thoughts on the way things have been/are/are perhaps going
Does the legacy of a heroic struggle for justice cover over a multitude of sins? Or does the iconic hero’s fatal flaw render him and, perhaps even his legacy, leprous? Is it 'one strike and you're out' or might the twitteratti just possibly permit nuance and, dare I say it, complexity?
Sacred Treasure This is great - a constantly updated list - Biblical references in U2 lyrics!Tom Holland is on cracking form here - Thank God For Western ValuesIan Paul outlines the issues well for the perennial questions at this time…
In a couple of months, I'll be leading a study day here in Maidenhead on postmodernism and stuff, revamping and updating old material that led to writing A Wilderness of Mirrors. It's been a while since I worked on it,…
There is an emotional complexity to this wonderful painting by Swiss artist Eugène Burnand. I know very little about him, apart from the usual resort of Wikipedia. But he manages to capture a moment of almost frantic inquisitiveness, as Peter and his young, fellow-disciple John rush in the golden sunrise light to the burial garden. Their faces seem filled with anxiety, confusion, hope, wonder, and longing all at once. Hoping against hope, but fearing a con, or something worse? Could Mary Magdalene, first to visit the tomb, possibly have been right...?
I've just returned from a few days in Denmark, staying with friends while speaking at a conference for Christian students. My hosts in Aarhus really went the 2nd mile for me, making sure that I had the chance to take…
Sacred Treasure Forgiveness is quite mad says Derrida... what do you think?Pete Williams is Warden of Tyndale House in Cambridge and provides one of the highlights of my Twitter feed - this recent thread on the reliability of Bible books…
In the months before our move from the UK to East Africa, there were many things to prepare, as you might imagine. The biggest stress for us as a family was the imminent birth of our second child. But there…
Sacred Treasure How many people view the recent death of missionary John Chau Emma Scrivener writes, as potently as ever, about the power of the gospel to counteract a self-harming mindset And then she followed it up with this blinder…
It's a standard question for writers (or indeed any type of artist), so E. M. Forster would often be asked who or what had influenced him. In response, he would question, perhaps surprisingly, whether 'influence' was an important category in…
Q regulars know that Turkey is a country close to my heart. I have just returned from my 15th (!) trip and so naturally it preoccupies my thoughts a great deal at the moment. During my previous trip, I'd heard…