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Once a day dawned dark, the clouds hanging limp like wisps of smoke that clog the lungs after a fire has burned beyond its life. Tear-stained faces watched a man displayed, his torn body nailed to a tree torn from the ground and weeping over its foul fate. His face contorted with pain as his… Continue reading Last Words
A few weeks ago, I taught a session that I called ‘Understanding the Cross’ at my church. We went through some of what sin is and what crucifixion was like and the Old Testament sacrificial system. In the second half we looked at passages of the Bible to find out what happened theologically on or… Continue reading 12 things that happen on the Cross
Across the four gospel accounts of Jesus’ death, Jesus speaks seven times. Much ink has been spilled exploring the way that each tells us what Jesus was doing on the cross. I think the sayings are a good way to begin to explore atonement theology and will at some point write more fully on that… Continue reading 7 Sayings from the Cross
Once a day dawned dark, the clouds hanging limp like wisps of smoke that clog the lungs after a fire has burned beyond its life. Tear-stained faces watched a man displayed, his torn body nailed to a tree torn from the ground and weeping over its foul fate. His face contorted with pain as his… Continue reading It is Finished
When trying to describe sin and how it lives and corrupts our hearts, people often come up with "all sin is" statements. "All sin is idolatry" is a common one. The other day I said to a friend, “all sin is taking, isn’t it.” The very next day I found myself saying to someone else,… Continue reading Ten Kinds of Sin
Jesus was executed on a hill outside Jerusalem that they named Golgotha, which we’re told means ‘the place of a skull’ (Matthew 27). I’ve always imagined a hill that looks like a skull, rocky with caves to highlight eyes and a mouth. Perhaps something a little like Lion’s Head Rock down Dovedale in the Peak… Continue reading Snakeshead Hill
Anthropologists say there are three kind of cultures. It’s a crude heuristic but it conveys something that’s true. There are guilt cultures, where social order is maintained by reinforcing guilt for condemned behaviours. People are concerned with right and wrong action. Laws and punishment are the usual social mechanisms for enforcing order. Broadly speaking this… Continue reading Dealing with Shame
There’s something about trees. Being around them is good for us. There’s a wealth of evidence that our mental health is positively affected by being around trees, but for now let’s take that as read and try to think a little more theologically about why that might be. The Bible uses trees a lot. We… Continue reading On Trees
In John chapter nine, Jesus heals a blind man and declares himself to be the Light of the World. John wants us to see Jesus as the light that brings sight to dead eyes, physically and spiritually. To compare the arrogant Pharisees who condemn Jesus for healing on the Sabbath to the blind man who… Continue reading Spit & Mud
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