Silent in the Background

Do you pray? Have you thought about the way you pray, and how you address God when you pray? Have you listened to the ways other people pray? One Bible passage that I’ve been reflecting on during my recent sabbatical prompts these questions: But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God. ( Galatians 4:4-7 ) This is one of Paul’s summaries of the gospel – the good news – of what Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection achieved. There is a lot packed into this short passage, but we can note Paul’s emphasis that (because of our adoption as children , and as siblings of Jesus) we relate to God as our Father . One way that we experience and demonstr...

A reflection on Luke 2-4, based on the talk for CCC 2 January 2022   In 2022 we’re aiming to grow in ‘living like Jesus did’ (1 John 2:6), and we’re starting the year thinking about the Bible – what it is and what does it mean for how we live? In the early chapters of Luke we see that Jesus knew the Bible, Jesus trusted and used the Bible, and Jesus saw himself in the story of the Bible. Know the Bible Chapter 2 of Luke , seeing beyond the details of the Christmas story, paints a picture of a family who knew the requirements of the Torah, the Old Testament laws, and lived accordingly.  Eight days after Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph named and circumcised him.  Just over a month after his birth they took Jesus to the Jerusalem Temple for the rites of purification, where they met Simeon and Anna. After returning to Nazareth Jesus grew and became strong within his family.  Over the next few years the family regularly attended the Passover celebrations in t...

The Making of Biblical Womanhood : How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth A deconstruction of complementarianism showing how it is not a recovery of a historical or scriptural understanding of the role of women in the church and family. Barr tells something of her own story of growing up and ministering, with her husband, in complementarian churches, and of suffering abuse as a result of this teaching, as well as her change of mind and walking away. Barr's approach as a historian is interesting as she focuses on historical material, especially her specialism of medieval history, to show that for much of church history women have preached, and have been accepted as so doing.  She identifies the Reformation as a downturn for the recognition of the calling of women to ministry, as well as the mid-20th century with world wars and the rise of the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. This latter Barr links to the rise and hardening of the inerrancy movement in relation t...