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Editorial:
"Know Thyself"
Alwyn Thomson
Comment:
Illiberal Democracy
Alwyn Thomson
From
the Director: Good News People?
David W Porter
Balancing
on the Edge
Tony Davidson
Grateful
to God
David McMillan
Space
& Freedom
David Hewitt
Imaginative
Engagement
Keith Getty
No
longer at ease with this dispensation?
Mike Wardlow
Living
with our deepest differences
Os Guinness
Deep
Questions
Johnston
McMaster
Steady
presence
Cecelia Clegg
No
longer lonely
Joseph Liechty
Something
to give
Ingri Sakaria
Bible
study series: Faith in the future
David
W Porter
Review:
The Elusive Quest, Reconciliation in N I by Norman Porter
Bill
Brown
Review:
Journeying Towards Reconciliation, A Song for Ireland by Ruth Patterson
Lynda
Gould
Review:
Islam in Conflict:Past Present and Future by Peter G Riddell &
Peter Cotterell
Alwyn
Thomson
Review:
The R Option - Building Relationships as a Better Way of Life by
Michael Schluter & David John Lee
Anna
Rankin
Review:
Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman
Glenn
Jordan
Summer
School Poetry
Various
For
God and His Glory Alone:
Study 6: Truth
Ps
25:4f; 26:3;
43:3;
51:6; 119
Pr
23:23
Zc
8:16
Mt
22:16
Jn
1:14, 17;
4:23;
8:32;
14:6,
16f;
16:13;
17:17
Eph
4:15, 25; 6:14
Phil
4:8
2
Tim 2:15
1
Jn 3:18-20
Study 6
TRUTH
"Jesus answered, 'I am...the Truth...'"
Committed to biblical faith, we must constantly discern and apply the truth of Scripture to our lives and our community. This involves commitment to biblical truth not only in word, but also in action and attitude. Biblical truth manifests itself in the fruits of the Spirit in character and not in doctirne alone. Jesus, in all his being, is Truth.
There is no place for bigotry, prejudice or hatred: we must recognise good and truth where they exist in other traditions. Sectarianism arises when we make an absolute identification between our formulations of the truth and the Truth, and then only accept others as Christians if they accept our formulations. Often it is those of us who claim to be evangelicals who have displayed such un-Christlike attitudes.
We must have the humility to see that the Truth of the Gospel is far greater than any of our formulations, because at present we see through a glass darkly, not yet face to face. This does not mean that we consider creeds and confessions unimportant, nor that we condone any doctrines that we regard as false. As those who are zealous for Truth, we consider such formulations not as ends in themselves but as means of perceiving "The Truth" in Christ.
In the light of John 4:9 it is significant that Jesus takes time with the woman of Samaria, uses Samaritans to illustrate correct moral attitudes (Lk 10:25-37; 17:11-19) and strongly rebukes James and John in Luke 9:51-56. If Jesus will not accept the popular stereotypes of his day, surely evangelicals must challenge the stereotyped image, myths and half-truths of our own day. Try to identify the types of images that Protestants have of Catholics and vice versa. How would Jesus deal with such ideas? (This kind of exercise is best ccomplished by people of different traditions coming together and explaining sensitively how they think about each other, rather than as an exercise in speculating out of ignorance.)
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