I’ve really enjoyed writing these posts on theology and the poor. I expect I’ve probably benefited more than you, but hey thanks for reading them anyway!

I may, in the future, come back to the topic of poverty and theology but for now I am going to make a move away….Beyond the Pale.

I want to invite to head out beyond the Pale with me.

Into what seems to be chaos.

In the coming months, I want to expose and investigate the scriptural passages that appear to be outside the bounds of acceptable behaviour; unacceptable; outside agreed standards of decency.

Passages like 2 Kings 2:23-24, Mark 13:30, 1 Timothy 2:12, 1 Peter 2:18, Psalm 137:8-9, eh… the whole book of Judges plus many many more.

If you have any particularly weird or wonderful verses you like me think about feel free to comment below or give me an email. All suggestions are welcome.

For now, can I just leave you with this awesome Tim Keller quote from his book, The Reason for God. It made me think and put a smile on my face over Easter.

“Each year at Easter I get to preach on the Resurrection. In my sermon I always say to my sceptical, secular friends that, even if they can’t believe in the resurrection, they should want it to be true. Most of them care deeply about justice for the poor, alleviating hunger and disease, and caring for the environment. Yet many of them believe that the material world was caused by accident and that the world and everything in it will eventually simply burn up in the death of the sun. They find it discouraging that so few people care about justice without realising that their own worldview undermines any motivation to make the world a better place. Why sacrifice for the needs of others if in the end nothing we do will make any difference? If the resurrection of Jesus happened, however, that means there’s infinite hope and reason to pour ourselves out for the needs of the world.”