The First Discourseman The beautiful princess leant on the balcony wall and gazed into the distance. For years she had suffered a lonely imprisonment in the castle, patiently awaiting the day when a knight in shining armour would come to slay the dragon, set her free and take her hand in marriage. She knew itContinue reading “A Fairy-Tale Ending; or, Shrek as a Paradigm of the Eschaton”
Author Archives: Four Discoursemen
Christianity, conservatism, and the tyranny of the present
The Fourth Discourseman Our age has a uniquely modern understanding of time. How we view the world around us, how we tell our own stories, how we grapple with social and ethical issues – all these are infected with what I want to call “the tyranny of the present”, the assumption that what is modernContinue reading “Christianity, conservatism, and the tyranny of the present”
The Name of the Sheep: Reflections on John 10
The Second Discourseman What does Jesus mean when he says that the shepherd ‘calls his own sheep by name’? I have no idea whether first century farmers named their sheep, but we humans have names, so we might assume that this is just a picture of Jesus’ personal call to each of his flock. OurContinue reading “The Name of the Sheep: Reflections on John 10”
The danger of working too hard at the Bible…
The Third Discourseman As a way of covering my own back, I’d like to state at the outset that the ideas in this post are ones I’ve only considered recently. I think they have enough merit to be considered, but I certainly wouldn’t die on any of the hills I’m about to make a standContinue reading “The danger of working too hard at the Bible…”
Matthew 5 and the Law of Christ
The Third Discourseman Since there might eventually be people who support me in my ministry-training looking at this blog, and seeing as I write a couple of talks a term, either for the sake of practice/receiving feedback or actual talks I deliver for the sake of teaching, I thought I’d start uploading some of themContinue reading “Matthew 5 and the Law of Christ”
The No Man’s Land of the Culture Wars
The Second Discourseman At the Edinburgh Waverley temporary toilets, a man has the job of letting travellers know when the next cubicle is free. There is one door leading to both the Ladies’ and the Gentlemen’s, so this man must look down the queue and beckon the next man or woman as appropriate. As IContinue reading “The No Man’s Land of the Culture Wars”
I’m not that important
The Fourth Discourseman I keep on writing, or I should say, mostly writing, articles about all sorts of high-brow stuff, a bit like my one on early-modern atheism – which, in case you didn’t notice (perhaps you didn’t read it), is rather muddled, for the most part because my ideas shifted quite substantially in theContinue reading “I’m not that important”
Wandering Thoughts on the Personhood of Christ
The Second Discourseman ‘The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth cameContinue reading “Wandering Thoughts on the Personhood of Christ”
Jonah 3 and the End of the World
The Third Discourseman Since there might eventually be people who support me in my ministry-training looking at this blog, and seeing as I write a couple of talks a term, either for the sake of practice/receiving feedback or actual talks I deliver for the sake of teaching, I thought I’d start uploading some of themContinue reading “Jonah 3 and the End of the World”
Brothers of the heart
The Fourth Discourseman “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.” The so-called parable of the prodigal son, masterfully brought to life in this painting by Rembrandt, is justifiably famous.Continue reading “Brothers of the heart”
The Four Discoursemen 