Andrew Goddard writes: After summarising the tumultuous events of last week in relation to the Bishop of Liverpool, in this article I set out what is currently known in relation to the CNC process that led to his nomination. Two further sections outline the allegations of …

Dec 23, 2024 · The Christmas season is now with us! The reading for the first Sunday in the Christmas season (Christmas 1) is Luke 2.41–52—though it is arguable that we should actually start our reading at verse 40, since it forms an 'inclusio' (bracket) with the final verse of the reading. This is a very carefully crafted passage,

Dec 1, 2016 · The Nicene and Reformed doctrine of the Trinity. In putting my case this afternoon I am going to speak very forthrightly and unambiguously, as from past experience I am sure Dr Grudem and Dr Ware will do. Dr Erickson who stands with me in opposing Dr Grudem and Dr Ware’s teaching on the Trinity I am sure will be the clearest in what he …

Feb 4, 2025 · Eschatology—the question of the ‘last days’ or ‘last things’—is a central theological theme in the New Testament. It frames Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom of God in the gospels, and in the epistles provides the grounding of our understanding of both discipleship in the present and hope for the future.

Dec 18, 2024 · Here are summary answers on the questions of the rapture, the tribulation, the mark of the beast, and the Millennium. In Matthew 24.36f, the lack of any warning, so that people are taken unawares, is a striking contrast to what Jesus has said about the destruction of Jerusalem in the previous section, when he urges his disciples to take note of all the signs just as they would meteorological ...

Oct 8, 2024 · Mark Bonnington writes: Faith hope and love are the three cardinal (or primary) virtues in the Christian faith.As Paul the Apostle wrote: ‘Faith; hope; love; these three endure’ ‘but the least understood is hope.’ Actually, that last bit is a quote from the late, great, Baptist preacher David Pawson—a gloss on 1 Corinthians 13 that I have never forgotten.

Nov 6, 2024 · I write a quarterly column for Preach magazine, in which I explore a significant word or phrase in the Bible, or a theme or section of Scripture, and the ideas that it expresses.At the end of this piece I list the previous articles I have written for them. Here I explore what Scripture says about the mighty God of the universe working through the smallest of things.

Sep 17, 2019 · The trouble with “word” is the connotation with “literal” which then slides into meaning “inerrant”. “Word” is singular and sounds fixed or final — more like a Command or military order than an invitation or warning even suggestion (and God gives all these and more in the Bible, not to mention the histories and poems and …

Jul 30, 2021 · In the synoptics gospels, Jesus is portrayed as dynamic and active, travelling around and actively seeking out ‘the lost’, especially in the first half of his ministry, in Galilee (‘The Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost’, Luke 19.10).By contrast, in the Fourth Gospel Jesus doesn’t seek people out, but remains a centre …

It is such a shame that the lectionary now includes Trinity Sunday straight after Pentecost, for two reasons. First, it seduces clergy and other preachers into thinking that they need to preach about the Trinity, and all too many lapse into a form of low-grade theological lecture (though of course, not you, dear Reader!