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Three things continually strike me about the nature of contemporary culture and its discourse. They are quite distinctive, and in many ways contradictory—or at least in tension with one another. But they are clearly present, and they are each things that make culture inhospitable to the Church of England. The first is the rapidity of … Continue Reading
I am reposting here the article I wrote last year—because I have been struck again how often the message of Christmas is summed up as ‘Jesus was born in a stable’, both within and beyond the church. If we take the New Testament texts seriously, this simply is not true, so cannot be the heart … Continue Reading
Is it possible to preach or speak in a way which acknowledges tradition and its value, but at the same time seeks to move through or beyond the traditions of Christmas and focus on the actual meaning of Christmas in the New Testament accounts? Here is an outline of my attempt to do so from last Sunday. You might be assured to learn that I did leave the church building unharmed.
At this time of year there are a myriad of opportunities to speak on local radio, and now even on local television channels. I was fortunate enough to do a media training course as part of my ordination training (despite the fact that residential training is apparently supposed to be bookish and irrelevant to ministry!) … Continue Reading
There are two perennial truths about the celebration of Christmas. The first is that fewer and fewer in our culture, and particular younger people, know anything of the Christmas story and so are ignorant of the ‘reason for the season.’ But the other truth, less often focussed on, is that many of our Christmas traditions … Continue Reading
The Church of England appears to have a double-minded approach to secular, business expertise. On the one hand, it often wilfully ignores it, to its detriment. At other times, it appears to embrace it uncritically, disconnecting it from theological insight. There is certainly no doubt that, in a number of places, the Church needs to … Continue Reading
This time last year I watched the film Gravity. The effects were spectacular, the photography breathtaking, the characterisations engaging, and the story held one’s attention throughout. It even raised some profound (religious?) questions about life, death and purpose. And yet, when I left the cinema, I could not decide whether I had enjoyed the film or not. … Continue Reading
A few weeks ago I was in a meeting at the school where I am a governor to review last year’s performance against targets. As we were looking at each subject area, and the ‘added value’ the school had brought to the results, mapped against ‘expected achievement’, we (quite naturally) fell into a kind of … Continue Reading
Last Sunday I was speaking at St Ann’s with Emmanuel, an inner-urban church in Nottingham, using the lectionary gospel reading of Mark 1.1–8. I trace here the move from the text itself to the all-age talk and activity, and include details of the PowerPoint presentation I used. Features of the text The most striking thing … Continue Reading
The Coalition Government’s so-called Autumn Statement (since when was December in Autumn, I wonder?) was, according to Danny Alexander, the last big financial statement before next year’s election. So it seemed appropriate to try and offer some theological reflection on it, as it sets out the stall of both parties (to some extent) in the run-up … Continue Reading
This guest post by Andrew Goddard assesses an important contribution to the debate about same-sex unions. James V. Brownson, Bible, Gender, Sexuality: Reframing the Church’s Debate on Same-Sex Relationships (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2013). ISBN 978-0-8028-6863-3. The General Synod’s decision to approve women bishops was immediately followed by questions as to whether the church would now change its … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Adjunct Professor, Fuller Theological Seminary; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
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