I was playing P.O.D. in the car on the way home. It is part of my shameless attempt to ensure that when Nathan is a teenager, I don’t have to listen to R&B blaring from his room. The early signs were positive. He didn’t object at all to one of my favourite feel-good songs of... Continue Reading →
I am Orlando
The Orlando massacre is a terrible tragedy that really ought to make us relook at the way we think about and thus behave towards each other. Sadly, like so many tragedies before it, it seems to have galvanised in certain sectors of society the hatred and bigotry that led to the crime in the first... Continue Reading →
Where Evangelism Goes Wrong
In recognition of yesterday’s being Pentecost, and because I have been reflecting a lot on the early church lately, I want to talk about evangelism today. It is, in many ways, at the centre of the church’s activities, and indeed should be. Still, as with many of the modern church’s practices, I feel that we... Continue Reading →
Are you spiritually obese?
A culture driven by the need for immediate gratification and convenience will produce citizens who tend to be obese and lazy. Because they never have to exert themselves to have their needs met, they will begin to feel entitled to comfort, and will resent – even see as unnatural – anything that makes them uncomfortable. They... Continue Reading →
Deconstructing Setebos
A truth I regard as an absolute is this: people will always – consciously or not – attempt to shape the world so that it meets their deepest needs. Every person has a set of core assumptions about what the world ought to be like, and we filter all out experiences through these assumptions, and... Continue Reading →
On the Problem of Suffering
I don’t know why I keep doing it to myself. Perhaps it is because I quickly get tired of all the variations on “Shake that booty”, which seem to characterise the contemporary popular music scene. Somehow, when I am driving, out of desperation, I eventually end up turning to the local Christian station, and evidently... Continue Reading →
Making a Judgment Call
There are few Bible teachings as misunderstood and misapplied as Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:1-2 : “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you too will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” What follows is the exhortation... Continue Reading →
Talking in Tongues: A Skeptic’s View
I will concede that it is a possibility that my vehemently anti-tongues stance was born out of a couple of negative experiences with charismatic churches. I certainly would be loath to tar all such churches with the same brush or to insinuate that all or even most members of such churches are in any way... Continue Reading →
Hypocrisy: Asking the Right Questions
I need to confess to having a closet interest in Science. Many of the pupils I have taught would be horrified, given how much time I spend in my classes decrying it as the irresponsible obsession with throwing things off cliffs or buildings and timing the descent. But as many flaws as Science has, it... Continue Reading →
On The Inadequacy Of Morality
Blind jazz pianist, George Shearing, according to a popular story, was waiting at a busy intersection for somebody to help him across. He heard a tapping and a man spoke: “I am blind. Please could you help me across the road?” He is later quoted as responding: “What could I do? I took him across... Continue Reading →
Vapors In The Wind 