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...?
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…
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wishing all Q readers a very good 2019! Sacred Treasure Phil Whittall has done a remarkable job amassing various links under several banners. Here is his trio of Church and Gender articles, plus a whole load of…
Yesterday was an unusual day. Which is, of course, not exactly news. In these turbulent times, each day tends to reveal its strangeness, especially if you read a newspaper. But for me, it marked the end of a decade's invovlement…
Just like buses, innit. But weirdly enough, I've got another book out this year - very different from anything I've done before, and certainly different from the previous one. But Colossians, as well as its baby brother Philemon, have been…
It's been quite the process! One draft was almost complete a year ago, but since then the book has undergone various revisions and tweaks - and then the release was held back until today to coincide with the UK's Mental…
Happy Christmas one and all! This Christmas Combo is only 2 days late, but the meanings and wonder it points us to are by no means time-sensitive, nor do they have an expiry date! I saw this painting at the…
Sacred Treasure A lovely tribute to my late friend Tom Chapman, a Norwich pastor who died after a 10-year battle with a brain tumour Phil Whittall offers an excellent summary of Justin Taylor's thoughts on diversity in the church. Stimulating…