I remember having a hard time explaining to Joe Blanchard who Charles Wesley was. I met Joe at the Christian Union but he went to a different church on Sundays. “He wrote hymns,” I started. “Hymns?” “Yeah. Old worship songs!” “Oh right! Like ‘How Great Is Our God’?” “Um, no, not that one.” “Oh right. … More Who Is Charles Wesley?
Just over three years ago (in the same month of May) I wrote a post which has received some of the heaviest traffic on this blog, perhaps barring one on the correct interpretation of Revelation 19:10. I can’t explain the popularity of the latter, but for the former I think I can have a go. … More Did the Father turn his face away? Part 2
We seem to have a tendency in modern worship songs to want to write simple statements like “God, you’re so good,” or “Your love is so vast” or something – statements that try to capture how big and how wonderful this love of our God is as we’ve discovered it. Often though, if you’re anything like … More Singing “Our God reigns” in a world of genocide
This week Melvyn Bragg’s show on BBC Radio 4 In Our Time discussed The Trinity. If you’re anything like me and you enjoy a bit of history and theology, this is one not to miss. It offers a great historical introduction to the topic but advances quite far (as far as it can in 45 minutes) down … More The Trinity
I’ve just blogged about Justin Brierley’s show on Premier Radio, ‘Unbelievable‘, so forgive me for continuing to riff on the same material (ie. things other people say rather than my own thoughts), but I caught up with the latest episode via podcast, this time asking “Was Jesus just a Rabbi?” (Click to listen) This is … More The Children’s Gospel
Listening to the Unbelievable podcast, hosted by Justin Brierley, is often an exercise in patience. He’s currently running an excellent three week series on “Was Jesus just a…?” and the first show asked the question, “Was Jesus just a zealot?” (Click to listen.) The focus of discussion was a book published in July 2013 by … More Was Jesus just a zealot?
I’ve just finished another one in a long line of books I’m set to plough my way through. Last year I was given Resident Aliens by Hauerwas and William Willimon, and Hauerwas’ memoir Hannah’s Child, both of which I read very quickly. This year for my birthday I was given The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christian Ethics. I got a … More The Peaceable Kingdom – Stanley Hauerwas
Now the chances are that you’re not an agricultural worker who uses mostly ancient methods of tillage to work your soil, so I’ve got a bit of explaining to do. As with a fair amount of Biblical imagery, we don’t tend to be too familiar with what a ‘yoke’ is (unless it’s a misspelling of … More Ploughing fields – it’s no yoke
Hi folks, it’s been a while since I posted anything of significance. I’ve been reading a lot of blogs though – all the links in this post will take you to some that I have been reading regularly. Today I stumbled across Rachel Held Evans’ interview with Greg Boyd, particularly covering his new book, The … More Greg Boyd and the Warrior God
It is something of a coincidence that not long after I wrote my last post about Roger Olson on Relational Theology, I by chance discovered a book by him while on holiday in Derbyshire. Perhaps I’m a pessimist, but I didn’t really expect to find a theological book in a store advertised as a tourist … More Unexpected finds
Ben David Trigg 