Fifty-two years ago, in 1968, the world was going through a very troubled period. It was the height of the ‘Cold War’; on April 4th, Martin Luther King was murdered in Memphis; there were riots in America; thirty people were shot by panicking Police officers in South Carolina.
Self-loathing, Anger and Forgiveness
The sharp-eyed among my readers will have noticed that I’ve quoted a passage from Leviticus for today’s blog, the words of which are very similar to the one from the Letter of James that I chose last week. If we’re honest, none of us remember many sermons from one year to the next, but I’ve never forgotten a sermon that I heard on this verse from Leviticus, several decades ago.
Am I a Racist?
In 1972, I made my first visit to the United States. It included a trip to Dothan, Alabama. The morning after my arrival, I witnessed a young white man shout in a southern drawl at a grey-haired black man: ‘Come here, boy!’
Standing and Staring
During the last few weeks, I’ve found myself reading more books than before, but I’ve also found occasional time to watch long films. Generally, I find it difficult to free up more than a couple of hours or so to watch a film. But a few weeks ago, I sat down in cold blood to watch the famous 1956 film by Cecil B DeMille, The Ten Commandments, one of the longest films ever made by Hollywood, at three hours and forty minutes.
When and why did our country and our Church become so hate-filled?
Those who follow this blog will know that its purpose is to explain Christian theology and thought; it was never intended to be a ‘political’ platform. But I have never agreed with those who feel that Christian teaching should be kept out of politics. Surely we have a duty to comment, when we think that our country and Church is behaving without compassion? Listening to the news in the last few days has brought these three Biblical quotations to mind. (Click on title to read more)
Isolation and Mental Health
Several times in the last few weeks, I’ve referred to the fact that there’s a huge cultural gap between Jesus’s time and ours. St Luke’s disturbing story of the demon-possessed man underlines that in those days, the unexplained and unexplainable were often attributed to other-worldly beings, such as demons. Passages such as this are often criticised by those without a faith. Was Jesus actually an exorcist of the most sensational kind? (Click on the title to read more)
Reflective Preacher 