Teaching

THE CAULDRON OF CHANGING VALUES

Jim McClureQuestion: Should we, as Christians, change what we believe and the values we have been taught to make Christianity more appealing and relevant to people today?

Dr Jim McClure, noted theologian, responds:
We are living in a rapidly changing world in which nothing remains untouched. In many ways change can be a good thing – but not always.

Cauldron

 

In this bubbling cauldron of change the Christian faith is being stridently opposed, maligned and marginalised in a way that has not been seen in centuries.

 

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A FAMINE OF THE WORD

Jim McClureQuestion: I feel that some preachers today aren’t really teaching what the Bible actually says. Are we in danger of losing the reality of scripture?

Dr Jim McClure, noted theologian, responds:

In Amos 8:11-12, the prophet writes, ‘The days are coming, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord, when I will send famine on the land. People will be hungry, but not for bread; they will be thirsty, but not for water. They will hunger and thirst for a message from the Lord. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.’ (more…)

JESUS IS COMING!

Question: Recently I’m hearing quite a lot that Jesus will be coming back soon. Is that true?

Jim McClure
Dr Jim McClure, noted theologian, responds:

The return of Jesus Christ is a wonderful event that all Christians should be looking forward to with great joy and enthusiasm but sometimes that enthusiasm may be distorted.

In the early days of the church, around 50 AD, the Christians in Thessalonica were excited by the knowledge that Jesus was coming back. However some false teachers had entered the church and were teaching that Jesus’ return was about to happen at any moment. Consequently some of the Christians there had stopped working as they waited for Jesus to come back – and Paul rebuked them for that. (more…)

MENTAL ILLNESS

Question: I’ve been diagnosed with mental illness and am frightened to tell my very ‘religious’ Christian friends. Please help me.

Jim McClureTheologian Dr Jim McClure responds: ‘Interestingly I actually started to write about mental illness just before the sad news of the death of Robin Williams at the age of 63.’

For nearly 40 years Williams’ unique brand of humour brought much joy to millions of people, but he suffered from depression that led him finally to take his own life. This article therefore is timely and will indeed help you – and others with this illness.

Many people in all walks of life suffer from that same debilitating illness of depression which takes from the sufferer the ability freely to live to his and her potential, and, sadly, many respond to the burden of this mental illness by taking the same route as Robin Williams. (more…)

SOZO PRAYER

Jim McClureQuestion: Please help me understand this encroaching ‘Sozo Prayer’ teaching. Is it a deception?

Dr Jim McClure, noted theologian, responds: This matter requires some writing at length, actually as an expanded article, but I’ll make it as clear as I can!


Introduction to The Sozo Deception
There is a disturbing trend in contemporary Christianity, one in which the long-established fundamentals of the faith are being set aside or modified or replaced by dangerous novelties. Consequently, while there has been a diminishing in the teaching and preaching of sound biblical truths, there has been a corresponding rise in fanciful and speculative ideas that tickle the imagination and appeal to the mysterious. (more…)

THE ASCENSION OF JESUS

Question: The ascension of Jesus seems bizarre. Did he really defy the law of gravity and have ‘lift off’ into space?

Jim McClure
Dr Jim McClure, noted theologian, responds:

Recently we’ve celebrated the death and miraculous resurrection of our Saviour. Forty days after his resurrection, when his earthly ministry was completed, Jesus met with his disciples on the Mount of Olives. He gave them some final directions and then, we read, ‘He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight’ (Acts 1:9).

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SPIRITUAL DIAGNOSIS

Nurse GeorgeeGeorgia Cohen RN says, ‘In my profession as a nurse I’ve had the privilege of assisting many great doctors help patients recovery from illnesses.

‘It’s good to know that many medical professionals believe in God’s healing power or at least are open to the benefits of faith and what is often regarded as “spiritual healing”(See Dan Wooding’s Ask the Doctors –Mind article). Let me share my own thoughts as follows:’

In every conversation we engage in to help troubled sick people, our mind should always be focused on looking for a spiritual diagnosis. When an individual does not know Jesus as Saviour, they are spiritually sick. They need the right medicine to treat their illness.
Jesus is the great physician and has the cure for every spiritual disease and the medicine to cure spiritual sickness is the Bible. Sick people need to meet the great physician, the best diagnostician in the world.

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ASK THE DOCTORS – MIND

Question: Why are most medical practitioners wary of Christians talking about faith and healing?

dan-wooding-portrait-2

Dan Wooding, ASSIST Ministries Founder (http://www.assistnews.net), can answer this reader’s question positively and encouragingly.

The award winner journalist and author recently attended an outstanding conference in Sofia, the Bulgarian capital city, where some 240 WCDN (World Christian Doctors Network) doctors and medical professionals from 38 countries had gathered to discuss and explore whether miracles still happen today and, if they do, to provide and examine medical data to prove them. (more…)

JESUS CHRIST, THE GREAT GENERAL PRACTITIONER

Question: I often hear Christians emphatically refer to Jesus as their healer, even their GP. Can they be right?

SONY DSC

Dr Bernard Shiu, well-known Geelong General Practitioner, responds:

General practitioners such as myself strive to practise a holistic approach. We take into consideration the biological, psychological and social factors relevant to the care of our patients.

Our duties are not limited to specific parts of our body, rather we tend to deal with multiple health and health related issues all at once.

And, as our patients may vary in age, sex, ethnic and educational background, we are trained to treat and communicate at an appropriate level suitable for the individual. (more…)

TODAY’S DIFFERENT GOSPEL

Question: What did Paul mean when he warned about ‘a different gospel’ being taught? Is something not quite right in churches today?

Jim McClure
Dr Jim McClure, noted theologian, answers:

You’re obviously referring to Galatians where Paul used the term ‘a different gospel.’ He was referring to a Jewish version of Christianity that taught that, in addition to the need of placing one’s faith in Christ to be saved, it was also necessary to follow Jewish rules and regulations.

Actually, Paul was so incensed by this distortion that he wrote, ‘I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!’ (Gal 1:6-8). (more…)