For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
In my opinion, perhaps the greatest obstacle to a sound theology is a flawed conceptualisation of personhood. Cultural and religious systems the world over (and I follow René Girard’s line of thought here, that religion is primarily functional rather than spiritual, and religious systems can be entirely secular – the gods being entirely incidental) operate... Continue Reading →
I firmly believe that a sound theology must be rooted in a sound anthropology. Before we can begin to come to sensible conclusions about a Creator, in other words, we first need to develop a proper perspective on humanity. That this is imperative may not be immediately obvious, but failure to do so is ultimately... Continue Reading →
Something you learn as you get older is that there is no limit to human ingenuity. Another thing you learn is that there is also no limit to the human capacity for acting completely insensibly. Popular culture is rife with examples of both. Sometimes in the same example. Italian (con-?)artist Salvatore Garau recently managed to... Continue Reading →
As a father, I have heard of it happening to other people’s children but I never dreamt that it could happen to me. I have taken all the precautions that could reasonably be expected of me, and I believe I have been responsible and vigilant. But sometimes even your best efforts are just not enough... Continue Reading →
Most days I feel like I have the emotional strength to deal with life. Today isn’t one of those days. And that is not a request for advice, or consolation. I don’t admit to this because I am desperate for help; I write it because I process by reflecting, and I reflect by writing. ... Continue Reading →
There will eventually come a time when you will be old enough to read and understand these birthday messages. I picture a future you, having just discovered these, poring curiously over this message. And I cannot help but wonder how much of this year you remember. It has, without a doubt, been one of the... Continue Reading →
All concepts of utopia are ultimately forms of tyranny. Whether those utopias are religious and promise some sort of Paradise; whether they strive for liberty through ideological frameworks like socialism, capitalism, or democracy; or whether they are socio-cultural and attempt to achieve harmony through celebrating a common cultural or linguistic identity, they all ultimately suffer... Continue Reading →
In a very real sense, I think, we become what we worship. Whatever higher power we regard as giving meaning to our lives – whether that is a deity, or an ideology (like democracy, or humanism, or Darwinism for that matter) – shapes our values, which in turn shape our actions, which inform the kinds... Continue Reading →
I think it would probably be fair to say that if Jesus really did rise from the dead, it would be one of the most significant events – if not the most significant event – in human history. It is the kind of event that, if we believed it to be true, would fundamentally change... Continue Reading →
In our discussion group a couple of weeks ago, somebody expressed a genuine curiosity as to why so many intelligent and learned people cling so vehemently to certain Christian doctrines in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. What makes otherwise perfectly rational human beings defend indefensible doctrinal positions? Why, for example, do so... Continue Reading →
