andygoodliff

Philip Pullman's story of Jesus

This week Philip Pullman - of His Dark Materials fame - publishes his version of the Jesus story - The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ. There's an extract and report in today's Guardian. Pullman is discussing the book with Rowan Williams on Easter Monday's Radio 4 show Start the Week. I'm sure many Christians will be horrified at Pullman's version, which says Mary gave birth to twins - Jesus and Christ, but I'm looking forward to what this atheist novelist does with the story of Jesus and I'm looking forward to hearing some intelligent and measured responses rather than the usual hysteria.

Stanley Hauerwas at Greenbelt this summer

along with Michael Northcott, Tom Sine, Richard Rohr, Clare Short, Mark Yaconelli, Lucy Winkett, Maggi dawn, Kester Brewin, Barbara Brown Taylor, John Bell, Bruce Kent and others ....

Thank you

Thank you for all the comments about Kirsten. Mum and Kirsten are now home and the real parenting begins. I'm just glad that I only have a little bit of work left to do on my MTh dissertation!

Theology, the Church and Controversy Conference, 1-3 July 2010

More details on forthcoming conference at Aberdeen. Looks great.

What is the role of the prophet in the Christian church? Can the Church integrate its prophetic elements with its determination to exhibit charity and peace? What is the difference between sterile polemics and fruitful argument? Can controversy be creative for the Church, and if so, under what conditions?

Behind these questions lies the sense that the Christian church is at once a prophetic community and a community that tends towards unity. This conference intends to explore the dynamics of prophetic difference by asking whether controversy is integral to the Christian church.

BRIAN BROCK
Controversy in Christian Ethics: The Case of Stanley Hauerwas

LAURENCE HEMMING                     
‘“The Safeguarding of Orthodoxy as the Impoverishing of Doctrine” (De Lubac): There is no End of Controversy’
 
DAVID BENTLEY HART                    
A Penitential Approach to Controversy

SUSAN FRANK PARSONS                
The Grace of Prophecy

ROBERT JENSON                                 
On Creative / Destructive Provocations

MARKUS MUHLING                        
Divergent Oneness: The Church's Unity Without Consensus

JOHN WEBSTER                                   
Theology and the Peace of the Church

PETER MCMYLOR
Controversy and the Development of Doctrine

PETER LEITHART                                 
Fighting Fair? Athanasius and the 'Ario-maniacs'

CARL TRUEMAN                                  
Pictures, Problems and Past Offenders: Protestant Polemics in Seventeenth Century Reformed Orthodoxy
 
VIGEN GUROIAN                                  
Debating the Status of Same Sex Unions

Introducing Kirsten Rose Goodliff

Born 20th March at 2.23pm weighing 7lb 6. Mum and baby both doing well.

 

the most surreal, best, scary moment is when your child first appears in all their little glory, before you realise that nothing prepares you for being a parent ... a really special moment was a little while later as someone prayed for the gift of kirsten that has been given to new mum and dad and (hopefully) to so many others ...

Campbell's Deliverance of God in Brief (Updated)

(Updated from January)

For those who are either too daunted or just can't find the time (for 1300 pages) or wondering what all the fuss is about with Douglas Campbell's Deliverance of God, Richard Beck is helpfully blogging through the book - he's up to 6 posts so far. (Others have started, but not got too far, probably because of other pressures.)

Part 1  |  Part 2 |  Part 3 | Part 4

Part 5  |  Part 6 |  Part 7  |  Part 8  |  Part 9  |  Part 10  |  Part 11  |  Part 12

Daniel Kirk (author of Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God, a PhD done at Duke supervised by Richard Hays) has been blogging some engagements with the book here:

1  |  2  | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |

Look out for reviews from Beverly Gaventa in Christianity Today; Francis Watson in Early Christianity (new journal); Chris Tilling on his blog and Sean Winter in Regent's Reviews (out around April)

There are rumours that Douglas may becoming across the Atlantic in April/May.

Also his presentation at SBL, along with Alan Torrance's will be appearing in SJT at some future date.

Book Review: Living Holiness: Stanley Hauerwas and the Church by John B. Thompson

John B. Thompson, Living Holiness: Stanley Hauerwas and the Church (Epworth, 2010), 166pp (with thanks to Epworth for a review copy)

In recent years there have been several British attempts to engage more systematically with Stanley Hauerwas' vast corpus of work (notable are Sam Wells, Transforming Fate into Destiny [Paternoster, 1998, Cascade, 2004], John Colwell, Living the Christian Story [T & T Clark, 2001] and John Thompson's PhD dissertation, The Ecclesiology of Stanley Hauerwas [Ashgate, 2003]), what makes this different is its attempt to make Hauerwas more accessible and also to demonstrate the difference Hauerwas' theology might make for the local church.

Part One then, gives five chapters on the Hauerwas project using the concept of holiness - picking up Hauerwas' emphasis on character (Recovering Holiness), story (Narrating Holiness) and church as political (Emobodying Holiness). A final chapter (Challenging Holiness) engages with some of the criticisms Hauerwas has faced. Here I think Hauerwas gets off a little light, as we might expect in a book extolling the virtues of his theology.

It is part two which make the book worth reading. Under the heading 'Improvising with Stanley Hauerwas' are six chapters on congregational life, discipleship, Scripture, mission and witness. In one chapter, Thompson tells the story of a church in Doncaster where he was priest and how they were church in that place. In another, Thompson introduces us to DOXA, a discipleship course he was part of developing, which 'explores the formative character of worship' and another how the church is the answer to consumerism and pluralism.

Thompson has a good grasp of Hauerwas - I'm sure I read somewhere (was it in Faithfulness and Fortitude?) that Hauerwas thinks us Brits are his best readers - and although I think Sam Wells' God's Companions provides the best description of the implications of Hauerwas' theological ethics in practice, Thompson makes a good addition in this attempt to make church faithful, or in this case, holy. Hauerwas is often criticised that the church he writes about is too ideal and does not exist, it is the likes of Thompson and Wells, that demonstrate that this is not the case.

McDonald Centre Conference on Forgiveness

The McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Life is running a two-day conference on IS FORGIVENESS IMMORAL? Christianity & Forgiveness after Political Conflict. (click here for more)

When: 13-14 May 2010
Where: Christ Church, University of Oxford
Cost: £25 (free for students); conference dinner in Great Hall is £10

Speakers:

Philip Barnes, Senior Lecturer in Religious Education
King’s College London

Anthony Bash
Honorary Research Fellow in Theology and Religious Studies
Durham University

Nigel Biggar
Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology
University of Oxford

Thomas Brudholm
Associate Professor, Institute for Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies
University of Copenhagen

Geoffrey Scarre
Professor of Philosophy
Durham University

Stephen N. Williams
Professor of Systematic Theology & Church History
Union Theological College in Belfast

Book Review: The Faith of Jesus Christ edited by Michael F. Bird and Preston M. Sprinkle

Michael F. Bird and Preston M. Sprinkle (eds.), The Faith of Jesus Christ: Exegetical, Biblical and Theological Studies (Paternoster, 2009) (with thanks to Paternoster for a review copy)

The pistis christou debate has been reverberating around Pauline scholarship for a long time now. Article after article has been appearing since the 1980s from the likes of Richard Hays, Jimmy Dunn, Morna Hooker, Douglas Campbell, Barry Matlock, David Hay, Stanley Stowers, Bruce Longenecker, amongst others.  In 1991 there was a major exchange between Hays and Dunn at SBL. (For a timeline of selected contributions, see here). This is the first book to focus entirely on debate and brings together some of the current leading protagonists from both sides - the book's key exchange is between Campbell and Matlock.

For the uninitiated, the debate focuses around the phrase 'pistis christou' which appears in paul's letters (namely Romans and Galatians), which can be translated either as the 'faith in Christ' or the 'faith/fulness of Christ'. 'Faith in Christ' puts the emphasis on human faith, while 'faith of Christ' puts the emphasis on Christ's faithfulness (generally explained as his faithfulness to go to the cross). (I've written a more detailed explanation here). 

The strengths of the book are it brings together a set of essays (see contents here) that explore the debate from all angles - historically (Debbie Hunn), semantically (Stanley Porter and Andrew Pitts), exegetically (Campbell, Matlock, Paul Foster, Richard Bell, Mark Seifrid, Francis Watson, Preston Sprinkle and Ardel Caneday), in the wider New Testament (Peter Bolt on Synoptics and Acts; William Salier on John; Bruce Lowe on James; and David deSilva on Revelation), and theologically (Mark Elliot on the Early Church Fathers; and Ben Myers on Karl Barth).

It must be said that some of the key essays are rehearsals of arguments made elsewhere previously (see Campbell, Matlock and Watson in particular), although by bringing these essays together in one book allows easier comparison. The strongest and most convincing essay is from Campbell, now a veteran in the debate. His chapter on Rom 3.22 is tightly written and clearly argued. While, and this may just be my weak Greek, Matlock and Watson much harder to follow. (For Campbell's response to Matlock and Watson, you will need to see the relevant footnotes in his The Deliverance of God). Ben Myers chapter on Barth is a great read, demonstrating from Barth while a christological reading is necessary from a theological point of view.

It will be interesting to see where the debate goes next. Matlock is preparing a monograph, which will bring together his various articles of the last ten years. Campbell's major work is now published and awaiting responses. I'm not convinced by Sprinkle's third view - that the phrase is a reference to the 'Christ event', this sounds very close to the christological reading. I can't see either Campbell, Hays, Matlock, Watson or Dunn changing sides. It will be interesting to see where Wright ends up - I'm guessing (and hoping) he addresses the debate in his forthcoming volume on Paul. 

This is a fantastic introduction to the debate, a debate which J. Louis Martyn says is a 'matter of life and death' for Paul himself and his interpreter's. How we should interpret definitely affects how the gospel is presented, and for this reason, this book deserves to be widely read.

Seminars at this year's Baptist Assembly

Some interesting looking seminars at this year's Assembly in Plymouth (unfortunately it is doubtful that I will be there)

Saturday afternoon

Preparing for mission-shaped ministry
How is training changing in a multi-cultural, post-Christendom age? Paul Goodliff (BU), Nigel Wright (Colleges) and Mat Wilson (BMS World Mission) explore what it means to prepare for mission-shaped ministry in full-time, part-time and spare-time capacities and what contemporary training could look like. This seminar is a 'must' for anybody who is being 'nudged by the Spirit' about where their future might lie, and for those who care about the missional shapes training needs to take.
Arranged by the Baptist Colleges 

Encouraging young missionary disciples
Each week 18,000 children and young people are in Baptist churches and these same churches are in contact with over 125,000 children and teenagers. In this seminar we will examine how we can help children and young people to become disciples of Jesus, able to celebrate their faith in every way. Included will be the opportunity to hear about new resource material on children and communion produced by the Faith and Unity Department.
Jointly hosted by Ian Bunce, Head of Mission Baptist Union; Ruth Gilson, National Director Girls’ Brigade and Ed Jones, Director Arise Ministries
Arranged by the Baptist Union of Great Britain

Through different eyes: Reading the Bible in a global community
More and more Christians based in the UK are finding their experience of the Bible wonderfully enriched, as the eyes of readers around the world unlock fresh perspectives. Richard Kidd, Joe Kapolyo and Kumar Rajagopalan will tackle some familiar texts – expecting you never to hear them the same way again!
Arranged by the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Baptist Colleges

Sunday Afternoon

The minister as missionary
Mission, mission, mission. You can’t get away from talk about mission. Missionary congregations, missional church, missionary disciples. The case has been made. Agreed, the church is missional by nature. But what of the minister? Is the notion of the pastor-teacher outmoded? Do we need a different model of leadership? If so, what difference will this make in practice? Session also includes the BMF AGM.
Speaker: Glen Marshall
Arranged by Baptist Ministers’ Fellowship

2010 Whitley Lecture: The Poetic Paul
David Southall takes a fresh look at Paul’s understanding of sin and righteousness in Romans. David’s research, combined with his experience as a minister and healthcare chaplain, bears fruit in this thoughtful and pastorally sensitive talk. If you are interested in the contemporary relevance of the gospel you will find his message helpful and stimulating. Printed copies will be on sale.
Speaker: David Southall
Arranged by Whitley Lectureship

How radical can Baptists be?
“William Winterbotham of Plymouth in prison and thinking of America”
The threat of revolutionary France in the 1790s prompted the British government to curtail civil liberties in the name of national security. What impact did this have on Baptists? Sentenced to four years in prison for preaching allegedly seditious sermons, in captivity Winterbotham’s thoughts held the vision of a young republic across the Atlantic.
Speaker: Dr Emma Macleod, University of Stirling
Arranged by Baptist Historical Society

Dr George Beasley Murray Memorial Lecture
Everyone is invited to this lecture which will be given by Dr Ruth Gouldbourne of Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church on the topic ‘In praise of incompetence: ministerial formation and the development of a rooted person’.
Speaker: Dr Ruth Gouldbourne
Arranged by Spurgeon’s College