Inspection

I find this painting by John Granville Gregory fascinating and it is an interpretation of Caravaggio’s masterpiece on the resurrection appearance of Jesus to Thomas. Titled Still Doubting, the artist captures something of the spirit of our age. I first came across the work thanks to Maggi Dawn’s Writing on the Wall session in Chelmsford. In the picture Thomas reminds me of David Tennant as Dr Who and I began to speculate about the Time Lord forensically examining the wounds of the risen Christ. Maggi has reposted an interesting reflection on Thomas as we remember him today.

Carling Theology

I have been doing a bit of research on Peter Rollins in preparation for a discussion about Rob Bell (Love Wins) and Rollins’s (Pyro-theology) theology in a few days time. There’s quite a lot of material from Rollins on Youtube and he is an engaging speaker. Of course I'm biased since my family, like Rollins, come from Belfast. A particular clip caught my attention entitled I Deny the Resurrection and I warmed to Rollins's main point about the ways in which we deny and affirm the resurrection of Jesus by the way we live.



Watching the clip I found myself reflecting on the story Rollins tells about a friend standing at the gates of heaven. The story sounded strangely familiar and then I remembered this:



So there you have it, Carling Theology.

What is the Gospel?

I read a blog post on this question from Lesley Fellows and it’s been nagging me all morning so here’s my response. I’ve answered Lesley’s questions briefly because I imagined what I would say if chatting to someone on a short journey. So here goes:

1. What is the Gospel?

The Gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ. The person of Jesus, his life, death and resurrection and his mission, sharing God’s invitation to be loved by him.

2. How can I know it is true?

‘Taste and see that God is good’. The only way to find out if the Gospel is true is to start living as if it is true.

3. Why should I believe it?

Because without it we are less than fully human and we cannot be what we are meant to be; loved by God and responding with love to God and each other.

Anyone else want to have a go?