A warm welcome back to Dr Tim Bulkeley who is posting this series based on his book, Not Only A Father, looking at gendered language for God. For more on Tim’s background, see the first post. Speaking the unspeakable: mother-language before the reformation People I talk with about using motherly language and pictures to talk about God […]
A warm welcome back to Dr Tim Bulkeley who is posting this series based on his book, Not Only A Father, looking at gendered language for God. For more on Tim’s background, see the first post. In the previous post I started with an assumption: …[t]he One True God is beyond human understanding. God is […]
It took me some courage to decide to blog on this activity from the 40 acts of generosity Lent challenge. Is there any book in the world that provokes such diverse and heated reactions as the Bible? Among Christians there is an enormous range of responses, from obedience to respect to frustration. Fans of the English language […]
I considered procuring a sackcloth onesie recently. A couple of months ago, SBJ began to add sit-down-in-the-street protests to his repertoire of new behaviours. If he wanted to run off independently in a carpark but was restrained, or, maddeningly, if we wanted him to walk but he wanted to be carried, then all in an […]
My Greek teacher, one of the loveliest men alive, reports seeing hot cross buns and Easter eggs on sale in an Auckland supermarket on 4 January this year. So presumably Easter’s not far away! Before Easter, for much of the world, comes Lent, one of my favourite parts of the church year. This year Lent’s […]
On this last day of the Christmas season we are remembering that there was a great deal of suffering surrounding Christ’s birth. Mary was socially isolated to the point of giving birth while basically homeless. Joseph was charged with the responsibility of protecting a baby with a price on his head. And hundreds of children […]
This was one of the big surprises of the Christmas season last year. Co-Leader of the Green Party, Russel Norman, outlines the good news of Jesus Christ – with well-developed incarnation theology and everything. In a speech in Parliament. Prefaced by his identification as an atheist. It’s extraordinary. Here’s an extract (but you really must […]
Ultimately we have just one moral duty; to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will be also in our troubled world. Esther, or Etty, Hillesum, writer of these words, was born on […]
St Paul’s Church in Auckland is famous for the impossibly cuuuuute nativity videos they produce each year, starring their kids. This year they have also released this compelling short film for adults, reminding us that Jesus was a Palestinian. There are several parts where my eyes widened. Watch for the shepherd (who has an accounting degree) talking about […]
Children of Men (2006) is a remarkable film, and my pick for best movie to watch during Advent. Add it to carols, presents, the Jesse Tree and feasting, as something that can help us to connect to the Big Story we are invited to find ourselves in at this time of year. Yes, I know, a) a […]