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Ian Paul
Andrew Bunt has just written an excellent new Grove booklet in the Ethics series, Three or More: Reflections on Polyamory and Consensual Non-monogamy. I was able to catch up with him and ask him about why he wrote the booklet, and what we need to think about on this issue. IP: Why have you decided to … Continue Reading
The final reading from John 6, for Trinity 13 in Year B, ends with many of Jesus’ disciples turning away, together with Jesus’ response. Typically Johannine, the passage and Jesus’ speech folds in new ideas about the Father, the Spirit, life, and believing in Jesus. Come and join Ian and James as they explore the … Continue Reading
Andrew Goddard writes: I was rather shocked a couple of years ago when I spotted in my Twitter feed the following tweet from the Archbishop of Canterbury: Today we mark the Feast of the #Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Like Mary, let each of us say our yes to God’s call and trust the boundless … Continue Reading
John Root writes: Eric Kaufmann’s Taboo (reviewed last week here) is centrally about the damaging slippage in Anglophone culture from ‘cultural liberalism’ (such as equality of opportunity) to ‘cultural socialism’ (such as equality of outcome); a process that requires cancelling the expression of resistant ideas, inflated concern about the dangers of ‘harm’, and an increased … Continue Reading
We are in the fourth of five weeks in the lectionary winding our way slowly through the feeding of the 5,000 in John 6 and the following discourse, in which Jesus declares he is the bread of life, and that he will feed all who come to him. The reading for Trinity 12 in this … Continue Reading
John Root offers this review of Eric Kaufmann’s Taboo: How making Race sacred produced a Cultural Revolution. The week-end before last the Wireless Festival was held in Finsbury Park just down the road from my home. Amongst the items that attendees were prohibited from bringing were ‘Clothing, garments, items which promote cultural appropriation’. What’s going … Continue Reading
Andrew Goddard writes: A recent service at York Minster in which the Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF) were used for two men who had entered a civil same-sex marriage has ignited controversy, highlighted several problems, and raised the question as to whether people are playing fast and loose (PFL) with PLF. The initial social … Continue Reading
The lectionary gospel reading for Trinity 11 in this Year B (Trinity 10 three years ago) is John 6.35, 41–51 which continues our exploration of the ‘Bread of Life’ discourse from last week, following on from the feeding of the 5,000. Once again, we have an odd selection of passage: we are given only 11 … Continue Reading
Martin Davie writes: In a letter of 2 July this year to the signatories of a letter from the Alliance group within the Church of England to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishop of Oxford wrote as follows: The mind of the majority House of Bishops now seems to me to be settling … Continue Reading
What a dramatic spectacle it was, as it unfolded! I am not referring to the Olympic opening ceremony, which was spectacular in parts, but also rather long and drawn out, full of slightly obscure allusions to French cultural ideas (was ours better in 2012? Yes, I think it was less obscure), and at times seemed … Continue Reading
We continue through our careful reading of John 6 as an intermission from Mark’s gospel, and on Trinity 10 in Year B the gospel reading is John 6.24–35. Having romped through 21 verses last week, which include the Fourth Gospel’s lengthier version of the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water (though in … 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 preaching Revelation same sex marriage same sex unions sexuality theology video Year A Year B Year C
