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+

Recovering the lost virtue of naiveté

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  ‘Gosh, I never realised….X’. ‘Really? I knew that ages ago—it’s pretty common knowledge you know!’ I wonder if you’ve ever had that kind of conversation—at work, or church, or amongst friends or family. You have assumed that things are as they were claimed to be, or presented, but all the time ‘everybody’ ‘knew’ that … Continue Reading

The Pope, same-sex unions, and the blessing of fornicating boxers

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Joshua Penduck writes: ‘Pope says Roman Catholic priests can bless same-sex couples’ declared the BBC News website. It was not alone in this. Anglo-American newspapers, news outlets, and websites emblazoned across their banners this seemingly huge shift in the ethics and polity of the Roman Catholic Church. Liberal Roman Catholics such as James Martin SJ … Continue Reading

Are all sins the same?

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When particular issues come up for debate, or are the focus of dispute amongst Christians, a question that is commonly lurking in the background—and might make its presence felt explicitly—is ‘why this issue?’ ‘Why are we not talking about all the other things we might debate?’ In some contexts, this can function as ‘whataboutery’, a … Continue Reading

Why do Matthew and Luke offer us different nativity stories?

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James Bejon offers this fascinating exploration of the differences between Matthew and Luke. For a discussion of the historical issues in Luke’s nativity narrative, see this article. As Christians, most of us are familiar with harmonised versions of the NT’s birth narratives. We see them acted out each year in Nativity plays (if we subject … Continue Reading

John the Baptist’s testimony in John 1

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The lectionary gospel reading for Advent 3 is John 1.6–8 and 19–28, which picks out parts of John the Baptist’s testimony from the first chapter of the Fourth Gospel. Despite being highly selective from this remarkable opening chapter, it nevertheless contains key words and ideas that are carried through the whole gospel. Perhaps the most … Continue Reading

Commending Prayers of Love and Faith—more questions than answers

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Andrew Goddard writes: Following General Synod, the House of Bishops has to decide (perhaps this Tuesday, 12th December) on two key matters relating to Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF): whether and when to commend the Suite of Prayers for use in regular services under Canon B5 and how to proceed with the “standalone services” that … Continue Reading

The testimony of John the Baptist in John 1 video discussion

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The lectionary gospel reading for Advent 3 is John 1.6–8 and 19–28, which picks out parts of John the Baptist’s testimony from the first chapter of the Fourth Gospel. Despite being highly selective from this remarkable opening chapter, it nevertheless contains key words and ideas that are carried through the whole gospel. Come and join … Continue Reading