Durham Cathedral

Continuing this mini-series of posts of no particular importance (unlike the vast majority of our highly significant reflections), apparently in years gone by if you committed a serious crime you could flee to Durham cathedral and knock on the door. You would then be given refuge for 37 days in which time you could get your affairs together. You then had the option to stand trial or to flee the country by the nearest port. Not sure if it mattered how many letters you had in your surname...

Durham Impressions II

Durham has a long and dignified history of NT scholars which added to my surprise that the theological section of the library is seemingly so sparse. Perhaps I have not discovered all the resources, but it certainly seems much smaller than Moore’s. For example, the journals seemed very thin on the ground - there is no JETS, WTJ or Duke Review. In books there was nothing by Vos and only a couple by John Murray. I realise I was looking for the more Reformed evangelical stuff (though Duke would not fall into that category) but still I was surprised at what wasn’t there.

Durham First Impressions

As Dave noted, we have indeed been busy settling into Durham. Thankfully, we are starting to find our feet and beginning to feel at home here.
Durham is a small town in the North East of England. It feels a bit like Oxford and Cambridge in that the University really is woven into the fabric of the town. It is also an ancient town. Emma and I walked over a bridge that was about 900 years old the other week.
Typical of the North of England, people are generally very friendly and will chat to you on the street – very different to London – especially on the Tube. Our transition has been helped by meeting people (and rekindling old friendships) at our new church – Christ Church Durham. The church has a high proportion of PhD students – most of whom seem to be from the States and looking at some aspect of Pauline theology. So, lots of fun conversations of morning tea for everyone!

When I get more organised, I will try and post some photos and more info.