“Slow Conversion”
The Western Australian Churches of Christ journal On Mission Journal has published a brief article I wrote. My article is on the idea of Slow Conversion, based on the Patristic practice of the catechumenate. It is a ‘practical’ adaption of my longer recent …
An Ethos of Pastoral Care – Gerard Manley Hopkins
In a class on pastoral care yesterday, we read and discussed Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, “In the Valley of the Elwy.” Hopkins was a Jesuit priest in nineteenth-century England seized with a deep sense of missionary vocation. After his early death, he …
Hope’s Beautiful Daughters…
St Augustine suggested that hope has two beautiful daughters, anger and courage. Without these, Augustine argued, hope comes to nothing. Why these two daughters? (And although off the point, why daughters? Don’t we usually see anger and courage as male qualities? Clearly …
On Love and Character
Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac (1984; Penguin edition, 1993) 184pp. ISBN: 978-0-140-14747-6 I enjoyed this little novel, winner of the 1984 Booker Prize, though many critics have panned it and suggested it should not have won the prize. Edith Hope is a …
“Critiquiness”
Volf & Croasmun have a bit of fun critiquing critique, and introduce a new term coined by Christopher Castiglia to describe the “unmistakable blend of suspicion, self-confidence, and indignation” sometimes found in those who love to critique others, especially traditional biblical interpretations and …
Academic Argument
Brian Smith for The Chronicle Review I was interested to read the chapter on academic argument in Winning Arguments by Stanley Fish. That is what you have to do to earn your bona fides as an academic: enter an ongoing conversation about …
Ben Witherington III to Lecture at Vose Seminary
Now this is happy news! Ben Witherington is one of the foremost New Testament scholars working in the world today, author of numerous books including a commentary on every or just about every New Testament book. Ben is delivering the Vose Annual …
Stanley Fish: Winning Arguments (Review)
Stanley Fish, Winning Arguments: What Works and Doesn’t Work in Politics, the Bedroom, the Courtroom, and the Classroom (New York: Harper Collins, 2016) ISBN: 978-0-06-222665-5 Stanley Fish, distinguished professor of law in New York and Florida, argues quite simply that “argument is …
Guretzki, An Explorer’s Guide to Karl Barth (Review)
David Guretzki, An Explorer’s Guide to Karl Barth (Downers Grove, Il.: IVP Academic, 2016). Pp. xiii + 223. ISBN: 978-0-8308-5137-9 Last week I reviewed Galli’s recent introductory biography of Karl Barth for evangelicals, and expressed the hope that evangelicals might engage with the …
Galli, Karl Barth for Evangelicals (Review)
Mark Galli, Karl Barth: An Introductory Biography for Evangelicals (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017). Pp. xvi + 176. ISBN: 978-0-8028-6939-5 Mark Galli entitles his recent book on Karl Barth an ‘introductory biography for evangelicals.’ As a biography it is a faithful though simplified …