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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
I like Leland Ryken’s straight-forward definition of culture: “institutions, technology, art, customs and social patterns that a society evolves”. Then he puts the individual perspective “Culture is the context within which every person inevitably lives his or her daily life”. (New Dictionary of Christian Ethics and Pastoral Theology IVP, 1995, 278).
If we ask Peter’s question about a part of culture (family, art, government, sport, food …). Are they a vehicle for principalities or powers? The answer seems to be that they can be, but there is more to them than that.
So is human culture another vehicle for the principalities and powers? Yes.
Is human culture SIMPLY another vehicle for the principalities and powers? No.
Beyond that the term ‘culture’ is too broad for a useful analysis. We have to ask how are various elements of our culture (whatever that consists of) distorted by sin and used by the powers? Then we have to ask how we respond.
The contrasting assessments of government in Rom 13 and Rev 13 are intriguing examples of this.
I have been fascinated by the Principalities and Powers blogs and have just perused all six of them.
In your first blog you wondered if they had been defeated at the cross. My “person in the pew” understanding is that they were defeated but the battle was to continue until Jesus’ coming again.
My indigenous Australian friends, my friends who minister among them and my friends from Africa all understand principalities and powers that are not flesh and blood. They acknowledge the reality and power of this other world (but not its victory: there many examples, even recently, of spiritual battles won by Christ’s Name).
How has our Western culture’s reliance on empiricism (“it only exists if I can measure it”) distorted our understanding of theological truths? Is post-modernism just a reaction to empericism?
I am not stating these points of view as an attack but in genuine seeking of a thoughtful response.
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