John Goldingay
Isaiah for Everyone - The Downfall of the Superpower
Isaiah for Everyone - The Downfall of the Superpower
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Downfall of the Superpower Last Sunday’s newspaper included three reviews of books on “the state of the union,” one by a Brit, two by Americans, all written by people who love the United States, but all concerned about its decline as the world’s one superpower. It’s often sai…
Isaiah for Everyone - A Day When There Will Be a Song to Sing
Isaiah for Everyone - A Day When There Will Be a Song to Sing
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Day When There Will Be a Song to Sing Our city’s annual Black History Parade this year had the theme “Looking back and remembering: we’ve come a mighty long way.” The words reminded me of the hymn, “We’ve Come This Far by Faith.”…
Isaiah for Everyone - On Mixed Motives
Isaiah for Everyone - On Mixed Motives
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Mixed Motives Next week my wife and are to speak at a retreat for students aimed at helping people maintain a connection with God while they’re studying theology. I’m looking forward to this event because we have the experience of going through seminary and watching generation…
Isaiah for Everyone - A Sign of Hope
Isaiah for Everyone - A Sign of Hope
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Sign of Hope My wife’s son-in-law returned yesterday from one of his recurrent trips to meet with Darfuri refugees in Chad to encourage them, show some interest on the part of people from the United States, and look for ways of advocating for them. The focus of activity on this…
Isaiah for Everyone - Where to Look for Guidance
Isaiah for Everyone - Where to Look for Guidance
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Where to Look for Guidance? In Mexico, and in Mexican communities in places such as Los Angeles, there’s a lively movement of prayer to Santa Muerte, Saint Death. You pray to her for protection from the dangers of the night, in the conviction that she can protect you from attack,…
Isaiah for Everyone - Stand Firm, Or You Won't Stand At All
Isaiah for Everyone - Stand Firm, Or You Won't Stand At All
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Stand Firm, Or You Won’t Stand At All I mentioned in an early volume of The Old Testament for Everyone receiving a call from a Jewish lawyer in Los Angeles who had self-published a book titled Twenty-six Reasons Why Jews Don’t Believe in Jesus and wanted me to make sure that his …
Isaiah for Everyone - How to frighten People into Repentance
Isaiah for Everyone - How to frighten People into Repentance
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to frighten People into Repentance A little while ago I went to preach at a new church that is part of the “emerging church” movement, which started in Australasia and the UK and spread to the United States. Its background is an awareness that the traditional churches are in …
Isaiah for Everyone - A Singer-Songwriter's Strange Song
Isaiah for Everyone - A Singer-Songwriter's Strange Song
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Singer-Songwriter’s Strange Song When we are going out for the evening, and if the time of year requires it, I will put a sweater on top of whatever I have been wearing all day. It’s a delight to me when, in contrast, my wife disappears into the closet and reappears in her fine…
Isaiah for Everyone - On Dresses, Shawls, and Purses
Isaiah for Everyone - On Dresses, Shawls, and Purses
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Dresses, Shawls, and Purses Isaiah 3: 1-4: 6 When we are going out for the evening, and if the time of year requires it, I will put a sweater on top of whatever I have been wearing all day. It’s a delight to me when, in contrast, my wife disappears into the closet and reappear…
Isaiah for Everyone - The Destiny of All That Is Humanly Impressive
Isaiah for Everyone - The Destiny of All That Is Humanly Impressive
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Destiny of All That is Humanly Impressive Isaiah 2: 6-22 It’s Holy Week, and for more than twenty years a magnificent church not far from where we live put on a glorious Easter pageant in the weeks leading up to Easter, “the largest and most spectacular passion play” in the w…
Isaiah for Everyone - Second-Degree Manslaughter
Isaiah for Everyone - Second-Degree Manslaughter
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Second-Degree Manslaughter Isaiah 1: 21-2: 5 The other Sunday, halfway on our five-minute drive to church there was a huge police presence off to the left of our street, with police cars and barriers and police officers apparently searching waste land and dumpsters. Some aspects …
Isaiah for Everyone - I'm Fed Up to the Teeth with Your Worship
Isaiah for Everyone - I'm Fed Up to the Teeth with Your Worship
by SPCK - John Goldingay
I’m fed up to the Teeth with Your Worship Isaiah 1: 1-20 We just came home from our Palm Sunday service at church, a great occasion. As usual we began by distributing palm crosses; I can never take for granted that in California we can make our palm crosses from palm branches on …
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Glossary
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Glossary
by SPCK - John Goldingay
GLOSSARY aide An aide is supernatural agent through whom God may appear and work in the world. English translations refer to them as “angels,” but this suggests ethereal winged figures wearing diaphanous white dresses. Aides are humanlike figures; hence it possible to give them h…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Praise of God, the Eternal Creator, Is Finished and Completed
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Praise of God, the Eternal Creator, Is Finished and Completed
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Praise of God, the Eternal Creator, Is Finished and Completed Psalm 150 The heading I have given for this final psalm is the rabbis’ footnote to the Hebrew text of the Psalms. We have come a long way from Psalm 1, where we began with an exhortation to pay heed to Yahweh’s Tea…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Dance and Slaughter
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Dance and Slaughter
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Dance and Slaughter Psalm 148-149 As a teenager, I did not learn to dance or to shoot a gun for different reasons. I didn’t learn to dance because my church regarded dancing as “worldly”; it wasn’t appropriate to people who were really committed to God. I didn’t learn to shoot be…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Creation as a Reason for Hope
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Creation as a Reason for Hope
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Creation as a Reason for Hope Psalm 147 Six centuries before Christ, the city of Jerusalem was destroyed, and many of its people were taken off into exile in Babylon. Not surprisingly, over time they became demoralized and found it hard to believe that God was ever going to be in…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Don’t Trust in Leaders
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Don’t Trust in Leaders
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Don’t Trust in Leaders Psalm 146 I remember the winter’s day when I announced to the students at the theological college in England where I used to be the principal that I would be leaving the coming summer. To my surprise, it aroused a feeling of anxiety among a number of studen…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Thine Is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory