Go back to the darkest roots of civilisation and you will find them knotted round some sacred stone or encircling some sacred well. People first paid honour to a spot and afterwards gained glory for it.
- G. K. Chesterton
Recent Posts
Misreading the Book of Job
It's very hard to do justice to the Book of Job. It's one of the most challenging, most thought-provoking works of theology ever written; for more than two millennia, it has been a source of intrigue, insight, outrage, and bewilderment to its readers. For those unaware, the Book of Job describes the suffering of a righteous man, whose family, possessions, and health are taken from him by a divine adversary (Hebrew hassatan, "the accuser", from which we get the proper name "Satan")...
Misreading the Book of Job
It's very hard to do justice to the Book of Job. It's one of the most challenging, most thought-provoking works of theology ever written; for more than two millennia, it has been a source of intrigue, insight, outrage, and bewilderment to its readers. For those unaware, the Book of Job describes the suffering of a righteous man, whose family, possessions, and health are taken from him by a divine adversary (Hebrew hassatan, "the accuser", from which we get the proper name "Satan")...
Trying to capture the mysteriousness of the Gospels
I concluded my last post by talking about the magnitude of the Easter event. It seems clear that whatever happened, it isn't to be taken lightly; unfortunately, that's exactly what we tend to do. It's very easy for us, as enlightened moderns, to dismiss stories which involve the miraculous- or, if we do profess to believe it, then we don't often feel the full force of what we're being told...
Trying to capture the mysteriousness of the Gospels
I concluded my last post by talking about the magnitude of the Easter event. It seems clear that whatever happened, it isn't to be taken lightly; unfortunately, that's exactly what we tend to do. It's very easy for us, as enlightened moderns, to dismiss stories which involve the miraculous- or, if we do profess to believe it, then we don't often feel the full force of what we're being told...
Things we miss when we read about the resurrection
I recently had the pleasure of reading a book (God with Us) by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. It was an elegantly-written treatment of some deep theological issues; towards the end I came across a long section which dealt with the foundational claim of the Christian story, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As I read, I found myself reflecting on the bizarre character of the Gospel accounts, and how they tend to be misread and misunderstood by modern readers...
Things we miss when we read about the resurrection
I recently had the pleasure of reading a book (God with Us) by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. It was an elegantly-written treatment of some deep theological issues; towards the end I came across a long section which dealt with the foundational claim of the Christian story, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As I read, I found myself reflecting on the bizarre character of the Gospel accounts, and how they tend to be misread and misunderstood by modern readers...
