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
This morning (in the heresy and schism lecture) we stressed variety–even Jesus, Paul, John express themselves differently. But are they saying the same thing? Just as soon a theology developments, differences appear, and the question becomes what is legitimate and what is not. But on the main issue the NT is clear— there are those being saved, and those being destroyed (1 Cor. 1; 2 Cor. 2). External pressure meant that only the serious joined, the rest were outside. But... Read more
This is a lecture given by CKB in June 1985. In fairness this lecture was in mind before the appointment of the new Bishop of Durham, and his ‘shocking’ remark. Not that this talk is irrelevant. Remember the words of the litany–along with envy, lust, malice, and all uncharitableness, plague, pestilence, famine. Really? Do all these matter so much. Consider the heresiarchs in Canto VII of the ‘Inferno’. Is there not a change visible in history? Even in our own... Read more
What can one do in 40 minutes with such a title? An exam candidate once said: ‘I can answer none of these questions but I will write down all I know.’ What I can do is a) state some principles and b) back them up (not prove them) with a few examples. I. Principles: we will have two, paradoxical ones a) the NT is a by product of the early church, showing up how it went about its business. and... Read more
You have invited a Neue Testamentler to your Rally and must put up with what you get. If I could think of a more useful subject, I would use it. Of course we are near January 25th and we could look for other reasons– years of the great Reformers. Luther, Zwingli, Wycliffe who all recognized their great debt to Paul. Yet today Paul is unpopular. ‘He spoiled the simple message of Jesus’ (but have they even tried to unravel Son... Read more
THE BURNING ISSUE— delivered at Hexham on 12/13/84 For about 25 years you’ve allowed speakers to choose their own subject. Then you started setting puzzles, such as Judas Iscariot. Now, you have given me the hardest task. For me, issues rarely burn, even when I feel strongly. Moreover, I’ve had a go at most of the things I feel strongly about. No doubt I could reuse some. This was once specifically a preachers’ fellowship, and in a different way I... Read more
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