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Most years I contribute to the Bible Reading Fellowship’s (BRF) Bible reading notes Guidelines. Some time ago I wrote on 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon, and share my thoughts as the Pastorals, whilst the focus for certain traditions, are neglected by many churches in their teaching. Here are my notes on 2 Timothy; tomorrow I will post the … Continue Reading
‘My brother Esau is an hairy man, but I am a smooth man’. For a generation (or two), Alan Bennett’s ‘Beyond the Fringe’ spoof of a pious sermon summed up everything that was dull about Bible reading and preaching in church. In this generation we have different challenges: dull monotone; or perhaps the ‘high rising … Continue Reading
‘Red-letter Christians‘ is a movement or network started in the States, but now coming to the UK, (primarily) initiated by Tony Campolo with the support of Jim Wallis. Alongside Campolo, another main contributor is Shane Claiborne, a leader in the New Monasticism movement. The name of the movement comes from the practice in some Bibles … Continue Reading
On this first Sunday of Lent, we are reflecting in the lectionary on the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness being tested by Satan, which offers us the pattern for the Lenten period—though it is worth noting at the outset both that the figure 40 in Scripture is often taken as an approximate … Continue Reading
I think I had been aware of The Bible Project very vaguely in the past, but for some reason only looked at it more carefully when someone told me how helpful they had found it in the last few days. I am not sure whether lots of friends are using it and just haven’t mentioned … Continue Reading
This is the third instalment of my notes written for BRF Guidelines Bible reading notes which have just come out and lead up to the Easter season. You can read the first instalment (…’creates a transformed community’) here and the second instalment (‘…the fulfilment of God’s promises’) here. If you are not encouraging those in your … Continue Reading
With the controversy about whether Jesus’ resurrection was bodily last week, it seems appropriate to continue to reflect on the meaning of the resurrection in Luke’s account of the early church in Acts. This is the second instalment of my notes written for BRF Guidelines Bible reading notes which have just come out and lead up … Continue Reading
You might be recoiling in horror at sight of Easter eggs already in the shop, knowing as you do that the Christmas season does not cease until Candlemas on February 3rd—and you might be shocked that, in apparently similar vein, I am already looking forward to Easter. The theological justification is that Easter is actually … Continue Reading
James Cary writes: Previously on this blog, the question has been posed: “Was Jesus funny?” In the last couple of years, as I’ve been writing my new book, The Sacred Art of Joking, I’ve concluded that yes, he was funny. I’ll tell you how and why in a moment. First, we have to briefly address … Continue Reading
It’s not uncommon in churches, when the time comes for the Bible reading, to see people reach not for a printed pew Bible, but for their phones, to read the Bible on a phone app. When I was in a session at New Wine this summer, the speaker at the morning Bible study (Miriam Swaffield) … Continue Reading
I was initially planning to call this post ‘Why is Revelation so difficult to interpret?’ There are lots of reasons for that. The first is that it is intricately connected with its historical context in ways which fundamentally affect the way we interpret it. Perhaps the best-known example of this is the question of what … 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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