Author: Geoff Robson

Can a Christian fall away – revisited

Geoff Robson Christian Thought, Ministry , , , , ,

Fall AwayIt’s one of the biggest and most frequently asked theological and pastoral questions: can a Christian fall away? Can a Christian stop being a Christian? Because I’ve been asked it so often, and because I’ve been asked it a number of times recently, I’m re-posting this article from a few years ago (with a brief addition at the end). I hope it’s helpful.

If you don’t want to read through this whole thing but you’re still interested: (a) don’t be lazy! 🙂 (b) I’ve put a bullet-point summary at the end. And please remember, this is just my way of thinking through the issue, and plenty of other Christians would think differently. So don’t just take my word for it – check if what I’m saying matches with the Bible. Continue reading →

Jesus, human rights and bacon

Geoff Robson Ministry , ,

BaconWhich of your rights will you give up today for someone else’s sake?

Reading through 1 Corinthians 8-9 this morning, I was struck (again) but just how incredibly counter-cultural the Bible is when it comes to thinking about our personal ‘rights’.

The language of ‘rights’ is everywhere in ethics and morality today. In large part, it flows out of the intense individualism that has enveloped our society. If you’re arguing for a particular position on any contentious issue, the quickest route to success is to establish that what you’re arguing for is ‘a basic human right’. Continue reading →

Why ‘faith’ and faith are mortal enemies

Geoff Robson Christian Thought, Ministry , , ,

A brief rant about (what should be) a painfully obvious idea

In Paul’s second letter to his protégé Timothy, he warns the young man ‘not to quarrel about words’. In fact, he goes as far as saying that this kind of arguing ‘does no good, but only ruins the hearers’ (2 Tim 2:14). It’s a strong warning, and one that many people today need to hear. But when we look closely, Paul’s warning is quite clearly against meaningless squabbles – arguing for the sake of arguing. When the truth of the gospel was at stake, time and again we see that Paul was clearly willing to hold his ground and disagree with others.

In our own day and age, I’m more and more convinced that Christians need to fight for the truth of a particular word, a word that goes to the heart of what Christianity is about: faith. Continue reading →

What Are You Trusting? Some questions for my charismatic friends

Geoff Robson Christian Thought, Ministry , , , ,

Over the Easter weekend, a group of about 50 students from Christian Union (the campus ministry where I serve here in Christchurch) went away together for a conference on love, sex and marriage. While we were there, some of our members found themselves being aggressively ‘evangelised’.

Upon arrival, we found ourselves sharing our campsite with members of a ministry known as ‘Revival Fellowship’. You can read more about their emphasis and their beliefs here – but suffice to say, several members of Christian Union were told that, frankly, if you don’t speak in tongues,[1] you’re not really a Christian. Continue reading →

“Same-sex Marriage”: What I would have said

Geoff Robson Christian Ethics, Christian Thought , , , ,

As I watched last night’s parliamentary debate, I started pondering what I would say if I were an MP with a chance to address the nation on this historic night. Sam Seaborn or Toby Zeigler I am not, but here’s what I came up with

RingsMr Speaker, as we meet tonight in this chamber, hundreds of thousands of people around the nation are watching and anticipating not just our decision, but our discussion. And so I’d like to address my comments to some of those who are watching tonight. Specifically, I’d like to directly address the members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities for whom tonight is so important. Indirectly, I’m also addressing the countless New Zealanders who share your hope that this bill will pass.

I must begin by saying that I oppose this bill, even though the horse has bolted and, clearly, this bill will pass. Why? Why oppose a bill that many have claimed is all about human rights, freedom and equality? Am I scared? Am I a homophobe, or a bigot? Am I just a bluff old traditionalist? Let me explain where I stand. Continue reading →

How to poison your relationships in one easy step: Always assume the worst

Geoff Robson Christian Living, Ministry ,

Why assuming the worst about other people’s motives is so deadly – and how we can break the cycle.

Keep Calm Assume NothingFew things are as complicated, contentious or corruptible as our motives. French thinker Francois de la Rochefaucauld captured the reality of the human condition when he said, “We would frequently be ashamed of our good deeds if the world could see the motives that produced them.” Samuel Johnson summed up the heart of the problem even more succinctly: “Actions are visible, but motives are secret.”

The Bible is littered with warnings about our motives. When informing Samuel that David was his choice for King of Israel, God told him: “The LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (1 Sam 16:7) Much of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is spent warning his hearers against doing outwardly impressive acts with inwardly corrupt motives (Matt 6:1-18). And in Paul’s celebrated (but often misunderstood) chapter on love, 1 Corinthians 13, he tells us that even the best actions are worthless if done without love. Continue reading →

Top Ten West Wing Episodes – Part 2

Geoff Robson Sport & Culture

If you missed the first half of the list, click here for Episodes 6-10 on our Top Ten West Wing Episodes. But it’s time for the best of the best: the Top Five West Wing episodes ever!

5. Somebody’s Going to Emergency, Somebody’s Going to Jail (2.16)

This episode made the list for one reason and one reason only: Big Block of Cheese Day. I love Big Block of Cheese Day, or, as Toby calls it in Season One’s edition, ‘Throw-open-our-office-doors-to-people-who-want-to-discuss-things-that-we-could-care-less-about Day’ (or ‘Total Crackpot Day’, as Josh refers to it). I could easily have chosen ‘The Crackpots and These Women’ (1.5), but Big Block of Cheese Day 2.0 gets my vote, thanks to the Organisation of Cartographers for Social Equality. Continue reading →

Top Ten West Wing Episodes – Part 1

Video Geoff Robson Sport & Culture

Click here to jump straight to Part Two – my Top Five episodes ever!

West Wing CastI watched my first episode of The West Wing in 2003. By that time, the show was more than halfway through its run of 155 episodes. I’d heard of the show, and I’d started to realise that it had a fanatical following. As a fan of Aaron Sorkin and with a long-running interest in American politics, The West Wing was already my favourite show in theory before I’d ever seen a single episode in reality. But for some reason, I took a long time to actually get around to tuning in.

Once I finally experienced it for myself, I realised it was more wonderful than I’d ever imagined. Since then, I must have watched the entire series at least half a dozen times. Basically, I’m content to watch Season 7, Episode 22 and go straight back to Season 1, Episode 1 (while my long-suffering wife longs to add some new shows to our DVD rotation). Continue reading →