Frank Field’s Politics, Poverty and Belief

8 May 2023 by Steve Walton
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On 16 June 1986 Frank Field, then MP for Birkenhead, kindly came and spoke to the youth group at St Andrew’s, Bebington after being interviewed about his faith and politics in our 6.30 pm evening service. I was the curate who invited him to come and gave you a lift home to Birkenhead afterwards. He spoke very well in the service about Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom of God and its implications for national and political life, and the youth group found him inspiring as a Continue reading →

Saul’s change of name to Paul

10 April 2023 by Steve Walton
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The lovely people at the Logos Academic blog kindly commissioned and published a piece from me on what Saul of Tarsus’ name changed to Paul. This is an issue I had to think about in the light of this shift in Acts, and the fact that he’s always ‘Paul’ in his letters. Enjoy! Comments are most welcome.

Con Campbell’s Jesus v. Evangelicals—a review

3 April 2023 by Steve Walton
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Constantine R. Campbell, Jesus v. Evangelicals: A Biblical Critique of a Wayward Movement.Grand Rapids: Zondervan Reflective, 2023. ISBN 978-0-310-13544-9. $12.99. This is a fascinating book by my friend Con Campbell, an Aussie New Testament scholar (presently Associate Research Director of the Sydney College of Divinity)—and very fine saxophonist—who worked in the US for several years. Full disclosure: he kindly asked his publisher to send me a copy, and I’ve read it with interest and appreciation. Con sets out to offer a critique of the American Continue reading →

A cracking read: Luke Timothy Johnson’s autobiography as a scholar

31 October 2022 by Steve Walton
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Luke Timothy Johnson, The Mind in Another Place: My Life as a ScholarGrand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2022. ISBN 978-0-8028-8011-6. I read Luke Timothy Johnson’s book with great appreciation over the weekend. It’s clear, lucid, engaging, and very encouraging and stimulating. I’ve long been an admirer of his work: his published PhD dissertation, The Literary Function of Possessions in Luke-Acts (SBLDS 39; Missoula, MT: Scholars, 1977) was a pioneering ‘narrative’ reading of Luke-Acts which I found very helpful in my own PhD work a few years later, Continue reading →

A new book on baptism

14 October 2022 by Steve Walton
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Pontien Ndagijimana Batibuka, Baptism as an Event of Taking Responsibility: A New Reading of Romans 5:12 to 6:23, Langham Monographs, Carlisle: Langham Publishing, 2022. ISBN 9781839732348. £24.99. Dr Pontien Batibuka has just published a revised version of his fine doctoral study of Romans 5:12–6:23, focusing on the meaning of baptism in that section of the letter. It’s well worth reading. He is a professor of New Testament studies and the Library Director at Shalom University of Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo. He co-founded the NGO, Continue reading →