Penelope Wallace

7th December 2018 In Christianity By Penelope Wallace

Why I get annoyed by the thirty-third chapter of Jeremiah

This is a very difficult post to write. One of the most common themes for Christians is the faithfulness of God. We are repeatedly encouraged, in the Bible and elsewhere, to rely on God’s faithfulness, and specifically faithfulness to His promises. God has certainly been pretty kind...

16th March 2018 In Christianity By Penelope Wallace

Four little words

I know adding words to the Bible is not generally approved, but hey. Fairly recently, I was reading the Sermon on the Mount, and I noticed something that had never struck me before. (In what follows, all Bible quotations are from my trusty RSV. The words...

17th February 2017 In Uncategorised By Penelope Wallace

Consequences

Three weeks ago, I posted about the Bible, and came to the apparent conclusion that, in the last two thousand years, “we’ve learned, most of us, to approve of fun and play, and disapprove of slavery and capital punishment for heresy. In other words, we’ve...

27th January 2017 In Christianity By Penelope Wallace

What we have learned

Here are a few statements that I think all my readers, and indeed almost everyone in Britain would agree with: If you’re ill it’s often a good idea to go to the doctor; Devoting your professional life to improving other people’s lot on earth is...

26th August 2016 In Resources By Penelope Wallace

“Understanding the Bible” – Book Review 6

A friend recently lent me "Understanding the Bible" by John Stott. (Please note this is a review of the 1972 edition. I’m sure there must be a later one. This has nice illustrations by Annie Vallotton, who did the gorgeous drawings in the Good News Bible.) I...

5th August 2016 In Christianity By Penelope Wallace

An Old Testament Hero part 2: And Esau ran to him

So far, in my posting about Esau, I have concentrated on the case for the defence – Esau’s alleged sinfulness, and God’s choice. And of course it’s very reassuring that God can still “choose”, and certainly use and bless, someone like Jacob. Someone whose life from...

29th July 2016 In Christianity By Penelope Wallace

An Old Testament Hero part 1: How not to be a patriarch

Diana Wynne Jones’ children's fantasy “Howl’s Moving Castle” starts: “In the land of Ingary… it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of three. Everyone knows you are the one who will fail first, and worst, if the three of you set out...

17th June 2016 In Christianity By Penelope Wallace

Inspiration of Scripture, by AD

The horrific events in Orlando and Birstall need no comment from me, to add to those already out there. Let's pray. And in the meantime...

3rd June 2016 In Christianity By Penelope Wallace

God’s Responsibility 2

The second thing for which God is responsible, and which surely must have been planned by Him, is the passage of time. (For the first thing, see God’s Responsibility 1, 13th May.) It looks from the New Testament as if all its writers, and Jesus Himself, expected...

13th May 2016 In Christianity, Uncategorised By Penelope Wallace

God’s responsibility – 1

What is God responsible for, in the sense that “there it is, and it looks as if He must have intended this”? I suggest at least two things: His Word, ie the Bible, and the passage of time. If the Bible is inerrant and provides everything...