Princeton Seminary Youth Lectures

When I was a School Chaplain, way back in the day, I found this series of lectures on Youth Ministry just about the most stimulating thing going. I didn't always agree, but this was such a change from the usual shallow, technique-driven stuff that is around about youth ministry. Here is actual theology.

A particular highlight was this one, by Kenda Creasy Dean:

'Holding on to our Kisses: A Hormonal Theology of Adolescence'

but you can check out lectures from Miroslav Volf and Jurgen Moltmann among others.

Billy Graham in Australia 1959

My relatives went forward at the crusades in Sydney in the same visit to Australia.

Locke's tolerance - its limits

'Promises, covenants and oaths, which are the bonds of human society, can have no hold upon the atheist. The taking away of God, though but even in thought, dissolves all.'

John Locke, Letter on Toleration


The father of modern liberal politics shows his true colours...

Anne Lamott

I have been reading two wonderful books by Anne Lamott:

Bird by Bird - a terrific book about writing;

and her spirutual memoir

Traveling Mercies.

I won't review them or anything: but they are books to change your life by.

Keller - the Gospel in all its forms

H/T to Stephen:

an interesting article by Tim Keller from New York, on how he preaches the gospel.
He sums up:

Today there are many who doubt that there is just one gospel. That gives them the warrant to ignore the gospel of atonement and justification. There are others who don't like to admit that there are different forms to that one gospel. That smacks too much of "contextualization," a term they dislike. They cling to a single presentation that is often one-dimensional. Neither of these approaches is as true to the biblical material, nor as effective in actual ministry, as that which understands that the Bible presents one gospel in several forms.

'.

or

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?

Churchman article

This Summer's Churchman has hit the shelves of theological colleges and pastor's studies everywhere and it includes the first in my series of three articles entitled The Christian Revolution. This issue contains 1. Liberty.

Lee Gatiss has an interesting article on Richard Baxter, too. And Tony Wright concludes his two-parter on Death, the Dead and the Underworld in Biblical Theology.

Frightening Children?

Jason cites a very interesting quote from CS Lewis about frightening children...

Personally, I find children terrifying.

[it's a joke]

In Praise of Teachers Meme

Back in September last year, I wrote a post in praise of teachers.

In it, I listed ten of my favourite teachers selected from the whole spread of my educational career (20+ years and still going...). I gave a brief explanation in each case.

Now, I am not much one for memes - but could this one work? I need your help.

Here goes:

List FIVE of your favourite teachers, and tell us what made them great. Then tag some people whose blogs you read...

I tag:

Justin, Karen, Ruth, Jason, Byron, Guy, Nicole and Sam

Songs of Sydney - 11

The Cicada that ate Five Dock, would you believe...

Why Christians are not people of principle

I read a terrific book by Stanley Fish once, called The Trouble with Principle.

That was a while ago; but for some reason I was thinking about it again this morning. Principled people - and there are Christians among them, granted - are some of the most dangerous people there are. That is: everything in moral reasoning becomes ordered to a set of ideals (or even a single ideal). That means, in practice that anything is justifiable in the name of these ideals or principles. You can invade Iraq and torture prisoners in the name of freedom, for example. In the name of fairer and better government with more integrity you can knife your political opponents in the back. Do evil, that good may result. It is (so the calculation runs) a lesser evil than the evil that may result if the ultimate good is not defended.

There is, naturally, a deal of suspicion of these kind of principles, too. What alternative is there to them is the problem - to be unprincipled?

But Christian discipleship is not the following of a set of principles. It is discipleship: it is following a master, imitation of an example (while at the same time being spiritually united to this master). It isn't a set of truths (though it is TRUE, and it trades in TRUTH, for sure) from which all else must be deduced in some process of ethical calculation. Even 'love' can't be held as a mere principle: it must be worked out in the light of the example of love given to us and worked in us.

Away then with principles!

Songs of Sydney - 10

The Skyhooks, and Somewhere in Sydney

Songs of Sydney - 9

The best of the lot: Gotta Love this City...

'my city is a whore...'

indeed.

Songs of Sydney - 6

Sydney, nights are warm, daytime telly, blue-rinse dawn..



At least, you won't have time to be bored...

Songs of Sydney - 4

The Miracle of Marrickville!

Songs of Sydney - 8

King St - well, now, this is the King St of my youth... Coles New World is now the Dendy cinema.

On King St, I'm a king...

Songs of Sydney - 2

Songs of Sydney - 3

Endnote trouble shooting

Does anyone know what you do in Endnote when you want to cite a work by a Pope?

It always comes out as II, John Paul...

Songs of Sydney - 7

Where else could this come from?