thinking honestly about life and faith
One of the classic insights of spiritual teachers, over many centuries and across all faiths, is to challenge what has been called spiritual blindness.There is something about religious fervour which actually blinds us to what is evident to others.Somehow, we … Read More »
People everywhere are talking about Richard Dawkins’ argument about ‘the God delusion’.Dawkins has been a critic of religion for a long time now, but his recent work has gained a lot more public notice. Dawkins and a number of other … Read More »
The remainder of Luke 5 needs to be interpreted in the light of the end section.I say this, even though we know that the original texts did not have chapter divisions as we have them, so we can’t pretend that … Read More »
Luke chapter 5 has a series of incidents in the ongoing story of Jesus’ ministry.The beginning of the chapter presents the first of a number of boat stories: in this case, the story of Peter and his companions making a … Read More »
In today’s newspaper is the story of a young man who was injured in a fight in a pub. The leg of a chair was embedded in his face, right next to his nose. The picture is horrific.After amazing surgery … Read More »
Returning to Luke 4: but this is so very relevant!Again we see the immediate juxtaposition of the divine and the demonic. They are right there, mixed together: in this passage, in the same person.In the first part of the chapter, … Read More »
‘The Temptations of Religion’ is the title of a brilliant book by Charles Davis, but I am now using this title to introduce Luke chapter 4, and the temptations of Jesus.This chapter again shows how the Spirit is Luke’s focus.It … Read More »
Some time ago, a friend asked me whether I thought that it is possible to be ‘spiritually gifted’.He noted that people are gifted in many areas of life, such as in sport, in academic abilities, or artistic gifting. Is it … Read More »
Time to get back to Luke. We haven’t made a lot of progress through the Gospel so far! Chapter 3 continues with the account of Jesus’ baptism.I am writing about this, to the extraordinary sound of rain outside. Thank the … Read More »
Luke Chapter 3: is full of confrontations and contrasts.It begins with a definite focus on who is in power: who holds which powerful position, and where.This places a strict emphasis on the earthly historical reality of Jesus’ life. No airy-fairy … Read More »