If church ministers place themselves on a pedestal, or are placed on one, can that simply be explained by general psychological and sociological mechanisms such as group dynamics, or has the word “priest” contributed to it as well? The first is obvious. Leaders emerge in every group, and around leaders arise expectations, admiration and distance. [...]
On safety, resilience and mature faith Occasion The church wants to be a safe place, and that is good. But a church that only wants to be safe forgets that it is also a place of formation. That tension lies at the heart of this reflection. The immediate occasion is an opinion piece by Petra [...]
Where Eastern meditation and Christian mysticism can meet, and where they cannot Introduction Eastern meditation and Christian mysticism describe a related inner path on a striking number of points, but they differ on the question of who walks that path and to whom it leads. This article tries to do justice to both: to show [...]
At an information evening on the church and cover-ups of abuse, I heard an explanation I won't soon forget. A humanities scholar argued that secularisation had plunged the church into crisis, and that the church responded with a reflex to protect the sacred. That sacred, he suggested, has largely been located in its ministers. They [...]
An introduction to the appointed times of Leviticus 23. Leviticus 23 lists seven annual “appointed times” (mo’edim) that God gave to Israel. The Hebrew word mo’ed means more than a mere holiday: it is a divinely scheduled meeting point between God and his people. These feasts were woven into the agricultural calendar of ancient Israel, [...]
On filters, fulfilment, and the lives that are at stake. Where We Began This series started with a simple and uncomfortable observation: nobody reads the Bible without a pair of glasses. Supersessionism (1) – The Filters of Our Tradition argued that much of the disagreement between Christians about Israel, the church, and the end times [...]
On promises, patterns and the limits of prophetic mapping. In Supersessionism (3) – All Things Restored, I offered a critical reading of Sebastiaan van Wessem's book All Things Restored (KNGDM Press, 2025). Van Wessem has since published a generous and substantive response on his website, entitled Promises, Fulfillment, and the Shape of Restoration. I am [...]
A return to the sources: on the dynamics of God's faithfulness to Israel and the world. In the first part of this article we explored the various theological movements that attempt to interpret the relationship between the church and Israel. We saw that terms such as "replacement," "fulfilment" or "continuity" often function as filters through [...]
An exploration of movements, definitions and theological frameworks The word "supersessionism" comes up regularly in discussions about the relationship between the church and the people of Israel. Partly under the influence of the intense political developments of recent years in the Middle East, the word is frequently used in the context of an accusation. This [...]
Promises, Literalism and the Logic of Restoration A Critical Reading of All Things Restored by Sebastiaan van Wessem Introduction: A Message That Stands Out All Things Restored (2025) by Sebastiaan van Wessem is no ordinary end-times book. The author writes from a clear pastoral commitment to Israel and the Jewish roots of the Christian faith, [...]
