Scholarship • Serving • Ministry – Ian Paul
In the Ephesus Museum in Selcuk there is the head and left forearm of a colossal acrolith (a statue with stone head and limbs and body of wood) which is labelled there (and in the ruins of Ephesus) as a statue of Domitian. However, I think there is a strong case for believing this is …
The lectionary epistle for the Third Sunday before Advent in Year A is 1 Thessalonians 4.13-18. This is notorious for being used to teach the idea of the ‘secret rapture’ of believers before Jesus’ return, so that those who are alive are snatched up to heaven. The Greek term harpazo is translated in the Vulgate by …
In 2018, I sensed God calling me to write a weekly commentary on the gospel lectionary reading for the following Sunday. So I began with Year C, when the main gospel was Luke, and worked through the following three years. Then, in 2021, I started producing video versions of these commentaries—but it didn’t work doing …
Maggie and I are planning to lead another study trip to western Turkey next autumn, from Tuesday 28th September to Thursday 7th October 2027 inclusive visiting Istanbul and the seven cities of Revelation, plus some other key sites of archaeological importance. It is a great time of year to go, as the weather is warm …
The term ‘love’ is clearly important in the New Testament in a range of contexts. But modern use of ‘love’ shifts its meaning into all sorts of different areas. One solution to this has been to distinguish the different Greek terms for ‘love’ in Scripture. But this approach does not stand scrutiny, so cannot solve …
The lectionary reading for All Saints in Year A is Rev 7.9–17—an extraordinary vision of the people of God, which begins at the start of the chapter, in the interlude between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals. Our video discussion is linked below, followed by an extract from my commentary on Revelation 7. …
There has been a growing movement claiming that Christianity calls for a certain kind of masculinity, protesting against a perceived feminisation of the faith. Is there any grounds for this? What kind of language do we find in the New Testament? This article explores the issues around Paul’s language ‘act like men’ in 1 Cor …
In the epistle for Trinity 21 in Year A, 1 Thess 2.1–8, Paul and his co-authors explain their approach to ministry, but do so by appeal to what the Thessalonians knew of them. They distance themselves from itinerant philosophers, who speak out of personal gain, and instead talk of being entrusted with the gospel of …
The gospel reading for Trinity 20 in Year A is Matthew 22.15–22, the short exchange between Jesus and his opponents on the question of the Roman ‘poll’ tax. This has important theological implications for our understanding of issues of politics and power, though it is often misread. Jesus doesn’t teach the ‘separate realms’ that many …
Paul’s opens his earliest letter, 1 Thessalonians (the reading for Trinity 20 in Years A) with a range of remarkable affirmations. Already he is expressing in nuce things that he will expand on in later letters. But the pattern remains consistent all through his writing. What do we learn from this, and how do we …
The lectionary gospel for Trinity 19 in Year A is Matthew 22.1–14, the parable of the wedding banquet. This is the third of three parables about judgement in this section of the gospel, and these wider chapters all focus on judgement (we will be hearing more about this before we reach Advent), so you might …
