Windows on the Crucifixion
I love photography and, although I’m not a great photographer, I have learned some of the secrets of capturing a scene or portrait effectively: the most important being to choose…
Mark Johnston
Gethsemane and the Mystery of the Gospel
It is an integral part of the passion narrative, but it too easily becomes incidental to the message of the gospel. All three synoptic Gospels include an account of Christ…
A Living and Legally-Binding Relationship
There are many dimensions bound up with what it means to be a Christian. Its roots stretch back into eternity past, its experience is bound up with our existential present…
Sinner Theologians
It has been on my mind for quite a while to post an article on ‘sinner theologians’, but I hesitated because of its potential for being misconstrued. However, having just…
Ministerial Godliness: Its Value
What matters most to us in life? There is a ‘right’ answer to that question, but then again there are many ‘real’ answers that lurk beneath the surface. No serious-minded…
Ministerial Godliness: Faith and Life
This little trilogy of posts relates to godliness and the Christian ministry. It arises out of Paul’s counsel to his young ministerial protégé, Timothy, the then pastor of the church…
Ministerial Godliness: Rooted in Christ
During my years at seminary, in what now seems like a different lifetime, a little group of us first encountered Robert Murray McCheyne in the Banner of Truth reprint of…
No Theology without Doxology
How do you know if you are doing theology as it should be done? In one sense it could be by asking the obvious question as to whether or not…
Brexit, Presidents and the English Reformation
The idea of the United Kingdom’s pre-Summer vote to leave the European Union, the upcoming vote in the United States to elect the next President and the English Reformation being…
Why Do We Exist?
For all is quaintness, the opening question and answer to the Westminster Shorter Catechism is iconic. Despite the best attempts by its updaters to give it a more contemporary feel,…
‘On these hang the Law and the Prophets’
Some of Jesus’ statements in the Gospels stand out vividly, but their full force is somewhat vitiated because they are often only quoted partially. His statement in response to the…
Saving Ourselves and Others
Those who take the Bible seriously believe that its message is coherent and consistent. It does not contradict itself. Although it is presented through the multiple voices of its human…