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I am heading back (on Sunday) from what I can only describe as an inspirational service at Canterbury Cathedral where my friend Rob Innes was ordained as the new Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe. (Yes, formal Anglican services can be inspirational!). The recent debate about women bishops (which might continue, for reasons below) raises the … Continue Reading
The Church of England has just launched a new website for those interesting in having their children baptised, or ‘christened’ as the website mostly calls it. (The language here is a little odd: at one point it says ‘Baptism is the heart of the christening’; I had thought the two words were usually used synonymously.) And very impressive it is too. Or is it?
The historic investments of the Church of England are managed by the Church Commissioners, who are formally independent of Church leadership though report to General Synod. They hit the headlines in the 1980s when they lost a staggering £800 million, largely through unwise property speculation, and though there have been glitches since then, the financial … Continue Reading
I have written a Grove booklet on Same-sex Unions: the key biblical texts which is available from the Grove website. It explores, briefly, all the main biblical texts in the Old and New Testaments which come up in the debate on the issue. Here is the chapter on the gospels and Acts. The material in the gospels … Continue Reading
Like any teenager nurtured in an evangelical context, I suffered from a constant, nagging sense of guilt that I was not an evangelist. If bringing other people to faith was the main task of Christians, how come I wasn’t better at it? The trouble was, whenever I tried to be an evangelist, I just ended … Continue Reading
Jeremy Fletcher thinks there should be no more blog posts about Rev—so this, I promise, will be my last (of only two!). But my reflection here is less on Rev itself, and more in reactions to it, and why they have been so polarised. This was shown starkly in comments on my Facebook post. I … Continue Reading
Last Sunday I preached on Isaiah chapter 1, and it challenged me to think through how we proclaim bad news. I have generally observed a striking divide between theological traditions in relation to whether the gospel is in fact ‘good news’ (as the word ‘gospel’ tells us—a ‘good spell’ or word), or whether we need … Continue Reading
On Maundy Thursday, it is traditional to focus on the account of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet in John 13—and possibly to re-enact this within a service. But in rushing to the final example, we miss the most important lesson, which comes in the middle, rather than at the end, of the passage. The passage … Continue Reading
When considering the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection, we need to separate two issues. First, what are the historical facts that require an explanation? And, second, what is the best, most plausible, explanation for those facts? What are the facts to consider in relation to the resurrection? First, Jesus died on the cross, a victim of … Continue Reading
Last week the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, conducted a radio phone-in on LBC Radio. Gillan Scott, over at God and Politics, characterised it as ‘a breath of fresh air’: Spending an hour answering questions he covered plenty of ground and it was refreshing to hear him talking freely on a range of subjects firsthand including … Continue Reading
Having missed (though recorded) the first episode of the new series of Rev, I managed to catch the second episode last night…along with (it seems) half of the Church of England clergy. Not surprisingly, the main plot line followed Adam Smallbone’s convoluted attempts ‘not’ to marry a gay couple in his church, but simply say … 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 Christmas 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 preaching Revelation same sex marriage same sex unions sexuality theology video Year A Year B Year C
