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Mike Starkey writes: It’s early afternoon on Friday 16 October 2026. I enter the public transport office in central Strasbourg, next to the Alt Winmärik tram stop. Alt Winmärik means Old Wine Market in the old Germanic Alsace dialect. From the 14th century onwards, this street was the place wine was bought and sold. A … Continue Reading
The situation in the Middle East dominates our news—yet so much comment is woefully ill-informed. What do we need to understand, and how can the Church remedy its failure to be peacemakers in what it says and does? Will Briggs writes: There has rarely been a timelier book inserted into public discourse as Simon Sebag … Continue Reading
The Green Party has become one of the most extreme in the UK following its annual conference. If the Church of England bans clergy from being members of other extreme parties, why not this one? At their annual conference, the Green Party passed a number of measures, most of which went unreported. They included: Inclusive … Continue Reading
Why are our conversations (!) about Israel-Palestine so problematic? Why is there an apparently unbridgeable chasm between the two sets of views on this issue? Is there a way to actually listen well to each other? The Grove Ethics group has offered the beginnings of an answer. Two people, Colin Chapman and James Patrick, have … Continue Reading
International relations and the moral choices that go with them are complex. On what basis do we continue to trade with other countries with very different values from our own, and at what point do we cry ‘Enough is enough!’ and use economic sanctions to challenge what we regard as immorality? And what is our … Continue Reading
In July of this year, the General Synod voted to ‘hear’ the Kairos II Palestine document as a ‘cry’ of their Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters. This caused serious offence amongst the Jewish community, and was claimed to be deeply antisemitic by some commentators, whilst others welcomed it as a necessary step in listening to … Continue Reading
If gentiles are now coming to faith in Jesus, and many Jews are not, has the word of God and his promise to Israel failed? That is the critical question Paul starts to address in Roman 9.1–5, the epistle for Trinity 9 in Year A. This passage cannot be read in isolation, as Paul uses … Continue Reading
The Church of England’s motion on Kairos Palestine II has dismayed many of Jewish heritage, including Jewish Christians in the UK. If the Church of England wishes to hear Palestinian Christians—which it should—then it must also hear Jewish believers, Messianic Jews, Israeli Christians, Arab Christians and others whose lives reflect the profound complexity of the … Continue Reading
On Sunday evening, General Synod debate the Carlisle Diocesan motion (which they had passed in 2021) asking us to ‘receive’ the Kairos II Palestine document, which you can read here. The debate did not finish in time on Sunday evening, so (to some howls of protest) was adjourned until Monday morning, when the debate concluded, … Continue Reading
General Synod is planning to have a debate about the Kairos II Palestine document on Sunday night. In theory, it is claimed to be a listening to the voice of our Palestinian Christian brethren. But in reality, it proposes a selective and distorted account which is potential going to do irreparable harm to Jewish-Christian relations … Continue Reading
This Sunday’s lectionary reading for Advent 4 in Year A is Matt 1.18–25. It is a short reading, but laden with significance as Matthew gives his distinctive account of Jesus’ origins. (The epistle is Romans 1.1–7, in which Paul introduces all the main ideas of his whole letter! See the video discussion of that here, … 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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Gospel commentary index Lectionary Year A
Andrew Goddard Bible biblical interpretation Biblical literacy biblical theology Church of England culture discipleship discussion doctrine eschatology evangelism gay General Synod Grove guest Hermeneutics History hope interpretation James Blandford Baker Jesus John's gospel Justin Welby leadership lectionary Luke Luke's gospel Matthew ministry mission New Testament Paul politics power preaching Revelation same sex marriage same sex unions sexuality theology video Year A Year B Year C
