Taking every thought captive

James B Jordan, et al, have been posting an interesting series of speculations on how Matthew’s Gospel (20 Mar), James’ Letter (21 Mar, by Jeff Myers), and Mark’s Gospel (24 Mar) might have come to be written. Riveting reading and provocative in the best sense of the word. As Jordan concludes about Matthew:

Given how all these people thought, and the context in which they lived, it should be pretty obvious that the book of Matthew was produced immediately after Pentecost. Anyone who thinks otherwise should come forward with any reason why the apostles would have waited.

It certainly makes a lot of sense, despite what many scholars believe. And even if it is apocryphal, there are some valuable insights into the contents of the books. Enjoy.

During my posting hiatus I have been reading quite a few books. One that I finished a few weeks ago was definitely worthwhile. It is Remotely Controlled; How Television is Damaging our Lives by Aric Sigman (Vermillion, 2005, ISBN 978-0-09-190690-0). Sigman is no Christian, but he provides a thought-provoking, and seriously worrying, critique of tv and its insidious effects.

The site for the Northern Ireland Ministry Assembly is now up and running. Really just a bit of shameless promotion since I set up the site. At the moment it is just information on forthcoming events, but by the summer we hope to have online booking available for this year’s assembly.