About the Author
After a brief City career in accountancy I decided on
ordination in my early 20s, read theology at Oxford University,
spent a year each at William Temple College, Rugby, and Lincoln
Theological College, and was ordained in St Paul's Cathedral in
1960. Then, in a ministry of exactly 40 years, I served a
3 year curacy in St John's Wood Church in London, was for 12 years
Vicar of St Luke's, Kingstanding, a large Local Authority housing
estate in north Birmingham, and finally for 25 years was Rector
of St Margaret's, Lee, in the London Borough of Lewisham.
My book is the product of a lifetime's interest in Biblical Theology
and has taken many months in retirement to research, write, revise
and format.
It was my good fortune in Birmingham to be a friend of Dr Michael
Goulder of Birmingham University and to have attended his weekly
New Testament seminar for many years. Michael is a brilliant
scholar, a student and friend of Austin Farrer while at Oxford,
with a immense command of both ancient and modern languages, and
equally at home in Old and New Testament studies. He wrote
11 books, many, many articles and lectured to international conferences.
His scholarship underlies my book, which includes a tribute to him.
Sadly, he is now confined to a wheel chair and unable to read.
In churchmanship terms I am liberal and broad
church, and the congregations I have served have included people
from all backgrounds. Most have found my ideas interesting, but
I have tried hard not to impose them. I have seen my role
as being to provide the background information to enable people
to make up their own minds and to reach their own conclusions. My
aim in writing this Handbook is to enable others to do so as well.
Many friends from my St Margaret’s days have been hugely encouraging
and two, in particular, with experience of publishing, have helped
me enormously in the long and frustrating task of formatting the
book. I am very grateful to them and to all the others whose
eager enquiries have spurred me on.
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