St. Patrick and the Helicopter: Theological Stories and Reflections for Young and Old
Ebook
This book comes from the playground of imagination. It is the work of a leading international specialist in New Testament studies with a passion for making the findings of New Testament research accessible for a wide readership. From children's stories to liturgies, poems to subversively provocative fantasies, it invites the reader to play, to reflect, and to be confronted.
This is a book to keep coming back to, rather than one to be read from cover to cover. It invites the reader to engage issues at the heart of faith and disbelief. It is a rich and challenging resource for personal and for group reflection. Some pieces will serve well as discussion starters. Some are for storytelling and celebration, including children's stories with subtle hints for adult minds. Others belong in the context of worship. They are grouped broadly according to the church liturgical year: "Around Christmas"; "Around Easter"; "Around Pentecost"; and "Any Time." Come and read! Come and play!
“In this book, William Loader demonstrates his characteristic range: serious scholarship underlying deep and challenging reflection alongside parabolic simplicity. For over forty years he has been my teacher. Come and see and then tell your friends!”
—Ian Tozer, moderator, W. A. Synod of the Uniting Church in Australia
“William Loader, a distinguished scholar of early Christian literature, offers an engaging collection of personal reflections both witty and profound. Many are retellings of well-known biblical passages connected with high points of the liturgical year. Others probe the presence of the divine in odd corners of our world. Rich learning and a lively imagination combine to invite readers to think anew about familiar stories and to open themselves to a renewed encounter with sacred reality.”
—Harold W. Attridge, professor of divinity, Yale University
“A rich tapestry of insights arising from lifelong study and reflection by one of the outstanding New Testament scholars of his generation. Each imaginative thread draws the reader into the heart of the New Testament, making it accessible to all ages and backgrounds.”
—Suzanne Boorer, former senior lecturer in Old Testament, Murdoch University
“I’ve enjoyed and been challenged as I’ve engaged with this playful, imaginative, and creative interaction with key biblical stories of Jesus. A deep dive for the heart.”
—Denise Savage, presbytery minister, Uniting Church in Australia
“This wonderful book is replete with as many forms of writing as the Bible—poetry, narrative, history, liturgy, and more. The Bible characters often break into our contemporary context with challenging questions. I shall be reading many of the stories to my grandchildren, sharing segments at Bible study, and using other passages in celebrating the sacraments. In all the variety is a unifying feature—a palpable experience of irrepressible love.”
—Tom Stuart, minister of the word & spiritual director, Uniting Church in Australia
“William Loader has provided a treasure trove of a book. His meticulous care for the gospel message is evident in the devotional passages that can be used across the liturgical year. Used personally or as group devotions, they open one’s heart to the joy of life in Christ. Another delight is the salting of this book with his children’s stories suitable for all ages. Wonderful imaginings for young and old alike.”
—Ann Perrin, mission facilitation consultant, NSWACT Synod
- Title: St. Patrick and the Helicopter: Theological Stories and Reflections for Young and Old
- Author: William Loader
- Publisher: Resource Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666775716, 9781666775693, 166677569X, 9781666775709, 1666775703, 1666775711
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666775716
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-07-20T11:08:40Z
William Loader is professor emeritus, a New Testament scholar who taught at Murdoch University, Perth, Australia, and is a minister of the Uniting Church in Australia. He has published widely, offering resources online (billloader.com) and in his many books, including books for a wider readership, most recently, What Can Love Hope For? Questions for Faith Seeking Understanding (2020), Sex Then and Now: Sexualities and the Bible (2022), and Myths on the Margins: Making It to the Centre (2022).