The latest issue of ink produced by Tyndale House has been made available, this one including articles on camels in the Bible, memorising Job, the stirring of the pool at Bethesda, and the paragraph divisions in John 1.
UK residents can sign up here to receive issues through the post or subscribe for online updates, but articles from the publication are also available to read from here.
Among other items, the Centre for Public Christianity has posted a ‘Life and Faith’ interview (here) with Sarah Irving-Stonebraker on her latest book, Priests of History: Stewarding the Past in an Ahistoric Age.
‘In an age underpinned by the idea that life is about self-invention and fulfilment, Sarah believes that paying careful attention to history we will find ourselves more connected, more embedded in stories larger than ourselves. This is something deeply needed in our rootless and disconnected age.’
The organisation Stewardship recently commissioned a report to understand better how to help their partners - churches, charities and Christian workers – invite generosity and grow support.
The key highlights are as follows:
1. Regular church attendance more than doubles propensity to give
Practising Christians, who attend church, and read their Bible on a monthly basis, are more likely to give to every type of cause including their church.
2. Engaged faith leads to engaged giving
Practising Christians are most likely to budget to give monthly donations to their chosen Christian causes.
3. An appeal or personal approach triggers spontaneous giving
The research showed that most giving is reactive, rather than proactive. People need a prompt to consider giving.
4. Those who trust the causes they support are likely to be more generous to all causes
We found that those who trusted their church ‘a lot’ were much more likely to be regular donors across all causes (giving at least once a month).
5. People will feel more driven to give if they feel connected to a ministry or cause that can make a difference
The decision to give again, sign up for regular giving digitally, or increase giving is often a result of seeing the impact of giving, as well as feeling appreciated and connected to the cause.
6. Fewer people give to Christian workers, but the donations made to them are higher than for other causes
One of people’s top reasons for giving to Christian workers in the quantitative phase was ‘I could see how my money would be spent to directly benefit someone’.
7. Two key barriers to giving are feeling unable to afford to give and a lack of trust that donations will be used well
50% of those surveyed said that they can’t really afford to start giving or give more (it is worth noting this research was conducted in November 2023, when the cost-of-living crisis was acute), but we should also consider other barriers to giving.
8. Those who discuss their giving tend to give more themselves
Over 1 in 5 (22%) of those who give more than 11–15% of their income discuss their giving with friends or family more than every few months. Over 3 in 5 (61%) of those that give less than 1% never discuss their giving.
Further information is available here, and a pdf of the report can be downloaded (with an email address) from here.
The latest issue of the Journal of Biblical Theology and Worldview, published by BJU Seminary, has recently been made available online.
Contents as below are available from here, with the whole issue available for download as a pdf here.
Jeff Hawkey
Preaching the New Testament One-Another Commands
Cory M. Marsh
Urgency in the Mundane: Present Living in Light of the Parousia Texts in 1 and 2 Thessalonians
Mark Sidwell
J. Wilbur Chapman and American Evangelism
Layton Talbert
Adoring Shulamite as Foil to Adulterous Israel: A Canonical Theology of the Song of Songs
Book Reviews
The latest issue of The Big Picture, a magazine produced by the Kirby Laing Centre, has recently been made available.
According to the blurb:
‘Politics is a contentious and divisive topic, but it is integral to public life and public theology. With so many significant elections happening in 2024, we invited our community to think together about this topic… The articles we have chosen represent a wide range of perspectives, not all of which are compatible with one another. It was not our goal to find and promote one Christian political position but rather to provoke fruitful thought and conversation.’
More information is available here, and the issue can be downloaded as a pdf here.
Every month, The Good Book Company make available digital versions of one of their books at no charge. This month (October 2024) it’s Making Faith Magnetic: Five Hidden Themes Our Culture Can't Stop Talking About… And How to Connect Them to Christ, by Dan Strange, which is available in exchange for an email address here.
Cambridge Papers are published once a quarter and address a wide range of topics, offering ‘Christian reflection on contemporary issues’.
The latest paper is available online here (from where a pdf can be downloaded here):
Andrew Perrett and Louise Robinson, ‘A Christian Response to Chronic Pain’, Cambridge Papers 33, 3 (September 2024).
Here is the summary:
‘The chances are that you know someone who lives with chronic pain, whether you are aware of it or not. Chronic pain is a specific type of suffering which is invisible, unpredictable and long-lasting. We discuss how this presents a particular set of challenges and hurdles to the sufferer, their loved ones and the wider church family, and we also share a personal example of living with chronic pain. Chronic pain demands a response; here we seek to bring biblical light to help people of faith who are seeking to respond well.’
