Extra Resources

Centre-Set Church?
Within my MA dissertation I (very briefly) addressed the issue of church discipline citing those who argue that a centre-set model for church is better suited in this regard than a more bounded-set model (the latter, they would argue, is the form many more-traditional churches take). If you are interested in reading more about this, click here! The actual paragraph relating to church discipline is on page 42 but you’ll probably need to read the whole section in order for it to make any sense. The section is entitled: “We must welcome people as they are.”

 The Paradox of God's Sovereignty
In both Peter's speeches early on in Acts, he ascribes Jesus' death to both the sinful actions of human beings and the fulfilment of God's plan! This is indicative of a paradox that runs throughout the Bible: the paradox of God's sovereignty. This is the paradox (or tension) that on the one hand God is presented as king NOW, and so everything that happens is somehow within his control. However, on the other hand, God is also presented as a king who has given his creatures the freedom to rebel against him and so his will is constantly frustrated and he looks forward to a time when he will reign more fully once this rebellion has been dealt with. 

I addr
essed this tension briefly in a talk I did at OH over summer on the divine and human authorship of the Bible and my Dad also looked at it in the context of discussing the question of predestination: are we free or are we chosen? I think his talk is a helpful one so if you like to take a look, click here. You may not agree with everything he says and if so feel free to leave your comments and we can maybe get a bit of a discussion going on this tricky - but important - topic.