thinking honestly about life and faith
I found this quote from the Spanish-born American philosopher George Santayana: ‘Music is essentially useless, as life is.’ In its shocking pithy way, this sentence confronts the life-destroying fixation with function, with utility, that pervades almost everything, in our … Read More »
In preparing for class next week, I came across this paragraph in Ernst Käsemann’s golden oldie, Jesus Means Freedom.This paragraph comes at the end of chapter three, which is about a theology of resurrection.The basic message here is a challenge … Read More »
It’s the mid-year ‘break’—which means for students a time of no classes. This week we’ve had our annual ‘School of Ministry’, a three day conference for pastors and church leaders. It has been an excellent time of relationship, stimulation and … Read More »
A friend, who has recently begun a new job working in a university context, wrote to me about the idea of the church with fuzzy edges.Here are some of her comments: "In my new job, I have been asked much … Read More »
The church, I believe, is meant to be an open community. This doesn’t mean that the church has no standards or no direction. No, it means we stand against everything that excludes and divides. We stand against everything that says … Read More »
I’m reading the latest book by Frank McCourt, author of Angela’s Ashes. This book is called Teacher Man. if you’ve read his other books you will find a lot of similar material: it’s about his experiences as a high school … Read More »
Yesterday I discovered, in an old paper I had written, a quote which really inspires me. It’s a statement by Elton Trueblood, but unfortunately I haven’t recorded its source: No vital Christianity is possible unless at least three aspects of … Read More »
Today it was my task to preach for the Commencement Service, in our college. My text was 1 Corinthians 11.verse 1, ‘Be imitators of me, as I imitate Christ.’ The following is an excerpt from my address, drawing upon a … Read More »
I’ve been marking student essays for days. Sometimes a rewarding experience. One student’s essay included the following quotation, which reminded of the wonderful resources in the book from which it comes —but even more of the marvellous thought that real … Read More »
Margaret Mead, arguably the greatest cultural anthropologist of the last century, once observed:‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’ So many people today feel … Read More »