StephenBarkley.com

The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada has set up a Theological Study Commission (described here, near the bottom of the page). The first-fruits of this commission have arrived. Masters Pentecostal Seminary has released a series of six papers that can be downloaded here. The stated intent of these papers is to “provoke thought and discussion”, not [...]

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: Travels Through My Childhood © 2006 Black Swan © 2007 403 pages This book chronicles the early years of The Thunderbolt Kid: Bryson’s childhood alter-ego who terrorized anyone who annoyed him. It’s Bryson at his absolute finest. Even though his childhood happened in the 50s, I had [...]

Here’s Barth on the importance of prayer (in Prayer): It is not possible to say, “I shall pray,” or, “I shall not pray,” as if it were an act according to our own good pleasure. To be a Christian and to pray are one and the same thing; it is a matter that cannot be [...]

We’re now turning the corner from Christology to Soteriology. (As I wrote that sentence, I had mental flash-backs to 8 a.m. Bible College classes. Thankfully, I’m far more interested in the subject matter now!) Let’s dive into God’s plan in Christ to save this world. . . .

Shadowrise: Volume Three of Shadowmarch © 2010 DAW 564 pages He did it again. Williams took a nice traditional trilogy and spun it into four books. (Douglas Adams would be proud.) It’s difficult to be frustrated with him, though, since this series is so riveting you don’t want it to end. All the elements that [...]

Here’s a terse little nugget of wisdom from The Prophetic Imagination, 2nd Edition: Prophecy cannot be separated very long from doxology, or it will either wither or become ideology.

My particular background in the Christian tradition used to speak of the foursquare gospel: Jesus saves, Jesus heals, Jesus baptizes, and Jesus is coming again. I’m not interested in debating the amount of skew that places on our understanding of Jesus. I want to point out how cherished the topic of Jesus’ second coming is [...]

The Faces of Jesus: A Life Story © 1974, 2005 Paraclete Press 97 pages The Faces of Jesus is Buechner’s brief survey of Jesus’ life. He takes the reader through the important moments of Jesus’ life with a poet’s eye for beauty. Unfortunately, the style of writing that so amazed me in Now and Then [...]

I don’t know who Inge is, but this quote (in David L. Smith’s A Handbook of Contemporary Theology) is important. He who marries the spirit of the age will be widowed in the next.

Prayer (50th Anniversary Edition) © 1952 Westminster Press 78 pages I’m no expert on Barth. I have, however, read Luther and Calvin on the Lord’s Prayer. This book was a nice little survey of their thought set in a devotional tone. It’s actually the translation of an adaptation of three lectures Barth gave at Neuchâtel. [...]