Category Archives: Good Friday

“Up, civil unrest!” (an Easter-ish reflection)

Posted on April 1, 2021 by TheEvangelicalLiberal

You may have come across the popular Easter-themed worship song “O Praise The Name (Anástasis)”. I like the song, but I’m amused that someone felt the need to add that biblical Greek subtitle. For those like me not fluent in … Continue reading →

Posted in Easter, Good Friday, Politics and faith | 3 Comments

All together at the cross

Posted on April 10, 2020 by TheEvangelicalLiberal

Good Friday – Christ crucified. After nearly 2000 Good Fridays can there be anything fresh to say about the cross (and does there need to be)? One understanding of Good Friday is that on the cross, God – the Lord, … Continue reading →

Posted in Easter, Good Friday, Love of God, Salvation, Sin | 1 Comment

The Penitent Thief – a Good Friday reflection

Posted on April 14, 2017 by TheEvangelicalLiberal

A friend recently asked me who is the one person other than Jesus who we know to be in heaven, if we believe the gospel record. There may be other possible answers, but perhaps the clearest is the Penitent thief, or the Thief on … Continue reading →

Posted in Good Friday, Salvation | Tagged , | 5 Comments

The cross as symbol and reality

Posted on March 25, 2016 by TheEvangelicalLiberal

The cross. Such a potent symbol, pregnant with a million meanings, yet at the same time so ubiquitous and universal that it loses its impact. So what is the cross a symbol of? It is not a symbol of power, … Continue reading →

Posted in Good Friday, Salvation | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

The cross of Christ and the Myth of Redemptive Violence

Posted on April 15, 2015 by TheEvangelicalLiberal

“Do you know why humans like violence? Because violence feels good” (Spoken by character of Alan Turing in The Imitation Game) This is continuing a series about anger, violence and war from a Christian perspective. Last time I looked at Christ’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Good Friday, Psychology | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Rage, violence and Jesus – the cleansing of the Temple

Posted on April 2, 2015 by TheEvangelicalLiberal

So we’re approaching Good Friday and Easter again. Does the story of Christ’s ‘Passion’ fill you with joy or dread, neither, maybe both? The Passion story is undeniably a bloody and violent one. I’m no great fan of Mel Gibson’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Easter, Good Friday | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Suffering II – extraordinary suffering, and ‘good’ suffering

Posted on August 11, 2014 by TheEvangelicalLiberal

“The thread of suffering runs so deeply through the fabric of our existence that were it pulled free the remnant would unravel beyond recognition.” Judy Hirst, Third Way Magazine Last time I suggested that some suffering may simply be a … Continue reading →

Posted in Evil, Good Friday, Suffering, Tragedy | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Good Friday: the day God became an atheist

Posted on April 18, 2014 by TheEvangelicalLiberal

I’ve written plenty before about Good Friday – about the death and triumph of love, about the historical and spiritual reasons Jesus died, about whether Christ suffered so we don’t need to, and about how on earth we can call … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism/agnosticism, Church calendar, Good Friday, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Good Friday Waiting

Posted on April 17, 2014 by TheEvangelicalLiberal

I wrote this poem 15 years ago after a Maundy Thursday experience of what C.S. Lewis would have called Joy, or Sehnsucht. I was blissfully unemployed at the time, and was walking home through the park from giving a guitar … Continue reading →

Posted in Easter, Good Friday, Incarnation, Poems | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment