Recent posts

Katherine Shaner on the danger of singular saviours
The latest edition of the Journal of Biblical Literature has an article by Katherine Shaner entitled “The Danger of Singular Saviors: Vulnerability, Political Power, and Jesus’s Disturbance in the Temple (Mark 11:15–19).” It’s a nicely provocative piece on two counts: it suggests… ( | 2 comments)
In the likeness of sinful flesh: some reflections for Holy Week
We are between Palm Sunday and Good Friday. A few days ago Jesus rode into Jerusalem to excited cries of “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Mk. 11:9). The acclamation comes from Psalm 118:25-26: “Save us (hoshiʿ naʾ), we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us… ( | 4 comments)
Review of Jennifer Butler’s Who Stole My Bible?
It’s funny how quickly a book can go out of date. Admittedly, I’m reviewing Jennifer Butler’s Who Stole My Bible? Reclaiming Scripture as a Handbook for Resisting Tyranny from a safe distance, and maybe there’s a lot that’s not visible from here. But the book was written in the middle of a… ( | 3 comments)
An addendum to my defence of a narrative-historical perspective on European Christendom
I got flung against a wall by a good friend for my defence of a narrative-historical perspective on Christendom—not literally, but a vigorous pushback on Facebook. I’ve replied to him there, but I’m posting the main points I made in response here as an addendum to the piece. Perhaps it will make… ( | 0 comments)
In defence of a narrative-historical perspective on European Christendom
I’m getting into the bad habit of answering questions raised in the comments with another post. The reason is that the questions are very good and merit consideration at length, but I wonder if the practice is conducive to good debate. Anyway, Jo says that he has trouble accepting that “European… ( | 2 comments)
The kingdom of God—temporal or spiritual?
What is the kingdom of God? The standard evangelical view is that it is the aggregated rule of God in the hearts of believers in advance of (“now and not yet”) a glorious future kingdom, usually confused either with heaven or the new creation. The main alternative these days would be the “… ( | 11 comments)
The order of the descending city visions in Revelation and why it matters to us
I thought we were done with the two visions of the descent of the holy city from heaven, but another question has come up, an obvious one. Why are the visions the wrong way round? Why does John first see the descent into the new creation, then the descent into history after the… ( | 3 comments)
Why the “bride, the woman of the Lamb” is not what I thought it was
The story so far… At the end of the book of Revelation the holy city, new Jerusalem, is twice seen descending out of heaven, from God, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” These are two different moments in the apocalyptic narrative, I think, not the same moment repeated. To make matters… ( | 7 comments)
So here’s the real reason why the holy city descends twice at the end of Revelation
I posted this yesterday as a response to Kaz’s probing question about the presence of the “holy city, new Jerusalem” in the new creation that appears to John after the final judgment. I won’t repeat the argument of “Why does the holy city Jerusalem descend from heaven twice at the end of Revelation… ( | 2 comments)
Why does the holy city Jerusalem descend from heaven twice at the end of Revelation?
At the end of the book of Revelation John sees the “holy city, (new) Jerusalem” descending out of heaven from God twice, seemingly after the final judgment (Rev. 21:2, 9). Why? Are these different events? The same event depicted twice? I have argued before that the sequence of visions in chapters… ( | 2 comments)
Apocalyptic thinking and the fate of the dead in the New Testament
I “attended” an online workshop yesterday hosted by the Centre for the Study of the Bible at Oriel College, Oxford. The theme was “Apocalyptic thinking.” We were treated to some excellent presentations from a good range of scholars, including such luminaries in the apocalyptic firmament as Loren… ( | 0 comments)
The sinfulness and salvation of all Israel in Romans
I want to look at a couple of related questions about Romans, from a couple of unrelated sources. First, Jo is not convinced that the string or catena of Old Testament quotations in Romans 3:10-18 is directed exclusively against the Jews, as I maintain in The Future of the People of… ( | 6 comments)
Our multi-storied theological universe
The witness of scripture is not primarily to the personal relevance of God but to the political relevance of God. It has to do with the rule or kingdom of God in the world. Witness operates at large scale national-civilisational levels of narrative meaning sandwiched between… ( | 2 comments)
What does the New Testament teach us about hope?
Biblical faith is almost always forward-looking. It is as much about what may or may not happen in the future as it is about the knowledge and experience of the God of Israel in the here and now. It is, therefore, almost always either fearful or hopeful. Abraham hoped that he would become the… ( | 1 comment)
The scandalous particularity of Jesus
John Morehead had this to say about my “Is there only one way to heaven?” post, and I want to explore some thoughts in response to it: …as you developed this piece, for me it lost theological momentum when you got to the section on how the early parts of the post connect to the question of Jesus… ( | 1 comment)
Is there only one way to heaven?
Tim Challies wrote a short piece a couple of days back explaining why there is only one way to heaven. I had originally thought to discuss his argument in the recent post on Progressive Christianity under the final statement: “It does not claim that Christianity is the only valid or viable way to… ( | 3 comments)
Jesus and the Capitol Hill mob
I’ve just listened to my friend Michael Cooper talking on the Ephesiology Podcast about the events in Washington last week and the lamentable state of American evangelicalism. He and his co-hosts have some sensible things to say, but I found myself in disagreement over one matter. I think they… ( | 10 comments)
Now available! Hell and Heaven in Narrative Perspective (second edition)
The question of whether the Bible teaches that the unsaved will suffer an eternity of conscious torment in the fires of hell after they die is not quite the hot topic it was a decade ago, when the first edition of this book came out, but it continues to trouble a great many people. For a growing… ( | 1 comment)
Progressive Christianity and the narrative-historical method
I noticed recently that in response to the question “What are your favorite progressive Christian resources on the Book of Revelation?” on Twitter, a friend recommended my book The Coming of the Son of Man or “Really anything by Andrew Perriman.” Thank you, friend! His tweet got two likes… ( | 9 comments)
A happy disappointing Christmas to everyone!
Here is a disappointing post to celebrate a disappointing Christmas—just a dreary list of previous Christmas posts. Something might pique your interest. I had neither the time nor the imagination to come up with a new piece. It’s even too cloudy and miserable here to get a sighting of the star of… ( | 1 comment)