Bible

  • Bible,  Christianity,  Current Events,  Missiology,  Money

    Compassionate Collaboration, Christian Mission and the Bank of Dave

    A glimpse of Jesus’ compassion appears in Matthew 9:35-38. In one of the more well-known images of Christian witness, Jesus responds to crowds “harassed and helpless” with a call for collaborators (“Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest” (38)). The verses in Matthew are one of a cluster of Gospel narratives in which Jesus is described as a shepherd, sent by God to strengthen the weak and heal those damaged by sin, greed and betrayal.[1] A contemporary image of compassion and collaboration appears in a recent movie, Bank of Dave (2023). Movies, along with other forms of popular culture, are not commonly used as…

  • Articles,  Bible,  Christianity,  Disability,  Intersectionality

    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…

  • Articles,  Bible,  Christianity,  Scripture

    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…