For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
Here’s the thing: no matter how appealing or fascinating we might find other cultures, no matter how alluringly they might present themselves to us, the fact is that people do not – by and large – change cultures. Our understanding of what culture is does not allow it. We do not possess a conception of... Continue Reading →
My wife, son and I are traveling back from his Scouts meeting. Meg – in another subtle attempt to persuade Nathan that his omega 3 consumption is deficient – comments that she feels like eating pilchards on toast when we get home. Nathan gasps in horror. “Did you swear?” There is a faint hint of... Continue Reading →
You can either have a Father or you can have a God. You cannot have both. I used to use the phrase “Father God” in my prayers a lot. But no longer. The two are not compatible. This, I believe, is central to the teachings of Jesus. You see, both “Father” and “God” are relational... Continue Reading →
People are fictions. What I mean is this: we never relate to people as they are; we relate to versions of those people from the stories we tell ourselves about them. The more time we spend with people, the more closely our narratives may align with the people themselves, but even then our narratives will... Continue Reading →
I find myself in the unenviable position, as a writer, of having a message that will alienate me from pretty much all potential readers. Non-Christian readers will be discouraged from reading by my advocacy of the primacy of Jesus, while Christian readers will be discouraged from reading by my rejection of what they regard as... Continue Reading →
You, as an individual, do not exist. At least, not in the way you thought you did. You are not, in the first instance, an independent being who, from that point, enters into relationships with others. Before there was any “you” with which others could relate, there was always first you-in-relationship, and it was out... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
Vapors In The Wind 