scholarship. serving. ministry.
At the last Archbishops’ Council, I was rather startled to come across a slide in a presentation on some background issues about funding and mission. The slide offered an analysis of the proportion of the population attending Church of England churches against another factor (whose label I have, for the moment, removed), and there was … Continue Reading
In my five-part series of talks at New Wine on the question of why Jesus came, the final one focussed on a more surprising say of Jesus, which appears to stand in contrast to his purpose of bringing good news and reconciliation, but connects more obviously with his aim of ‘destroying the works of the … Continue Reading
The latest Grove Biblical booklet is a fascinating study by the well-known American scholar Michael Gorman on Participation: Paul’s Vision of Life in Christ. Within it, Michael offers 13 theses about Paul’s understanding of the goal of the Christian life, building in his previous ideas published in Cruciformity: Paul’s Narrative Spirituality of the Cross and Becoming the Gospel: … Continue Reading
Paula Gooder, well known as a New Testament scholar with a particular interest in Paul, recently published a quite different kind of book. Phoebe is a fictionalised account of the woman named in Romans 16.1, who appears to have been the carrier of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. Having just read the book, I … Continue Reading
Donald Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy on immigration, leading to the separation of children from their parents at the US/Mexico border, has dominated the foreign news in the UK this week. As with all such news items, it is much more complex than at first reported, and we need to understand carefully what has been going … Continue Reading
The debate about the rather challenging verses in Paul’s first letter to Timothy continues to surface at regular intervals, and it is often characterised as being between those who maintain the ‘historic’ understanding of these verses, so requiring women not to teach or have authority in church, and those who want to offer an ‘innovative’ … Continue Reading
It might seem odd that the question of whether Christians should join in iftar meals with their Muslim neighbours is a pressing one for the Church in the UK. But following the hosting of a Grand Iftar, to mark the end of the Muslim season of Ramadan, at Southwark Cathedral, reaction appears to have been … Continue Reading
If you had to sum up the core message that we had to proclaim in one idea, what would it be? My feeling is that, reflecting on things I have read and conversations that I have been involved in, there is a pretty strong consensus amongst Christians and Christian leaders in the UK at the … Continue Reading
For some time, I have been intrigued by the question of whether Jesus was funny. In his teaching, did he tell what we might call jokes, and did his listeners find themselves laughing when they listened to him? There are many prima facie reasons why we might suppose Jesus was funny. If Jesus was fully human—indeed, … Continue Reading
Is being a follower of Jesus primarily about experiencing and living in God’s love, or primarily about living out the disciplines of discipleship? Is it about knowing that we are loved and accepted as we are, or about the need for change and transformation on the journey from sin to salvation? Is it about allowing … Continue Reading
A while ago I preached on Galatians 2.1–10 as part of our sermon series on this letter. Stranded on a train at the weekend because of a landslide, I spent some time wrestling with the main question that has dogged study of Galatians in recent years: to whom was it written and when? There are … 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
To make a one-off or repeat donation to support the blog, use PayPal with the button below:
You can also visit my Patreon page.
For other ways to support this ministry, visit my Support page.
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 Old Testament Paul politics preaching resurrection Revelation same sex unions sexuality theology video Year A Year C
