Steve begins this week’s Chalke Talk by reflecting on some of the questions he has been asked, following the previous video in which he suggested that Heaven is likely to be filled with far more than just Christians.

Chalke Talk 25 - Christianity NOT about life after death from Open Church network on Vimeo.

Life in our globalised, multi-faith, multi-cultural, world highlights some big questions, ones which have always been there for the Church, but which have often been ignored, says Steve in this week’s Chalke Talk.

Chalke Talk 24 from Open Church network on Vimeo.

“The first readers of the Gospels would have thought its content scandalous,” argues Steve in this week’s Chalke Talk.  While some of the significance can be lost to us, the pages of the four books that recount the life of Jesus are full of him pushing the boundaries of social acceptability by reaching out to people that the ‘Holy’ considered outcast.

The Ethiopian Eunuch of Acts, chapter 8, verse 26-38 is someone who should never have been welcomed into the fold.  He was Ethiopian, while God’s love was for Jews.  And Scripture had totally forbidden the participation of a Eunuch – or someone with ‘crushed sexual organs’ – in worship.

In this week’s Chalke Talk, Steve explores how inclusion is a fundamental theme in the Old Testament.

Chalke Talk 21 – The story of Genesis is the story of inclusion from Open Church network on Vimeo.

In this week’s Chalke Talk Steve responds to criticism that in his previous video, he oversimplified the message of Jesus.  While Steve had claimed that the message of the Gospel is simply one of love, others have pointed out that Jesus was – on occasions – a man of anger.

Jesus knew the law as well as any boy who grew up in Jewish society – and by all accounts, far better than most.  But what really made Jesus different was his ability to internalize the spirit of the law – and liberate himself from the letter of it.

“Following Jesus isn’t about religion and all its paraphernalia; signing up to a system of doctrinal statements in the hope of escaping judgement after death – instead it’s about how to do life right now!”

Chalke Talk 18 - Society needs spirituality and character – not religion from Open Church network on Vimeo.

The Apostle Paul is often written off as an anti-sex, anti-marriage, anti-women misery.  But, when we take every word of Paul as universally applicable, we make a horrendous pastoral mistake. We end up imposing theological constructs on him which just aren’t there.

The Church has a responsibility to engage with and tackle the moral and spiritual issues of contemporary society.  However, we can only do this when we tap into the timeless wisdom of scripture – and that requires understanding that the Bible does not have the final word on every moral issue.