One of the incidents in the Olympic opening ceremony that caused most controversy was the decision to create a tableau mimicking Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper and featuring drag queens. The incident was seized upon as offensive to Christian viewers around the world, something that the organisers have since accepted whilst denying that this… Continue reading Offended?
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Calvin without Hobbes
Indulged 1517 Johann Tetzel ““As soon as a coin in the coffer rings / the soul from purgatory springs” Indulgences – a financial payment protecting you and/or your family from Purgatory Semi Pelagianism –a recipe for corruption and Abuse Martin Luther and the alternative Trick or Treat Martin Luther Born 10th November 1483 2nd July… Continue reading Calvin without Hobbes
Imagine: The Paris Olympics and how a song and a ceremony offered the only message they could
The idea of an opening ceremony for something like the Olympics seems fairly straight forward. You welcome the contestants, spectators and referees/umpires, you declare the event to have begun and then you let everyone sit back and enjoy the spectacle to come. The thing about sport is that it is an incredible visual spectacle and… Continue reading Imagine: The Paris Olympics and how a song and a ceremony offered the only message they could
Augustine and a British heretic
Confessions of a saved sinner Augustine -13/11/354 – 28/8/430 born in Thagaste (Souk Ahras, Algeria) Mother Monica a devout Christian and father Patricus a pagan who converts on his deathbed Describes robbing a pear tree at 16 “…it was not the pears that my unhappy soul desired. I had plenty of my own, better than… Continue reading Augustine and a British heretic
Athanasius and the dodgy worship leader
Introduction Arian Chants and Songs en hote pote ouk en “The uncreated God has made the Son A beginning of things created And by adoption has God made Son Into an advancement of himself Yet the Son’s Substance is Removed from the substance of the Father The Son is not equal to the Father… Continue reading Athanasius and the dodgy worship leader
Irenaeus and the mystery of the missing Gospels
Introduction The Da Vinci Code narrative – a powerful church has suppressed dissent and diversity Gnostics as the heroes of the church –prototype feminists, a concern for spirituality over dogma etc. Nag Hammadi and the Gnostic Gospels (1945) date to 390AD -Coptic So who were they and what did they believe a. An Alternative Creation… Continue reading Irenaeus and the mystery of the missing Gospels
All the way my saviour leads me
Today I turn 50. It’s interesting how those big number birthdays can affect you. I remember feeling a certain weight with turning 40, not so this time round. Perhaps it is that I’m now past any sense of pretence that I’m still young, I cannot ignore that I’m well past the half way mark. I’m… Continue reading All the way my saviour leads me
TL:DR Jesus loves his church … so let him
I recently suggested that the TL:DR (quick summary for those who because something was too long, didn’t read it) of Ephesians 5:22-32 is “husbands are to love their wives and wives are to let them.” The basis for my argument was that we may struggle with authority(headship) and submission language but authority is to do… Continue reading TL:DR Jesus loves his church … so let him
Reset
The church that you are pastoring this side of the 2020 COVID19 pandemic may not be the same as the one that went into the pandemic. I argued during lockdown that many churches would in effect need to adopt a church plant mindset coming out of lockdown. What we’ve seen is that the pandemic caused… Continue reading Reset
We need to talk about depression
I’ve just been writing some responses to advice given from older guys in ministry via the Christian media. I’ve responded to a few of these in recent years where the time seemed to be very much “it is all terrible now. It was better in the past”. I wonder to what extent rather than editors… Continue reading We need to talk about depression
