Scholarship • Serving • Ministry – Ian Paul
Ian Paul
The Church of England has relaunched its website, and it looks good (fortunately with a bit less of that wishy-washy purple). But one thing has not changed: a phrase sitting just under the logo: A Christian presence in every community (or a slight variation of it). It appears in Church Commissioners’ reports, in Synod papers, …
In the Ephesus Museum in Selcuk there is the head and left forearm of a colossal acrolith (a statue with stone head and limbs and body of wood) which is labelled there (and in the ruins of Ephesus) as a statue of Domitian. However, I think there is a strong case for believing this is …
Summary: This article, along with supporting linked data that enables exploration of the election results, seeks to offer an initial analysis of the recent elections to General Synod. After noting the complexities that such an analysis faces, it provides an overview of some of the key features of the election results. The composition of the …
The lectionary epistle for the Third Sunday before Advent in Year A is 1 Thessalonians 4.13-18. This is notorious for being used to teach the idea of the ‘secret rapture’ of believers before Jesus’ return, so that those who are alive are snatched up to heaven. The Greek term harpazo is translated in the Vulgate by …
In 2018, I sensed God calling me to write a weekly commentary on the gospel lectionary reading for the following Sunday. So I began with Year C, when the main gospel was Luke, and worked through the following three years. Then, in 2021, I started producing video versions of these commentaries—but it didn’t work doing …
Maggie and I are planning to lead another study trip to western Turkey next autumn, from Tuesday 28th September to Thursday 7th October 2027 inclusive visiting Istanbul and the seven cities of Revelation, plus some other key sites of archaeological importance. It is a great time of year to go, as the weather is warm …
A lengthy new report argues that the primary reason for decline in the Church of England is the wrong allocation of money and resources. It proposes that decisions about ministry should be delegated to deaneries, and that this will resolve many of its problems. But do its claims stand up to scrutiny—even on the report’s …
The term ‘love’ is clearly important in the New Testament in a range of contexts. But modern use of ‘love’ shifts its meaning into all sorts of different areas. One solution to this has been to distinguish the different Greek terms for ‘love’ in Scripture. But this approach does not stand scrutiny, so cannot solve …
The lectionary reading for All Saints in Year A is Rev 7.9–17—an extraordinary vision of the people of God, which begins at the start of the chapter, in the interlude between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals. Our video discussion is linked below, followed by an extract from my commentary on Revelation 7. …
The late Richard Hays’ book The Moral Vision of the New Testament was a landmark work that offered a serious, structured approach to the question of how the New Testament should shape Christian ethical thinking. To mark 30 years since its publication, Cherryl Hunt, Nick Moore, and Tim Murray have edited a new volume New Testament Ethics: …
There has been a growing movement claiming that Christianity calls for a certain kind of masculinity, protesting against a perceived feminisation of the faith. Is there any grounds for this? What kind of language do we find in the New Testament? This article explores the issues around Paul’s language ‘act like men’ in 1 Cor …
