- What Did Jesus Say? - https://whatdidjesussay.com -

Links

Jesus Film This project shows the life of Jesus in film as recorded in Luke’s gospel, and is available on line in over 1,300 languages. (Watch the film)

Alpha Course (www.alphaaustralia.org.au) The Alpha course is a popular, user-friendly ten week introduction to Christianity now running in hundreds of Churches throughout Australia.

Bible study books. Bridgeway Publications have published a series of basic, non-technical resources by Don Fleming, including the Bridgeway Bible commentary, the Bridgeway Bible Dictionary and “Let the Bible Speak.” These books have been widely used around the world, and translated into many languages. They are available on line. (Download from this site)

Edge Community Church, East Doncaster, Melbourne. (www.edgechurch.org.au) – My Church!

The Centre for Public Christianity (CPX) (www.publicchristianity.org) is an independent research and media organization seeking to promote the public understanding of the Christian faith in Australia and beyond.

Christians in Science and Technology. ISCAST, (The Institute for the Study of Christianity in an Age of Science and Technology)  is an Australian organisation dedicated to exploring the interface between science and the Christian faith.  (www.iscast.org.) The resources page has links to other similar groups world-wide. Dr John C Lennox, Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University, is a popular international speaker and author on a range of topics relating to science, philosophy and religion.  For useful resources, see johnlennox.org

Micah Australia.  (www.micahaustralia.org) Micah Australia is a coalition of churches and Christian organisations raising a powerful voice for justice and a world free from poverty.  “Under the banner of Micah Challenge, now Micah Australia, we have helped Australia Christians and churches live out the biblical mandate to ‘do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God’ (Micah 6:8) through empowering them to become advocates for the poorest people in our world.”  

Christian and Gay !? Jesus did not teach directly about homosexuality, but his approach to individuals who had crossed the boundary of accepted sexual practice challenged the attitudes of the disciples and the religious leaders. Examples include the Samaritan woman who had had five husbands, (John ch 4:1-42), the woman “who had lived a sinful life” who anointed Jesus’ feet in the Pharisee’s house (Luke 7:36-50), and the woman convicted of adultery (John 8:1-11). Perhaps it is also helpful to think about the profound change in attitude required of the first generation of Jewish Christians in overcoming their prejudice against Gentiles. Jews were forbidden to eat with Gentiles, but God showed Peter through a vision that he “should not call any man impure or unclean.” (Acts 10:1-29). His actions threatened serious division within the Church, but he explained how God had confirmed his actions, and so the Gospel spread among the Gentiles. (Acts 11:1-18) (The issue continued to trouble the early Church, as Paul discussed in his letter to the Galatians! Eg Gal 2:11-16)

Today the issue of homosexuality remains a difficult and controversial issue among many Christians and non-Christians alike. Here are two UK Christian resources from different perspectives;

Livingout (www.livingout.org) has been developed by three Christian ministers who experience same-sex attraction. “We are a group of Christians who experience same-sex attraction bringing out into the open the questions and dilemmas that gay Christians can often face.”

“Living it out; a survival guide for lesbian, gay and bisexual Christians and their friends, family and churches.” by Rachel Hagger-Holt and Sarah Hagger-Holt is a compassionate, honest and common sense book based on many Christians’ lived experience and includes fifty first hand stories from men and women from all denominations. It is available from on-line retailers, eg Booktopia.