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Dear all,

I know some of you do not celebrate Christmas at all, because of its connections with a pagan festival.

I hope you agree, however, that is good to focus our minds on different things during the year and it must be a good thing to set aside some time to meditate on and celebrate the birth of Jesus and the incredible prophecies it fulfilled.

Unfortunately, none of our carols to my knowledge were written by universalists. To put this right, I'm sharing some pieces I wrote when I was 19 when I was trying to set up a local church in Wallasey. I hope you like them.

May God be with you,

The Author

Gregory McDonald is the pen name of Robin Parry, which he used due concerns at the time about the book’s potential effect on his employment and his reputation in orthodox circles.

Chapter Summary  

The first chapter looks at the problems of an eternal hell, including its injustice and how the saved could be happy if this happened. This is followed by some detailed analysis of the philosophical issues around freewill.

There are a lot of books on the 'further reading' tab that most of us probably won't get around to reading any time soon. I expect there are a lot of good points in these books and perhaps some arguments we may have overlooked. So I wondered if each one of us might commit to reading just one of these books and then feedback to others via this discussion page.

I you're happy to do this, please just tell me in advance which book you'd like to study to avoid any duplication. Then, when you've read it, please provide a short summary book review, including the salient points and any thoughts of your own you might like to share.

You can choose any book in the list, providing, of course, you are not the author! Please also remember to let me have full details of any other good books on…

As you may know I set out on a pilgrimage and found myself in the middle of one of the most complex and tense political situations of our day. I have been regularly moving between Israeli and Palestinian territories and wondering if there is a biblical position we should have on the matter. For now I am trying my best to help the most disadvantaged on both sides.

Do you think God authorises the economic systems we see, some verses seem to suggest God intends for there to be a power disparity on earth, do you think he has a purpose for creating a distinction between rich and poor in society?

Do people believe miracles continue today? If not, why not? (By ‘miracles’, I mean things that interfere with the laws of the physical universe).

I know a lot of Christians and Muslims for that matter speculate on the date, location and circumstances of Jesus return to earth. I was wondering if anyone has any further clarity on when, where and how we can actually expect this to happen. Are there any resources which compare all the hypothesis in light of present day evidence?

Kevin Prosch wrote this Prodigal Son ballad. I have always been so moved by the Psalm like poetry of the lyrics. Covering it was unexpectedly challenging, and a journey of sorts for me. The ending of the song is my addition adapted from Psalm 76.

I find myself on what feels like a good old fashioned pilgrimage as I made my way from England to Jordan flightlessly over the past four months and was baptised in the River Jordan. Now I seek to cross into Israel, I am staying on a farm in Jordan where I can see Jericho and the lights of Jerusalem and excited to go to the place I had always been reading about. But is this fascination healthy? Some people have criticised my interest in going back to these old earthly sites when they suggest I should be fixated on the new way things are done in the spirit. But I was wondering what your thoughts are, is there still significance in the geographical holy land, Jerusalem and following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ while on earth?