“We are not, after all, defined by whatever longs and aspirations come out of our hearts, despite the remarkable rhetoric of our times [especially the LGBTQ+ rhetoric]. In the area of human well-being, that is the road to radical instability; in the area of theological beliefs it leads to Gnosticism (where you try to discern the hidden divine spark within yourself and then be true to it). Jesus himself was quite clear , following in the prophetic tradition: the human... Read more
We are all by now familiar with the famous reference in Ephesians 1.13-14 about the Holy Spirit and the seal which reads: “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a pledge/earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” The Greek word ‘arrabon’ does not mean ‘guarantee’. The King James quite rightly renders it as ‘an earnest’ something given in advance as a... Read more
Holy cow! Signs in the heavens. The end must be near at hand. Don’t blame me if I tried to milk this image for all its worth. Read more
Unlike many, Joni Mitchell was wary of the ‘starmaker machinery behind the popular song’. She was an artist, a poet, a singer, but the idea of being a star or being idolized she wanted to hold at arm length and rightly so. It is not only a mistake to want to be idolized, it’s a mistake to go beyond admiring a person’s good traits, skills or talents, to treating them with a form of borderline idolatry, ignoring all their sins... Read more
As I like to tell my students, if I find 92% of one term paper in another at a more than 50% verbatim rate, I’m going to know there is a literary relationship between them. Just so, there is definitely a literary relationship between Mark and Matthew, and ditto Luke and Mark. Read more
The subtitle for this book is The Untold Story of Mal(com) Evans. A better title might have been Malcom in the Middle, as he was indeed in the middle of everything from the early days as a bouncer for the Beatles at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, although the way up to the break up of the Beatles at the end of 70s, and beyond. By British standards, Mal was a giant of a man, and that in itself made... Read more
The NT asserts both freedom and authority. This is perhaps clearest, simplest in individual Christian life. But true also in the field which we are considering. Paul argues in Rom. 14.5– ‘let each be convinced in their own mind.’ But he also claims authority and anathematizes preachers of a false Gospel. Heresy exists and it leads to schism. So also John. Increasing size leads inevitably to structure and institution. How can this be continued with Mk. 10.43 ‘ouk outos’? and Lk.... Read more
Lecture given in 1985 Who is this person? Whom do you mean? I suppose he is the person in the street, the ordinary person. If so this is nothing new. We have had this before. Nothing new, but theologians and ministers are also ordinary persons. Perhaps it would do no harm to repeat. To some extent we must. But we must try to look at the matter freshly. How? Let us emphasize the word ‘citizen’ He is not a P.M.... Read more
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