How much do you and I know about Jesus? How much of it is really the truth about him? The obvious answer is that we know more about him than most ancient figures, because we have quite a few accounts of his life and teachings. But everyone seems to read them differently. In my previous […]
I was raised in a family of four noisy boys. As we grew up, we became quite opinionated, and often argued, quite amicably but noisily, about religious, political, ethical and a thousand more trivial issues that interested us. When each of us found girlfriends and eventually wives, they didn’t always find our loud and rambunctious […]
The facts about Jesus are clearly stated in the gospels, and they don’t change, but people have so many different understandings of him. The Catholic Jesus or Orthodox Jesus is not the same as the evangelical Protestant Jesus, or the Jesus of liberal Protestant theologians. I think there is probably some truth in all portraits, […]
A couple of weeks back I reviewed Kenneth Bailey’s Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, a book I have found revelatory about Jesus. I have gained many helpful insights from it. Today, some new understandings about one of my favourite gospel accounts – Jesus in the synagogue at the start of his ministry, when he made […]
Book review: “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes” by Kenneth Bailey. Quite simply one of the most enlightening books I have read about Jesus.
I am currently re-reading Chasing the Dragon, Jackie Pullinger’s remarkable story of “life and death in Kowloon Walled City”. It tells how the lives of thousands of poor and addicted Hong Kong residents were dramatically changed as they were miraculously healed of heroin addiction. It also speaks to me of how God can use an […]
The church in first world countries, as a whole, is losing ground, neither making converts nor making an impact. There are many ideas, many books, talks and blog posts, outlining the problems and the way forward, as someone sees it. But I recently came across a brief overview that I think provides a better understanding […]
I wrote last week of the grief I and many others had felt at the death of champion cyclist Mike Hall and the termination of the inaugural India Pacific Wheel Race. In the week that has followed, I have been enormously impressed by the dignity, sensitivity and camaraderie of the cycling fraternity. I think we […]
I was talking with an evangelical minister recently, about social justice and the mission of the church. He felt evangelism should be clearly our highest priority, because it has “eternal consequences”. I suggested that wasn’t how Jesus saw things – his main message and highest priority seemed to be the kingdom of God. But the […]
We are visiting family in the US right now, and the recent Presidential election is on everyone’s minds here. Reports are coming in that apparent white supremacists have been attacking, verbally or physically, people who belong to minorities such as blacks, Muslims and Latinos. Right wing christians are expressing relief that Hilary Clinton, who they […]