Ian Paul

Ian Paul is a theologian, writer and speaker. Associate Minister at St Nic's, Nottingham and Honorary Lecturer at the University of Nottingham. Mac user and chocoholic. Ian Paul on Google+

Promoting Christenings

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The Church of England has just launched a new website for those interesting in having their children baptised, or ‘christened’ as the website mostly calls it. (The language here is a little odd: at one point it says ‘Baptism is the heart of the christening’; I had thought the two words were usually used synonymously.) And very impressive it is too. Or is it?

The Rolf Harris affair

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With the conviction of Rolf Harris on 12 counts of sexual abuse, it is difficult to know what aspect of the whole affair is most shocking. Is it the length of time that Harris was active as an abuser? Or the age of his victims—one as young as seven? Or the devastating impact of his actions … Continue Reading

Can we pray for the dead?

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Andrew Goddard writes: To encourage and enable commemoration of the First World War, the Liturgical Commission of the Church of England recently produced a number of resources. They raise an interesting issue for evangelical Anglicans – what do we think about praying for the dead? It is in some ways appropriate that this centenary should bring … Continue Reading

Church investment: unethical? Unbiblical?

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The historic investments of the Church of England are managed by the Church Commissioners, who are formally independent of Church leadership though report to General Synod. They hit the headlines in the 1980s when they lost a staggering £800 million, largely through unwise property speculation, and though there have been glitches since then, the financial … Continue Reading

Vicky Beeching and the sexuality debate

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Vicky Beeching is a reasonably well-known figure in media circles. She often comments on Sky News about Christianity in the public sphere, is a contributor to Thought for the Day, and (rather occasionally now) blogs. Vicky studied theology at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford, then spent 8 years in the States where she established a reputation … Continue Reading

How to file your sermons

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Filing and organising past sermons doesn’t sound like a thrilling or life-changing activity. But in fact there are a number of good reasons to give it some attention: It helps to see what you have been preaching on, the diet you have been giving people, and the diet you yourself have enjoyed. Is it balanced? … Continue Reading

Is God a warrior? (part 2)

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(continued from the previous post here) Fourth, as we move from the united kingdom to the return from exile, the prophet Zechariah reinforces this perspective. Many people know the verse from Zechariah 4.6: ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit’ says the Lord. But what is not always realised is that the re-establishment … Continue Reading

Is God a warrior?

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Events of recent weeks offer a serious challenge to our thinking about God and conflict. The video released by the ISIS group of militant Sunni Muslims fighting in Iraq included an British Muslim from Cardiff urging others to join him. In the video he makes three claims: that jihad (understood by some Muslims as a spiritual struggle) … Continue Reading

Work, power and fruitfulness

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Earlier today, I read a blog post which started by mentioning ‘one of the most powerful Christian leaders in the world.’ I don’t think I read much further. What on earth could such a comment mean? I was particularly struck by because of a conversation I had had a couple of weeks earlier. I visited … Continue Reading

Schools, faith and tolerance

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The case of the supposed ‘Trojan Horse’ infiltration of some Birmingham schools by ‘Islamic fundamentalists’ has, of course, generated more heat than light. And it was only a matter of time before the spotlight was turned on Christian ‘fundamentalist’ schools. On Newsnight last night (starting at 26:20 into the programme), Jeremy Paxman introduced the issue by asking: ‘Where does belief end and bigotry begin?’