Tag Archives: sacraments

Did the Thief on the Cross Need to be Baptised? He Was. 

And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”— Luke 23v43 All Christians agree that baptism is important, Getting us to agree on what it does, how to do it, and to whom we ought to do it is a different matter. Still generally speaking, we know thatContinue reading “Did the Thief on the Cross Need to be Baptised? He Was. “

To Know and Yet to Love — A Reflection for Maundy Thursday

Obviously, this is a few days late for this year. The following is the transcript of a reflection I wrote and gave for a church on Maundy Thursday. Some details have been generalised or anonymised, as I saw fit. I want to draw your attention tonight to two verbs: to know and to love. ThoseContinue reading “To Know and Yet to Love — A Reflection for Maundy Thursday”

Epiphany: Baptism Reveals the Son(s) of God

When all the people were being baptised, Jesus was baptised too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’— Luke 3v21-22 The feast of theContinue reading “Epiphany: Baptism Reveals the Son(s) of God”

Four Experiments in the Relationship Between Scripture and Tradition

Scripture and Tradition are sometimes thought of by evangelicals as two opposing authorities, but how might we try to read them together to work out what the apostles taught? Here, I take a stab at offering some principles, with worked examples, for understanding Scripture and Tradition together.

Reading Scripture: The Text, the Event, and the Community

Many say that we have to pay first attention to the original audience and the human author to understand the Scriptures. But who are they, anyway? And does that audience relate to the events that they were reading about in Scripture?