Posts Tagged Kos

“The Divine Saviour In The Dark Light Of Modern Critical and Sceptical Scholarship” paperback book excerpt

“In 2012 I made the long desired step of making my first Biblically inspired documentary. I had begun a website where I was sharing my views and then we went to Paphos, Cyprus. There I was struck yet again at how historically accurate the Bible was. Here, in these places, the Bible is part of the history and culture of the land. St Paul walked here. My documentary was called “The Apostles at Paphos” and in it I explore the events of Acts 13. This documentary contained my first verbally public criticism of modern critical scholarship and shows why the events of Acts 13 can be verified by archaeological remains in Paphos. My wife and I had already visited Cyprus and my research was entirely independent and self motivated. While others were at the coffee shop, I was visiting an old church and archaeological grounds, and I loved every minute of it. I made notes, recorded details, read the Bible and explored. It was a far cry away from the little boy who was raised up on a council estate who had saved up to buy himself a Bible. O yes, I did it. In 1986, and I still have that Bible and I read from it until the covers came off. As life progressed on I often found myself at loggerheads with wrong concepts and misinterpretations of the Bible in churches. I tried to remain faithful to what is written in Scripture but there is such a thing as false teachers and they don’t care what the Scriptures say. I have preached and taught many times in churches and on more than one occasion I have had to walk away. These circumstances often leave a person feeling drained and anxious, and feelings of despair can try and crush a man when his faith is harassed. I have faced this reality many times and it is a cost of choosing to be loyal to Scripture. There I was with a Bible in one hand and a guitar in the other. O yes, I’m a musician and I made my first official solo album while I was studying for my theology degree. Even while I was trekking through Greek islands like Rhodes and Kos (Acts 21: 1), and Crete (Acts 27: 7-12) in search of St Paul and Titus (Titus 1: 5). I was creating music back in England while editing documentaries I had filmed. It had been a hard creative road and all the while, this book has had rewrite after rewrite, revision upon revision. I have carried it with me at all times, waiting for that final day when I will be happy to release it and see it in print. But as time went on, things began to change. Public awareness began to grow and a certain claim I had made came to pass. In my thesis in 2010 I had claimed that one day Biblical discoveries would be made that confirm the Biblical truth and since then the City of David in Jerusalem has been unearthed. Solomon’s kingdom has been proven. No end of Biblical discoveries have been made. Likewise, public perception and knowledge of the Bible has improved. People are raising public awareness of historical facts and places associated with the Bible. No longer are critical and sceptical university scholars and media barons ruling the roost. It’s Hollywood in your pocket, the days of media outlets and film companies controlling the narrative are over. People can freely watch YouTube videos and read articles that at one time would never have been published or made. We have witnessed the decline of Christianity in Britain, now we are seeing some changes. There is a renewed interest in the faith and Bible sales have increased. So I hope this book inspires and challenges its readers and helps people to have a renewed confidence in the authority and historicity of the Bible. To look beyond ourselves and to the lands in which it was written. Because the most important Book in the world (the Bible) is either entirely true or it is entirely false. In this book I want to communicate that these critical and sceptical scholars are the ones the British media has given rise to since the late 1990’s and early to mid 2000’s. But the battle has been happening a long time before then. The movement goes all the way back to the 18th century. It began quite moderate but, in modern times these scholars have shredded the historicity of the Bible in the minds of many people.”

The Divine Saviour In The Dark Light Of Modern Critical and Sceptical Scholarship” is available now in paperback from Amazon

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I have written my first hymn

For many years I have been a great lover of wonderful old hymns. Guide Me O, Thou Great Jehovah, The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, is ended and How Great Thou Art. All of these hymns have inspired me greatly throughout my life and I have been a worship leader a number of times and sung many great Christian worship songs.

Last year I read Keith and Kristyn Getty’s book “Sing” and it’s all about Christian music and the value of hymn writing. I was very motivated by this and while revisiting the Greek Island of Kos I wrote my first hymn.

Kos is very important to me as a Christian and I’ve made documentaries about it and explored St. Paul’s connection to the island (Acts 21: 1). It has been a long journey and this has contributed to my writing this song.

The hymn is not presently released but my wife and I have sung it. Jenny has been very instrumental in helping me make my documentaries and I’m very thankful to her and I have faith to believe that the Lord has given me this song as a nice gift and He will use it to His own glory and praise.

I believe the hymn will one day be a blessing to Christian’s everywhere, regardless of denomination or circumstances.

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APOSTLE PAUL and the Island of Hippocrates

It has been exactly ten years to this very day that I have been presenting Biblically inspired articles on this website. One of my first articles was published on October 18, 2011 on the theme “The Experience of Visiting Biblical Sites” Today, on October 18, 2021, I am continuing to share that joyful experience with my latest documentary.

This documentary is dedicated to my mother Joyce Sutherland, who went home to be with the Lord earlier this year.

I feel now a sense of completion that an era, or particular season, is drawing to to close. Ten years is a long time and I sense somewhat of a closure.

Over the last ten years I have stated many things that I believe, and that I will always do. So as a testimony to my faith, the articles published here will remain and represent a particular era of my life. I have much more to do and see and next year it will be exactly ten years (again) that I have been making Biblical Documentaries. These films simply reflect my personal faith. That will also be made complete.

But as for now, I sense a wind of change. I have said for many years “There’s an East Wind coming” and I believe it has come and will. But for now, as I withdraw to my curtain of silence, I leave you with a quote from THE COLLECT out of the Book of Common Prayer, for this day, October 18, SAINT LUKE THE EVANGELIST.

ALMIGHTY God, who calledst Luke the Physician, whose praise is in the Gospel, to be an Evangelist, and Physician of the soul: May it please thee that, by the wholesome medicines of the doctrine delivered by him, all the diseases of our souls may be healed; through the merits of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

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Apostle Paul and the Island of Hippocrates

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New documentary on Kos and the Gospel ‘coming in 2016’

Kos

Kos and the Gospel documentary with Simon Peter Sutherland © 2015

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