Posted: 11th May 2012 (0 comments)
One of the most striking recent changes in society is the way in which we have become digitally connected. Someone has said of young people today that they only exist either asleep or online. However, I’m not convinced that it’s only the young!
Posted: 4th May 2012 (0 comments)
There has been a lot of moaning in the press recently about the long queues experienced by those entering the United Kingdom at Heathrow and I find myself sympathetic to many of the complaints. I travel a lot and tend to come back into the UK through Heathrow and I find that it seems to take forever to get through customs and immigration. It's certainly not an attractive welcome to the country. It's made worse for me because of the somewhat embarrassing fact that however hard I try and look innocent I always seem to get taken to one side by customs, immigration or security and searched and questioned. I have no idea what's going on. Why does my wife get through and I get stopped? Have I an evil twin somewhere? Is there something about my appearance or dress that hints that I am a potential terrorist, illegal immigrant, drug dealer or smuggler of exotic reptiles? I'm afraid matters do not tend to improve when I reveal to my interrogators that I am a priest. This simply seems to increase their certainty that I'm a dubious character: I can sense from their frowns their conviction that not only am I trying to enter the United Kingdom with evil intent but in addition I'm also guilty of the shameless crime of impersonating a member of the clergy. Of course it may be ‘I'm a cleric’ is what every criminal mastermind and global terrorist says when they are arrested. That would explain a lot.
Posted: 23rd Apr 2012 (0 comments)
As an evangelist I’m often asked questions. Is conversion real? Is the conversion of bad people possible? Does conversion last? A final question typical of the age we live in is this: Does conversion work? Does it really change lives in a significant way or does it just produce ‘religious people’? The life of Charles ‘Chuck’ Colson, who died on 21 April aged 80, answers all four questions with a resounding ‘yes’.
Posted: 16th Apr 2012 (0 comments)
Word has reached me that this autumn Andrew Lloyd Webber is going to be on television, trying to find a ‘new Jesus’ for a revival of his musical Jesus Christ Superstar. I’ve been asked three questions on the matter.
Posted: 10th Apr 2012 (0 comments)
There is something universal about the sinking of the Titanic, an event whose centenary we commemorate on 14 April. It is a larger-than-life tragedy which, aided by films and books, is one of the few historical events that everybody knows about.
Posted: 4th Apr 2012 (0 comments)
I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ for several reasons. I find the accounts of the resurrection in the New Testament are compelling, I believe the resurrection is the only satisfactory explanation for the explosive growth of the church and the Holy Spirit convinces me that it is true. Yet another very strong piece of evidence is simply this: it makes sense. Although the first disciples were clearly not expecting Jesus to rise from the dead, there is in fact a powerful logic to the resurrection.
Posted: 23rd Mar 2012 (0 comments)
Thankfully, it’s not often that you see someone having a heart attack. Fabrice Muamba’s appalling collapse while playing for Bolton against Tottenham in the FA cup tie last Saturday was a rare but very public exception. Partly as a result of the high profile of the event and the fact that Fabrice and his family have a Christian faith, they, his friends and fans have been urging us to pray for his full return to good health. I’m happy to do this and have prayed for Fabrice this week. As I write he is still in intensive care but making a remarkable recovery and there seems to be grounds for optimism about the future. I have also been praying fervently everyday for my friend Anna who is 24 weeks pregnant, whose waters appeared to have broken last week, causing concern for her son, but then a consultant said they hadn’t broken – a miracle?
Posted: 20th Mar 2012 (0 comments)
It is a wise and widespread rule that we do not offer our opinions on things we don’t understand. So you will not find me blogging on the latest trends in physics or the problems of staging modern opera and I presume you too have those topics on which you fall silent. One universal exception to this sensible rule centres on the Archbishop of Canterbury. Here everybody, regardless of their faith, feels that they have both the right to have an opinion and the duty to express it. So it is inevitable that the news that Dr Rowan Williams is leaving his position at the end of the year should have produced a veritable tsunami of comment, much of it reflecting strong opinions on what he should – or shouldn’t – have said or done.
Posted: 20th Mar 2012 (0 comments)
It is hard not to be troubled about the government’s moves towards legalising same-sex marriage. Although the words used are those of ‘consultation’ there is evidence that ministerial minds are already made up. Yet you do not have to be a Christian to have concerns about the issues raised by this concept. It is important to remember that despite the sneers, it is not homophobic, fundamentalist or politically incorrect to raise such concerns. Indeed, you could argue – as some have – that redefining marriage in this way does no service to the gay community itself. Let me raise the issues as I see them.
Posted: 6th Mar 2012 (0 comments)
One inescapable feature of the twenty-first century has been the emergence of what has been called the ‘New Atheism’ – that angry denial of God and religion linked with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and the late Christopher Hitchens. It is inescapable in the same way that a drunk at a dinner party is – and for the same reasons – embarrassingly loud, resistant to reason and desperately anxious to be heard!
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