My aim with this book is to help in some small way Christians to think through how they relate their Christian faith to the culture in which they live. To do this I have explored basic Biblical principles. The task or relating faith to culture is the more urgent as the drop-out rate of Christian youth leaving the Christian faith they were brought up in, continues to increase in our Western ‘Christian’ nations. Michael Khan
In chapters one and two, I explore Scientific and Biblical truth, looking at how I believe God’s Spirit expects us to approach this truth and what is meant by ‘inspired by God.’ In section 2.3 (and further in chapter 3) I explore clues as to how the Scriptural text should be understood and interpreted in a scientific age, and I touch on what I believe to be mistaken attitudes that discredit the Biblical text. In chapter four, I attempt to offer suggestions as to how suffering may not be inconsistent with the ‘goodness of God’ and how a two-stage creation will glorify God. Then in chapter five I give an example of how changes in a language can affect textual meaning and why texts need constant re-assessment. In chapter six I look at the absolute centrality of God’s grace to all authentic Christianity and how that grace needs to be worked out in Christian vision, and I develop interpretive biblical principles for use in adapting Scripture to different cultures.
In chapter seven, I will seek to apply these tools to 21st century western culture with particular reference to current sexual norms. I have included comment on how Biblical principles may be applied to issues such as ‘same-sex marriage,’ ‘gender dysphoria’ and ‘masterbation.’ Then in chapter eight I touch on why some of the apocalyptic Scriptures (such as Ezekiel, Daniel, Revelations, etc.) are in the Bible and how we might apply them to the present age. Chapter nine takes a brief look at what justice means for today and chapter ten summarises the main thrust of this study.