Creation and Evolution, Theories in Crisis; a Seminar held in Sydney Australia on 13th May 2011. Barry and Vernon Wilkins gave this presentation at the request of a local Anglican church in Baulkham Hills North. Here are the Flash movies (.swf) for the main talks, complete with embedded soundtracks. They all play automatically. To view the Flash movies you need Adobe Shockwave Flash installed, but in most cases it already is. You can pause or resume these movies, or move to any point in them, using the progress bar at the bottom. Caution – the files are mostly large, and may take a while to download.
1. Creation or Evolution – Introduction (Flash, 2 mins)
2. The Fitness of the Cosmos for Life (Flash, 22 mins)
3. Darwinism v. Young Earth – Theories in Crisis (Flash, 16 mins)
4a. What is Darwinism? (Flash, 24 mins)
4b. What is Young Earthism? (Flash, 27 mins)
5. Age of the Earth and Improbability of Darwinism (Flash, 21 mins)
6. Unmasking Genesis 1 (Flash, 32 mins)
[If you can’t view Flash movies, do ensure you have latest Adobe Flash installed on your Windows, Linux or MacOSX browser (available at http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer), or an alternative player with Flash add-in (e.g. Irfanview, some 3rd party media players). Users of some Apple devices may still be stumped (!) – check back here soon.]
Genesis 1 must surely be a definitive text for the timeline and storyline of the Bible. This paper offers an exposition of the opening chapter of God’s Word that looks at its major themes from a ‘whole Bible’ standpoint, and comes to the conclusion that there are strong hints of redemption as well as creation in this much discussed passage.
Creation for Redemption — Rest and Refreshment in Genesis 1 (270kB pdf)
A Bridge Over Troubled Waters – A number of readers have asked if this old paper is ever going to make its way on to the site, so here it is. It was written somewhat tongue in cheek, and so must be read likewise. No green-ink letters from ‘Tetchy of Tonbridge’, please!
Bridge over Troubled Waters (436kB pdf)
Noah’s Flood is a much loved and well known bible story. The Sermon at Baulkham Hills North Anglican Church on Sunday 3rd April, 2011, on Noah’s Flood, was the third in a series on the early chapters of Genesis. Under the title ‘Noah – a Man of Our Time in a World of His Time’, the sermon covers the text from Genesis 5:28 – 8:22, and explores one particular theme, that of God’s ‘comfort’, or ‘rest’, the gift of God’s grace.
Barry’s Noah Sermon (400kB pdf)
Barry’s Noah Sermon audio file (10MB mp3, 45 mins)
Barry’s Noah Sermon Flash presentation (45 mins)
The notion of Christ ‘preaching’ to the ‘spirits in prison’, in 1 Peter 3, has fascinated commentators for ages. This paper proposes an outside-the-box take on this much discussed passage.
Preaching to the Spirits in Prison in 1 Peter 3 (205kB pdf)
Yahweh is the covenant name of God, used nearly 6,000 times in the OT. But what does the name mean? This paper suggests an answer.
Yahweh our Saviour (567kB pdf)
The Origins Debate is surely one of the most vexed within the twin arenas of science and Christianity. Huge confusion and uncertainty surrounds the issue – except of course in the well made-up minds of the determined proponents of the various viewpoints. After a lifetime’s interest and wide reading on the matter, I find myself persuaded up to a point, or not so, by each main view. Here’s my assessment, for what it’s worth. You’ll see that I’m at least a little bit complimentary about each main view, and considerably complimentary about one or two – but not completely persuaded by any.
The Persuasiveness of the Various Origins Views (300kB pdf)
The Science and the Bible Origins Debate is certainly one of the most vexed of all discussions in the evangelical Christian arena. In 2008 Christ Church Bromley, UK, hosted a debate on the subject. Here are the .mp3 audio files; also the PowerPoint presentations used by the two speakers; and an open response from two of us who were there, both of us ardent non-Darwinists and provisional Old Earthers.
Ard Louis – Theistic Darwinist view (20MB mp3, 42 mins)
Origins – Ard Louis.ppt (9MB ppt)
Tom Seidler – Young Earth view (20MB mp3, 43mins)
Origins – Tom Seidler.ppt (6MB ppt)
Discussion (16MB mp3, 33mins)
Origins Debate – CCB 2008 – Response (70kB pdf)
Origins Debate – Tom’s Response (93kB pdf)
Origins – Ard Louis and Tom Seidler biopics (449kB pdf)
Psalm 22 is a much loved psalm, depicting in a remarkably prophetic way the crucifixion of our Lord (which happened hundreds of years later). This paper is at one level a (partial) exposition of this psalm. But actually it was written as a vital training exercise in the principle of reading New Testament texts in the context of their Old Testament control, and I hope it’ll be helpful accordingly.
Psalm 22 – Hope in Anguish, not Despair in Dereliction (118kB pdf)
Lectio Divina is an article written a few years ago but now updated, posted here in response to some current questions arising in the arena of hermeneutical methods (i.e., bible interpretation). It offers a critique of the increasingly popular Lectio Divina showing just what is ancient and what is modern; but it also briefly addresses hermeneutical issues generally, and gives a little help in understanding just what the term literal means (or should mean).
Lectio Divina (110kB pdf)
The Giver of Grace and the Gifts of Grace. An exercise in ensuring we read what is actually in the bible rather than what is already in our preconceived notions, this paper looks at the biblical doctrine of God’s gifts of grace.
The Giver of Grace and the Gifts of Grace (134kB pdf)
Ruth in Context is a paper by Andy Avery on the book of Ruth in the Bible, with a particular focus on reading it in context. It considers a whole variety of different contexts all of which bear upon how we understand this narrative part of scripture.
Ruth in Context (96kB pdf)
What is an Evangelical? Five distinctives in brief A – E note form.
What is an Evangelical? (50kB pdf)
1 Thessalonians Study Notes have been written to help bible study group leaders, or, for that matter, anyone teaching this heart-warming letter in any context, in their preparation.
1 Thessalonians Study Notes (305kB pdf)
See also this note: Spirit and Word (99kB pdf)
Richard Field was one of England’s finest theologians ever. His work, defending the Church of England against Romanist advocates, is not widely known, so here is a paper summarising some of his ecclesiastical views. I’m posting it (and a few other relevant things) here because a few people have asked to see it – so given it’s here others may just possibly be interested too.
Richard Field on Bishops (219kB pdf)
Richard Field Biography (no longer available – will reappear in extended form soon)
William Whitaker on Scripture (2.8MB Word doc)
William Whitaker on Scripture (27MB pdf)