Christianity
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Growing closer to God through stained-glass windows: A dyslexic autistic perspective
Introduction Over the last few years, through encounters with Christians or churches, I’ve discovered the stained glass of an artist called William Wilson (henceforth WW). I find WW’s stained glass lovely to look at. But it also lets me improve my knowledge of the Bible, and that in turn lets me feel closer to God. By contrast, I’ve had limited success using more “mainstream” means to grow my faith, such as reading the Bible or attending church activities. That’s partly because I’m dyslexic and autistic. Dyslexia and autism are groups of traits or characteristics. So there’s overlap between how they present in different individuals. But there’s also diversity within the dyslexic and autistic communities: each…
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Authority Recognized and Challenged: Approaching the Bible as Practical Theologians
Introduction How might practical theologians engage with the Bible as practical theologians? In December 2022, eighteen of us met together for a symposium at the Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre in Birmingham, England, to delve into this question. This article is a reflection on that symposium by the convenors and three delegates on different aspects of the event. Taking a step back for moment, the symposium was organised by the Bible and Practical Theology special interest group, part of the British and Irish Association for Practical Theology (BIAPT). The special interest group (SIG) was founded in 2011 by Zoë Bennett and Andrew Rogers[1] due to the growing sense of unease about…
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A Review of “Young, Woke and Christian: Words from a Missing Generation”
Young, Woke and Christian, edited by Victoria Turner, is a collection of chapters from young church leaders and theologians, who argue that churches must become more aware of injustice, and take action. This collection features young people calling on churches, not because these issues are unique to them, but because they are gospel issues, and they believe that churches must reform. In her introduction, Turner states how she wanted this book to show the “bemused older generations” (p.1) that there are young people who can be concerned with politics and social issues, but still be rooted in the Church. Young, Woke and Christian begins with a thought-provoking prologue from Anthony…
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Practical Theology Hub People, Episode One: Nicola Slee, Ash Cocksworth and Rachel Starr
We are excited to announce the launch of the Practical Theology Hub’s YouTube Channel with our new video series “Practical Theology Hub People.” The first video in the series (see below) is an interview exploring “From the Shores of Silence: Conversations in Feminist Practical Theology” an important book that celebrates the emergence of feminist practical theology as a powerful force that is reshaping the discipline of practical theology by challenging its traditional emphases and raising new questions. Feminist practical theology does this often with a distinctive emphasis on poetry, collaboration and prayerfulness. The book pays tribute to one feminist practical theologian in particular, Nicola Slee. Slee’s work not only typifies…
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Putting oneself in someone else’s shoes: Engaging inter-religious dialogues from within
The expression “putting oneself in someone else’s shoes” is used in situations in which we should try to understand what another person is feeling or the hardships they are going through. But sometimes we have to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes to understand that person’s worldviews, mindsets, and even emotions. Empathy, solidarity, and compassion arise from this mental and bodily action. In Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions compassion (Skt. karuṇā; Tib. སྙིང་རྗེ་), loving-kindness (Skt. maitrī; Tib. བྱམས་པ་), joy (Skt. muditā; Tib. དགའ་བ་), and equanimity (Skt. upekṣā; Tib. བཏང་སྙོམས་) arise from the developing process of the altruistic resolution to become a Buddha (Skt. bodhicitta; Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་), beginning with the first step of…
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Can you do theology on TikTok?
As theologians, we are used to being on established social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook and many of us will have featured on a webinar or lecture series uploaded to YouTube. Why then are so few of us practising theology on TikTok – the world’s most popular social network? Given that the church is desperate to reach a younger demographic and will often criticise the decline in religious literacy, why are we not alongside the people we so desperately want to reach? In this article I argue that theologians need to see TikTok as more than a place for ethnographic study but rather as a legitimate space in…
