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Ian Paul
Justin Welby’s resignation as Archbishop of Canterbury is truly unprecedented. No archbishop has ever, in the history of the Church of England, resigned—not even in 1621 when the primate of all England shot and killed a gamekeeper with a crossbow while hunting. It has felt like a very strange week; when I think back to … Continue Reading
The theme for the Tyndale Fellowship New Testament Study Group in 2025 is Eschatology in the New Testament, and we are meeting from Monday 30th June to Wednesday 2nd July 2025 at the excellent conference facility of The Hayes Conference Centre, Derbyshire, UK. It is easily accessible by train from London, and off the M1 by … Continue Reading
The Sunday lectionary reading for the Second Sunday before Advent in Year B is Mark 13.1–8. This feels a little odd, in that we last visited Mark 13 all the way back last Advent, when this lectionary year was just beginning, and the reading is quite truncated and only really makes sense when the chapter … Continue Reading
Mark 13 is paradoxically a passage many find difficult and challenging—but one of our favourites to talk about! Popular reading takes it to be about the end of the world and Jesus’ return—but there are clear indications in the text that this is not the case. When it is read in the context of the … Continue Reading
Note: please see link to sign the petition at the end of this article. Ann Onymous writes: Our late Queen famously once said ‘recollections may vary’. Ever the diplomat. Our current Archbishop was known to be a huge fan of Her Majesty. In a 2021 BBC Newscast interview when he was asked about the need … Continue Reading
A few weeks ago, I was on a discussion panel on a local TV station, and near the end of the hour, the question of assisted dying came up, and (wearing my dog collar) I was asked my views. I felt I was unprepared, and I reached for the common practical issues of care for … Continue Reading
I write a quarterly column for Preach magazine, in which I explore a significant word or phrase in the Bible, or a theme or section of Scripture, and the ideas that it expresses. At the end of this piece I list the previous articles I have written for them. Here I explore what Scripture says … Continue Reading
The Sunday gospel lectionary for the Third Sunday before Advent at the end of this Year B is Mark 1.14-20, the beginning of Jesus’ active ministry in Galilee following his baptism in the Jordan and testing in the wilderness. I have to say I have found what the lectionary does with the opening chapter of Mark’s … Continue Reading
As we reach the end of the lectionary year, we are going back to the beginning, to where we started in the Gospel of Mark! This reading overlaps with some of the earlier ones in the year, but also patches in the verses that we previously missed out. As usual with Mark, his account is … Continue Reading
Andrew Goddard writes: After much pre-publicity, which I reflected on at the time, The Widening of God’s Mercy: Sexuality within the Biblical Story (Yale University Press) has finally appeared. This enables an end to speculation as to why New Testament scholar, Richard B Hays (writing here with his son, Old Testament scholar, Christopher) has changed … Continue Reading
In September, Dr Logan Williams (University of Aberdeen) published a truly fascinating open-access academic article ‘The Stomach Purifies All Foods: Jesus’ Anatomical Argument in Mark 7.18–19‘ in the prestigious journal New Testament Studies. The essay won the Paul J. Achtemeier Award for New Testament Scholarship from the Society of Biblical Literature (the main global Anglophone … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Associate Senior Research Fellow, Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod and Archbishops' Council. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
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Gospel commentary index Lectionary Year A
Andrew Goddard Bible biblical interpretation Biblical literacy biblical theology Christmas Church of England culture discipleship discussion doctrine eschatology evangelism gay General Synod Grove guest Hermeneutics History hope interpretation James Blandford Baker Jesus John's gospel Justin Welby leadership lectionary Luke Luke's gospel Matthew ministry mission New Testament Paul politics power preaching Revelation same sex unions sexuality theology video Year A Year B Year C
