But in that long tribute of one scholar to another, there was this comment on another side of this 'ferociously precise scholar'.
"Though I did not see his pastoral or churchly side but the word among people in Durham was that he hated ecclesial pomp and ceremony, including the wearing of academic hoods in church; that he went regularly and voluntarily to Durham Prison early in the morning to meet men being discharged and to take them for a cup of tea and see if he could be of any practical help…"
And there in those early morning encounters is the pastoral heart underlying the scholarly precision, and living into the words of Jesus.
The two green and well used volumes of Cranfield's ICC are permanent fixtures on my Romans shelf. I bought volume 1 in the Christian Aid book sale in Woodlands Road, Glasgow, in 1976, in mint condition and probably a discarded review volume – priced at 50 pence! (At the time the retail price was £6) I've always interpreted that memorable find as a singular providence
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