Westy's Weekly Blog

‘Hell’ is not normally the subject for an after-dinner conversation, is it?   In fact, let me guess!   ‘Hell’ is a subject you generally avoid, right?   You prefer not even to think about it, let alone discuss it with others.   But I want to ask you a question: which kind of hell are you trying to avoid?   Because there’s basically two kinds of hell that people are somewhat familiar with – and neither of them matches up very well with the hell that Jesus speaks about in the gospels. First there is the kind of hell that was pictured by the medieval Italian poet, Dante Alighieri who wrote a trilogy of poems entitled, “The Divine Comedy”.   The first of those three poems was called Inferno .   It pictured a realm in the underworld that consisted of nine concentric circles of torment for those who have rejected spiritual values.   Dante’s epic poem played a big role in shaping our Western Civilization’s thinking about hell.   Dante travels thro...

  We’re presently in that period of the year that Christians refer to as Advent.   Many churches all around the world will focus for four weeks before Christmas on the theme of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.   Advent is the time when the Christian Church is making its Christmas preparations.   Of course many people who are not church goers may also be somewhat familiar with Advent because there are some very creative Advent Calendars around that help people in the countdown to Christmas Day.   Stores often have special Advent Calendars for sale with sweet treats for young children.   But apparently older people now want to get in on the act as well.   I saw one such adult advent calendar advertised on the Internet called a ‘Beer Advent Calendar’ – for the bargain price of $185.   This special offer of craft beers was touted as the ultimate countdown to Christmas.   Mind you, I did wonder about the ease of messing up your Advent Calendar...

  Advent… that season of the year in which we think of God taking on a human nature – God in human flesh?   For some two thousand years people have struggled to come to terms with that. So, is the possibility of God becoming man a problem for you?   It certainly was for the earliest followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.   An example…?   A group of fishermen are out on the Lake of Galilee and a fierce storm breaks out.   Meanwhile Jesus is asleep in the boat on a pillow.   They wake Him up asking whether He doesn’t care that they are about to drown.   Jesus stands up and rebukes the wind and the waves and instantly the storm ceases.   The gospel writer records the question that then occupies those earliest followers of Messiah Jesus: Who is this man that even the wind and the waves obey Him? Not so long ago I read of a present-day man who also had problems with God in human flesh.   He was a Muslim who had found some of the teachings of...