I hear it often. Whenever conversation turns to religion, as it occasionally does, somebody invariably makes the following statement: “After all, all religions basically teach the same thing.” It is normally stated in such a way that this should be completely self-evident. Except it isn’t. Entirely by the way, isn’t it bizarre that social... Continue Reading →
A Face to Meet the Faces That You Meet
Have you ever looked at a photograph and wondered what the people are really thinking and feeling behind the pinned-on smiles? Do you sometimes imagine what stories are masked behind the poses? There is an inevitable disjuncture between who we are in private and who we are in public. I think that is the way... Continue Reading →
The Gift of Flight
I made a decision that I was going to enjoy today’s flight. I need to be completely honest and admit that the fact that I had accidentally left my book at home was a fairly instrumental factor, but there was nevertheless a Wordsworthian determination to revel in my wanderings among the clouds. It had struck... Continue Reading →
titanic
titanic - peter (1975 - ) the grey day deepens, darkens into dusk; the writhing waters, softly sighing, resign themselves to powers beyond the brooding sky. far below the restless, shifting surface of the sea, where night and day and season cannot reach, the ghostly bulk of a rusting wreck rests in the frigid... Continue Reading →
A Meditation on Futility
In 1874, farmers in the Great Plains had their crops devastated by a swarm of locusts, the like of which the world had never seen, nor is likely to see again. Witnesses say that the swarm was as much as 110 miles wide and more than 1800 miles long, at times blocking out the sun... Continue Reading →
We Need to Talk About Chris
Just so that nobody misunderstands me, I am going to preface these thoughts by stating that I am nobody’s settler. I regard myself as 100% authentically African. I was born here, my parents were born here; I have known no other home. Nor am I ashamed of my whiteness. Nobody should be ashamed of the... Continue Reading →
How to Survive Your New Years Resolutions
There was a marked increase in the number of joggers on the road to work this morning. My initial response to this observation was to marvel at the naivety of it and to speculate about how many of them would still be jogging in two or three months’ time. But then I forced myself to... Continue Reading →
To Those Living in the Land of the Shadow of Death
I am finding it difficult to write a Christmas message. It is so easy to fall into the trap of promoting mindless cheer. I am not suggesting that we discard the cheer, only the mindless. No doubt, even as I write this, hundreds of sermons and even more devotional bloggers will be reminding us not... 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 →
To Nathan on His Third Birthday
I apologise that this will not be my most eloquent piece. I write it as I watch you sleep, with a drip attached because you have had your tonsils taken out and you refuse to drink. We had other plans to make your birthday special, but – not surprisingly - you had other ideas. I... Continue Reading →
Vapors In The Wind 