The odd case of Jannes and Jambres
Christopher Ash
We don’t have to sweep tricky phrases from Scripture under the carpet, says Christopher Ash. In many cases Bible scholarship can help us make sense of them.
‘Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men oppose the truth…’ (2 Tim. 3:8) You are preparing to preach, or to lead a study, on 2 Timothy 3, when you come across Jannes and Jambres. Who are they? When and why did they oppose Moses? How is their opposition to Moses similar to (‘just as’) what the false teachers are doing in first-century Ephesus?
Making exegetical paths straight
Christopher Ash
Christopher Ash explains how biblical scholarship can help ministers of the word handle challenging texts
Perhaps you’re writing a talk for a youth group. You diligently print out the passage, highlight the tricky parts, and reach for a commentary. An hour, and four commentaries later, you find you’ve tied yourself up in knots.
Christopher Ash: how can we age well?
I am in my (very) early seventies. I have just written a book about following Jesus in your fifties and sixties. “A bit late,” you say. Sure. But it is the book I wish someone had given me 20 years ago.
In most of the world and much of human history, these decades are the close of life. But in rich western societies with good diet and healthcare, they are—for many—an “in between” stage, between the vigour of middle age and the frailty of our older years. I think of it as “the afternoon of life”.