Articles, thoughts, essays, and content from Brian as well as students – our budding theologians.
Managing Monday with Paul Tournier: Take 2
Last week we looked at a few key quotes from noted Swiss physician Paul Tournier (1898-1986), who significantly impacted the way we think about the relationship between psychosocial, spiritual and physical health. His books continue to be used in pastoral care courses. Here are a few more Tournier quotes… Acceptance of one’s life has nothing to do with resignation; it does not mean running away from the struggle. On the contrary, it means accepting it as it comes, with all the handicaps of heredity, of suffering, of psychological...
read moreOn the shoulders of giants: A tribute to Noel Vose
Vose Seminary has had only three principals in its fifty plus year history, Brian Harris since 2004, John Olley from 1991-2003 and its founding principal, after whom the seminary is named, Noel Vose, from 1963-1991. This Monday May 2nd, in the early hours of the morning, Noel slipped into the presence of Jesus – an event he had been looking forward to for more than a little while. He was 94 years of age – and what a 94 years he lived. The old saying goes that we are dwarfs who stand on the shoulders of giants. If what we do in the...
read moreWhat does a healthy church look like?
We’ve had a few posts on churchless faith and the journey towards becoming de-churched. Underneath has been the assumption that the church has in some way disappointed and failed to be what she should be. And in most cases if you ask those who have given up on the church ‘why?’ they would cite a litany of errors and flaws. Perhaps we should ask what it would take for people to give an approving nod, and to say, ‘well if church is like that, count me in’. Or to put it differently, what does a healthy church look like? I’ll list a dozen...
read moreManaging Monday with Paul Tournier
Paul Tournier (1898-1986) was a Swiss physician and author whose books significantly impacted the way we think about pastoral care. It has been claimed that he was the most famous Christian physician of the twentieth century, and his work continues to influence the way spiritual and psychosocial aspects of patient care are considered. Some of his better known books include: The Healing of Persons Escape from Loneliness The Meaning of Persons The Strong and the Weak Guilt and Grace To Understand Each Other A Place for You The Naming of Persons...
read moreGenesis 3 in the Light of the Cross
Our last post looked at the devastating consequences that resulted from the fall of humanity, described in Genesis 3. If Genesis 3 stood alone, it could only be read as a tragic passage – a bad news story from start to finish. But because of Jesus, all biblical passages should now be read in the light of the Cross – in the light of Jesus’ death and resurrection. This impacts the way in which we read every passage – but it is probably true to say that there is no passage more impacted by the Cross than Genesis 3....
read moreDid the Fall Really Matter? Reflections on Genesis 3
If you have ever been impacted by the pain of life (and is there anyone who has not?) you might well have asked the ‘why’ question. Why is life so difficult? Why is it so hurtful? Why can it be delightfully enjoyable one moment, and then swing around and devastate us the next? While there are no easy answers, the story of the fall found in Genesis 3 is usually cited by theologians as representing a key building block of any explanation. We are busy with a mini series on Genesis 3, and in the first post looked at 4 views of why...
read moreManaging Monday… with Karl Barth (take 4)
Our Managing Monday quotes in April have looked at some notable Karl Barth (1886-1968) quotes. Being our last week with Barth, I have thrown in a bonus quote – so four for our final Monday in April. “The gospel is not a truth among other truths. Rather it sets a question mark against all truths.” Karl Barth “Religion is the possibility of the removal of every ground of confidence except confidence in God alone.” Karl Barth “The person who knows only his side of the argument knows little of that.” Karl...
read moreOn the one hundred and first blog post…
This is the one hundred and first post since this blog started in late August 2015. I thought that justified a bit of an update on the blog and some reflection on how it has been going. For those who like facts and figures, after the first 100 posts the site has had 18 216 page visits 10 484 different visits (many would be repeat readers, so I don’t know how many different people this represents) Visits from over 150 countries, with 74% of visits coming from Australia, followed by New Zealand (6.7%), USA (5.3%), South Africa (3.6%) and...
read moreWhy was it wrong to eat the forbidden fruit? Four Views…
Ever asked, ‘so what was so bad about Adam and Eve eating from the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden?’ Do you remember the account in Genesis 3? A serpent persuades Eve (who in turn persuades Adam) that God’s instruction that they refrain from eating from the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was misguided, and would not result in their death, but rather in their being like God, and thus having the ability to differentiate good from evil. Adam and Eve find the argument persuasive, eat from the tree, and...
read moreManaging Monday… with Karl Barth (take 3)
Our Managing Monday posts in April have been diving into some of the wisdom of Karl Barth (1886-1968), probably the most influential theologian of the 20th century. “The goal of human life is not death, but resurrection.” Karl Barth “Prayer without study would be empty. Study without prayer would be blind.” Karl Barth “Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.” Karl Barth Hope your Monday is filled with gratitude…
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