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Stephen Jackson on The Sola Panel is dead; long live the Sola Panel!
Sam Freney on The Sola Panel is dead; long live the Sola Panel!
Marty Foord on The Sola Panel is dead; long live the Sola Panel!
Dianne Howard on The Sola Panel is dead; long live the Sola Panel!
Mike Bull on Daniel 2-7, Harry Potter and Narnia
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Recent posts
The Sola Panel is dead; long live the Sola Panel! by Tony Payne (4 comments). Regular Sola Panel readers will no doubt have detected a little slowness and quietness over the past six weeks or so. … more
Kids’ culture watch spot: Facing fear by Gordon Cheng (3 comments). By popular demand (two people asked), here is my next script for a culture watch spot I did with the kids … more
Daniel 2-7, Harry Potter and Narnia by Gordon Cheng (1 comment). It's a Sunday as I write this, and I'm speaking on Daniel 2 and 7 later this morning at a friend's … more
A constituent on same-sex marriage by Sandy Grant (34 comments). Last year, the Australian Parliament agreed that its Members of Parliament (MPs) should seek the … more
A tribute to John Stott by Sandy Grant (2 comments). Friends, I'm not ashamed to say I shed a tear when I opened up my computer on Thursday morning to read … more
Talkin’ ’bout my generation (part 3): On giants’ shoulders by Scott Newling (26 comments). This is the third post in this series; you can read part one, and more
Bible reading with kids by Sandy Grant (0 comments). I was asked for recommendations for resources that would encourage parents to read the Bible with their kids, especially … more
Talkin’ ’bout my generation (part 2): Stepping aside (not out) so others can step up (not in) by Scott Newling (3 comments). This is the second post in this series; you can read the first post, Unassuming … more
One more sip of the coffee by Tony Payne (8 comments). Sandy Grant is a man of integrity. Back in the early days of Sola Panel, I wrote a post … more
Talkin’ ’bout my generation (part 1): Unassuming generations by Scott Newling (30 comments). There is a model of ‘intergenerational theological decline’ that has been doing the rounds of late, and perhaps you … more
Tony Payne
Paul is one of the Staff Editors at Matthias Media. He is married to Cathy and has three fantastic kids. He loves student ministry, reading, writing music and playing the saxophone, and is looking forward to meeting Jesus face to face.
Sola Panellists
- Tony Payne (convenor)
- Jennie Baddeley
- Mark Baddeley
- Andrew Barry
- Peter Bolt
- Gordon Cheng
- a local church and a certain Christian publishing house. (Sometimes the latter vocations can happen without the first.) Many people call him a nerd, which he prefers to geek. He\'s keen on biblical studies, languages, great technology, science fiction, coffee, photography, frisbee, family, jazz, and hats. You could call his tastes eclectic. ");'>Sam Freney
- Sandy Grant
- Scott Newling
- Gavin Perkins
- Ben Pfahlert
- Peter Sholl
- Claire Smith
- Nicole Starling
- Jean Williams
- Lionel Windsor
Some other sites
we like (Why these?)
- Matthias Media
- The Briefing
- 9Marks
- Albert Mohler
- Anglican Church League
- challies
- David Ould
- ENTRUST
- EQUIP book club
- Girl Talk
- Gordon Cheng's Blog
- The Gospel Coalition
- Jean Williams's blog
- Justin Taylor
- Lionel Windsor
- Monergism
- Moore College
- MTS
- Nicole Starling's blog
- Phillip Jensen
- Pyromaniacs
- The Proclamation Trust
- Reformers' Bookshop
- The Simeon Trust
- The Ugley Vicar
Well Said.
It takes epistemological humility and personal courage to say it.
Mike
Some years ago, my husband’s small niece drowned and one of the many things which distressed her (non-believing) parents was that they didn’t know the exact time she had died (they had searched for some time before she was found on the bottom of the pool). They too were comforted a little when I explained that although we didn’t know, God did. That He is in control.
And for what it’s worth, I think Bobby (and all the pets we love) do go to heaven, not in their own right, but because we are promised that in heaven there are all good things, and pets are one of the very good things in our lives.
I’m sorry for the loss of your pet. I agree with what you said. I do think that perhaps we may be able to say a bit more to turn it into a gospel opportunity. Here is my effort—http://www.indyopc.org/PetInHeaven.html
Dear Larry - your post is brilliant! I recommend our readers to check it out.
Interesting question.
Reminds me of Psalm 36:6:
<cite>O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
I have often wondered what exactly this verse means. Do animals go to heaven? Or is there some other meaning?
Hi Elly - I’d suggest that in the immediate context of the Psalm, David is speaking of God’s care for his people and his entire creation, especially as he provides protection from the plots of the wicked. The Psalms do sometimes have “life after death” on view (e.g. Psalm 16:9-11), but I’m not sure if you could build anything about animals in heaven on this verse alone.
I don’t know, and I’m happy to wait to find out. One thing I do know for sure however… my cat is certainly capable of sin. He knew exactly what he was doing at 4am last night when he noisily scratched the bag in the corner until my wife and I were both awake enough to give him attention!
Yes, a dilemna for young kids and adults too I guess. For we do become attached to our pets, especially those who have been a very special part of the family/ much loved etc.
And I remember when teaching, I could never belittle a student who wanted to pray about their pet, or their grief over a much loved pet’s death.
How could I turn that genuine need (ie, to pray) down?
Paul.
Hi Lionel,
Alas, poor Bobby. You knew him well.
I think your summary at the end is right on the money. However, I think here in statement’s like ‘The Bible doesn’t say’ is a failure in our apologetic.
Christian preachers and any who speak of God might quickly deal with a question that is not the main game with a short,‘The Bible doesn’t say.’ Behind this lies the assumption that God is good and in control and merciful.
However, if you don’t have those assumptions, then answer, ‘The Bible doesn’t say’ seems to either dodge the issue or maybe be dismissive.
This is a real issue if the person asking these kind of questions often isn’t just asking, ‘Will Billy Bob the badger be in heaven?’ but what is God doing in the world.
In short, what should we say before we say the Bible doesn’t say?
Glenn
Hi Glenn, great to hear from you! A question like, “What is God doing in the world?” always has a context. Do you have any specific situations in mind where a person has genuinely asked this question?
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