Christian Life

Poldark - a prime example of romanticism

Wed, 17/05/2017 - 10:37 -- James Oakley
Poldark

To give credit where credit is due, some readers may spot echoes of the late Mike Ovey's CD1.1 lecture course in the pen portrait of romanticism below. They'd spot that with good reason. The section is included as a summary, and for the benefit of those not fortunate enough to have taken that course, before turning to the illustrative material which is my own contribution.

Romanticism

Romanticism is a wide-ranging movement from (mainly) the first half of the nineteenth century. It influenced literature, art, architecture, philosophy, theology, politics and more.

Blog Category: 
Christian Life

Written on his hands

Wed, 19/04/2017 - 10:59 -- James Oakley
Written on his hands
Image Credit: Andrea Maria Cannata

When you have something you do not want to forget, do you write it on your hand? Some people write things on the palms of their hands; others write things on the back; others don't do this at all.

Blog Category: 
Isaiah

Listen to the gospel writers: The weeds and their interpretation

Wed, 12/04/2017 - 11:12 -- James Oakley
Wheat

I often tell people that we need to listen to the gospel writers whenever we read the gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke or John are teaching us something by recording the things they do. We need to let them do that. The words Jesus spoke within the gospels were spoken to other characters in the narrative, not to us directly. Our job is not to apply those words to us, but to ask what the gospel writer is wishing to communicate by recording those words in the setting they occur in.

Blog Category: 
Matthew

Listen to the gospel writers: Jesus and his family

Wed, 22/03/2017 - 11:48 -- James Oakley

I often tell people that we need to listen to the gospel writers whenever we read the gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke or John are teaching us something by recording the things they do. We need to let them do that. The words Jesus spoke within the gospels were spoken to other characters in the narrative, not to us directly. Our job is not to apply those words to us, but to ask what the gospel writer is wishing to communicate by recording those words in the setting they occur in.

Blog Category: 
Matthew

Melchizedek

Wed, 15/03/2017 - 11:15 -- James Oakley

A little while back, the Church of England's weekday lectionary spent some time in Hebrews 7 and Genesis 14. So it was, that I found myself trying to explain as simply as possible why the hard-to-pronounce character of Melchizedek is such good news to have in the Bible.

Blog Category: 
Hebrews

How to become a Christian gradually but still get there

Wed, 01/03/2017 - 12:22 -- James Oakley
Closer and closer, but do they ever meet
Image Credit: Colin Jagoe

Many people today move towards the Christian faith gradually. Maybe they have friends who are Christians, with whom they talk. They start to attend a local church. Maybe they attend a course such as Christianity Explored or Alpha. Gradually, things come alive for them. The God they talk about seems more real; they understand more of the Bible when they read it; the worship is something they're glad to join in with; church is somewhere they belong.

Many readers of this blog will be able to identify with just such a gradual move towards the Christian faith.

Blog Category: 
Christian Life

Who is the trouble-maker?

Fri, 24/02/2017 - 13:26 -- James Oakley
Godfrey, the trouble-making parrot

The Gossipy Parrot by Shen Roddie, a story that our children used to love: Godfrey, the parrot loved to make trouble. He used to tell tales on the other animals - "Gorrila says that bee has stung his own bottom." "He does, does he?", says bee - and off he goes to get even. One day the lion decided to teach Godfrey a lesson. He fed him all kinds of juicy snippets: "The trouble maker says that crocodile has false teeth", which Godfrey would faithfully relay to crocodile.

Blog Category: 
Church Life

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