- The meaning of the Last Supper: Luke 22:7-38 (A Sermon)
- Galatians 3:28 – “Neither Male Nor Female”:What does this verse mean when it comes to male-female roles and relationships? Is it a “Magna Carta for humanity” that teaches complete functional equality of every human being in all areas of life? And what have Christians down through the ages taught about this verse? Michelle Philp explores the meaning of this much-quoted verse in its context, and assesses the history of interpretation of Galatians 3:28 from the early Christians to the present, with special reference to the phrase “neither male nor female”.Synopsis:
This examination of the history of interpretation of Galatians 3:28 reveals that until the nineteenth century commentators understood Paul to be teaching a ‘complementarian view’ of equality for salvation which does not remove social distinctions/roles. No orthodox commentators on this text from the Patristic period through to the Reformers argued for a view of equality that blurred or removed distinctions. The departure from this historic interpretation is shown to have occurred in the nineteenth century under the influence of the Enlightenment concepts of equality where equality in one thing necessitated sameness in all things. The ensuing tension with other Pauline texts that assume distinctions were explained away using historical-critical methods from the same era. Drawing on the nineteenth century egalitarian understanding of Gal. 3:28 it is seen how feminist interpreters move a further step away from the traditional understanding due to their imposition of feminist culture on their hermeneutic.
- Titus 2:3-5: Hand-me-ons: A sermon by Sandy Grant
- Is the Bible Clear? The Bible, the Reformation and Postmodernism.
- The Bible and Homosexuality – A summary of the current (2005) debate.
- Open Letter to Brian Farran, Anglican Bishop of Newcastle, from Sandy Grant, St Michael’s Anglican Cathedral, Wollongong (Monday 11 February, 2008). Sandy Grant writes concerning Brian Farran’s public Statement regarding the GAFCON conference organised by conservative Anglicans and critical of the Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen’s involvement in it.
- Women teaching men the Bible – what’s the problem?A paper by Sandy Grant in response to Graham Cole.
- Also available in PDF.
- God in a Box? Stuart Starr, from Figtree Anglican Church, helps Christians to ask some important questions about the “discovery” of Jesus’ tomb.
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Recent blog posts
My SBL 2019 Paper on Ephesians 2:19–22November 13, 2019I’ll be presenting a paper on Ephesians 2:19–22 at the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting on 23 November 2019: Lionel Windsor, “Plural Constructions and Post-supersessionist
Submitting to one another (Ephesians 5:21)November 13, 2019In Ephesians, the Apostle Paul says to “submit to one another through respect for Christ”. What does he mean? What does he not mean? And how can we do it?
Christian singing: Why and how? (Ephesians 5:19–20)November 6, 2019Why do Christians sing together? How should we do it? Christian singing should involve several dimensions: horizontal, personal, and vertical.
What’s wrong with drunkenness? (Ephesians 5:18)October 30, 2019Believers in Christ have a profound reason to avoid drunkenness. That’s because believers in Christ have a reason to live, hope, and act wisely.
Watch how you walk (Ephesians 5:15–17)October 23, 2019It’s good to have ambitious goals for our Christian lives. But we mustn’t be naïve or unprepared. We need to be deliberate and careful about how we walk.
Living light (Ephesians 5:11–14)October 16, 2019How should Christians relate to the world around us? Should we withdraw, or should we engage? How do we know which action to do when?
The test that matters (Ephesians 5:10)October 9, 2019We live in a world full of tests and measurements. Believers in Christ should also test our lives. But when we do, we need to use the right standard.
Children of light (Ephesians 5:8–9)October 2, 2019Believers in Christ have had their very identity changed: once darkness like the world, but now light. The challenge is to believe it, and to live it.
What do you want to become? (Ephesians 5:5–7)September 25, 2019Our dreams drive our daily actions. In 5, 10, 20 years, what will you have become? Living in grace as an imitator of God, or a partner with the world?
Holy talk (Ephesians 5:3–4)September 18, 2019Often we try to fit in with others by the way we speak. But God calls believers to be holy, not filthy, in our speech, even if it sounds strange to others.