Being good, Doing good – National Prayer Breakfast 2008
A very long time ago, Paul wrote these words to his mate Titus: For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed […]
The dangers of slaying
The Week includes this in its “It Must Be True, I read it in the tabloids” section – so who knows. But I’ve googled and found a few things, including the public court documents so perhaps it is. But the story goes that a chap from a Tennessee church, called Matthew Lincoln, got slain in […]
The politics of obesity? Hurd on Peel and Now
Have been reading Douglas Hurd’s weighty but impressive bio of Sir Robert Peel (UK Prime Minister for 6 months in 1834-1835 and then 1841-1846) – full of anecdotes and interest about a man who is much maligned but arguably the first modern Prime Minister in that he came to power as the result, not of […]
U2 Africa style – a gift of a response
The thought didn’t thrill me. Especially after a friend tipped me off about a similar, earlier album of U2 covers by US Christian bands (called In The Name of Love – Artists United for Africa). One or two of them sort of work but to my mind, this attempt merely served to illustrate the fact […]
The genius & gleanings of Bombaugh
I’ve no idea who Charles Carroll Bombaugh was but he was clearly some sort of literary genius. Thanks to a wonderfully pointless blog that I’ve recently come across (called Futility Closet), a number of his moments of brilliance have been granted a new lease of life (having previously been buried in his epic 1870 tome, […]
The Development Set
Thanks to my sister-in-law Lucy for this – it’s quite old now, but still worth passing on. It is barbed, of course – but if anything, the situation is even worse 30 years on… The Development Set by Ross Coggins Excuse me, friends, I must catch my jet I’m off to join the Development Set; […]
Ugandan (in)justice & US presidentials – and what people are doing about it…
Two very interesting articles to point you to… Peter May has written an article about the work of the UCLF (Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity): Uganda cries out for justice. Knowing both the Prices and some of the other folks involved in the UCLF, it is great to hear how things are going, building on previous […]
The pastor’s wives’ revenge…
Thanks again to my transatlantic source, Paul Carter, for this fantastic demonstration of Christian revenge (er, hang on – that doesn’t sound quite right). But pastor’s wives are on the turn – they’re fed up with being the butt of sermon illustrations and jokes. Preachers and public speakers all… beware… [youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=iY4khRpG8O8] you can’t now say […]
No more retreat? – ethical nerve and hate crimes
Thanks to Alex Webb-Peploe for this link – fascinating article from the Sunday Times – about the impact that Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali is having, and the similarities with Mary Whitehouse, although the main difference being that Nazir-Ali is getting more of a hearing and respect than Whitehouse ever did. No more retreat – the right […]
Hair religion: the last resort for the confused (or the balding)?
One of the best books on modern, western cultural trends that I’ve ever read is David Lyon’s introduction simply called POSTMODERNITY. It’s now on its 2nd edition and has almost doubled in size. But it is brilliantly lucid and accessible, with plenty of worked examples and illustrations. If someone is wanting to find out more […]
The Boss @ The Emirates
Well, after all the intensities of last week, Saturday brought some blessed relief. For we’d managed to get tickets to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in their 2nd gig at the Arsenal Emirates stadium. Pretty good seats (as shown by my photo above) – first tier directly opposite the stage so no cricked […]
