random musings on how we can explain our faith better, or learn from what other people think of Christianity
John Stott was scrupulous in attempting to do this. It was a key element of the respect that he garnered amongst those he debated or disagreed. He would unfailingly attempt to honour an opposing position by seeking to understand it from…
It is unavoidable. Each of us is motivated by many different desires and concerns: some positive, some negative, some altruistic, some self-oriented or even selfish.
The problem comes when we overlook that complexity (more…)
Sacred Treasure This is serious - Turkish Protestant churches sent death threats - directly affects a number of churches that I've regularly spent time with in Turkey. PRAY. My former All Souls colleague Jo Jackson has written a couple of…
It was a while back when I encountered this poem from the polymathic Lewis, that master of words and fantasies and reality. It is an astonishing poem (some suggest his greatest). I love its elemental vitality - and the complete absence…
William Nicholson wrote Shadowlands, the play (which became the film) inspired by C.S.Lewis’s extraordinary testimony A Grief Observed. In it, he gave Lewis this lovely line, one he never actually uttered, but may as well have done.
We read to know we’re not alone
As I wrap this little sequence of ruthless self-exposure up, various omissions and oddities have occurred to me, so the easiest thing is probably to string them together in a miscellany that’s almost Pauline in its randomness (though naturally without his claims to authority). (more…)
It’s been very moving to have messages in the last few days about my black dog posts. Thank you! At least it shows that it’s been worth it. As I mentioned in the first post, I’m genuinely not motivated by the kind of confessional culture that is all around us; still less am I trying to elicit sympathy. And I’m definitely not seeking advice or support (kind though some offers have been!). It is only to help those who don’t quite have the words for this yet. But I do realise that it’s raised lots of questions for some… (more…)
While I was in the US for the publication of A Wilderness of Mirrors back in May, I was asked to make a mildly crazy detour to Toronto for an interview on 100 Huntley St, a daily Christian TV talk show. Having not really done this kind of thing before, and certainly not knowing what kind of constituency the show serves, I was rather nervous about it all. (more…)