As a seminarian in a former life, I was cautioned against being “a quivering mass of availability” (a phrase from American theologian Stanley Hauerwas); but in a congregation, this seemed to be what was most desired from the pastor. Many Christians receive comfort and encouragement from their pastors; but what Read more…
We enter Holy Week this year just a few days after the year-anniversary of the UK’s first lockdown. What a difference a year makes. It’s become a staple of the national conversation in recent weeks to observe the transformation in attitudes, plans and expectations from last March up to now, the Read more…
Like many who are not schoolteachers, NHS staff or other key workers, in these recent weeks I have been getting used to spending most of my time at home, getting very acquainted with Zoom and the various tools we are using for online teaching at the university where I work. Read more…
One of my favourite pieces of Christmas music is ‘For unto us a Child is born’ from Georg Friderich Händel’s Messiah. I have loved it since I was a child, touched by its bouncing joy and the intricacy of its polyphonic choral writing, with lines appearing and disappearing like needles through Read more…
Today, as I write, it is Pentecost. We marked the festival at church this morning, and the coming of the Holy Spirit is regularly celebrated at churches throughout the world. But what does Pentecost mean for research? Should scholars celebrate it outside of church services? The inspiration of the Bible is due, Read more…
As we approach the most significant point in the Christian calendar – the weekend where we remember the sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of Jesus, our saviour – it is good to return to some of the core truths that he taught about himself whilst on earth. I’ve been struck recently Read more…
I met with some academic colleagues recently over a meal. It was a lovely group of people but I came away depressed…everyone has done so much. Comparing my meager achievements with what everyone else had accomplished, I felt like my resume was as watertight as a chocolate teapot. My doctorate flashed Read more…
For Easter Monday, here is a reflection on a poem which I was sent by my supervisor recently: ‘Suddenly’ by the twentieth-century Welsh poet and Anglican priest, R. S. Thomas. As I had always knownhe would come, unannounced,remarkable merely for the absenceof clamour. So truth must appearto the thinker; so, Read more…
Last week, I discussed the first half of a talk Biblical scholar and philosopher Richard Middleton gave for FiSch a few weeks ago. I will pick up where we left off. This week I’ve included quite a few Biblical references, because his talk linked a lot of concepts and elements Read more…
A few weeks ago, Biblical scholar and philosopher Richard Middleton visited FiSch as part of a UK tour. This got me very excited, as I’ve read some of his work and found it very helpful, and Anthony and I managed to go along to a talk in Durham and two in Leeds. Read more…