October 2023

Re: ‘None of us left that journey unchanged and unchallenged’

What a wonderful opportunity!
Jaki, via Facebook


 

Re: Big church/little church

Good work
Eyeta, via Facebook

So good, Mike
Andy, via Facebook
 

Re: Time for a defrag?

Check out 7 Sacred Spaces by George Lings as a spiritual framework to base a digital space/s on
This covers similar reflections to those in the article.
Really great article.
Elaine, via Facebook
 

Re: Seer Green Baptist Church: exploring a more missional life

I love Louise, she is fantastic, we miss her at Chichester Baptist Church !
Claire, via Facebook

Encouraging
Christine, via Facebook

 

Re: The whole truth and nothing but the truth?

I had to read this article after watching a video of Cliff Richard on the BBC news website. Poor Cliff, he got a bit confused. We do need to know what AI is and what it does...
Fiona, via Facebook

 

Re: Israel, Hamas and theological responsibility

I was very disappointed to read the article by Dr Helen Paynter on the Baptist Union website. It is unfairly biased against Israel. The opening paragraph identifies the evil coming out of Gaza but does not condemn Hamas by name. It then proceeds to call “the bloody violence that has been perpetrated by the nation of Israel against the Palestinian people since the 1948 Nakba has been evil and utterly unjustifiable”. To equate the two is unjustifiable - there is no moral equivalence between Hamas’ barbarous attack on Israel, and Israel’s response in fighting back against Hamas or indeed defending her people against constant attack throughout her history. 

Dr Paynter comments half way through the article that “Telling half a truth can be an untruth” and yet that is exactly what she has done in the second sentence, when referring to the “Nakba” explained in footnote [1] referring to "the forced expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians”. Of the 700,000 Palestinians who fled - some left because they were coerced or forced out by Israel, but many, quite possibly the majority, left because the then Arab Leaders and Arab Radio stations told them to leave. It is incorrect and a half truth to simply state all 700,000 Palestinians were expelled! 

Further when mentioning the displacement of Palestinian refugees, commentators should also explain, so as not tell a half truth, that up to 800,000 Jews had to flee Arab lands from 1949 onwards into the 1950s - due to persecution, expulsions and some because they sought a better and safer life in Israel. Like many of the displaced Palestinians before them, they also left their homes and businesses behind with no compensation.

In the third to last paragraph and footnote [4] Replacement Theology is expanded, that modern Israel is not a fulfilment of Biblical prophecy. I would guess this is probably the majority view of BU members and perhaps most contemporary Christians in the UK, but this sadly in my opinion misses a key point in God’s future plans for the world. The verses in Romans 11:17-18 are referenced by Dr Paynter, but if you read on, Paul exhorts Gentile believers in verse 20 not to be arrogant over the Jews, and in verse 23 that if the Jews believe, they will be brought back to God, and in verse 25 that the hardness of Israel to the Gospel will be lifted when the full number of Gentiles are brought in. At a future time of God’s choosing a remnant of Israelis en masse will believe and recognise their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10, 13:8-9 and 14:16.). God’s enduring purpose for the people of Israel runs through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, with multitudes of passages confirming this. 

But put the Bible aside, and just look at the history from an objective viewpoint – the uniqueness and survival of the Jew in spite of the world’s worst persecution, and the restoration, against all the odds, of the sovereign State of Israel as a home for the Jewish people are miracles of history! You don’t need the Bible to tell you this – anyone with discernment and understanding can see God’s guiding hand on Israel throughout history! If God has finished with Israel, why are they still here? All the other nations that God raised up, used and then judged have all disappeared. Empires rise and fall, but the Jews are still here! Many Christians will find this hard to accept but God still has a future purpose for Israel - yes, the secular, and as yet, unbelieving people of Israel, God still has a plan for.

Jamie Shotter, Finchampstead Baptist Church and Community Centre, Wokingham 

 

Re: A Prayer for the Israeli and Palestinian People

A prayer for the Israeli and Palestinian people, written by the @baptistuniongb General Secretary, Lynn Green. Very much Amen to this. In these times of horror and violence, Lord have mercy. Bring peace, healing and reconciliation, we pray.
Dave Tubby (via Twitter)

We have been quiet here because it is hard to know what to say in so few words, but this from
@baptistuniongb may help your own prayers
Stoneygate Baptist Church