Scholarship • Serving • Ministry – Ian Paul
Oh Mark—where have you been, with your dynamic directness, your parataxis and imitation of Old Testament narrative, your puns on ‘straightway’ and your dense biblical allusions? We have missed you! And yet—it is we who left you, whilst you have been waiting patiently all this time. We were seduced by the Beloved Disciple, with his …
The lectionary reading for Easter 6 in Year B is the second half of what appears to be a single section of Jesus’ teaching, in his ‘Farewell Discourse’, John 15.9–17. On the one hand, it seems strange to have divided this teaching into its two halves. On the other, whilst there is a continuing overarching …
The lectionary gospel readers for the Fourth Sunday of Easter take the three parts of John 10 in turn; in Year A, we read the first ten verses, and now in Year B we look at the second section. But this is a good example of where our modern chapter divisions (first created by Stephen …
In our mid-week church community, from time to time we reflect on some tough questions that others have asked us or that niggle at us ourselves. Recently one of the members asked the question: Why do some people find ‘faith’ (believing in God) easier than others? There are several different dimensions to this question. The …
The lectionary gospel reading for the fifth Sunday in Lent in Year B is John 12.20–33, and here we are reading the text in a strange order! There are clear indications that this passage follows on, in terms of both contexts and themes, from the first part of John 12, which describes the so-called ‘triumphal …
The lectionary gospel reading for the fifth Sunday in Lent in Year B is John 12.20–33, and here we are reading the text in a strange order! There are clear indications that this passage follows on, in terms of both contexts and themes, from the first part of John 12, which describes the so-called ‘triumphal …
The key conviction amongst Christians with the Protestant denominations is that ordinary readers can understand the Bible and hear God speaking to them through it, without the need for priestly control of its interpretation. The Book of Revelation is one of the biggest tests of this conviction! As a result, one of my concerns, alongside …
The gospel lectionary reading for Lent 2 in Year B is Mark 8.31-38, Jesus’ call on all those who would follow him to ‘take up their cross’ and walk the path that he did. This includes one of the first verses I learnt by heart as a new Christian (Mark 8.34), but it is also …
The gospel lectionary reading for Lent 2 in Year B is Mark 8.31-38, Jesus’ call on all those who would follow him to ‘take up their cross’ and walk the path that he did. This includes one of the first verses I learnt by heart as a new Christian (Mark 8.34), but it is also …
The introductory textbooks Exploring the New Testament are a fantastic one-stop guide to engaging with the gospels and Acts (volume 1) and the letters and Revelation (volume 2). Published by SPCK, volume 1 has just been issued in a third, substantially revised, edition. (The third edition of volume 2, to which I have contributed, will be …
The Sunday lectionary gospel reading for the First Sunday of Lent in Year B is Mark 1.9–15. I have to say I am finding what the lectionary is doing with the opening chapter of Mark’s gospel is a bit odd, and would love to hear an explanation from anyone who understands it! (John 1–2 gets …
