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I have written previously about whether Jesus had a beard, and three years ago commented on the discussion by Joan Taylor (of King’s College, London) about what Jesus looked like. Joan has now produced a terrific book drawing together her research, and the book takes us an intriguing journey into how people thought about Jesus. The … Continue Reading
At the recent Festival of Theology, we heard eight fascinating presentations on a range of subjects. This is a revised version of Alastair Robert’s presentation on virtue ethics in a virtual age and offers a brilliant insight into the dynamics of social media and their impact on discipleship. The Promise of Virtue Ethics Over recent … Continue Reading
At the recent Festival of Theology, we heard eight fascinating presentations on a range of subjects, and I am hoping to post them all here in due course. This was the text of John Allister’s presentation “What has Wall Street to do with Jerusalem?” In November, I was at a gathering of local church leaders. We … Continue Reading
Thousands of sermons and talks up and down the land will have attempted to answer this question in the last week. Why did Jesus come, and what are we celebrating at Christmas? Justin Welby’s sermon in Canterbury on Christmas Day focussed on the theme of freedom or liberation: In the manger is something completely different … Continue Reading
I am aware that all the readers of this blog are fastidious in their strict observance of liturgical seasons. So I am confident that, during this season of Advent, you will have only allowed yourself to sing Advent carols, and will not yet have either sung or planned to sing anything about Christmas until that … Continue Reading
There has been a great response to the idea of holding a Psephizo Festival of Theology at the end of January, and I received a good number of offers of papers, from which I have selected the ones below. Andy Tufnell, recently appointed vicar of Christchurch, Chilwell (on the west side of Nottingham), has also … Continue Reading
The high street baker Greggs released their first Advent Calendar last week and, as you will no doubt be aware, caused controversy by replacing Jesus in the manger with a sausage roll. There was the little flurry of ‘angry Christians protest’ stories, because newspaper columns only look interesting if there is conflict, and the more … Continue Reading
Will Jones writes: If we’re honest, we’re a bit confused about religion in the West. We know that we don’t want to end up like many Islamic countries, slavishly implementing a backward and brutal law code in the name of God. We also know that we believe in religious freedom, though aren’t sure how that relates … Continue Reading
One of the things I love about writing a blog is the fascinating interactions with the equally fascinating people who contribute to debate on social media and in the blog comments. So I have decided to host a one-day Festival of Theology on Tuesday 30th January 2018 here in Nottingham. The plan will be to … Continue Reading
What will be the legacy of the extraordinary expression of solidarity that has unfurled with the #metoo social media phenomenon? It was launched on the back of the allegations by actress Alyssa Milano of abuse by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein—but has travelled a long way from these celebrity elites. It has been clear, even from … Continue Reading
Richard Peers offers a thoughtful review of Talking to My Daughter About the Economy, Yanis Varoufakis, Bodley Head 2017 (2013): There is competition for the title ‘Queen of The Sciences’. Traditionally applied to theology as the summit of knowledge and the science which explained the meaning of things and held together the other areas of knowledge, the … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Adjunct Professor, Fuller Theological Seminary; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
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