Author Archive

Posted on January 20, 2011 - by Chris Lazenby

A more tolerant Britain?

I was saddened on Tuesday (18th January 2011) to read that Peter and Hazelmary Bull have lost the case brought against them by two gay men who wished to stay in a double room in the their guest-house. It has been alleged that the men deliberately targeted a Christian guest house and that the whole thing was a ‘setup’ by gay activist group, Stonewall, to try and make a point. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know, but what I do know is that in the UK in 2011, if you don’t go along completely with the homosexual agenda, then you’re up against the law of the land. (more…)

Posted on January 18, 2011 - by Chris Lazenby

Baptism and the Church of England

I came across a short piece on page 11 of today’s Daily Telegraph (18th January 2011) conveying the news that clergy in the Church of England are calling for simplified language for services of baptism ‘to help non-church goers.’

Now, I wouldn’t particularly have a problem with using simple language for the many non-Christians attending such services who make up the congregation if it were not for one thing; the service is not for them! It is for the baptism of the candidate and the promises being made by the candidate and his/her sponsors in the context of worship directed towards almighty God. How can non-Christians be worshipping almighty God? (more…)

Posted on December 16, 2010 - by Chris Lazenby

Tinsel, Santa and the Incarnation

Each Christmas, over the past few years, I’ve read through Karl Barth’s little book Christmas. The chapters are adapted from articles he wrote for publication in German newspapers between 1926-33. In the final chapter of the book, Revelation, Barth reminds us that although God is ‘eternal and invisible and spiritual’ he is also ‘temporal, visible and a physical person.’ He points out too, that it is no longer left to us to construct a God of our imagining; to attempt to ‘seek him somewhere in “infinity”’ and then come up with our clever theories about him. Rather ‘He has come to us (without ceasing to be infinite) in finiteness’ (emphasis mine). In other words, the revelation contained in the Christmas story sweeps away our preconceptions and makes the nature of God real as the ultimate mystery is revealed in time and space. (more…)

Posted on December 12, 2010 - by Chris Lazenby

Are You Dreaming of a Secular Christmas?

I’ve been reading several comments on the National Secular Society’s website and come to the conclusion that atheistic and agnostic secularists are happy to celebrate festivals such as Christmas and Easter. However, it seems they wish to do this without admitting there may be any truth to the religious side of such celebrations. Rather, they see themselves as following ancient pagan tradition which pre-dates the ‘hijacking’ of such festivals by the Christian church. (more…)

Posted on December 8, 2010 - by Chris Lazenby

Jane Austen and the Gospel

I was in Winchester briefly last week and was reminded of my last trip there when I visited the cathedral. There are some really ‘big names’ buried in Winchester; Kings Ethelwulff, Canute, Egbert, William II: Bishops Richard Fox, Steven Gardiner and others, along with various queens and other luminaries. There are some interesting non-royal, non-religious too; people such as Isaac Walton (author of ‘The Compleat Angler) and Jane Austen, the famous late 18th, early 19th century writer.

I was struck by the inscription on Jane’s tomb, which lies in the North aisle of the nave of the cathedral. This tells us that those closest to her, those who loved her, are ‘consoled by a firm though humble hope that her charity, devotion, faith and purity have rendered her soul acceptable in the sight of her Redeemer.’ (more…)

Posted on September 18, 2010 - by Chris Lazenby

The Pope’s Visit to Britain

I wonder what students (especially in the UK) think to the Pope’s visit to Britain? I’ve read articles by writers in such publications as the Evangelical Times and the Protestant Truth Society magazine who are very exercised about the visit and think it should never have happened. In this, they seem to find themselves on the same side as many humanists and secularists who have made quite a noise of protest in the British media.

Actually, I heard one of the latter, I think a spokesman for the NSS (National Secular Society… someone will no doubt correct me if I’m mistaken) on Jeremy Vine’s radio 2 chat show only yesterday lunchtime (17th September 2010). He said that there was no proof whatsoever for God and that as children grow up, they consign him, along with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, to the things of childhood, things no longer to be believed (I paraphrase and abridge his argument). (more…)