StephenBarkley.com

Here’s Wright’s understanding of hell (The Epistles of Paul to the Colossians and to Philemon: An Introduction and Commentary © 1986): Unless we are to rob human beings of all meaningful responsibility for their actions, and to underplay the utter holiness of God, hell must always be at least a possibility. The presence in the [...]

I know it’s old (1957), but I still enjoy reading a good F. F. Bruce commentary. Even where the scholarship’s eclipsed by recent advances, wisdom rings through. Here’s his note on Colossians 2:2 (Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians): As against all those who tried to intellectualize the Christian faith, speaking of knowledge (gnosis) as [...]

Here’s some good advice for ministers from Arthur Miller. This comes from Proctor, a farmer who’s criticised for not attending church (in The Crucible). I have trouble enough without I come five mile to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. Take it to heart, Mr. Parris [the preacher]. There are many others who [...]

I found this insightful quote from Wright’s collection of sermons, Following Jesus. We often consider the relationship between heaven and hell, and heaven and earth, but earth and hell? We spend billions on smart missiles, and in the same breath we shut hospitals. These are the signs of a courtship between earth and hell that [...]

Here’s a good (and classic) reminder of what Jesus has done for us (from The Institutes): If you contemplate yourself, that is sure damnation. But since Christ has been so imparted to you with all his benefits that all his things are made yours, that you are made a member of him, indeed one with [...]

In Marva Dawn’s Keeping the Sabbath Wholly, I found a great rant about what the church is: To say “I am going to church” both reveals and promotes bad theology. . . . We are NOT “going to church”! We are going to a sanctuary to participate in an order of worship together with the [...]

There were so many piercing observations in Now and Then: A Memoir of Vocation, you need to read it for yourself. For now, here’s the sentence that most accurately describes his observational outlook: There is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, always hiddenly, always leaving you room to recognize him [...]

While reflecting on the Lord’s Prayer (in Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes), Bailey makes the following observation: It is a common human assumption that the violator of the rights of others must ask for forgiveness before the wronged party can be expected to accept the apology and grant forgiveness. . . . But here Jesus [...]

Unfortunately, Coupland’s new book (Generation A) was nothing to write home about. There was, however, this great insight from the perspective of Zack: an unabashed hedonist. Praying is funny. When you pray, you leave the day-to-day time stream and enter a quieter place that uses different clocks and values things that can’t be seen.

Here’s another simple bit of advice from the Imitation that we can all take to heart: Also study most to eschew and overcome those things that most fervently displease thee in other men.