andygoodliff

hopefulimagination advent blog

The hopefulimagination advent blog starts tomorrow with some new bloggers joining us and some old ones too. So let me encourage you to drop by and if you feel like joining in there are few days still open.

Casino Royale

Casino Royale is certainly one of the better Bond films. Daniel Craig, after the first 20 minutes of getting used to him makes a good Bond. The film is at its best in the scenes between Bond and Vesper Lyn (Eva Green) and at its worst for the last half an hour, where it's as bad as The Return of the King for multiple endings. It ties up all the loose ends, where I think it would have be been better to leave a more unsatisfactory ending. The problem with Bond films is the story always feels secondary to the pre-conceived action scenes and so character and plot suffer. There is little of the kind of humour that you expect from a Bond film. The funniest bit is strangely in the torture scene. Bond's move from cold hearted killer to falling desperately in love with Vesper Lyn doesn't seem real. So I came away with a mixed response.

Why I like Rowan Williams

I'm not an Anglican, but I like and support Archbishop Rowan Williams. In the face of lots of recent criticism and rumours of him resigning in 2008 (hopefully unfounded), I think he is an excellent Christian leader. In fact with the likes of John Sentamu and Tom Wright as well, the leadership of the Church of England is in a good place. Rowan Williams is not a man you can reduce to the soundbite, which means he's not as media friendly as some would like him to be. I like this, in an era of the shallow soundbite - see the politics of Blair, Bush, Cameron, etc - I welcome someone who makes an actual argument and recognises both sides of a debate. I think the partnership of him and Sentamu is a good and well-balanced one. I remember Tom Wright saying in a conversation that Rowan Williams is a deeply humble man. The two times I've heard him speak - once in conversation with the children's author and atheist Philip Pullman and once talking with his wife on children's literature - leave you in know doubt about the wisdom of the man. Rowan Williams is able to speak on wide variety of topics - just see the range of his speeches on the Archbishop of Canterbury website. Hang on in there Rowan!

Theologian As Preacher: Further Sermons from Colin Gunton

I've just discovered that a sequel of sorts to Colin Gunton's Theology As Preaching (2001) is being published in March 2007 called Theologian As Preacher: Further Sermons from Colin Gunton. It's being edited by his daughter Sarah, and former students and colleagues John Colwell and Steve Holmes.  It also sounds like  John and Steve are each contributing an essay interpretating Colin's understanding of the task of the preacher and the theologian. The book's synopsis says:

A sequel to Gunton's bestselling book of Sermons, "Theology through Preaching", this book consists of twenty sermons from the later years of Colin's life. The sermons demonstrate how Colin Gunton communicated his theology to a parish audience and how academic theology can inform preaching practice. The book is introduced by an account of Gunton's life within Brentwood URC church, where he served as associate minister for over twenty-five years. This account offers a more rounded picture of the man to those of his readers who knew only the academic side of his work. Two interpretative essays explore how Gunton understood the life of the church and the ministry of preaching, the place of an academic theologian within that, and how the work of preaching affected the development of Gunton's theology. Gunton placed significant value on the preaching ministry, of the connection he saw between that ministry and the work of theology, and of his own conviction that preaching was a necessary task. This book explores through essay and example how these intellectual convictions were worked out in his own life.

Other Gunton related news is Blackwell's are planning to publish in 2007 The Nineteenth Century Theologians (The Great Theologians), which Colin was editing and contributing a chapter on Friedrich Schleiermacher. Steve Holmes has a chapter on Samuel Coleridge and Stephen Prickett a chapter on the Bible. You can also purchase Createdness and Ethics: The Doctrine of Creation and Theological Ethics in the Theology of Colin E. Gunton and Oswald Bayer (2006) by Hans Schaeffer, which sounds like a version of Hans' doctorate.

Stuck for a Christmas Sermon?

I thought this was great. In early December cinemas will release the film The Nativity Story, which tells the story of Mary and Joseph and their journey to Bethlehem. On the film's website, I have discovered, via Dave Walker, that you can find pre-prepared Christmas sermons, if you're stuck for something to preach about. Aren't the film producers so helpful!

SJT, November 2006

There are some interesting-looking articles in the latest Scottish Journal of Theology, including two  lengthy reviews  of Francis Watson's  Paul and the Hermeneutics of Faith by J. Louis Martyn and  Troels Engberg-Pedersen, and also a response from Watson.

Preventing genocide: the role of the church - Nico Vorster

Re-examining the Johannine Trinity: perichoresis or deification? - David Crump

The constructive use of ‘vernacular religion’ - W. Graham Monteith

Article Review: Francis Watson, Paul and the Hermeneutics of Faith -  J. Louis Martyn

Article Review: Once more a Lutheran Paul? Francis Watson, Paul and the Hermeneutics of Faith -
Troels Engberg-Pedersen

A response from Francis Watson - Francis Watson

Baptist Union Council Opposed To Trident

I'm glad to see reported that BU council has opposed the replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system this week. I am unconvinced by any argument that says Britian needs nuclear weapons.

Towards a Greener Church

A group from Bunyan met together on recently to discuss ways in which we can help the church take more responsibility for the ways in which we use energy and dispose of waste. After some good conversation where we each learnt of some new things we can do, we came up with 10 initial proposals for the church:

1. The church to work towards becoming an eco-congregation

2. The church to explore spray-on double glazing for windows of church buildings as a form of insulation. I didn't know about this, but apparently its fairly cheap and sounds useful for churches where its difficult to double-glaze.

3. The church to organise a list of those people within the congregation who grow their food. The idea here is can find ways of encouraging more people to grow food in their gardens and share it among the congregation.

4. The church to ensure that all light bulbs where possible are low-energy.

5. The church to recycle all paper it produces and has recycling bins in the church office and the main church building. This to include plastic bottles (i.e. milk bottles) and any cardboard packaging.

6. The church to encourage small groups to be collection points for those who are unable to recycle their waste – cardboard packaging, paper, plastic bottles, glass, tins/cans, etc.

7. The church to produce meeting agendas on A5 paper where possible. Often there is no need to waste a whole A4 page.

8.  The church to encourage Twinklers (church toddler group) to only use bio-degradable emergency nappies.

9. The church to have a ‘Green’ tip of the week in the weekly notices.

10. The church to only use recycled toilet roll and environmentally friendly cleaning products (e.g. the Ecover range).

Advent

IJST, October 2006

The latest edition of the International Journal of Systematic Theology is out today. Looks like another collection of interesting articles.

The Glory of God in the Theology of Eberhard Jüngel by Christopher Holmes

Looking for Personal Space in the Theology of John Zizioulas by Paul Cumin

Can Narrative Christology Be Orthodox? by Jonathan R. Wilson

Reaping the Right Fruits: Luther's Meditation on the 'Earnest Mirror, Christ' by Dennis Ngien

Just War Theory, the Authorization of the State, and the Hermeneutics of Peoplehood: How John Howard Yoder can save Oliver O'Donovan from himself by Justin Neufeld

Scriptural Reading and Revelation: A Contribution to Local Hermeneutics by Angus Paddison