A God who speaks

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these days he has spoken to us by his Son . . .  Hebrews 1.1. Amazing!

Anger

'The world needs anger. The world often continues to allow evil, because it does not get angry enough' - Bede Jarrett. Not surprisingly, immediately after Jesus had overturned the tables in the temple, Matthew tells us that 'the bliond and the lame came to him . . . and he healed them' (Matt 21.12-14).

Has church changed that much?

'I went to church today and am not depressed' - Robert Louis Stevenson. Why is that comment amusing today?

starting to live

An individual has not started living until he (or she) can rise above the narrow contours of their individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. Martin Luther King Jr.

Paternoster: suffering and faith

Paternoster: suffering and faith: Two books on suffering and faith. A remarkable book, Raymond Brown, Spirituality in Adversity. English Nonconformity in a Period of Repressi...

suffering and faith

Two books on suffering and faith. A remarkable book, Raymond Brown, Spirituality in Adversity. English Nonconformity in a Period of Repression, 1660-1668 (Paternoster, 2012). A lifetime's research and thought has gone into this book. In it Brown demonstrates the courage of those being persecuted, their faith, their worship and their perseverance in adversity. A magnificently scholarly and pastoral work.
The other is my own, Michael Parsons, Luther and Calvin on Grief and Lament. Biblical Text and Life-Experience (Edwin Mellen, forthcoming). In this I examine how these two pastor-theologians respond to their own and other's adversity and loss: their faith, their centering on Christ and grace, their trust in God the Father and their advice, too.

two awards

Elmer Thiessen, The Ethics of Evangelism (Paternoster, 2010) has just been given two awards in Canada: one for the category of 'culture', the other for 'evangelism'. It's a great book that offers confidence to those of us who want to speak about Jesus and salvation in him in a pluralistic society.