Michael J. Leyden

It's not at all intended as a snide remark when I emphasise the *and* in the post-title: not all theologians are good preachers, and anybody who has been to church regularly for any length of time can tell you that not all preachers are competent theologians. John Webster, Professor of Systematic Theology at Aberdeen University (formerly Lady Margaret Professor at Oxford), is genuinely both. So I'm really excited about the arrival of this book with the postman this morning: The Grace of Truth  (Farmington Hills, Michigan: Oil Lamp Book, 2011) is a collection of 26 of Webster's sermons, mostly delivered when he was Canon of Christ Church, Oxford. Having only so far read the first couple I can't say too much with authority yet, but what I have seen is a rigorous attentiveness to the scriptural texts, and a keen eye for their application in human lives. There's also a great deal of creativity on display here too, which is as refreshing as it is intriguing: so, for e...

I spent a few minutes after morning prayer on Saturday wandering around the church building, enjoying the silence. I also had a look at the stained glass windows - most of which are Victorian. It's something I don't get to do very often because I'm too busy. My favourite window in our church building is very recent, only three years old, and is a brightly coloured rendition of Jesus welcoming children to himself. It is in the baptistry, an appropriate place for welcoming children into the family of God. I discovered another window today too, which I've never really noticed before - something that surprised me because ours is not an overly large building. It is a large plain window, with clear glass. You can see straight through it to the outside world: across the grave yard to the A-road that runs through the middle of the parish, and on to the homes beyond. I stood for a while watching people heading to the shops, the saturday morning traffic held up by the changing...

This is a transcript of a short reflection I gave recently at a peace and justice service in Liverpool Diocese. I was the invited speaker for the service, the theme of which was "Casting the first stone". John 8 was the reading... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The ecumenical peace and justice group. Wavertree URC Church. 29th of January 2013. Let me begin by saying thank you very much inviting me to speak to you this evening. It's a delight to be with you, and to know that such groups exist in our diocese is especially encouraging. It is a truth which every Christian must hold that only as we stand together as Christ's church across the denominations do we have any hope of seeing peace and justice come to our world as we move forward together in the light of Christ who is the Prince of peace and Lord of justice. By training, I am a theological ethicist. It means that I have been taught and ...

I recently received a message from Michael Mawson at Aberdeen asking me to post this...It looks good to me. Professor Wannenwetsch was my Bonhoeffer tutor when I was an undergrad and is a particular draw to Aberdeen, and Brock and Mawson are also good stuff. Aberdeen looks like the place to go for theological ethics... We are pleased to announce a new one-year Master’s in Theological Ethics degree at the University of Aberdeen. Aberdeen’s department of Divinity is currently one of the top-ranked theology programs in the UK, and recent appointments in the areas of Systematic Theology and Theological Ethics have further strengthened the department. The Theological Ethics area emphasizes fundamental texts and thinkers in the Christian tradition for engaging contemporary issues and debates. For more information: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/divinity/pgrad/MThTheologicalEthics If you have questions or are interested in applying to the MTh program feel free to contact Professor Bernd Wann...

Latest interview from St Johns College Nottingham is with Anthony Thiselton, commentating on the major themes and books in his life's work...worth watching...

I have just started reading this book, Spiritual Fitness by Graham Tomlin (London: Continuum, 2006). It is a really good read, and quite challenging in places. I'm not in total agreement with Tomlin in every area, but find him a very stimulating conversation partner (this ought to be expected after his Provocative Church (2002)). The premise of the book is partly as a follow up to his earlier work, and partly as a fleshing out of the question "what would happen if Christians started to put huge amounts of time and energy into developing their spiritual health and fitness?" There is a missional drive to this: such lives would be attractive to others, doubly so in our post-modern world in which people are looking for points of reference (if Zygmunt Bauman is to be believed). I thought I would have a go at blogging my way through, chapter by chapter - partly as good practice for me when it comes to blogging, and partly for fun! So here goes... Ch. 1: Church in a Cultu...

This is a photograph of the East window above the altar-table at Church. It is a piece of religious art I both love and hate. I hate it because I'm not very keen on Victorian depictions of the last supper, on the whole, because they tend to be quite miserable and Jesus is always pale and English-looking. The disciples are all bearded men, dressed wholly inappropriately, and are also pale and English-looking. But, there's always a "but" with this sort of thing for me: I love this stained glass window because it is quite unusual. It's a bit small to see the full detail in the photograph, but one of the disciples has a blackened halo. Often on a Sunday morning when I look at Judas I feel quite sorry for him in this image: permanently marked out by the artists as the betrayer, one whose holiness and faithfulness is called into question so very publicly every week. As if to make it more obvious, the artist has represented Judas facing away from Jesus, and away fro...