Recent posts

Vessels of wrath prepared for destruction
This is a rather technical examination of Jason Staples’ argument in Paul and the Resurrection of Israel: Jews, Former Gentiles, Israelites that when Paul speaks of Israel as “vessels of wrath,” he does not mean that the people are are the objects of God’s wrath; rather they are… ( | 0 comments)
Joel Green on the kingdom of God, part 2
Joel Green’s second post on the kingdom of God begins with an excellent thought attributed to Marianne Meye Thompson: Jesus did not bring the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God brought Jesus. Very good!Telling the Story of the Kingdom of GodGreen proposes to locate the coming of Jesus “on the grand… ( | 0 comments)
Joel Green on the kingdom of God, part 1
Joel Green is doing a series of posts on the kingdom of God on Substack. He has some good things to say about how narrative works, but his argument about the kingdom of God doesn’t escape the gravitational pull of planet theology. I will summarise his posts and try to show where and why and with… ( | 0 comments)
A rhetorical approach to the christological crux in Romans 9:5
In Romans 9:4-5 Paul lists the several prerogatives of his own people, the Jews, the last being that from them is “the messiah according to the flesh.” Then comes this clause: “the one being over all God blessed forever, amen.”Here we have the christological crux.Do we put a period after “according… ( | 2 comments)
The Greeks who knew the “unseen things” of God
The group of people criticised in Romans 1:18-32 is said to have known the truth about God and to have known God but also to have departed from that knowledge by worshipping and serving the creature rather the creator. Jason Staples has argued that this can be said only of Israel, not of the… ( | 0 comments)
Who is “the Greek” in Romans 1? An Israelite? Surely not. A response to Jason Staples
There is much to like about and much to learn from Jason Staples’ book Paul and the Resurrection of Israel: Jews, Former Gentiles, Israelites, but I have serious doubts about the central thesis, which is that Paul’s overarching goal is the regathering and restoration of all Israel… ( | 2 comments)
Who were the nations judged by the Son of Man?
Immediately after the catastrophe of the war against Rome, Jesus tells his disciples, the Son of Man will be seen coming with the clouds of heaven (Matt. 24:29-30). Certain things will then ensue. The angels will gather those whom he had chosen and sent out to the ends of the earth with the message… ( | 1 comment)
Christ among refugees and migrants at Christmas, part 3: the clash of symbols
The debate about Christmas and politics goes on. Reflecting on Tommy Robinson’s campaign to “put Christ back into Christmas,” soon-to-be Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, is quoted in an interview. She says that the use of Christian symbols to oppress—in this case the migrant and refugee—… ( | 1 comment)
Christ among refugees and migrants at Christmas, part 2: the sojourner paradigm
In part one, we looked at the argument that the Christmas stories, the career of Jesus more generally, and the mission of his followers support the view that the church and the societies in which it bears witness are obligated to welcome and include the refugee and migrant. Here we will consider… ( | 5 comments)
Christ among refugees and migrants at Christmas, part 1: neighbours and enemies
There has been a lot of scrambling for the moral high ground in response to the “far right activist” Tommy Robinson’s campaign to put “Christ back into Christmas.”One UK based network of churches states: “Christ is self-sacrificial love. Christmas is a celebration of the moment that love entered… ( | 2 comments)
Pertinent questions about God, Christ, creation, the future, baptism, and the gospel
Elliot has raised some pertinent questions about the continuing relevance of some basic Christian beliefs, given a narrative-historical understanding of the New Testament. They deserve a more substantial answer than I can provide right now, but here’s an outline of how I think we may manage the… ( | 0 comments)
Is Daniel’s “one like a son of man” who I think he is?
A. J. Derxsen appears to be a rather conservative, Reformed American blogger, so I’m a bit surprised he bothered to read and comment on my post “Who is Daniel’s son of man?” But he did, and I appreciate it, and here’s an attempt to address the counter-assertions made in his brief critique. It’s far… ( | 14 comments)
Questions about Jesus’ apocalyptic vision
It’s a while since I’ve posted anything here. Been a bit too busy. So I thought I’d post this response to Elliot’s recent comment—just to keep the site ticking over. He has some good reflections on my defence of the historical reading of Jesus’ apocalyptic language against criticisms made by Dale… ( | 13 comments)
Starting soon: a short course in 21st century missional theology
I did something like this a few years back—now updated (what are we to make of the Quiet Revival, etc.?) and better focused. It will be a six week series of online sessions on what I would basically describe here as a narrative-historical missional theology. In other words, how does the church in… ( | 0 comments)
Israel and the land: the story continues
The question of Israel and the land—and the extent of the land—is very much on our minds these days. A while back, Ian Paul posed the question: “Does the State of Israel have a divine right to the land?” It’s a measured piece, and it got me wondering—not for the first time—how this issue might look… ( | 0 comments)
The Christian nationalists get the New Testament sort of right and history very wrong
The “West” is a complex civilisational phenomenon. It is pagan Europe converted to Christianity, divested of Eastern Orthodoxy, intellectually reinvigorated by the Renaissance, violently split between Protestantism and Catholicism, expanded by Colonisation, empowered and enriched by the Industrial… ( | 6 comments)
Divine judgment in the New Testament
When do we talk about divine judgment? Not often. But the theme cuts right through the heartlands of the New Testament like a punishing Roman road (not that Roman road), from Mary’s Magnificat to the final judgment of all the dead in Revelation 20.There is only one way to walk this road… ( | 3 comments)
Love your neighbour and other knee-jerk reactions
The two most important commandments, according to Jesus, are to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Matt. 22:37-40). Add to this his teaching about love for enemies, while perhaps quietly sidelining the… ( | 0 comments)
The image of God and the image of Christ: less is more
The standard argument about the “image of God” is that 1) humanity was created, male and female, “in the image, according to the likeness” of God; 2) this “image” somehow encapsulates the essential nature and dignity of humanity; 3) the image was broken or lost in the “fall”; 4) it was reinstated… ( | 4 comments)
A revised missional theology
We are probably stuck with the distinction between “church” and “mission.” I attend a church in Westbourne Grove. I work informally with a mission organisation. But in biblical terms there is something odd about our obsession with mission. The word occurs only four times in the… ( | 1 comment)