2019: Listening Highlights (with free playlists!!)
I really wasn’t sure how to choose this because there are various options. Spotify and the like will tell you what you listened to the most over the year, which is all well and good. Those who know me can hazard a guess: lots of U2, Schubert, Shostakovich, Britten, regular forays over to the worlds […]
2019: Reading Highlights
These are in no particular order and I’ve picked them out as the ones I gave 5* to on my Goodreads page – you can see the rest here. The observant may well be able to discern themes and current obsessions… Fiction Highlights The Porcupine by Julian Barnes – an intriguing short novel about trying […]
Q Marks the Spot 134 (December 2019)
Sacred Treasure One man mission – a fascinating story about reviving Welsh chapels – and fascinating it gets such a high profile on the BBC James Hannam has written one of my favourite books of history (God’s Philosophers: How the Mediaeval World Laid the Foundations for Modern Science) So he’s recently written a great intro […]
Q Marks the Spot 133 (November 2019)
Sacred Treasure When C. S. Lewis predicted our doom: on his Abolition of Man and That Hideous Strength Fascinating: Does Science Disprove Adam and Eve? An Interview with a Biologist and a Mathematician Some very helpful and intriguing visualisations of biblical data from 2013 (on the Guardian of all places) H/T The Simple Pastor some […]
Q Marks the Spot 132 (October 2019)
Sacred Treasure A friend who pastors in Hong Kong tackles the church’s divisions in the face of political turmoil and social unrest. We would do well to listen, here in Brexit Britain… The Simple Pastor draws on some fascinating Pew Foundation findings on the relationship between Christianity and science in the West The great Robert […]
Q Marks the Spot 131 (September 2019)
Sacred Treasure The Josh Harris ‘deconversion’ story (for those who are aware) is very sad and my heart goes out to him and his family. Too many have leapt in as pundits. These are the better responses I’ve read On Caution & Keeping: 4 of his former prayer partners respond (Collin Hansen, Justin Taylor, Kevin […]
Sofia’s Story 5: Three Little Words
The letter lay unobtrusively on the doormat, shrouding its contents in the nondescript white envelope. Her mind, distracted by the day’s activities, barely registered its solemnity as she opened it. So the words struck hard, thudding through her until all she could feel was the unreal numbness of her existence. Despite its inevitability, she wasn’t […]
Q Marks the Spot 130 (August 2019)
Sacred Treasure Ian Paul on form here with his take on power relationships and undermining unhelpful deference to the clergy. 4 Encouraging Truths for Christians battling with Mental illness Andrew Haslam has written a careful piece on a contentious subject – 10 questions for pro-choice people about Abortion. In the same spirit, I’d like to […]
Q Marks The Spot: Treasure Map 129 (July 2019)
Sacred Treasure If you’ve not clocked this great little radio series by Nick Spencer, then you must: The Secret History of Science and Religion. Some very surprising realities about global Christianity (esp for those who only follow secular media) – HT Simple Pastor Can we say the Mentally Ill are blessed? Emma Scrivener powerfully applies […]
Gladiator, Troglodytes & Stott! Some recent bits and bobs
I’ve not stopped writing! I’m just writing loads of things elsewhere so inevitably it’s been a challenge to keep up with things on the blog. They’ve been in the pipeline for a while so it’s good finally to have them out there. Here are the links: Ephesians 6 and the Road Less Travelled: A contribution […]
Promoted to Glory: the incomparable Frances Whitehead
Despite the relative freedom that singleness brought him, John Stott would never have achieved everything he achieved in his 90-year life were it not for one person: Frances Whitehead. Her legacy is truly unique: She was John’s secretary for nearly 60 years, of which the first 2 decades or so were spent as the All […]
Q Marks The Spot: Treasure Map 128 (June 2019)
Sacred Treasure Jeremy Marshall was a senior British banker – until he was informed about his terminal cancer with 18 months to live. It’s now 4 years on – a remarkable testimony in The Spectator And while on the theme, here’s another Christian Capitalist – or at least one who is trying to mitigate the […]
