I recently finished Tom Holland’s Dominion. Reading the history of Christianity at the same time as reading about the conquest of Canaan in the Old Testament as I was, it really struck me that the two histories are depressingly similar. And though the Old Testament seems to indicate divinely-sanctioned violence, the ultimate testimony of Scripture, … More A bit more on Old Testament violence and the love of God
I’ve had a copy of The Bible for Everyone for just over 24 hours now. These are my initial impressions. … More The Bible for Everyone – Immediate Impressions
Continuing my attempted trend of blogging about the books I read each year (here’s 2017 . . . that’s it so far), here’s how 2018 shaped up – and it was a pretty good one. First of all, in 2017 I managed 10 books; this year I was somehow able to bring it up to … More The 15 books I read in 2018
I’m excited to be able to share another song video to showcase some of what’s coming on the album I’m currently working on. This one’s called ‘Rejoice My Soul’ and is taken straight from Philippians 4. As I say in the video below, I love writing songs straight from Scripture as it makes for good … More New Song taster – ‘Rejoice My Soul’
Justin Brierley has a lot to answer for. He can’t just wheel out one video with an exciting guest and then be done with it. That would only distract me for an hour or so, then I could go back to everything else I’m supposed to be doing. Instead, he’s launched a whole series called … More Tom Holland meets Tom Wright
I don’t remember when I stopped believing in Santa Claus. In fact, I don’t remember when I ever believed. I think if I did, the penny had already dropped by the time I was maybe 7 years old and my Grandad came beaming into the room one Yuletide wearing a red dressing gown stuffed with … More The Santa Myth
I love Tom Wright’s simple, cheerful response to the question about balancing life in the video below (at right about the 1-hour mark): “I get up very early, say my prayers, and do the next three things that have to be done.” Which for Tom Wright happen to include putting right centuries of Pauline scholarship, … More The next three things
And Jesus said to them, “…whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one…” They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.” (Luke 22:35-38) If Jesus’ affirmation that two swords were enough was meant to be a call to armed resistance now for the … More On Luke 22:35-38 and armed resistance
I’ve just finished listening to the latest edition of Unbelievable, on the above subject. Representing the ‘Yes’ campaign, Joseph Cummings. ‘No’, Nabeel Qureshi. This was definitely one of the best recent episodes; the dialogue was respectful and enjoyable. The conversation hovered around the issue of what we would say about Judaism for longer than I liked. (The … More Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
Or, “A helpful guide to the meaning of Bible translation acronyms” If you’re a newcomer to the world of the Bible and in particular are baffled, befuddled or generally bamboozled by the multitudinous proliferation of Bible translations out there (meaning: there are lots and you don’t know what they’re all about), then you’ve come to … More What does “NIV” stand for?
Ben David Trigg 