That exclamation—O Tempora! O Mores! (Oh the times, the customs!)—is one of Cicero’s few linguistic legacies extant today, propped up by those with a classical bent or aspiration to one. Perhaps Robert Harris’ page-turners have kept his flame alight, despite…
Sacred Treasure 75 years on from VJ Day - Phil Whittall has a powerful piece refuting the arguments that the Bomb was justified Michael Kruger has a very helpful and concise piece on distinguishing between 3 different types of legalism…
When I did the Echoes from Eternity edition of Irina Ratushinskaya poems, I mentioned that I would post the texts of some of them. So, voilà. All are taken from the 1988 Bloodaxe Books anthology Pencil Letter. THE WHITE-HOT BLIZZARD …
The news from Beirut this week was horrendous. It was all just so NEEDLESS. A catalogue of criminality, responsibility-avoidance coupled with the impotence of those who were concerned because they could see there was a problem. For a country in…
Sacred Treasure Steve Guthrie has a fascinating series on Music and the Holy Spirit over at Rabbit Room. In 4 parts, with this the first: The Sound that Breath Makes My friend Ziya Meral has a powerful piece on President…
So I realise this the second time this year I've homed in on this poem, but I come back to it again and again. Which is kinda appropriate actually. I just can't help it. It is so rich, so layered,…
Thanks to a kind invitation to speak at this year's Oak Hill School of Theology, I've been pushed into thinking more deeply about what it means to be created in God's Image. This was the 3rd event in a series looking…
Lockdown, at last, is easing in the UK - after over 100 days. So I'm winding up this little series of poetry readings. But if things deteriorate, then I may well take up arms again. But after today's there will…
One of the many reasons for missing life in central London is Daunt Books. I've mentioned it a few times here, including in this post about keeping reading diets mixed. The wonder of this travel bookshop is their geographical shelf-arrangement…
Sacred Treasure Carl Trueman has a simply superb First Things piece on Covid19, human mortality and modern culture's avoidance of death: The Final Enemy Justin Taylor helpfully summarises Alan Jacobs' Thinking Person's Checklist Greg Forster very helpfully engages with some…
Irina Ratushinskaya was an inspiration. I've mentioned her here before, having had a fluke encounter in a bookshop. She proved remarkably resilient in the most appalling circumstances, a Soviet labour camp. Her crime? Poetry. It's terrifying that some today might…
I can't quite believe it but I first met Dani Oprean 12 years ago now, during my first visit to Romania. We had little idea how the seeds sown during that consultation would germinate - but now the Langham work…