tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63537812012-01-02T08:50:34.402ZWelcome to my Web LogJonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comBlogger7721100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-82930770718416015372007-07-26T22:27:00.000Z2007-07-26T22:40:19.942Z

Poteriology...Finished Harry Potter and the Doom of Puberty yesterday. It strikes me that it is a very long time since JK Rowling was a teenager and I imagine life with her would be akin to living with PMT personified - now there's a thought. Moving on with the rapidity of Rowling's narrative shift (minus the "I'm really angry for no reason other than I'm a teenager plot twist"), a couple of

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-45567528275999221742007-07-25T21:01:00.000Z2007-07-25T21:30:23.636Z

Reformed Theology - a Delicate Approach to an Unassailable TopicI just thought I'd put my neck out and try to qualify a few thoughts that I've been having regarding Reformed Theology. I just want to be very honest and put down a few critiques of what I see as Reformed Theology.But First: A little bit of clarification. Any term like Reformed Theology will become a tendentious point to anyone.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-67065453716092208012007-07-24T14:51:00.000Z2007-07-24T14:55:40.393Z

Nothing really matters now you're gone...I have been absent a lot recently - number of reasons:1 - new car to work on2 - People are still wanting photos from Asda3 - I've not had much time to read stuff4 - therefore, nothing too interesting to say5 - I was laid low by some dread tonsillitis (man flu according to my mum)6 - the golf was on - it was so exciting. I hope you all got to enjoy some of

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-20592333214800794362007-06-27T22:16:00.000Z2007-06-27T22:32:14.596Z

I don't know what meme means...But there is a quite good one on the go at Ben Myers blog here.Here's my offering - I confess:1 - that the more I study theology, the more I'm convinced I shouldn't study theology.2 - that I think Reformed Theology is dying out and yet I'm not sure I'm that sad about it.3 - that, although I love Calvin, I usually give up in Book IV of the Institutes because it's

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-25120389353466427012007-06-12T20:47:00.000Z2007-06-12T21:16:18.285Z

Northern Lights...I read a book this week that more than 20 people have read before. I say this because the more I read, the less people seem to care about the books I read! Anyway, I pulled Northern Lights by Philip Pullman off the shelf without really knowing much to read about it other than the fact that it is probably in the list of banned books which the Vatican mark as 'off limits', etc. To

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-27011529714743187522007-06-08T10:46:00.000Z2007-06-08T14:18:29.571Z

Me and Links..."What am I up to over the long, summer months?" I hear you ask. "Tell us Jon so that we may know more of how you live; a veritable intellectual hermit in the land of scholastic aridity!"Well... Not a lot is the answer. I began work yesterday back at ASDA Crewe Photocentre - I did an evening shift (6-10) for the first time and, after I had done all the photos that needed doing, I

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-33014712625324185372007-06-06T14:19:00.000Z2007-06-06T14:22:49.799Z

Calvin for Armchair Theologians...WTM reviews ‘Calvin for Armchair Theologians’ by Christopher Elwood and writes:This book pleasantly surprised me. I did not expect to find within it such a well-balanced and thorough introduction to Calvin. But, I now believe that there is no better book to recommend to the non-academic as an introduction to Calvin’s life and work.Read the rest of the review here

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-10395240596047237892007-06-06T12:05:00.000Z2007-06-06T12:11:41.540Z

1689 and all that...For those (hundreds...) of you who are interested, my article on the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith can be read here... Just remember I have full copyright for this article and, should you be fool-hardy enough to try to pass it off as your own, I will hunt you down with a copy of the Summae Theologicae (the 60 vol. Latin-English) and, thus, Thomas will come down so hard on

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-43608544618157815702007-06-04T22:20:00.000Z2007-06-04T22:24:16.973Z

The Possibilities of Theology - Exploring Eberhard JüngelThis is a series being hosted over at my other blog (the boring one...) on the theology of Eberhard Jüngel. I'll be trying to post a number of items which explore his theology from the eponymous book which is edited by John Webster. These are the posts:§1 The Being and Attributes of God. Eberhard Jüngel's dispute with the Classical

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-35860181418000551052007-06-02T22:14:00.000Z2007-06-02T22:20:26.707Z

In which Barth’s Göttingen Dogmatics are discussed and Ben Myers begins a rumour that Karl Barth is NOT dead...Over at Jim West's Blog, Jim discusses the (im...) possible release of the second volume of Barth’s Göttingen Dogmatics by Eerdmans next month. However, if you read the comments carefully, Ben Myers errs on the side of caution because it's probable that Karl Barth hasn't even started

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-63012105694386250022007-06-02T11:10:00.001Z2007-06-02T11:19:44.341Z

Book to Good Home...I went to Hay on Wye yesterday - the Jewel of Britain I like to think of it as. Anyway, I managed to pick up a cheap copy of Polanyi's work Personal Knowledge of which I already have a copy. So if anyone can promise that they will make good use of it, I'll send it to you free of charge. Just let me know...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-75256583203983878622007-06-02T11:10:00.000Z2007-06-02T11:16:10.948Z

A New Book...Arrived through the post today. Nice and shiny and new. It's called The Possibilities of Theology: Studies in the Theology of Eberhard Jüngel and it's basically a compilation of essays edited by (who else but) John Webster. There are about 9 essays in the book and so I intend to work through the book and then offer a response to each chapter where I seek to interact with the argument

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-89482840082832017942007-05-31T18:23:00.000Z2007-05-31T18:30:56.983Z

Human Nature...I've just watched over the latest Dr Who offering (I missed it last Saturday) and, my goodness, what an episode it is. As a theologian, anything with the title Human Nature is going to be good and this did not prove otherwise. Imagine this - you have a Time Lord being chased by some bad aliens - the only way he can escape is by emptying himself of his "Time Lord-ness" (oh look at

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-47706322496297609022007-05-31T11:37:00.000Z2007-05-31T11:40:07.253Z

A Little Treat for You...A number of you have been asking me to upload my Karl Barth dance remix and so I thought I would comply. However, I've gone one better. I made a little video to go with it and uploaded it onto youtube. So help yourselves to The Barthman's Deck-laration. Enjoy!

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-9185761488439413172007-05-29T21:38:00.000Z2007-05-29T21:40:43.659Z

Poems...There is a strange propensity for theologians to suppose they are able poets (I include myself in this indictment). Check out DW Congdon's blog where a poetry extravaganza is unfolding before our eyes!

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-28534699580312687202007-05-28T16:26:00.000Z2007-05-28T16:29:46.146Z

Academic Journal...I had my first article accepted by an academic journal. Admittedly, it is an essay on the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith and it was accepted by the Baptist Quarterly so not TOO impressive. But still - I was introduced to the whole world of academic editing - what a tedious process. 5 hours and 900 words less and I'm not sure the paper is any the better for it. If

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-25762243850277520402007-05-27T09:22:00.000Z2007-05-27T09:26:38.203Z

Whitsun Weddings...I don't often do this. Two things actually... 1 - post a poem or 2 - observe a date in the Christian liturgical calender. But there is a gamut of BAD poems on peoples' blogs and so I thought I would post a GOOD one. As it is Whit Sunday, what better time to post a poem from Philip Larkin's magnum opus the Whitsun Weddings. This poem is the eponymous poem - "The Whitsun Weddings

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-21869625315029859312007-05-25T16:44:00.000Z2007-05-25T16:50:23.224Z

Logos Bible Software...I've been contacted by the staff of Logos Bible Software to let me know that they're just about to publish an electronic edition Barth’s Barth's Church Dogmatics. You can visit its Pre-Pub product page here. The Logos edition will be fully searchable, and all references and footnotes will operate as hotspots, immediately presenting the cited information whenever the cursor

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-63677478161730529402007-05-24T15:05:00.000Z2007-05-24T15:08:20.110Z

The Bruised Reed...I've just noticed that my friend Rich has a new blog... I'll change the sidebar accordingly

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-27821690763634936952007-05-23T23:34:00.000Z2007-05-23T23:40:01.929Z

You know what word I hate?Heresy... You know why? Because I've never used a word SO misused in my entire life... Apart from maybe the word literally...Anyway, I was reading a few blogs around and I found a couple of good posts HERE and HERE on heresy.Here's a quote from one:"I'm just gonna go public with this, but I'm sorry, all this "you're a heretic, no you're a heretic" junk that is being

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-65456508165251034692007-05-23T15:24:00.000Z2007-05-23T15:26:55.131Z

New Perspective on Mr T...Apparently, there has been a shift in Mr T Studies in the last few years... Read about it here...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-26815103565893542782007-05-22T22:18:00.001Z2007-05-22T22:32:28.942Z

What makes a good TheoloBlog?Do you ever get frustrated as a theologian who blogs? I do (if I can call myself synonymously a theologian and a blogger). Do you know why? Because as a third-year university graduate you have no chance of being respected in the theology blogging circles. When you are competing with Masters, PhD, Post-grad researchers and even lecturers you have no chance. Why?

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-48019682651528477702007-05-22T22:18:00.000Z2007-05-22T22:22:00.346Z

Matt Jenson - PhD Published...I've just noticed that Matt Jenson (lately of St Andrews but now Biola) has recently published his PhD thesis. Ben Myers alerted me to the fact here.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-34130921953089989562007-05-20T21:04:00.000Z2007-05-20T21:06:54.757Z

What a tale..."Toward the end of his life I had a conversation with Heidegger about the relation between thought and language, and I asked whether it wasn't the destiny of thought to be on the way to God (unterwegs zu Gott). He answered: "God -- that is the most worthy object of thought. But that's where language breaks down."Admittedly, this was not the impression I had received during that

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-70205925533468155832007-05-19T19:10:00.000Z2007-05-19T20:07:21.736Z

Ever wanted to read Calvin's Institutes...And not had time to do it? You could read this...Or stick with John of Damascus

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-13053794314271576672007-05-19T17:50:00.000Z2007-05-19T19:06:26.605Z

What I am doing now...It seems popular to write down what you are doing now in other blogs. Unlike the owners of other blogs, however, I do DO something and so have not been able to have time to write down what I DO do. However, I have now finished my exams and so I DO have time to not DO what I wasn't doing before and so I thought I would write about it. I'm doing nothing. But here's what I want

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-53915486980819282822007-05-19T11:06:00.000Z2007-05-19T11:35:01.861Z

I love Jungel... Do you?Here's one reason why:"The word 'substitution' confronts us, if not with a mystery, then at least with some riddles. If one looks into the newer theological lexicons for the origins and significance of the word, one is ill-served. Information about the content of the word is scanty, and the range of the articles is similarly meagre. I cannot refrain from sharing with you

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-3630852680335545982007-05-16T17:15:00.000Z2007-05-16T17:17:58.449Z

Thomas Methodology...For James - from WTM:Below is reproduced Renick’s attempt (pp. 147-9 of the volume mentioned above) to provide an illustrating and orientating example of the methodology and form with which Thomas argues in the Summa Theologica:Question 7: Proteins (in Thirty-Seven Articles)First ArticleWhether chunky or smooth be the more perfect form of peanut butter?Objection 1: It would

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-60108782615607462752007-05-15T11:56:00.000Z2007-05-15T12:01:23.231Z

Exams...One down - one to go...Final one tomorrow - not sure how well "Salvation in Christian Reflection" went - in the last question I was being very "imaginative" and sought to argue that an understanding of the relationship between divine forgiveness and human repentance can only be understood along the lines of a rehash of ontology... I used Forsyth and Jungel here but ran out of time before

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-5570013997793411732007-05-07T21:54:00.000Z2007-05-07T22:06:00.249Z

Barth backing up Tommy...In following up the quote of NTW about the song, "In Christ Alone", I found this quote on Barth in the course of revision:"In his exposition Barth is critical of the theory of Anselm and his successors which sees the atonement 'either in the sense that by his (Christ's) suffering our punishment we are spared from suffering it ourselves, or that in so doing he 'satisfied'

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-52191877349249603822007-05-07T16:23:00.000Z2007-05-07T16:39:18.773Z

I don't often do these...But there you go. Indulging Paul's imagination:1. Three characters you wish were real so you could meet themThis is hard - I used to be an avid reader of fiction and then I realised I had so much else to read that I don't often get much else read. Firstly, I think I'd go with Guy Montag out of Fahrenheit 451 - one of the best books ever written. Incidentally Paul, I think

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-91472486290622527192007-05-05T23:28:00.000Z2007-05-05T23:33:46.998Z

ANOTHER quiz...I hate these quiz things because I know what answer I'll get at the end based on what I choose to answer the questions with... Still... I suppose Barth and Forsyth HAVE influenced me although I'd hardly call myself a fully-fledged neo-orthodox and I don't even think Barth would have by the time he died... Still for what it's worth:You scored as Neo orthodox. You are neo-orthodox.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-10458763681951083912007-05-02T21:01:00.000Z2007-05-03T17:58:25.167Z

You know it's a good poem...When it has theology in it like this:"We think about Paradise and Calvarie,Christs Crosse, and Adams tree, stood in one place;Looke Lord and finde both Adams met in me;As the first Adams sweat surrounds my face,May the last Adams blood my soule embrace."John Donne, 'Hymn to God my God, in my Sicknesse'.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-21670509292843555032007-04-29T23:22:00.000Z2007-04-29T23:27:32.823Z

So many books... So little time...Apologies for not posting in such a long time. I have been consumed with essay-writing and now my time is shifting to devotion to revision. My two end of year exams are only 2 weeks away and so I really need to step it up a notch so I probably won't be posting as much. I say that, I probably will because it's in situations like this that I "find the time" to

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-51854867111941298172007-04-28T23:28:00.000Z2007-04-28T23:31:41.082Z

How I feel about my studies..."As one who would understand, I must press forward to the point where insofar as possible I confront the riddle of the subject matter and no longer merely the riddle of the document as such, where I can almost forget that I am not the author, where I have almost understood him so well that I let him speak in my name, and can myself speak in his name..."Karl Barth,

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-49680620246854086622007-04-26T23:11:00.000Z2007-04-26T23:28:52.766Z

Penal Substitution...I'm really reticent to say anything here about PS because:1 - there is so much being said about PS at the moment that no one is really reading carefully what is being written and I don't want to just "clog religion with new words" in the words of the 1689 Confession.2 - I really am not as clued up as I should be on the subject.3 - because I feel that you have to be very

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-86496044556325574352007-04-23T16:12:00.001Z2007-04-23T16:48:06.452Z

Quote of the Day...Something I've been trying to say for a while..."I have this unhappy sense that a large swathe of contemporary evangelicalism has (accidentally and unintentionally, of course) stopped its ears to the Bible, and hence to the God of the Bible, and is determinedly pursuing a course dictated by evangelical tradition rather than by scripture itself."NT Wright on Evangelical Tradition

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-8884158628540798862007-04-23T16:12:00.000Z2007-04-23T16:13:24.839Z

NTW on "In Christ Alone..."From a recent article on Penal Substitution:"This is what happens when people present over-simple stories with an angry God and a loving Jesus, with a God who demands blood and doesn’t much mind whose it is as long as it’s innocent. You’d have thought people would notice that this flies in the face of John’s and Paul’s deep-rooted theology of the love of the triune God:

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-18297335907179770132007-04-22T19:37:00.000Z2007-04-22T19:38:40.197Z

Dr Who?Anyone who saw the recent Dr Who episode with religious overtones coming out of its ears (now there is a mixed metaphor and a half) should pop over to Caleb's blog to read his post on the matter...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-67145817471799282942007-04-22T16:07:00.000Z2007-04-22T16:10:51.870Z

Quote of the Day...Here's a funny footnote I found in Tom Smail's book, "The Giving Gift"."Footnote 15 - I here follow Karl Barth who, in line with some of the Greek Fathers, and much modern theology held that the human nature that Christ assumed was fallen humanity regenerated by the Spirit of Karl Barth..."Tom Smail - The Giving Gift, 115.Oops... Imagine holding to a doctrine in which your own

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-55424549373316905032007-04-16T17:14:00.000Z2007-04-16T17:18:37.926Z

Happy Birthday Si!21 today...(years not stone...)

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-68171991131825632422007-04-14T10:59:00.000Z2007-04-14T11:00:10.833Z

Quote of the Day...“Confession is good for the soul only in the sense that a tweed coat is good for dandruff - it is a palliative rather than a remedy”Peter de Vries

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-26003890307439472302007-04-12T19:46:00.000Z2007-04-12T19:49:02.692Z

P.T. Forsyth on preaching...I have always done much in my ministry in the way ofexpounding the Bible, and I wouldsay to the younger ministers particularly who are here, Donot be afraid of that manner of preaching. I have knownyoung ministers who were over–scrupulous. I have knownthen, say, “If I take a long text people will think it isbecause I am lazy and do not want the labour of getting

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-14337900527227124002007-04-09T21:40:00.000Z2007-04-09T22:47:28.352Z

The Paul Fernandez Show...Paul has set me some (hard) questions:1) What led you to study at St. Andrews? Any regrets?That's a bit of a negative one! But it's actually a fairly interesting story. I originally planned to study Biblical Hebrew and applied to Cambridge and (naively) thought I would get in! But, as you can imagine, not a huge amount of universities offer Biblical Hebrew courses so I

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-18087358200959309312007-04-03T15:44:00.000Z2007-04-03T15:48:15.543Z

New Song...I have just written and recorded a new song which I have uploaded onto my MySpace account. It's called "Don't Forget Me" and it's a little weird so I'd love to hear your feedback. If you're wondering what it's about - it's a love song for an idealist (I mean a proper Hegelian!) and it asks questions about when we end up changing the people we like into the people we like...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-49307624407475098762007-03-30T17:08:00.000Z2007-03-30T17:10:59.092Z

Live Performance...If you look at the programme for Cheltenham Bible Festival, you'll see that Tom and I are performing on the music stage every day! They won't know what's hit them...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-29159291758787639192007-03-30T10:33:00.000Z2007-03-30T10:35:50.419Z

Don Carson MP3s...Just thought some of you might find this list of Don Carson MP3s useful...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-16336442599375919132007-03-29T14:15:00.000Z2007-03-29T14:18:41.836Z

Quote of the Day..."Every poet who steals, steals from some other poet, and in so far we are all equally wretched; indeed, my own theft is perhaps less harmful, since it is more readily discovered."Kierkegaard, Philosophical Fragments, Chapter 2.This just makes me feel better about the essay I'm writing...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-14998173148045226072007-03-28T22:55:00.000Z2007-03-28T23:03:38.554Z

Getting My Teeth Into Things...A number of interesting conversations have been going on around and about that have really caused me to think a lot.Firstly, the comments on my post on baptism (below) which was really a offhand comment have started getting serious - I'd love to post more of my thoughts down on this blog but I feel reticent to in that my knowledge of this subject is fairly (

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-3448467197438941892007-03-28T16:18:00.000Z2007-03-28T16:19:49.433Z

Wikipedia...It turns out not all academics dispise Wikipedia...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-37442685013811979292007-03-27T14:44:00.000Z2007-03-28T22:50:35.787Z

Bathtism...I have, this afternoon, been lying in the bathtub reading about the history of the Baptist Church... The irony of it did hit me on a number of occasions - the equivalent would be for a Presbyterian to be reading A Brief History of Presbyterians with their foot in a saucer of water...Jokes aside (well... not really... Let's all have a laugh at the Presby's expense), I think that the

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-90108248110262167382007-03-27T13:10:00.000Z2007-03-27T13:11:45.900Z

Proleptic Eschatology...Turns out that Bobby Charlton is one of the most prolific theologians of this century...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-8912820922651898082007-03-27T09:26:00.001Z2007-03-27T09:59:16.709Z

New College, Edinburgh...During a typically murderous x hours long journey back from St Andrews for the Easter Holidays, I managed to find myself in Edinburgh for a couple of hours. I had a wander around - I say wander, I was carrying about 100kgs of books I reckon so it was more of a stagger around - Edinburgh and found myself inside New College - the Divinity faculty of Edinburgh University. It

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-81399548267943927962007-03-27T09:26:00.000Z2007-03-27T10:03:29.040Z

Just Finished Reading (Again)...When I say "Just finished reading" I do not mean that I actually read this book cover to cover. I read it in an odd order. I'm not even sure why. I think it's something to do with looking at a chapter out of order and thinking "That looks interesting" so starting to read it and keeping going until the whole chapter is done... This book is wonderful - one of THE

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-11971396506939416492007-03-22T23:35:00.000Z2007-03-22T23:38:49.061Z

Neighbours...So this is crazy news but Jon W, Abi (my sister) and I are on Neighbours... That might seem pretty unimportant to you but the odds of it happening are SO low. So (Plot Spoiler) they go to London and they were filming on the day that we were down and we inadvertantly walked through the set where Karl and Susan run through onto a bus and there we are... I've done a screen shot... It's

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-83485380679004455022007-03-22T00:33:00.000Z2007-03-22T00:56:22.025Z

Ethical Revelation...I've just been thinking recently having read Kierkegaard's Philosophical Fragments again and hearing the whole Barthian revelation schema again recently about how, although it is attractive and, I think, the way forwards, the whole idea of revelation propounded by Kierkegaard/Barth seems to find no place for the idea of 'ethical' behaviour. What I mean by this is that divine

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-92039863665297300562007-03-20T11:33:00.000Z2007-03-20T11:36:56.335Z

Kierkegaard on the Incarnation"Behold where he stands -- the God! Where? There; do you not see him? He is the God; and yet he has not a resting-place for his head, and he dares not lean on any man lest he cause him to be offended. He is the God; and yet he picks his steps more carefully than if angels guided them, not to prevent his foot from stumbling against a stone, but lest he trample human

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-66698509527661504172007-03-16T00:21:00.000Z2007-03-16T10:22:53.308Z

1 Corinthians 2...1 Corinthians 2 is one of my favourite chapters of the Bible. That's a fairly weird choice isn't it? Here's a few reasons why:1 - The injunction to speech about God with a realisation that there is a μυστήριον τοῦ θεοῦ (mystery of/about God). In talking about language about God we sometimes overlook the μυστήριον (mystery) that is the unlikeness. Eberhard Jungel talks about the

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-7139893312369581072007-03-14T15:08:00.000Z2007-03-14T15:09:58.890Z

Busy...This is why I've not posted much recently:

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-3923608118650849082007-03-13T13:54:00.000Z2007-03-13T14:11:52.455Z

Oliver Crisp on Realist Penal Substitution...I've just returned from a St Mary's postgrad lecture (it was a first, but definately not last, experience) by Oliver Crisp on a Realist understanding of Penal Substitution. It was fairly thought provoking but I think I determined TWO main thrusts of the argument from Oliver:1 - he was seeking to answer problems of "injustice" which are posited by the

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-14496733121058355072007-03-10T11:51:00.000Z2007-03-10T11:57:34.868Z

Fahrenheit 451...So the essay writing has dried up the posting so frequently (but I have the equivalent of one dissertation to write this semester so I think I can be forgiven that). Anyway, I got to borrow Fahrenheit 451 on DVD from the university library and I watched it last night/this morning. It doesn't really follow the book towards the end but I think it's because it's so old that the

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-8606612538308600102007-03-06T23:38:00.000Z2007-03-06T23:41:25.261Z

Essay writing...I find the further through academics I plod the harder essay writing becomes. Gone are those heady days of youth when I'd read nothing and write an essay quickly and come out with a good mark. These days I feel like the more I read the harder it is to say stuff. The longer my essays become the less things I have to say. I need sleep I guess but this essay is looking like a fairly

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-2747936955938081902007-03-05T22:52:00.000Z2007-03-05T23:06:57.721Z

Miscellenia...Sorry to have not posted for a while. I find that my days are fairly academic work-based at the moment. I have a couple of big essays to begin writing (5000 words) and so much base line work during the week that I'm struggling to get the work in during the week let alone begin reading for two essays. I hope to get a lot of essay work done during the Easter break but again I've got a

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-85354733865824368312007-03-03T15:18:00.000Z2007-03-03T16:07:28.381Z

Polanyi on claims of religious oppression...Here's a quote I found in the first chapter of Polanyi's book Meaning where he talks about the loss of the idea of freedom of belief throughout history:"This is why modern totalitarianism, based on a purely materialistic conception of man, is of necessity more oppressive than an authoritarianism enforcing a spiritual creed, however rigid. Take the

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-39931484584026957012007-03-02T09:27:00.000Z2007-03-02T09:30:05.826Z

Prizes...Just a reminder to you all to check the Statcounter at the bottom of the page - if you are the 30,000th visitor send me a screen shot and prizes will be yours! The rules can be found here...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-91221069340673678082007-03-01T21:39:00.000Z2007-03-01T21:41:20.032Z

Dylan Distilled...I particularly enjoyed this post Tom composed on Dylan's lyricism...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-25816229480634388922007-03-01T16:45:00.000Z2007-03-01T16:47:26.902Z

Aquinas on Christ's Passion...I've just posted up a seminar paper I've just battered out for tomorrow's class on Salavation with Alan Torrance. It's over at my other site because I didn't think you'd all appreciate it here.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-50947343309876294682007-03-01T01:19:00.000Z2007-03-01T01:37:18.338Z

What is man???I think the singularly most difficult problem I deal with through my waking hours is this: Who am I to talk about God?Many a trite explanation is given to this question but I see this issue reaching a quasi-paradoxical pinnacle in these two propositions:1 - I hold a view of divine revelation that accepts that God reveals himself to those whom he choses to reveal himself. Thus, to

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-75557692343662825382007-02-28T16:54:00.000Z2007-02-28T16:58:21.451Z

Reflections...I have had the honour of guest posting on Alastair's blog adversaria. You can find the post here... It was a very cathartic and spiritually vivifying excercise and I have also benefitted from some of the posts which others have helpfully composed. I would advise you all to check the site regularly in the days up to Easter for your own benefit.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-54486333357156081492007-02-27T13:50:00.000Z2007-02-27T14:09:18.773Z

LEFT BEHIND!!!After the series of interviews posted by Guy Davies which has come to be known as the "Left Behind" series, I decided to get to know some of the people who were "left behind". The first person in this one-part series needs no introduction... Well... Maybe a little introduction.JM: Hello Alan and welcome. Could you tell us a little about yourself?AD: Hi there, and thanks for your

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-67396808240003766462007-02-27T11:46:00.001Z2007-02-27T11:49:35.278Z

Eucatastrophe...Jason Goroncy, St Andrews grad student has posted on the subject of JRR Tolkien and eucatastrophe here... He links it into his study of PT Forsyth too. I posted on the subject a few weeks ago.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-90881125809338144192007-02-26T18:39:00.000Z2007-02-26T18:45:49.760Z

Rugby...Scotland versus Italy - MurrayfieldThat fateful score...That fateful time...Chris...They tried a little later...But were never going to win. Joy and happiness...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-90427024998098121652007-02-26T09:22:00.001Z2007-02-26T09:29:13.275Z

Alan on Postmodernism...I've just notice that Alan Davey commented on the discussion regarding postmodernism below. I found what he had to say quite interesting:The students we work amongst don't say "oh yes, I'm right, you're right, everyone's right and I don't care" They are far more likely to say "You're wrong and dangerous."

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-54071791708205381102007-02-26T09:22:00.000Z2007-02-26T09:23:57.883Z

TF Torrance Audio lectures...Ben Myers has posted the list of the full series of audio lectures by TFT here... Thanks Ben for a useful resource.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-70744230442956068702007-02-25T17:34:00.000Z2007-02-25T17:37:00.964Z

Room With a View...A lot of people like to post pictures of their desks so people can see what kind of squallor they live in. I find that boring so I thought I'd show you something infinitely more beautiful - the view from my desk:I'll bet none of you can beat that...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-72822650643789994042007-02-25T00:24:00.000Z2007-02-25T00:36:45.142Z

Me being kind...Friday 7th January 2005 probably doesn't mean a lot to you. That is the date I put my stat counter and activated it on my blog. Since then (about 2 years) I've had coming up to 30,000 hits - so 15,000 a year isn't too bad I suppose. Anyway, to celebrate this fact, I'm doing the unthinkable and giving away a prize...So here you go. If you are my 30,000th hit (and can prove it by a

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-63966873096992294552007-02-24T10:18:00.000Z2007-02-24T10:23:59.514Z

Practicing What He Preaches...For those of you who don't know, this is Miroslav Volf.... He's just written a book called "The End of Memory: Remembering rightly in a violent world" about the nature of forgiveness... Looks like he's struggling with his own theories here...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-181515967957633082007-02-22T16:36:00.000Z2007-02-22T16:44:58.312Z

McGrath on Anselm's idea of Iustitia I couldn't resist not giving you this gem from Alister McGrath's article, "Rectitude: the Moral Foundation of Anselm of Canterbury's Soteriology", which I think sufficiently removes the claim that Anselm's idea of atonement is merely "legal" or "juridical". Here McGrath is talking about Augustine's concept of iustitia upon which Anselm leans heavily:"The

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-91702222233567426432007-02-22T00:54:00.000Z2007-02-22T00:59:39.331Z

In which I admit my failure...Ok so it's true. I've been indulging myself for too long on my blog and I've been writing about things that only interest myself and only about 3 other... 1 other... and no one else. I guess I've let things slip and I will endeavour to include some more fun posts over the next week. In fact, please let me know about what sort of rubbish you want me to post on here

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-75927523155593373602007-02-21T20:01:00.002Z2007-02-21T20:17:05.498Z

Who are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?At the moment I have absolutely NO idea of who reads this blog. It'd be great for my own presence of mind if you'd just drop a comment and let me know who you are just so as I know who reads this and so as I know that I'm not wasting my time...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-48273572995045848522007-02-21T20:01:00.001Z2007-02-21T20:13:18.284Z

Why I love Emil Brunner...Here's a post I submitted to Faith and Theology last year about the great theologian Emil Brunner. I really don't talk about him enough and this is my way to catch up:"I am inexpressibly grateful that the Lord of my life has granted to me in such abundance these opportunities to take part in the life of his ecclesia and to bear witness to the Living Christ in so many

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-2454506537927433152007-02-21T19:38:00.000Z2007-02-21T19:45:22.434Z

Brunner on Satisfaction..."The doctrine of the Church - for reasons into which we cannot enter here - since Anselm's profound and masterly example of the ideas which the New Testament provided for the explanation of the meaning of the Atonement, has emphasized almost exclusively the ideas of satisfaction and penalty. This one-sideness is to be deplored. For the other ideas also represent glimpses

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-29127825011034622732007-02-21T12:51:00.001Z2007-02-21T13:03:35.492Z

Blogerviews...Seems like everyone who's anyone is being interviewed by Guy Davies over at Exiled Preacher... *sigh* I guess I'm one of those nobodys...Still, there is some interesting material coming out so a visit to his site is well worth it...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-78857873477220783902007-02-21T12:51:00.000Z2007-02-21T12:53:33.281Z

Atonement Models...Here is an interesting article by Scot McKnight on early models of atonement accompanied by a huge discussion which is... interesting.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-88480661881337022272007-02-20T22:20:00.000Z2007-02-21T11:40:52.483Z

Anselm...I hope you've all enjoyed the discussion on Postmodernism as much as I haven't. It merely proved two things: Firstly, I know nothing about Postmodernism and, secondly, I'll never be clever enough or have the time to know anything about Postmodernism.So I thought I would talk about St Anselm instead. Not that I know anything more about him or because no one will disagree... Just because I

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-76175921375844128472007-02-19T23:37:00.000Z2007-02-19T23:39:13.013Z

The Source of the Gospels Revealed...Probably the best argument I've ever heard about the formulation of the synoptic gospels can be read here...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-5770161342557517842007-02-19T18:42:00.000Z2007-02-19T18:52:39.578Z

We're going to party like is 1689...For anyone out there who is interested (all four of you), my next essay is a working out the comparison between the Westminster Confession of Faith of 1646 and the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689. I'll post some exciting excerpts on here for your delectation and delight. I'd also be happy to hear any ideas anyone has on the subject. It's not like

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-13625875902370811272007-02-16T20:54:00.000Z2007-02-16T21:12:59.027Z

Postmasonism...In the ongoing debate (I say ongoing... Al replied to the post below and I'm pretending that people care) on Postmodernism, Alastair linked to this post by Joel Garver which was fairly helpful. Before you side with Alastair... Just remember that things are always as they appear...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-67164419338526977462007-02-16T16:35:00.000Z2007-02-16T17:17:09.801Z

Thoughts on Postmodernism...A few weeks ago, I posted some comments up about postmodernism here. I said I would respond and so I will here. I just want to clarify some points.1 - My argument is this:Postmodernism DOES existHowever, it is not the widespread phenomenon that it is thought to beThus, although it might be at large within contemporary art (i.e. literature, fine art, etc.) and the

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-55323751418417855032007-02-15T16:01:00.000Z2007-02-15T16:16:55.114Z

Athanasius on Cosmology, Christology, Pneumatology and Epistemology...This is just a mental note to myself so that I retain some of the knowledge of the article I've just read. Please ignore...Regarding "Athanasius: A Study in the Foundations of Classical Christology" in TFT - Theology in ReconciliationTFT begins by talking about the standard cosmological approaches of the Hellenistic mindset i.e

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-83243002553804030502007-02-15T13:39:00.001Z2007-02-15T13:50:00.864Z

TF Torrance Audio...Over at Faith and Theology, Ben Myers has posted up the first of a series of audio posts by TF Torrance which would be well worth listening to. Go over and check it out.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-30054232188732243842007-02-15T13:39:00.000Z2007-02-15T16:01:21.472Z

MyLibrary...Just a note to say that I've loaded pretty much my whole library of books up here with me at uni onto MyLibrary so you can search my library by clicking on the link in the sidebar.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-91725856137616786902007-02-15T01:03:00.000Z2007-02-15T01:10:46.516Z

Blogger, Books and Boredom...Just a few things to note. Firstly, I've been forced to change to Blogger Proper now which means I can tag my posts - a useless task as everything will be tagged under "Waste of your valuable time" and no one will ever use that as a tag.Secondly, my most favourite online website at the moment is MyLibrary which currently shines forth in the shape of the "widget" (is

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-1171501157353122712007-02-15T00:47:00.000Z2007-02-16T17:24:28.098Z

Book Thingy...I'm sure I've done one of these before and it's totally obscure but here goes:From Paul and Alan and Tom:HERE ARE THE RULES:1. Grab the book closest to you.2. Open to page 123; go down to the fourth sentence.3. Post the text of the following three sentences.4. Name the author and book title.Before I begin a rejoinder. Firstly, the quote is probably going to be bizarre. I'm sitting

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-1170847627954602902007-02-07T11:21:00.000Z2007-02-16T17:23:56.478Z

Honesty..."The appearance of some theologians and the omission of others quite properly make a kind of bibliography of the author, showing where he or she has been drawn into the long discussion and where his or her judgement is to be received with caution."** In the following, this necessity is simply accepted, and little attempt has been made to paper over the many holes in my knowledge of my

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-1170721394340370062007-02-06T00:19:00.000Z2007-02-16T17:25:49.853Z

Look what I got...I can't wait to begin reading this... If only I could legitimate reading it for my current modules...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-1170699817264668332007-02-05T16:32:00.000Z2007-02-16T17:27:08.796Z

Once upon a time...When I was sitting in a Stephen Holmes lecture I realised what it is I appreciate the most about him: he likes to deviate by telling "theology tales". It got me thinking... there are so many legendary tales about theologians of the past which are generally ascribed to legend but make for a good story. Wouldn't it be good if someone compiled them all? And so I thought, "Why

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-1170436638365458792007-02-02T17:10:00.000Z2007-02-16T17:27:55.801Z

Das es gut war!So this week I begin a new semester here at St Andrews. One of the highlights for me is participation in "Learning German for Theological Purposes" which looks fun. Run by a Swiss undergrad, Andre, it promises to be both useful and hilarious!

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-1170377355853068262007-02-02T00:48:00.000Z2007-02-16T17:29:52.238Z

For James Crocker mainly...Just some thoughts on Divine Perfections... Know how important they are to you...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353781.post-1170177876015136132007-01-30T17:21:00.000Z2007-02-16T17:30:18.299Z

Tolkien on Fairy Stories..."Children are capable, of course, of literary belief, when the story-maker's art is good enough to produce it. That state of mind has been called “willing suspension of disbelief.” But this does not seem to me a good description of what happens. What really happens is that the story-maker proves a successful “sub-creator.” He makes a Secondary World which your mind can

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04051242488196178369noreply@blogger.com