Author Archives: Alastair Roberts

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About Alastair Roberts

Alastair Roberts (PhD, Durham University) writes in the areas of biblical theology and ethics, but frequently trespasses beyond these bounds. He participates in the weekly Mere Fidelity podcast, blogs at Alastair’s Adversaria, and tweets at @zugzwanged.

Towards a Kenotic Anthropology Part 1

I wrote this piece over four years ago now. I have some reservations about it now, and probably wouldn’t express myself in quite the same way. However, I think that there is something worth exploring here. I will post the … Continue reading

Posted in Theological | 3 Comments

Rémi Brague on European Identity and the Lessons of the Middle Ages

I read Rémi Brague’s The Legend of the Middle Ages several months ago and highly recommend it to any interested in the period. This particular section came to mind earlier this evening, and I thought that I would post it. … Continue reading

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Visiting Bishop Auckland

A day out in Bishop Auckland with my parents

Posted in My Doings | 2 Comments

Edwin Friedman’s, ‘A Failure of Nerve’

Part 1: How Societies Become Imaginatively Gridlocked and How This Can Be Overcome Part 2: Understanding the Chronically Anxious Society Part 3: The Data Addiction and How to Kick the Habit Part 4: Why Empathy Doesn’t Work Part 5: The … Continue reading

Posted in My Reading, Reviews | 8 Comments

Summary of Edwin Friedman’s ‘A Failure of Nerve’: Part 6

Other Posts in Series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 Emotional Triangles An ‘emotional triangle’ refers to ‘the manner in which the relationship between any two people, or a given individual and his or her symptoms, can be a function … Continue reading

Posted in My Reading, Reviews | 11 Comments

Summary of Edwin Friedman’s ‘A Failure of Nerve’: Part 5

Other Posts in Series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 6 The Importance of Self There is a constant struggle in life between the forces that seek to play it safe and merely reproduce the status quo, and the forces … Continue reading

Posted in My Reading, Reviews, Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Writing and the Lives of Theologians

…to be a Christian is not something you do alone. Our lives are possible only because of what others make of them. As theologians, we must say more than we can be in the hope that others will make us … Continue reading

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Summary of Edwin Friedman’s ‘A Failure of Nerve’: Part 4

Other Posts in Series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5, Part 6 The Fallacy of Empathy Friedman now proceeds to take aim at the ‘fallacy of empathy’. He observes the way in which the political rhetoric of sensitivity can hijack … Continue reading

Posted in My Reading, Reviews | 8 Comments

Summary of Edwin Friedman’s ‘A Failure of Nerve’: Part 3

Other Posts in Series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 The Addiction to Data For Friedman, one of the greatest problems with modern leadership is to be found in its over-reliance upon data. Leaders who rely too heavily … Continue reading

Posted in My Reading, Reviews | 11 Comments

Peter Leithart on the Song

Even as an erotic poem, the Song has much to teach. Robert Alter observes that in much of the world’s erotic literature, “the body in the act of love often seems to displace the rest of the world.” By contrast … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, OT, OT Theology, Theological | 1 Comment