postmodernbible

Reflects

I am still alive. Although taking five courses this autumn is just about sorting that out!  I thought I would do it easily since I am pretty used to teaching now and have most of the materials to hand.  But the constant round of lectures is just bewildering.  I am running a new course on New Testament Theology which is really exciting - focussing on a dialectic model fusing Esler and Marshall (if you would believe they could be fused) along with some other stuff form a postmodern perspective.  I'm enjoying it - I hope the students are.  The other units on John and Intro to the NT seem to going fine - although you get seepage from one lecture into the next - what I have been talking about in NT Theology seeps into the Intro and the Greek classes exploration in Romans seeps into the John lectures and so on...I have to be so careful that it doesn't all end up in one huge seething mass of  mashed new testament!

We're going away for a few days - to Prague for a conference. A bit concerned for the kids who we are leaving behind in the very capable hands of our neighbours the Firths.  But it's still daunting.  I don't do conference glad-handing very well.  I am not an extrovert and find myself wanting to scream and run when faced with a room of people I don't know.  I can act of course - if I'm there as a speaker, I put on my speaker face and character and get on with it...but as Pete, I am feeling a bit more vulnerable.  It will be good to have Theresa there.

Been listening to Brian McClaren's podcasts on my new Ipod Nano (its sooo gorgeous!).   I love his description of emerging church as mission integral -  mission without the bits taken out (using a link to the spanish for wholemeal (integral) bread!  His approach to the New Testament as a missional document is much in line with what I was lecturing to the Postgrads earlier this month - I thought he might have had a look at my lecture notes.  But he hasn't, of course!  But I felt a bit strange thinking the same thoughts as such an emerging church guru.  Evidently the concept is not as new as it seems to me - or perhaps the Holy Spirit on onto both of us and pushing us in the same direction - scarier thought.

Of course, the issue is the books are burning away in my brain.  I want to write them.  I want to get things out there.  But five courses and all the admin just means no time to sit and write - and when I do get time, I am so brain dead I can't think good thoughts.  It is not good to be working a 60 hour week every week. Stop moaning, Phillips!

Praise God, I got the proofs for the thesis book off to the publisher this week.  They are only a couple of weeks late.  This should mean that "The Prologue of John: A Sequential Reading" should be in the shops come February.  Start saving!!!

Anyway, off to Prague.  I will try and be more informative after I get back.

God bless -eat more wholemeal bread - do more wholemeal mission!

Pete

40!!!

Last Sunday was the 40th birthday!  Scary times.  We decided to celebrate it in style and Theresa's mum came up to look after the kids and we went down to London for a couple of days.  We spent hours in the National Gallery doing the Director's Audio Tour - highlights included the Madonna of the Pinks - a simply amazing painting by Raphael worth £35 million!!!  This painting is so small but so beautiful.  We were a bit struck by how much of the art in the National Gallery depicts images of Jesus.  Of course, we knew that from Seeing Salvation and the course which I teach at Cliff, but it struck us all over again how you simply could not get away from Jesus wherever you went!

Outside was the new statue in Trafalgar Square - it's got a kind of beauty and simplicity to it.  I wonder, though, why they keep putting these statues up in white when all the other statues in the square are black.  I can see the point of being different...but wouldn't it actually say more for Christ to have been black?  For the pregnant woman to be a black pregnant woman?  Why do we need to keep with the unreal harshness of white alabaster images?

We stayed in a hotel in Central London - it was great although we were very conscous of the lack of natural surroundings.  Living in the Peak District really attunes you to a rural environment.  Where were the hills? the trees? the fields?  I once thought London was green but it seemed so grey.

After dropping the bags off at the hotel, we went up to Piccadilly Circus and then onto Regent Street and the new apple store there.  I was shocked by the wasted space inside the store - as well as the sheer number of helpful apple-oiks walking around offering assistance to people.  There were apples everywhere and a desks and desks of IPODs.  We were there, I found out, to see whether Theresa could buy the very scarce 4GB Ipod Nano which she wanted to buy me for my birthday.  A device which was impossible to buy anywhere else - not even on EBAY - was so easily purchased!  Shame that she wouldn't let me touch it until Sunday!  It's gorgeous.

That evening we went to see Les Miserables.  A great production although so so so expensive.  I cannot understand why they would charge such prices when you can go to a provincial theatre for half the price.  London is an expensive place to enjoy yourself!  I loved the songs towards the end of the first and second act.  Great story, very moving, and gave us lots to talk about in the Chinese afterwards - where was God in it all - what was the spirituality of Les Mis...???

The next morning after a fantastic breakfast, we headed to the Tate Britain and spent a few hours there - I wasn't as impressed as I had been the day before.  I connected with the art - some of it is simply outstanding, but perhaps we were both a little worn out by then.

Saturday we spent the day with friends at Alton Towers - mostly queuing in the rain!  I wanted to go on the new coaster - Rita Queen of Speed - but the queue was 2 hours long and we bottled out.  I did the Corkscrew (x5), Hex, Duel, Rapids, Mine Train - the usuals with the kids which avoided most of the bad queues.  The day was marred by rain and the queues, though.  Everyone I speak to asks why I didn't buy a privilege pass.  Well, I couldn't.  I think it stinks.  All this pay a little extra to jump the queues just makes me realise how nauseating capitalist society really is - as if being at a theme park wasn't bad enough.

Sunday itself was taken up with church (Harvest Festival!!!), Ed playing football (they won 2.1) and getting the house ready for a great party in the evening.

Twas a great day and I have to say that I do not feel old age coming on yet.  Being 40 is fine - as someone said yesterday - 40 is the new 30!  Being 40 is great - at last people feel you are old enough to be doing what you have already been doing for ten years!

New Testament...next post!

Pete

Come Follow Me

Last week at the Celebration Meeting here at the College one of the students wrote a fab meditation and Theresa (my missus) took the most gorgeous picture of a view from the College.  I put them together on the College website...take a look.

Pete

Going Under...Coming Up?

The end of September and beginning of October is always hectic what with the new students arriving.  This year has been just as hectic - along with the arrival of the proofs for my book and then last week having a few days off to go to London to celebrate my 40th birthday!!!  More on this later.

I am well.  Things are busy.  I wish I had more time.

Off now to take Sam to Cello and then to have an early night.  Sleepless in Calver is no good for doing NT Studies!!!  Pray for Sam - big audition on Thursday!

Pete