Through various devious means, we have a nice new server for our site. We have updated the old broken links for the talks on the Church, so they should be downloadable again for any who were searching for them. No plans for Bluffer’s Guide Talks so far, but then one day (any day) we may get some inspiration for a new subject. Best wishes Paul Roberts and Simon Taylor.

Simon delivered the first talk of The Bible in One Hour series this week to a good sized audience. (Er, what we mean is that the audience had a good number of people in it. It was not a comment on the physical size of the members of that audience.) At the moment, we’re just awaiting a bit of configuration on our podcast hosting server, so the talk will soon be available. Please bear with us and thanks for listening!

After nearly getting the Net Award for the Most Moribund Website, there are signs of a slight sturring of action in the behemoth which you know as virtualtheology.net. This summer, Simon Taylor is flying solo with a set of talks on THE BIBLE!

Details on the flyer below. He will be recording his efforts and hopefully we will get them to you via the podcast soon after they go out in Bristol. If this has got to you via your blog-reader, please spread the word!

For those who thought that the Bluffer’s Guide had disappeared into the amnesia of the web you will be delighted/appalled to learn that another season is about to start! On Wednesday evenings during September, Paul Roberts and Simon Taylor are doing another series. This time they are intending to do The Bluffer’s Guide to Heresy. What exactly is heresy? Is it dangerous, or healthy? Do old heresies die out, or just come back again and again, like persistent weeds? What should we do with heretics? (Burn them or make them Bishops?) Paul and Simon will be re-adopting the relaxed, irreverent style of the previous series. They both have doctorates in theology and have taught the subject in Bristol and Sheffield (and just about anywhere else who will have them). If you want to know the difference between a donatist and a donutist, or can’t tell an enema from an anathema, this is for you.

Venue: The Bristol Folk House, Park Street, Bristol – Room 2. Wednesdays, from 13th September to 4 October. All sessions start at 7.40pm and end by 9.30pm followed by relocation to the nearest pub, The Bristol Ram.

We will also be podcasting the talks again, so if you can’t be there in person, point your podcasting software to the podcast feed at the bottom right of this page. For more details, see our instructions about podcasting here.

What they said about the last series of Bluffer’s Guides …

“Now I can preach again …” (Karl, Basel)
“Hey! Dig the prosopa! Are you guys two hypostases of a single substance, or two separate ousias?” (Athanasius, most of the Eastern Mediterranean)
“Lying safely in your arms I’m born again…” (Bishop J Spong, USA – or was it Billy Preston?)
“As opium for the people goes, this stuff is hot sh**!” (Karl, British Library Reading Room)
“96: The Bluffer’s Guide rocks!” (Martin, Wittenberg)

(Note, the Bluffer’s Guide cannot be responsible for any hyperbole contained in the above statements.)

UPDATE 17 Nov: The bibliography for this series is now available here.