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 tension between continuity and change. A recent post on “A revised missional theology” covers some of the ground. You could also have a look at this three part series, though it may be a bit dated now: “The narrative-historical reading of the New Testament: what’s in it for me?”

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 from an adequate response given the amount of scholarship on the subject and the range of opinions, but it did lead to me to wonder if there isn’t something else going on with Daniel’s “coming with the clouds of heaven” imagery.

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.

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 the West align its constructive engagement with the world (mission) with the story of God and his people through history? This recent post will give you an idea of the approach taken.

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 in narrative-historical perspective.

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 Revolution, disenchanted by Modernity, shattered by the Great Wars of the twentieth century, and now deeply fractured by a Crisis of Identity at all levels of society. What does it mean to be white? What does it mean to have been so privileged? What does it mean to be female or male or whatever?

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.