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James Barr, one of the greatest biblical scholars of the twentieth century, also made significant contributions to the field of biblical theology by considering what biblical theology is and how it relates to the wider world of theology (dogmatic or systematic theology), philosophy, the other humanities, and even the sciences. For Barr, biblical theology should not be a confessional theology, but an attempt to capture the diverse theological ideas of the Bible read on its own terms. Barr’s ideal was that biblical scholars should take an interest in systematic theology, not in order to assimilate it, but so as to enable there to be a real interchange of ideas. Christian faith, Barr held, is not related primarily to a book, but to God and to Jesus.

The Psalms are a heterogeneous collection of texts that may come from many different periods, yet a reasonably consistent picture emerges of the sins they mention. These are mostly to do with social interactions, though there is some attention to sins of thought and intent. Because so many Psalms are concerned with supplications by those oppressed by others, the emphasis tends to fall on malice rather than on more ‘obvious’ sins such as murder or adultery, which are little mentioned. There is not much reflection on the nature of sin as such, though Psalm 51 suggests that it goes back even as far as one’s conception.

This paper explores socio-political and ethnic identities in postgenocide Rwanda and what they contribute to an understanding of mission. As part of the country's reconstruction efforts, the Rwandan government continues to aggressively promote a homogenizing postethnic approach to national unity that officially eliminates references to groups such as the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. Using the work of Emmanuel Katongole and Miroslav Volf as reference points, I propose that the missional pursuit of reconciliation is undermined by such postethnic philosophies and policies. God's mission seeks not to eliminate identities per se, but to eliminate the enmity between them, thus calling people to accept and welcome the “other as other” in the name of Christ. Therefore, in the current climate in Rwanda, and despite impressive indicators of social and economic progress, the call of mission may increasingly require a subversive posture.

We describe seven infants with transient congenital hypothyroidism (CH) due to maternal thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSH-R) blocking antibodies (TRAb) identified over three decades of newborn screening for CH in Wales, UK that represents a minimum incidence of 1.6% of CH cases. Infants with transient CH due to maternal TRAb presented with a spectrum of clinical and biochemical hypothyroidism. Blood spot TSH concentrations ranged 60.5–332 mIU/L. CH was confirmed by plasma thyroid function tests in all cases (plasma TSH ranged 21–752 mIU/L). The seven infants belonged to five different families. On examination, four infants were clinically hypothyroid. Five infants had a thyroid ultrasound, of which three were abnormal. All infants were treated with thyroxine, which was subsequently withdrawn from three. Following thyroxine withdrawal, one infant resumed normal thyroid function and two developed compensated hypothyroidism. Of the five mothers, two had undiagnosed hypothyroidism and three were receiving thyroxine for longstanding hypothyroidism. Thyroid peroxidase antibody (aTPO) was measured in four and was negative in two, borderline positive in one and strongly positive in another. TRAb was measured in all five women and was strongly positive in all of them. This case series highlights the importance of identifying CH due to TRAb by investigating both the infant and the mother following a raised TSH found on newborn screening. The identification of those infants with transient CH caused by maternal transfer of TRAb is essential for optimizing management during childhood (including potential withdrawal of thyroxine replacement in the longer term) and in any subsequent pregnancy.

Congenital hypothyroidism is screened for in the UK using blood spot thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) screening at 5–8 d of age. Although standards are set by the UK Newborn Screening Programme Centre, there are variations in TSH cut-offs used. The introduction of repeat screening of preterm babies at 36 weeks' gestational age in 2005 was controversial in its utility and timing. Two cases of preterm babies are presented, who had normal blood spot TSH values on the first test and who became screen positive when re-tested at term. The first with Trisomy 21 was born at 29 + 6 weeks with an initial blood spot TSH of 3.3 mU/L rising to 263 mU/L at term-corrected gestational age (plasma TSH 476.5 mU/L). The second was born at 24 + 6 weeks’ gestational age and on day 7, the heel prick blood spot TSH was