It’s human nature to enjoy it when those who have wronged us get what’s coming to them. As a kid, it was fun gloating when your brother or sister got into trouble for annoying you.
And particularly in Australia it extends to sporting teams: I still enjoy watching anytime the Canterbury Bulldogs get beaten, because I still haven’t forgiven them for their 1 point win over the St. George Dragons in the 1985 Grand Final.
In fact, in families, sport, and international politics, the rivalry gets more intense with those who live close by: brother v sister, St. George v Canterbury, Australia v New Zealand, Israel v Edom…
Just found out that this is going to be released in October: 
http://www.bloomsbury.com/au/jesus-and-brian-9780567658319/
Potentially the best New Testament book ever.
The blurb: “Monty Python’s Life of Brian film is known for its brilliant satirical humour. Less well known is that the film contains references to what was, at the time of its release, cutting edge biblical scholarship and Life of Jesus research. This research, founded on the acceptance of the Historical Jesus as a Jew who needs to be understood within the context of his time, is implicitly referenced through the setting of the Brian character within a tumultuous social and political background.
This collection is a compilation of essays from foremost scholars of the historical Jesus and the first century Judaea, and includes contributions from George Brooke, Richard Burridge, Paula Fredriksen, Steve Mason, Adele Reinhartz, Bart Ehrman, Amy-Jill Levine, James Crossley, Philip Davies, Joan Taylor, Bill Telford, Helen Bond, Guy Steibel, David Tollerton, David Shepherd and Katie Turner. The collection opens up the Life of Brian to renewed investigation and, in so doing, uses the film to reflect on the historical Jesus and his times, revitalising the discussion of history and Life of Jesus research. The volume also features a Preface from Terry Jones, who not only directed the film, but also played Brian’s mum.”
We’ve finished L-Plate April – thanks for all your encouraging comments to my students! Normal 5-day-a-week service will resume on Monday when we look at the Old Testament book of Jonah, and then a quick series through John chapter 4. In a couple of weeks we have a guest writer, Dr David Starling, who will guide us through Ephesians 1-3.
By request: this is an edited transcript of a sermon at Narwee Baptist Church on Jan 25, 2015. You can listen to it here. The second half of the sermon is an expansion on a short article on this website.
A simple question: why read the Bible?
And a simple answer: God says to.
This could be a very short article, so perhaps we should fill it out a bit. For a start, where does God say to?
An excellent article on bible verses being used out of context:
5 Bible verses you need to stop misusing
(I don’t necessarily agree with his alternate translation of Rom 8:28, but the point is still correct about its context.)
Looking for something for your reading list over the holidays? Just finished Scot McKnight’s Kingdom Conspiracy. Worth reading for his stimulating critique of what he calls the “pleated pants” and “skinny jeans” views of the kingdom of God. You can see a 2 minute promo for the book in the YouTube link below, which gives you the flavour. Available as an ebook too.
timmacbride.com 