Ten ways to be good
Top 10 ways to be good … according to Psalm 15
My soul is troubled
Just a brief note about another case where an idea in the Old Testament is re-interpreted in the New Testament. In Psalm 6, King David was again having a hard time, and trying to convince himself to maintain confidence in God. In verses 3 and 4 he writes: My soul also is struck with terror,…
King David, the Optimist
In Psalm 4, David writes: There are many who say, ‘O that we might see some good!Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!’You have put gladness in my heartmore than when their grain and wine abound.I will both lie down and sleep in peace;for you alone, O Lord, make me lie…
God’s response to enemies in Psalm 2 and Acts 4
In Psalm 2, King David, or someone writing from his perspective, seems jolted out of complacency with a shock: the anointed leader is beset by enemies and mocked by them! (1-3) How does the writer imagine God responding? First, God laughs scornfully at the puny offence (4) and then in fury reaffirms the status of…
Is dying for your friends the greatest love?
(Image from a Weslyan church group study) In John 15:13, Jesus claims that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for friends. I disagree. What’s more, I think that Jesus’ own actions show that his claim was wrong. His actions show an even greater love … because Jesus laid down his…
Embracing Chaos
Chaos and Order: a visual puzzle in stained glass I read yet another Christian thought-for-the-day piece this morning that celebrated God’s ability to bring order out of chaos. Made me wonder why chaos gets such a bad rap. There is a popular strand of thought that sees order as good and chaos…
Life fully experienced: John’s greatest sign
Many commentators have noted that in the Gospel of John, Jesus’ miracles are called “signs” rather than “miracles”. They aren’t just done as magic tricks to impress people. John records them along with lots of other things Jesus said and did so that we “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,…
The impotence of the Church in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”
Over the weekend I attended the opening night of Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible at The Young Peoples Theatre Newcastle. The direction, by a very young Nick Thoroughgood, emphasised fear and aloneness. But the aspect of the play that struck me anew was the way religion was co-opted by an agenda of power and subsequently…
Undermining the patriarchy
Three of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) record Jesus’ witty phrase that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. In each case the listeners are amazed but Jesus refuses to water it down. One can surmise that…
Grace to your enemies
I’ve been reading Gerhard Lohfink’s book Jesus of Nazareth: what he wanted, who he was and although I don’t find his depiction of Jesus very stimulating, there are certainly some gems of insight here and there. A section considering Jesus’ command to love our enemies is one such gem. He comments on this speech by…