I’ve spent the last hour watching the official video of Jensen McRae’s song “Wolves“. Watching … and crying … and crying. In our anti-trafficking research, Bella and I have been inspired by a particular approach to preventing the abuse of young girls in Fiji. In a program that used to be run by Homes of…
Top 10 ways to be good … according to Psalm 15
Just a brief note about another case where an idea in the Old Testament is re-interpreted in the New Testament. In Psalm 6, King David was again having a hard time, and trying to convince himself to maintain confidence in God. In verses 3 and 4 he writes: My soul also is struck with terror,…
In Psalm 4, David writes: There are many who say, ‘O that we might see some good!Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!’You have put gladness in my heartmore than when their grain and wine abound.I will both lie down and sleep in peace;for you alone, O Lord, make me lie…
In Psalm 2, King David, or someone writing from his perspective, seems jolted out of complacency with a shock: the anointed leader is beset by enemies and mocked by them! (1-3) How does the writer imagine God responding? First, God laughs scornfully at the puny offence (4) and then in fury reaffirms the status of…
Facebook’s infinite scroll led me last night to a video of a woman being unclothed in public by her boyfriend. But it was all very funny and just a harmless prank … wasn’t it? The scene is a beach and the boyfriend provides helpful commentary as he films his girlfriend on his phone. He has…
(Image from a Weslyan church group study) In John 15:13, Jesus claims that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for friends. I disagree. What’s more, I think that Jesus’ own actions show that his claim was wrong. His actions show an even greater love … because Jesus laid down his…
Chaos and Order: a visual puzzle in stained glass I read yet another Christian thought-for-the-day piece this morning that celebrated God’s ability to bring order out of chaos. Made me wonder why chaos gets such a bad rap. There is a popular strand of thought that sees order as good and chaos…
Many commentators have noted that in the Gospel of John, Jesus’ miracles are called “signs” rather than “miracles”. They aren’t just done as magic tricks to impress people. John records them along with lots of other things Jesus said and did so that we “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,…
Over the weekend I attended the opening night of Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible at The Young Peoples Theatre Newcastle. The direction, by a very young Nick Thoroughgood, emphasised fear and aloneness. But the aspect of the play that struck me anew was the way religion was co-opted by an agenda of power and subsequently…
