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Category: Christianity

Dr Don Collett - Van Til and Transcendental Argument Revisited

Dr Don Collett – Van Til and Transcendental Argument Revisited

March 2, 2025March 7, 2025
Michael Macneil
This is an extended essay by Dr Don Collett, I believe who is still at Trinity School of Ministry as Associate Professor of Old Testament (though I believe the seminary is now known as Trinity Anglica... Read More
Saying Goodbye to Papa - Lessons from the Life of Cornelius

Saying Goodbye to Papa – Lessons from the Life of Cornelius

January 27, 2025January 27, 2025
Michael Macneil
I refer to this blog post in the video.  The address below is not a transcript of the video, but is complimentary to it. [This is an anonymised version of what was to be my full address at my Father... Read More
The Gift of Praying in Tongues

The Gift of Praying in Tongues

January 7, 2025
Michael Macneil
This is the single video version of the series found on my YouTube and Vimeo channels, where I talk about the central role that praying in tongues should play in the life of the New Testament Christia... Read More
When Prophets Really Do Disagree

When Prophets Really Do Disagree

December 27, 2024December 27, 2024
Michael Macneil
This is a supplementary article supporting my YouTube presentation. This first section was derived from my comment on this article in Prophecy Today. I was late to this party because I only found out ... Read More
Understanding Romans 13 (Parts 1 – 5)

Understanding Romans 13 (Parts 1 – 5)

December 11, 2024
Michael Macneil
This is the single video version of the series found on my YouTube and Vimeo channels. Episode Timings Detailed contents and timing for each episode are below. 00:00:00 Part 1: Context I 00:28:08 Part... Read More
Healing

Healing

December 6, 2024December 8, 2024
Michael Macneil
Healing is a basic need of Humanity — people instinctively know that sickness is an aberration, an enemy to be vanquished by any means necessary.  It is true some people get “spiritual”... Read More
I Found A Reason To Live

I Found A Reason To Live

November 7, 2024November 17, 2024
Michael Macneil
I suffered from Manic Depression for three years of my life, during which I tried to commit suicide three times. I was reminded of this in the last week when talking to a friend who was struggling, so... Read More
Theonomy in Christian Ethics

Theonomy in Christian Ethics

April 25, 2024April 25, 2024
Michael Macneil
Modern theonomy was primarily the work of two men, Rousas Rushdoony and Greg Bahnsen in applying Van Tillian thought to first the socio-political sphere and then more broadly.[1]  Bahnsen was to refl... Read More
Epistemological Self Consciousness

Epistemological Self Consciousness

November 18, 2023November 23, 2024
Michael Macneil
After starting this journey by returning to study for a BD in 2006, MA in 2012 and then the PhD at the end of 2017, I finally graduated as Dr Macneil this week! My thesis is about what makes philosoph... Read More
Van Til and Plantinga, Comparison and Contrast

Van Til and Plantinga, Comparison and Contrast

June 29, 2023March 25, 2024
Michael Macneil
Appendix 1 – Van Til and Plantinga, Comparison and Contrast Our book examined the work of Van Til and Plantinga as it specifically intersected the major epistemological questions of our book, but th... Read More
Applying the Epistemological Self Consciousness Transcendental Critique to Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism

Applying the Epistemological Self Consciousness Transcendental Critique to Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism

June 29, 2023April 28, 2024
Michael Macneil
(This article cannot be considered an academic, comprehensive rebuttal of the claim but does highlight its problematic nature) We note that one of the unique features of reasoning regarding ultimate a... Read More
Why I Will Not Be Swearing an Oath of Allegiance to the King

Why I Will Not Be Swearing an Oath of Allegiance to the King

May 4, 2023
Michael Macneil
After a long posting break owing to my preparation for submitting my PhD thesis and preparing for the viva (the oral exam that proves it is yours and you did not just buy it online – yes, that reall... Read More
KCM-US 2022 Election Broadcasts

KCM-US 2022 Election Broadcasts

October 3, 2022October 3, 2022
Michael Macneil
KCM-US 2022 Election Broadcasts... Read More
The Offspring of Judas

The Offspring of Judas

February 13, 2022February 13, 2022
Michael Macneil
I am not a Hebrew scholar and cannot say I have checked this claim, but biblical Hebrew apparently has no word for “coincidence”.  It is now a well understood fact that an ethnic group... Read More
Politics, Church and State in the Post-Trump Era

Politics, Church and State in the Post-Trump Era

May 3, 2021May 19, 2021
Michael Macneil
My blog has been quiet this year because I have been working on what turned out to be a 45000 word study on Politics, Church and State caused by the “chaos” in the Christian world regardin... Read More
Macneil's Guide for the Spiritually Perplexed

Macneil’s Guide for the Spiritually Perplexed

November 29, 2020
Michael Macneil
How I unapologetically explained the Christian God to thoughtful, foreign, Muslim and Hindu student housemates when I was 21. A PDF version of this book is found here.... Read More
Dominion Theology - Its Origin, Development and Place in Christian Thinking

Dominion Theology – Its Origin, Development and Place in Christian Thinking

November 29, 2020
Michael Macneil
This was my Masters thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Studies in Philosophy and Religion. This was marked at Distinction level and my supervisor recommended I publish it. This is primarily a ... Read More
Is the Church a Vestigial Organ?

Is the Church a Vestigial Organ?

May 14, 2020November 28, 2020
Michael Macneil
On the role of churches during the COVID-19 crisis. A quaint relic of a bygone age Estimated 11 minute read In evolutionary theory a “vestigial organ” is said to be a vestige, an artefact, a relic... Read More
COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus: God’s Blessing or Satan’s Curse?

COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus: God’s Blessing or Satan’s Curse?

April 19, 2020December 1, 2020
Michael Macneil
Satan Smiting Job with Sore Boils — William Blake c.1826 Estimated 6 minute read One of the biggest questions we can ever ask as Christians is who is behind a catastrophic world event like COVID-19,... Read More
Corona COVID-19 "Hoax" - Much More Than Meets The Eye

Corona COVID-19 “Hoax” – Much More Than Meets The Eye

March 1, 2020December 2, 2020
Michael Macneil
This was my first article looking at the COVID Era written in March 2020 (it is now December 2020) when I began to suspect something was seriously amiss with the way it was being managed, and marketed... Read More
Should I Obey my Government - Civil Disobedience in the COVID-Era

Should I Obey my Government – Civil Disobedience in the COVID-Era

March 1, 2020December 1, 2020
Michael Macneil
The question I pose is a question that needs to be asked particularly when “obedience” or “submission” to the will of the government is being presented as a moral and civic duty – both perso... Read More
Abraham Kuyper, Culture and Art

Abraham Kuyper, Culture and Art

December 13, 2017February 25, 2021
Michael Macneil
Abraham Kuyper [1] (b.1837, d.1920) was described in a recent publication ‘as one of those rare intellectuals who actually led a popular movement.  He thought it not enough just to articulate a wor... Read More
Scripture and the Post-Darwinian Controversy

Scripture and the Post-Darwinian Controversy

June 14, 2015January 24, 2021
Michael Macneil
Has the importance of the concepts of biblical inerrancy and infallibility changed for evangelical Christians today when compared to the end of the 19th Century? If so, why? At the end of the 19th cen... Read More
The Problem of Evil

The Problem of Evil

April 26, 2015December 26, 2020
Michael Macneil
The Logical Problem of Evil if God is Good, Omnipotent and Omniscient – How Can He Allow Evil? John Polkinghorne in developing the scientifically responsible apologetic that he has spent his pos... Read More
Orality and the Welsh Revival 1904-1906

Orality and the Welsh Revival 1904-1906

May 29, 2012December 29, 2020
Michael Macneil
“Orality” is defined as “interaction with the world by means of the spoken word” and contrasts with “conceptuality” which is defined as “interacting with the world by means of ideas and ... Read More
Fundamentalism as a modernism

Fundamentalism as a modernism

November 6, 2011December 29, 2020
Michael Macneil
Fundamentalism is often conceived of as a reaction against modern, secular society.  This essay argued the opposite – it is a form of modernism but a modernism distinct from secular modernism.... Read More
Four thousand words on theological ethics

Four thousand words on theological ethics

May 8, 2008December 31, 2020
Michael Macneil
These were actually revision notes for these pre-released exam questions for my Theological Ethics examination in 2008: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of (1) Deontology and (2) Consequentialism... Read More
‘Thou Shalt Not Kill.’  Is this true in every case?

‘Thou Shalt Not Kill.’ Is this true in every case?

March 26, 2008December 31, 2020
Michael Macneil
This was a short, 1500 word coursework essay examining the interpretation of this commandment in a Judeo-Christian, ethical context.  It packs in Exodus and Leviticus, War and Peace, Abortion and Eut... Read More
Anti-Semitism and the Gospel of John

Anti-Semitism and the Gospel of John

February 16, 2008January 9, 2021
Michael Macneil
One of the commonest criticisms levelled at the gospel of John is that it is “anti-Semitic”.  This view derives from John’s repeated use of the denominator “The Jews” th... Read More
The Hour of Glorification

The Hour of Glorification

November 5, 2007January 9, 2021
Michael Macneil
How and why does John depict the death of Jesus as “His hour of Glorification”? The Gospel of John offers a radically mature presentation of Jesus when compared to the dramatic and often e... Read More
John G Lake - A Man of Dominion

John G Lake – A Man of Dominion

October 10, 2007January 10, 2021
Michael Macneil
John G Lake is one of the pioneers of the message of the early Pentecostal Church – the gift of tongues, healing, deliverance, miracles, raising the dead;  that is, the full range of spiritual ... Read More
What is Distinctive in the Christian View of God?

What is Distinctive in the Christian View of God?

June 10, 2007January 10, 2021
Michael Macneil
It is well known that there are three great monotheistic religions – Christianity, Islam and Judaism.  One stream of thought wants to unify these conceptions as different expressions of the sam... Read More
The Resurrection in the Christian Faith

The Resurrection in the Christian Faith

June 10, 2007January 10, 2021
Michael Macneil
There is no doctrine within the Christian religion that provokes such intellectual ridicule as the Resurrection and it was one of the first to be “reinterpreted” in the post-Darwinian rati... Read More
The Council of Nicea

The Council of Nicea

November 26, 2006January 10, 2021
Michael Macneil
The Council of Nicea in 325CE following the Roman Empire’s Edict of Toleration  of 313CE was one of the first and most important of the councils ever held by the Church presided over by the Emp... Read More
Understanding Deuteronomy

Understanding Deuteronomy

November 16, 2006January 10, 2021
Michael Macneil
One of the hardest modules of my undergraduate theology studies was Old Testament studies.  I did not like the lecturer (professor for US readers!) and had frequent clashes.  He was, it seemed to me... Read More
Kant's Criticism of the Ontological Argument

Kant’s Criticism of the Ontological Argument

October 17, 2006January 3, 2021
Michael Macneil
The ontological argument is considered unique amongst arguments for God’s existence because it is the only argument that can be classified as an a priori argument.  By this we mean the sequence of ... Read More

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Recent Posts

  • Dr Don Collett – Van Til and Transcendental Argument Revisited
  • The Significance of Netanyahu as the First Foreign Leader to be Invited to the Trump 2.0 Whitehouse
  • Saying Goodbye to Papa – Lessons from the Life of Cornelius
  • The Gift of Praying in Tongues
  • When Prophets Really Do Disagree

Recent Comments

  • The Significance of Netanyahu as the First Foreign Leader to be Invited to the Trump 2.0 Whitehouse - Planet M Blog on HAMAS vs Israel – Understanding the Conflict
  • The Gift of Praying in Tongues - Planet M Blog on Macneil’s Guide for the Spiritually Perplexed
  • When Prophets Really Do Disagree - Planet M Blog on Politics, Church and State in the Post-Trump Era
  • Healing - Planet M Blog on Macneil’s Guide for the Spiritually Perplexed
  • The Imperative of Christian Involvement - Planet M Blog on Dominion Theology – Its Origin, Development and Place in Christian Thinking

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