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.