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+

Do we need to ‘interpret’ the Bible?

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Some years ago a well-known Christian leader, minister of a large and influential church, proclaimed: I don’t interpret the Bible. I just tell you what it says. How you react to that statement will say quite a lot about your attitude to the Bible, its interpretation, and the role of ministry. On the one hand, … Continue Reading

What we should do about Syria

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There is one thing all agree on the subject of Syria: the suffering is appalling and intolerable. And there is one thing no-one can agree on: what we should do about it. A good starting place is to understand the complexity of the situation. One person commenting on Nick Baines’s blog cries in despair ‘How … Continue Reading

Jesus the misunderstood revolutionary

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The latest ‘new discovery’ about Jesus that has been hitting the headlines and topping the best-seller lists is Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan. Aslan holds some personal interest in the question, since he was apparently raised in a Christian home but converted to Islam. The blurb on Amazon … Continue Reading

On the cross when Jesus died, was ‘the wrath of God satisfied’?

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I recently posted on Facebook a link to the decision in the Presbyterian Church (USA) to drop the  hymn “In Christ Alone” because the song’s authors refused to change a phrase about the wrath of God. The original lyrics say that “on that cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied.” The Presbyterian Committee … Continue Reading

Our bodies our sexuality

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Sean Doherty, who is on the staff of St Mellitus in London, offered two teaching sessions at New Wine on the subject of same-sex sexual relations and the current debate. He tells his story, along with others, in a recent edition of Christianity magazine. In essence, he understood himself as same-sex attracted as long as … Continue Reading

What is an Anglican?

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I have just picked up, from the IVP bookstall, The Accidental Anglican by Todd Hunter. Hunter came to faith through the Jesus Movement, then planted churches with Vineyard, before becoming an Anglican bishop with the Anglican Mission in the Americas, the ‘protest’ Anglican church supported by Anglicans from Uganda [correction: Rwanda]. I was most fascinated to … Continue Reading

What the church needs now

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This short essay under the title ‘The future of the Church in the UK’ won the LST/EA ‘Rising Theologian’ competition. It is written by Matt Walmsley, leader of Agape Student Life, part of Agape UK. We stand at the greatest moment of opportunity for the church since the Second World War[i]. However, recent church PR hasn’t been … Continue Reading

Resurrection

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The idea of resurrection is central to Christian belief and theology—but it is also the key idea which separates the New Testament from the Old. The Old Testament appears to assume that, after death, people continue in some sort of shadowy existence in a place called Sheol—often translated ‘grave’ or ‘pit’ in English Bibles. There … Continue Reading

Welby and Wonga

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Earlier this week, Justin Welby appeared to declare war on so-called ‘payday loan’ companies, specifically Wonga.com. He claimed he wanted to ‘put them out of business’, not through legislation, but by offering an alternative through Church support of credit unions. But within 27 minutes of the first story being published, it emerged that the Church … Continue Reading

How often did Jesus’ followers fast?

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How often did the first Jesus-followers fast? Was it an occasional thing, focused on specific events or causes? Or was it something more habitual and regular, an integral part of their devotional life? As most studies of the subject point out, fasting in the Old Testament was associated either with particular festivals (such as the … Continue Reading