For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
Two of the most common critiques of Christianity today come from very different directions. The first—hypocrisy—is not a critique of Christianity itself but of its failure to live up to its own vision. The second, however, strikes at the heart of what many have come to believe Christianity is: the doctrines of biblical inerrancy and... Continue Reading →
Reading is exhausting. That is because all good writing – indeed, all good art – is, to quote Jeanette Winterson, “conscious, and its effect on its audience is to stimulate consciousness”. In other words, the writer as artist seeks to bring a certain dissonance into the consciousness of the reader. Wrestling with the discomfort that... Continue Reading →
I am a good reader. It is hardly surprising because I have devoured books since I was small. Consequently, I was often asked to read the Bible passage at church, prior to the sermon. And I always used to add afterwards, even though it was not part of the liturgy, “This is the Word of... Continue Reading →
A dear friend of mine recently posted this picture. I was immediately taken with it. Doesn’t it sum up the human condition so succinctly? Too often, like the pigeon in the picture, our limited minds seem incapable of comprehending a bigger picture; sometimes they are unwilling to concede that there even is one. We will... Continue Reading →
One of my pupils recently asked me to list my ten favourite books. It is an unfair question to ask an English teacher. I have read literally thousands of books and to ask me to narrow the list down to a mere ten seems a tad cruel. And what criteria should I use to make... Continue Reading →
A colleague of mine, one for whom I have a sincere admiration, recently came back from Iraq, where she went on a mission to provide encouragement to displaced Christians. Ilda’s faith constantly challenges mine. She epitomises for me what true Christianity is about: not just ‘me, my Bible and Jesus’, but a living faith that... Continue Reading →
We are often too quick to blame all social problems on systems: poverty is the result of capitalism; bigotry is the result of religion; economic or social problems are the result of a certain political party being in power; education is in crisis because we have the wrong curriculum or assessment strategy. I could go... Continue Reading →
Vapors In The Wind 