Emmanuel How shall we find him? We must pick out a distant point of light and walk away from ourselves to an “X” that marks the spot, trusting that our vision and the compass will not betray us. But would it be wiser to spend a little time before we start in marking out for … Continue Reading
The Wild Gospel: Bringing Truth to Life by Alison Morgan Introduction reproduced with permission The most real in this world is the most invisible; but because the most invisible the most easily forgotten. Reading about these invisible realities of our Faith corrects the tendency for our hold on the invisible to lessen. It feeds our … Continue Reading
Don’t Throw Stones: Deuteronomy and the Prodigal Son by Graham Kings, vicar of St Mary Islington and theological secretary of Fulcrum Introduction During a week’s retreat in 1995, I read through the whole of the book of Deuteronomy. It was clearly a key book of the Hebrew Scriptures for Jesus. Not only did it include … Continue Reading
The Doctrine of Salvation among African Christians by Chigor Chike 1 Introduction This article which is taken form my book African Christianity in Britain will be devoted to how salvation is understood in African Christianity. The first task will be to describe how salvation is understood on the African continent. This will be followed and … Continue Reading
East Gallery, Bishop’s Palace, Wells; windows of light, in and on three walls. At the previous evening’s preview, people gathered without gathering, and looked without seeing. In the peace of a fresh morning, the gallery becomes oratory, flowing with your presence. I bring a chair to sit and gaze, amazed, at you, the Saviour and … Continue Reading
Who is this woman facing this man? Head lightly inclined, eyes wide open, gazing, hands uplifted, palms upward, surprised; gorgeously arrayed. Who is this man facing this woman? Coming from the right, profile clear, bearded; hand outstretched, palm down; gloriously appareled. Behind her, two angels hover reflecting her shape: behind him, scented trees lean setting … Continue Reading
Discipleship is, as your title indicates, a state of being. Discipleship is about how we live; not just the decisions we make, not just the courses we attend, but a state of being. It’s very telling that at the very beginning of St John’s Gospel, a text to which unsurprisingly I’ll be coming back later … Continue Reading
The story of Jesus calling his disciples is one that used to be communicated to every child in our country. There was something so poignant, immediate, attractive about this charismatic figure appearing to random working men in the middle of earthy, everyday tasks and saying ‘follow me.’ There is something unforgettable about a bunch of … Continue Reading
by Stephen Kuhrt The diminishing importance of monarchy in our world has made “king” a less than obvious model with which to understand the significance of Jesus. The persistence of its use, however, within both older hymns and modern songs, reflects its prominence within the biblical material. ‘Jesus as king’ not only operates on an … Continue Reading
Sentences, like people, need spaces to breathe. Between the full stop and the Capital lies the pause. Without the space, sentences are breathless; without the Sabbath, life is restless; without the pause, the rest is lifeless. Sentences, like God, have a preferential option for the pause. I wrote those lines earlier this year and have … Continue Reading