The Gospel Saturated Blog

The gospel is good news before it is good advice. It tells us who Jesus is, what he has done, and what that means for our lives and our world.

Faith & Life

Carrie Shaw
October 9, 2024

Gideon’s Fleece + The Dark Night Of The Soul

There was a time, not so long ago, when my world was very dark. Have you ever stood outside, on a moonless night, with the thick, velvety air pressed all around you and the inky black sky above, and realised that you could see precisely nothing? That's the kind of dark I mean.

Faith & Life

Carrie Shaw
January 13, 2024

Keeping The Faith

It's been nearly five years since the religious community I grew up in 'regretfully accepted my withdrawal from fellowship'. In reality, I did no such thing, their statement was simply an awkward and disingenuous way to excommunicate me because I could no longer affirm, without reservation, particular tenets they held to be watertight and immutable.

The Church

Carrie Shaw
August 29, 2023

Without The Applause: Examining Celebrity Culture In The Church

I recently wrote an article which I called 'Beneath The Skin'; a critique of sorts of modern Christianity and the Western church. In this article, I want to dig a little deeper, to take a closer look at one of the issues I think played a part in asking this question. I want to examine the phenomenon of celebrity culture within the modern Western church and, in particular, the influence this culture has had on the average, ordinary Christian.

History & Heroes Old Testament

Carrie Shaw
November 9, 2022

Ruth: The Inconsequential Outsider

The word of God is like a vast tapestry, its main theme interwoven with many subplots and side stories that run like golden threads through an intricate design. Each of these threads complements the complete telling of God's story and narrates again and again to us the way in which God views our world and us, the people who inhabit it. The story of Ruth, a seemingly inconsequential outsider, is one of these golden threads.

Faith & Life Origins & Authority

Carrie Shaw
July 16, 2022

Beyond The Pale

"By the 14th century, the Norman invasion of Ireland was struggling. Too many Normans had "gone native", assimilated into Irish life. The remaining settlers had retreated to just four eastern counties: Louth, Meath, Dublin, and Kildare. These four "obedient shires" were the only part of Ireland still under the control of the English crown. The king's perimeter was marked with wooden fence posts pounded into the Irish turf. These were called "pales," from the Latin palus, meaning "stake."

Progressive Christianity The Church

Carrie Shaw
April 9, 2022

Will Progressive Christianity Destroy The Church?

I want to talk about something that’s been on my mind for a while. Some time ago, I watched a commentary by a ‘Christian pastor’ that totally shocked me. In fact, I haven't really stopped thinking about it since. I found it disturbing; equal parts ridiculous and horrifying, and I really couldn’t believe it was being presented under the guise of legitimate Christianity

Faith & Life Origins & Authority

Carrie Shaw
December 9, 2021

Leaving

Leaving is never because of just one thing. Not really. It's the result of a thousand, inconsequential one things that all converge in a single moment of sudden, irreconcilable difference. For me, the eventual leaving of the religious community I grew up in began as a tiny question fluttering at the back of my mind.

Faith & Life The Church

Carrie Shaw
March 23, 2020

A Christian Response To The Global Crisis

How we, as Christians, respond in times of crisis is not just vitally important for our own faith and for our witness of the gospel, it's important for the well-being of those around us, who may be struggling with doubts and fears in what is a very distressing and anxious time.

Discipleship Ethics & Justice Faith & Life The Church

Carrie Shaw
February 4, 2020

Keep Your Eyes On Jesus

We’re called to a radical life. This is a life in which we’re called to follow someone we’ve never seen. We’ve heard about him but we’ve never seen him with our own eyes. We’ve 'believed the report', the good message about who Jesus is and why he came, and our hearts have been convicted to follow him. And even though we haven’t seen him, we love him.

Discipleship Jesus

Carrie Shaw
August 26, 2019

What Is A Disciple?

In the original language of the New Testament, the word disciple is translated from a Greek word, mathētēs (μαθητὴς), from manthano, meaning "to learn". Mathētēs therefore means (unsurprisingly) a learner, a pupil or a scholar. More accurately though, it means to be a learner in the style of an apprentice, that is, someone who not only accepts the views of their teacher but is also practicising the same so as to eventually become like their teacher (Matthew 10:24, Luke 6:40).

Discipleship Faith & Life New Testament

Carrie Shaw
May 28, 2019

Toxic Faith

Toxic faith is a destructive and dangerous relationship with a religious system, not with God, that allows this system to control a person’s life in the name of God. It is a system where another gospel is preached – not one of freedom and liberty and acceptance through grace, but one, in reality, of enslavement to rituals and rules.

Discipleship Faith & Life

Carrie Shaw
July 2, 2018

Building Resilience

Resilience can sometimes be mistaken for indifference, unaccountability or emotional disconnection but in reality, resilience is the complete opposite of these things. It is the ability to truly face reality, to be responsible for our actions and to be emotionally vulnerable, if necessary. It is the inner strength that enables us to bounce back after facing unexpected challenges or setbacks.

Israel, The Church, and the Christian Conscience

Carrie Shaw October 10, 2026

What do Christianity and Judaism have in common, if anything? How should the Church understand its relationship with the Israel of today? What responsibilities do Christians have towards the Jewish

The Revival Of Antisemitism (Or Was It Ever Really Dead?)

Carrie Shaw October 7, 2026

The reality is, the world feels sharply split right now: pro-Palestinian or pro-Israeli, and the gap only seems to be getting wider. Along with that widening gap is a troubling

The Headship Bait-And-Switch

Carrie Shaw October 4, 2026

“The husband is the head of his wife.” It’s a favourite refrain in complementarian circles, particularly when the conversation turns to biblical manhood, leadership, and a husband’s supposed God-given authority

Israel, The Church, and the Christian Conscience

Carrie Shaw October 10, 2026

What do Christianity and Judaism have in common, if anything? How should the Church understand its relationship with the Israel of today? What responsibilities do Christians have towards the Jewish people? And how should our answers to these questions shape the way we engage in public discourse about contemporary political and social issues?