Latest Ideas

• Phillip Jensen
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• 1 January 2010

Phillip Jensen teases out the true nature of Christian freedom. There are two kinds of freedom. Christian freedom is the freedom to be a servant of others (Gal 5:13)—the freedom to do what I don't like. But the freedom that allows me to do whatever I want is not Christian

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• 1 January 2010

The word ‘Torah’ (which is what the Jews call the first five books of the Bible) means ‘instruction, regulation or law’. It occurs throughout key passages in Leviticus (e.g. Lev 6:14, 25; 7:1, 7, 11, 37). Leviticus follows Exodus 40, where Moses sets up the tabernacle according to God's instructions

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• Steve Cree
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• 1 January 2010

Church government, with its talk of elders, deacons, overseers and offices, can be bewildering. But as Steve Cree argues, perhaps that’s because we’ve lost sight of the mission of Christ. Have you ever noticed the defining factor in most denominational names—Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Congregational, Pente­costal, Inde­pendent? It’s a particular understanding

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• Guan Un
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• 1 January 2010

Guan’s story so far in four sentences: Guan likes self-deprecation, but isn’t very good at it. He is ever so slightly obsessive about his iTunes collection, he is married to M,1 and at the time of writing (2008), he has just started ministry training (MTS) at the University of New

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• Marty Sweeney
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• 1 January 2010

I am one of the few who doesn't regularly follow the worldwide hit show 24. My days are certainly not as action-packed as Jack Bauer's. But I know that Bauer's work isn't as important as what I've been involved in over the last 24 hours of my life. Here are

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• Ian Carmichael
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• 1 December 2009

I want to be frank with you, so I'm just going to say it. I don't want any argument, okay? There is nothing—repeat, nothing—more boring on television or radio than shows about gardening. If you disagree with me, then I'm sorry, but you just need to be corrected.There is only

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• Guan Un
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• 1 December 2009

Guan's story so far, in four sentences: He is currently a writer for The Briefing—since, at least, the start of this paragraph. As of the time of writing (2008), he's 26, looks about 13 (blame the Asian genes), is married to the amazing Mary,1 and is about to start MTS

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• 1 December 2009

I appreciated the interview with Grant Retief in the October Briefing. He has certainly done a significant work on university campuses in Durban and in the recruiting and training of apprentices. His analysis of the South African Christian scene is also perceptive—and provocative. According to the 2001 Census, nearly

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• Paul Grimmond
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• 1 December 2009

I have a friend who has an adolescent daughter. Surprisingly, there are moments when the relationship is more rocky road than dairy milk, if you follow me. As he described his current set of frustrations, it suddenly occurred to me that adolescence is the new black. Here are the two

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• 1 December 2009

Theodicy is the defence of God’s justice and goodness. It is something we naturally think about, and more often than not, it drives our preaching. You reach a difficult teaching of Jesus about hell, or a confronting passage of Paul’s about the role of men and women in the church, or

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