How should Good Friday be observed? With mournful solemnity because this is the death of Jesus? Or with subdued but joyful celebration because this is the death of Jesus for our sins?

The question came up in church yesterday in connection with a joint churches walk of witness around the neighbourhood on Good Friday. Such an event is a rare piece of public religious theatre, of pious pageantry, with a cross being hauled along to remind people on the streets that we used to be a Christian country. It puts the “mystery” back into mystery plays. What are these people doing?

But there is, indeed, a lot of drama in Jesus’ last week, and I mean the word rather literally. Drama drenched in public meaning. But what emotions, what thoughts, what visions does it all evoke? Something other than either grief or joy on account of the personal benefits, I think. This is a quick run through the scenes. Follow the links for more detailed analysis.

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While we are on the subject of the pre-existence of the exalted Christ, and since Christmas is nearly upon us, I feel we have to ask the question: What do the Christmas stories tell us about the pre-existence of Jesus? We start with Matthew, then Luke, then John. ()
I don’t deal with this in the book, but I’m wondering whether the retrospective argument about the pre-existence of the exalted Christ gains a polemically heightened character in the writings of Ignatius of Antioch (d. 107/108). ( | 7 comments)
This is a German translation of “In the form of a God: The Pre-existence of the Exalted Christ in Paul: what the book is about and why.” With many thanks to Helge Seekamp. ()
This goes over much of the ground covered in the previous post introducing some of the core ideas in my book In the Form of a God: The Pre-existence of the Exalted Christ in Paul, only this time with audio and moving pictures. Maybe some people will find the visualisation helpful. I’… ( | 1 comment)
My book In the Form of a God: The Pre-existence of the Exalted Christ in Paul has been available for a little while now, from the publisher and other major sources, both in print and as an ebook (Nook, Kindle). ( | 5 comments)
I am coming to think that the current mainstream view regarding “image of God” in Genesis 1:26-27 is mistaken. The consensus is that behind the expression is the idea that God is king, that he rules the cosmos, and that he has delegated some part of that benign and constructive rule to men and… ( | 4 comments)
Looking around for discussion of a theology of climate crisis, I came across a brief summary of the work of Gijsbert van den Brink, University Research Chair for Theology and Science at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. ( | 2 comments)