A Monday Meditation
Welcome to a new week everyone. I hope you have enjoyed a good weekend with some relaxation and worship. Maybe you got some household chores done as well! This morning I shared this meditation exercise with the staff at Vose Seminary, as we …
Scripture on Sunday – John 20:19-22
The disciples were behind locked doors, in self-isolation. Things were bad and could get immeasurably worse. They were afraid. Afraid of the Jews. Afraid of the Romans. Afraid they might be accused. Afraid that they might die. Jesus had been executed by …
A Pascalian Moment? What to Do in a Time of Quarantine
This is good and helpful advice from Bishop Robert Barron, for what to do during a time of quarantine. Anyone with a copy of Bob Dylan’s Desire on his bookshelf must be okay… His advice? Read a gospel using the method of Lectio Divina. …
Love in the Time of Corona
A great sermon from Monica O’Neil on what it means to follow Jesus when threatened by a pandemic. This is worth listening to. (With apologies to Gabriel García Márquez) Love in the Time of Corona …
Scripture on Sunday – John 9:39
Recently I read through the Gospel of John, reflecting on it one chapter at a time and making some notes. Of course I have read John previously, some parts of it many times. Nevertheless I found myself arrested when I arrived at …
As A New Semester Begins…
I wonder what the apostle Paul might make of the critical study of the Scriptures? In my mind there is no doubt that this mode of study is a double-edged sword. Critical studies of Scripture have expanded our knowledge of the Bible, …
4 3 2 1
Paul Auster, 4 3 2 1 (London: Faber & Faber, 2013) 1070pp. ISBN: 978-0-571-32465-1 It seems I can only read a big novel when I am on holiday; life seems too busy otherwise. This is certainly the biggest novel I have read …
Journal of Baptist Theology in Context
John Olley, former Principal here at Vose Seminary, has alerted me to the launch of a new Baptist journal: the Journal of Baptist Theology in Context. The ‘in context’ part of the title locates the focus of the journal in the interface …
Why Do the Biblical Languages Matter?
Every year at Vose Seminary, students have the opportunity to take a unit in either ancient Hebrew or Koine (i.e. “common”) Greek, the languages of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament respectively. Moreover, students may enrol in the Hebrew or Greek …
The Iliad
Homer, The Iliad Penguin Classics (London: Penguin, 1987), lv + 460pp. ISBN:978-0-14-044444-5. Finally I have taken down this epic of Western culture and literature, after its having sat waiting on my shelf for many years, and read it. What a tragic and …