Just thought I'd share this link to an article by NT Wright called "Farewell to the Rapture". I am increasingly encountering people whose beliefs include such anti-Biblical concepts as Jesus returning in secret and taking them up into the sky. This belief comes from a whole system of belief that has infected the church in the US and making inroads over here, it's often known as Premillennial Dispensationalism (as opposed to simply "Premillenialism" which is an orthodox Christian theology thats been around for ages). Premillennial Dispensationalism comes originally from the writings of JN Darby in the 19th Century and was unknown before that. It has been popularised by the "Left Behind" series of novel and movies. NT Wright deals with the subject of the Rapture very well in this typically excellent article.
I was on the cusp of buying a birthing pool. They are inflatable and relatively cheap. Unfortunately, they are intended for women of about 5'9" height. I, however, required the birthing pool for a man. The man in question was over 6' tall. He was, of course, not going to give birth but, rather, he had been born again. The pool was required for baptism. So instead of the birthing pool I bought a paddling pool. The pool was 12' in diameter but only 30" high. I set it up in the garden and filled it with water. On my getting into the pool to try it out the week before the baptism, there was a veritable tidal wave engulfing a large section of my lawn. No good then. Instead I borrowed a custom made baptistry from a nearby church. The baptism went swimmingly.
A couple of days before the baptism, which took place in our regular Sunday morning service, there was a pool tournament in our church. The guy who was about to be baptised in the baptismal pool won…
A couple of days before the baptism, which took place in our regular Sunday morning service, there was a pool tournament in our church. The guy who was about to be baptised in the baptismal pool won…