are amongst the most intrepid of travellers – rivalled only by Saudi Arabia and China in dollars spent per capita and time spent abroad. Millennials are our leading transoceanic excursionists, generally outspending their parents and grandparents. These young antipodeans save fastidiously for months to finance their trips, and often go without meals while abroad.
But if it’s a life changing trip to a far country you’re after, you can save thousands – simply by opening the pages of your Old Testament.
University of Sydney's Evangelical Union shouldn't have to give up its faith in fight against discrimination
Here is the new rule for student groups on campus at one of our leading universities: you can have any faith you like, as long as it's not any faith in particular. As of November last year, the bolshie student politicians running the University of Sydney student union have voted to stop clubs and societies from defining themselves by reference to a particular creed. Because, er, discrimination, or something.