2023 is looking a good year for Baptist theology and history with four new books to look out for: Continue reading

Director, Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence, Bristol Baptist College Publications ___ Reduced Laughter: Seriocomic Features and their Functions in the Book of Kings (Brill, 2016) ___ 'Ahab: Heedless Father, Sullen Son: Humour and Intertextuality in 1 Kings 21', Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 2017 vol. 41(4): 451-474. ___ Immigration and the Church: Reflecting faithfully in our generation (Grove, 2017) ___ ‘Revenge for my Two Eyes’: Talion and Mimesis in the Samson narrative', Biblical Interpretation, 2018 vol. 26: 133-157. ___ 'Participation and goal: Creation and the church’ in Rhythms of Faithfulness: Essays in Honor of John Colwell edited by Andy Goodliff and Paul Goodliff (Pickwick, 2018) ___ ‘Make yourself at home’: Tensions and Paradoxes of hospitality in dialogue with the Bible', Bible and Critical Theory, 2018 vol 14(1):42-61. ___ Dead and Buried: Attending to the voice of the victim in the Old Testament and today: Towards an ethical reading of the Old Testament texts of violence. Oxford: Regents Park College, Whitley Publications, 2018 ___ The Strange World of Elijah and Elisha (Grove, 2019) ___ God of violence yesterday, God of love today? Wrestling honestly with the Old Testament. BRF, 2019. ___ 'The Gadarene swine and... Continue reading

In 2023 Paul will turn 76. He continues to remain busy with writing and leading various projects. In 2021 he published 3 books — one on William Shakespeare, one on C. S. Lewis and Charles Williams, and one on Iris Murdoch, plus an edited collection of essays — Love as Common Ground: Essays on Love in Religion (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021). This last book was the first publication to emerge from the Study of Love in Religion project he leads. The project, started in 2012, is a response to the 2007 Open Letter to Christian Leaders called 'A Common Word' from many Muslim scholars. Out late last year was a second book of essays edited by Fiddes: Loving the Planet: Interfaith Essays on Ecology, Love, and Theology. The book once again brings Jewish, Muslim and Christian scholars together, in this collection, focused on what it means to speaking of loving planet earth. Copies are available via Amazon. A third collection of essays are in preparation. Paul is currently completing a commentary on Romans in the Wiley Blackwell Commentary Series and then has plans to write a book on the Holy Spirit. A nearly complete list of his publications can be... Continue reading

With the news that John Zizioulas has died aged 92, there is a passing of a generation of theologians associated with King's College London in the 1990s and early 2000s. They were friends and colleagues. They shaped a way of doing theology for many. Colin Gunton, who was the linchpin that connected the others, died in 2003. Dan Hardy in 2007. John Webster in 2016. Robert Jenson in 2017. Christoph Schwöbel in 2021. Andrew Walker in 2021. John Zizioulas in 2023. This was an ecumenical grouping — Gunton was a Congregationalist, Hardy and Webster were Anglicans, Jenson and Schwöbel were Lutherans, and Walker and Zizioulas was Eastern Orthodox. (A junior member from the late 1990s Steve Holmes, was a Baptist.) The conferences of the Research Institute in Systematic Theology (RSIT), regularly featured these theologians, amongst others.* (The significant other is Brian Horne, a lecturer in theology at King's until 2001. Horne is retired, but still semi-active. He has chapter in every volume of the RIST) Persons, Divine and Human — Gunton, Zizioulas, Schwöbel Trinitarian Theology Today — Jenson, Zzioulas, Gunton, Schwöbel God and Freedom — Schwöbel, Gunton The Doctrine of Creation — Jenson, Gunton, Hardy, Schwöbel The Theology of Reconciliation... Continue reading

Eleven books I'm keeping any eye out for in 2023. Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning by Nigel Biggar (William Collins, February 2023) Christianity and Racism: Conspiracy or Coincidence? by Robert Beckford (SPCK, March 2023) The Broken Body: Israel, Christ and Fragmentation by Sarah Coakley (Wiley-Blackwell, April 2023) Beyond Immanence by Andrew Torrance and Alan Torrance (Eerdmans, May 2023) Abundantly More by Jeremy Begbie (Baker, June 2023) The New Perspective on Grace: Paul and the Gospel after Paul and the Gift edited by Edward Adams et al (Eerdmans, August 2023) The Eucharist in Four Dimensions by Jessica Martin (Canterbury, August 2023) A Primer in Christian Ethics: Christ and the Struggle to Live Well by Luke Bretherton (Cambridge, 2023) A Jewish Paul: The Messiah's Herald to the Gentiles by Matthew Thiessen (Baker, August 2023) Pilgrim Journey: Instruction in the Mystery of the Gospel by Curtis Freeman (Fortress, September 2023) Awake in Gethsemane by Tim Judson (Baylor, September 2023) Glorification and the Life of Faith by David Ford and Ashley Cocksworth (Baker, October 2023) Continue reading

There’s one born every minute. Millions of babies are born every year. Each with their own story. Babies are of course special, but at the same time pretty ordinary — however we might boast about them! One born every minute. But here we are telling a story of one baby that we believe is somehow different, one baby that has a peculiar story of conception, one baby whose life, vocation is already known, already chosen. Expectant parents are often told your lives will never the same again, your baby will change your world — and this is of course true — but the baby whose birth we celebrate today, we believe not only changed the lives of Mary and Joseph, and the lives of the shepherds, but his birth means the whole world has changed. One who is born in one minute, and has changed all other minutes, and hours, days and years — all of time — because of this birth we say nothing will ever be the same again … we will say it again with even more joy when we reach Easter: nothing will ever be the same again. This baby is both ordinary and not ordinary,... Continue reading

(Sing) ‘Welcome everybody, it’s good to see you here.’ Let me say I hope you feel a warm welcome this morning. It is very true today that it’s good to see you here. I wonder if you’ve welcomed anyone recently? Perhaps someone to your home to visit in the last few days, perhaps someone new at work or at school in the last few months, perhaps you have welcomed someone to Belle Vue, perhaps even this morning. I wonder what you said and what you did to make the person feel welcome. The word welcome means ‘desired guest’? It’s made up of two Old English words — wella meaning desire and cuma meaning guest. I’m talking about welcome because I want to suggest that it is a good way to look at the Christmas story. At the heart of this story is welcome. At the beginning of the Nativity story, there is the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary. Gabriel brings news of great joy — of blessing, salvation, of conception. The news though is dependent upon Mary’s welcome: is the son announced, one that she can welcome as a desired guest? It is not altogether clear that the... Continue reading

Little by little Beverly Gaventa is working her way through her commentary on Paul's letter to the Romans. In 2016 she published a brief book When in Romans (Baker), picking up broad themes of her reading. From 2004 she has been publishing articles exploring sections, words, and themes running through the letter. Below is an attempt to see how her reading of the letter is looking chapter by chapter. Many, if not all, of the articles, are concerned not just with one chapter, but with the whole letter. 1 'Power and Kenosis in Paul’s Letter to the Romans' in Kenosis: The Self-Emptying of Christ in Scripture and Theology edited by Keith Johnson and Paul Nimmo (Eerdmans, 2022) '"To Preach the Gospel": Romans 1.15 and the Purpose of Romans' in The Letter to the Romans edited by Udo Schnelle (Peeters, 2009), 179-95 "The Mission of God in Paul's Letter to the Romans." Paul as Missionary: Identity, Activity, Theology, and Practice edited by Trevor Burke and Brian S. Rosner (T & T Clark, 2011), 65-75 'Places of Power in Paul's Letter to the Romans', Interpretation 76.4 (October 2022) '"God Handed Them Over": Reading Romans 1:18-32 Apocalyptically', Australian Biblical Review 53 (2005), 42-53... Continue reading

ThD (Birmingham, 2009) Mission Advisor, Baptist Union of Great Britain (1996-2003) Researcher in European Mission and Evangelism, Conference of European Churches (2003-2007) Director, Nova Research Centre and Lecturer in European Mission, Redcliffe College, Gloucestershire (2007-2011) Associate Professor of Missiology, Morling College, Sydney (2021-2019) Associate Professor and Director of Research, Whitley College, Melbourne (2019-) Publications ’Constructing Futures: outlining a transhumanist vision of the future and the challenge to Christian theology of its proposed uses of new and futures developments in technology’, Journal of Faith and Science Exchange (2000) 'Does the future have a denomination?', Baptist Ministers' Journal 277 (Jan. 2002): 18-23 ‘Mission-shaped presence in Europe’, International Review of Mission 95 (July/October 2006) ‘Proselytism in a Central and Eastern European perspective’, Journal of European Baptist Studies 8.2 (January 2008): 18-36 ’Europe and the migrant experience: transforming integration’, Transformation 28.1 (2011) ‘The futures of missiology: imaginative practices and the transformation of rupture’ in Walk Humbly with the Lord: Church and Mission Engaging Plurality edited by V. Mortensen and A. Neilson (Eerdmans, 2011) 'Imagine a Church without Migrants: a European perspective' in Thinking Christianly about Immigration edited by D. Carroll (Denver Seminary, 2011) ’Intercultural and inter-religious dialogue in Europe’ in Mission in Context: Explorations... Continue reading

It was a real joy and privilege to edit this book with John Colwell in honour of my father as he retires. See here for more about the book and how to order with a discount until mid-July. Contents Ministry and Art — Graham Sparkes Ministry and Music — Geoff Colmer Ministry and Poetry — Paul Fiddes Ministry and Geography - Andy Goodliff Ministry and History - Stephen Copson Ministry as Improvisation - Ruth Gouldbourne Ministry and Wine — Rob Ellis Ministry as Gardening - Pat Took Ministry and Travel - Paul Beasley-Murray Ministry and Education - Sally Nelson Ministry and Ecumenism - Ruth Bottoms Ministry and Restorative Justice - Myra Blyth Ministry and Counselling - Alistair Ross Ministry and Preaching - Wale Hudson-Roberts Ministry as Prayer - John Colwell Continue reading

The return of Elijah : an exploration of the character and context of the relationship between Elijah, John the Baptist and Jesus in the Gospels (DPhil, Oxford, 1998) Director, Centre for Reception History of the Bible, University of Oxford (2002-) Tutorial Fellow in Theology & Director of the Centre for Baptist Studies, Regent's Park College (2018-) Publications ___ 'A Question of Identity: 'Who do People Say I Am?' Elijah, John the Baptist and Jesus in Mark's Gospel' in Understanding, Studying and Reading: New Testament Essays in Honour of John Ashton edited by Christopher Rowland and Crispin Fletcher-Louis (Sheffield, 1998) ___ 'The returned Elijah? John the Baptist's angelic identity in the Gospel of Mark', Scottish Journal of Theology (2005) ___ (ed.), Perspectives on the Passion: encountering the Bible through the Arts (T & T Clark, 2007) ___ 'Introduction' in Perspectives on the Passion: encountering the Bible through the Arts (T & T Clark, 2007) ___ (ed.) with Christopher Rowland, From the Margins 2 : Women of the New Testament and Their Afterlives (Sheffield Phoenix, 2009) ___ 'Wombs and Tombs: The Reception History of Mark 16.1-20' in From the Margins 2 (Sheffield Phoenix, 2009) ___ 'Visualizing Salome’s Dance of Death: The Contribution... Continue reading

DPhil (Oxford, 1997, supervised by N. T. Wright): “‘Worthy of the Gospel of Christ’: The Situation and Strategy of Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians” Tutor in New Testament, Northern Baptist College (2000-2008) Associate Professor in New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College (2009-) Publications More Light and Truth? Biblical Interpretation in Covenantal Perspective. The 2007 Whitley Lecture (Whitley, 2007) 'Ambiguous Genitives, Pauline Baptism and Roman Insulae: Resources from Romans to Support Pushing at the Boundaries of Unity' in A. R. Cross and P. E. Thompson (eds.), Baptist Sacramentalism 2 (Paternoster, 2008), 77-91. “The Rhetorical Function of John’s Portrayal of the Jewish Law" in Torah in the New Testament edited by P. Oakes and M. Tait (T & T Clark, 2009) ‘Ambassadors for Christ’ (2 Corinthians 5.20): Ministry in the New Creation' in Questions of Identity: Studies in Honour of Brian Haymes edited by Anthony R. Cross and R. Gouldbourne (Regent's Park College, 2011) 'Reading with Friends: Persuasive Testimony in Baptist Interpretative Communities' in The 'Plainly Revealed' Word of God: Baptist Hermeneutics in Theory and Practice edited by Simon P. Woodman and Helen Dare (Mercer, 2011) '"A Daring Synagogue Sermon?": Paul's Preaching in 2 Corinthians 3.7–18' in Delivering the Word: Preaching and Exegesis... Continue reading

Theology Live is a one day for British Baptists engaged in postgraduate theology. This was our fifth event. What is encouraging is that each year we find new people who are doing theological research to invite. From the nine speakers this year, 3 are doing a postgraduate degree, and 7 were speaking at Theology Live for the first time. It was good to have 3 papers engaged with how we read the Bible — Anthony Clarke spoke on the commitments in our hermeneutics, Edward Pillar on 1 Cor 15 and the missing women, and Amanda Higgins on how the language of perfection shapes how read the letter to the Hebrews. Three other papers focused on ministry and church — Lisa Kerry's paper explored whether we should of ministers as professions in conversation with her nursing background, Ruth Gouldbourne reflected on where we are with women in ministry 25 years on from her significant Whitley Lecture Reinventing the Wheel, on the same topic, and Ali Boulton invited us to see how a regular pamper night which included footwashing can be seen as church. Steve Holmes' paper was a work of Baptist history in the 17th century and an argument to revise... Continue reading

In the early hours a congregation gathers. Some are just arriving; others have already found somewhere to sit. There is the usual whispered conversation. This is the first time this particular congregation has come together. Present are: a husband and wife; a bunch of shepherds; and some mysterious travellers from the east. They are joined by animals: a cow, a donkey, a sheep, and a camel. It’s an unusual bunch. All have gathered to worship the Christ-child. This is the first Christmas. Footwear is removed, for like Moses before the burning bush, to everyone it feels like a holy place. All are on their knees; all eyes gazing on the tiny flesh. This is a sacred moment. Words of scripture are shared: ‘For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.’ ‘But you Bethlehem, though you are small, out of you will come for me, one who will be ruler over Israel.’ ‘And he will be called Immanuel.’ Praises are sung, ‘Glory to God in the highest’ and gifts are given. This is the first Christmas. Someone has some bread, its broken and shared. One of the travellers passes round a flask of wine. A small... Continue reading

I'm honoured to be giving the Whitley Lecture in 2022. The current Whitley Lecture series has been running since 1996 and offers a British Baptist scholar a chance to share a piece of theological work to wide audience. The Whitley Lecture is given at each of the British Baptist Colleges in London, Bristol, Oxford, Cardiff, Manchester, and Glasgow and from 2021 in some format also to the Whitley College, Australia. Sally Nelson has said this about my lecture: In this Lecture, Andy Goodliff offers us a crafted exploration of what a Baptist political theology might be. His argument begins with an overview of Nigel Wright’s discussion of church and state but soon moves into a powerful reflection upon what it means today to inhabit a dissenting ecclesiology, one which says ‘no’ to the power of the state and ‘yes’ to the Lordship of Christ. To be baptised is a political act; to accede to the Declaration of Principle implies a political worldview; to be a member of a Baptist church commits us to an ongoing ‘political discipleship’ in which we constantly engage in reflective conversation with the powers around us. This is a Lecture to stimulate both our thinking and... Continue reading

English Pastoral by James Rebanks (Penguin) The Book of Trespass by Nick Hayes (Bloomsbury) Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (Faber) God is not a White Man by Chine MacDonald (Hodder) All Things Beautiful by Chris Green (Baylor) From Spare Oom to War Drobe by Katherine Langrish (DLT) Karl Barth: A Life in Conflict by Christiane Tietz (Oxford) Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury) Pilgrim Letters by Curtis Freeman (Fortress) Hoiness and Truth by Jessica Martin (Canterbury) The Second Sleep by Robert Harris Postliberal Politics by Adrain Pabst (Polity) Continue reading

The sad news was shared yesterday that Rev Dr Anthony R. Cross has died. Anthony, aged 59, was one of the most influential Baptists of the last twenty years, not only in his own contributions to Baptist history and thought, in particular the doctrines of baptism and ministry, but as one of the architects of what might be called Baptist studies in the UK. His creating and editing the series Studies in Baptist History and Thought with Paternoster (under the leadership of Jeremy Mudditt and Robin Parry) for over ten years saw a whole set of volumes produced that created a wealth of historical and theological resources. He went on to inaugurate a similar series for the Centre for Baptist History and Heritage, based at Regent's Park College and more recently he had begun a new relationship with Wipf & Stock, seen in Baptist Sacramentalism 3. Anthony's early work was on baptism, beginning with two books edited with Stanley Porter (who was then teaching at the University of Roehampton) and then his own comprehensive history of baptismal theology among English Baptists in the twentieth century, Baptism and the Baptists (2000). His work on baptism would culminate with a second volume,... Continue reading

MA (Oxford, 1996), BD (Oxford, 2001), DMin (Chester, 2017) Tutorial Fellow in Pastoral Studies and Community Learning, Regent's Park College, Oxford (2007-) Publications ___ (ed.), Bound for Glory? God, Church and World in Covenant (Whitley, 2002) ___ 'The Covenantal Basis of God's Trinitarian Life' in Bound for Glory? God, Church and World in Covenant (Whitley, 2002) ___ A Cry in the Darkness: The Forsakenness of Jesus in Scripture, Theology and Experience (Smyth and Helwys, 2002) ___ (ed.) Expecting Justice, but Seeing Bloodshed: Some Baptist Contributions to Following Jesus in a Violent World (Whitley, 2004) ___ (ed.) with Paul S. Fiddes, Flickering Images: Theology and Film in Dialogue (Smyth and Helwys, 2005) ___ 'Gaining Fresh Insights: Film and Theological Reflection in a Pastoral Setting' in Flickering Images: Theology and Film in Dialogue (Smyth and Helwys, 2005) ___ 'Membership Matters: From a Barrier to a Threshold', Baptist Ministers’ Journal (2006) ___ 'A Feast for All? Reflecting on Open Communion for the Contemporary Church' in Baptist Sacramentalism 2 (Paternoster, 2008) ___ (ed.) with Andrew Moore, For the Love of God: Essays in Honour of Paul S. Fiddes (Oxford, 2014) ___ (ed.), For the Sake of the Church: Essays in Honour of Paul S.... Continue reading

Emma Nash, A Pastoral Theology of Childlessness (SCM, 2021) Emma Nash is a Baptist minister who currently works for the Methodists. In this, her first book, she offers reflections on her experience of being unable to have children. Nash addresses an issue that gets very little attention in society or church. It is very rarely, if ever, talked about. The first strength of this book is it brings it to wider attention and to the pastoral life of the church. In five chapters Nash explores being alone, being in pain, being powerless, being barren, and feeling guilty. The reader is given a personal insight into the journey of those seeking to have children and the struggle and trauma it brings, especially when the end result is an inability to conceive. The testimony brings light to an experience too often hidden. In each of the chapters Nash turns to scripture and finds narratives both helpful and not so helpful. This is a pastoral theology. It has a gentle tone and is easy to read. There were moments when I would have liked the theology reflection to have gone further. There is room perhaps for further theological and pastoral reflection to follow... Continue reading

It was an honour to be invited to the T & T Clark Handbook of Colin Gunton edited by Andrew Picard, Myk Habets and Murray Rae. It is an excellent collection of essays exploring the themes of Gunton's theology (revelation, Trinity, creation, atonement, Christology, etc) and his conversation partners (Ireneaus, Barth, Coleridge, Owen, Jenson, Zizioulas, etc). Contributors include Steve Holmes, Paul Molnar, Christoph Schwöbel, Douglas Farrow, Ivor Davidson, Oliver Crisp and many others. Andrew Walker provides a wonderful foreword. The book will add to the increasing number of monographs on Gunton's work and hopefully see his contribution to theology continued to be engaged with. The chapter I wrote, with my father Paul, is on Gunton's account of ministry and the Christian life. Full details of the book can be found here. Continue reading

The book version of my PhD is now available. Thanks to the team at Wipf & Stock for the work they've done in the publication process. Thanks also to Michael Haykin and Ron Paul for accepting it to be part of the Monographs in Baptist History series. Thanks to Steve Holmes, my supervisor, for writing the Foreword. My one line summary is 'its a look at what Baptists got upto in the 1990s.' This book is an exploration of the renewal of the Baptist Union of Great Britain in the 1990s, the only historic UK denomination which grew in this period. It was an exciting time, with plenty of denominational activity and engagement, both theological and institutional. The book tells this story focusing on the particular individuals involved and the wide-ranging discussions centered around mission and identity, ministry, associating, and ecumenism. It argues that there were competing visions emerging from two different streams of thought which whilst not divisive caused tension. At the end of the decade structural changes were introduced with hope for the new millennium, but the book contends that opportunities were missed for a more deeply theological renewal. “Baptists have been less affected by declining numbers than... Continue reading

I wonder when was the last time you were interrupted? It might have been someone cutting across you as you were speaking. It might have been a happening that interrupted the way you thought your day was going to go. It was almost definitely the way you thought your Christmas was going to go. The emergence of the virus has interrupted nearly the whole of this year. The Christmas story is a story of interruptions. We begin with Mary. Mary’s busy at home, and is interrupted by an angel, to tell her that her life is going to be interrupted by God and a pregnancy. We turn to Joseph. He’s excited to be getting married, then everything gets interrupted by news that Mary is pregnant, but before he can end things, his dreams get interrupted by an angel again, telling him to hold fast to the marriage. Having barely got to grips with the pregnancy and the marriage, both Mary and Joseph lives get interrupted by Caesar and his census, and a journey they now have to make to Bethlehem. Once at Bethlehem, the baby is born, and then as they are dealing with these first few hours, they get... Continue reading

The latest McClendon Reading Group was on the final chapter of Ethics on Narrative Ethics. We were privileged to have Stanley Hauerwas join us to talk about McClendon's work and connections with his own work. The conversation look at the place of narrative, the differences between McClendon's and Robert Jenson's systematic theologies, the Baptist Vision and more. We start next month with the second volume of McClendon's Systematic Theology on Doctrine. Continue reading

A prayer inspired by Rabbi Sacks on the news of his death: God of Mercy and Peace we pray with the Persistence of Faith for You to Heal a Fractured World. Grow in us the grace that sees the Dignity of Difference. Teach us that the Home we Build Together should always embody the Politics of Hope, should always be Celebrating Life, and live for the Restoring of the Common Good. In Your Holy Name Amen. Continue reading

A small group continues to read Jim McClendon's Ethics (volume 1 of his Systematic Theology). Here's the videos for the last two sessions. We will meet in November to reflect on the final chapter of Ethics and the book as a whole, before in December moving on to begin to read volume 2: Doctrine. Continue reading