So, the Duchess of Cambridge is having a baby! Has anyone missed that news? And isn’t it brilliant news? One can only feel sorry that she is feeling so unwell, and that every twist and turn of her pregnancy will be played out in the full gaze of the media. I found myself playing ‘spot
Read moreI doubt that anyone reading this will also have read the entire Leveson report, which was published this week. Fortunately, the BBC News website gives this helpful summary of its central recommendation: “A tougher form of self-regulation backed by legislation should be introduced to uphold press standards.” To my mind, the issue comes...
Read moreThis week the General Synod of the Church of England voted (by the narrowest of margins) not to go ahead with the consecration of women bishops. That prompted several bishops to comment that the decision would be hard to explain to outsiders. Actually, there are two things that are hard – though not impossible –
Read moreOne can only imagine what Lord McAlpine has gone through, being falsely accused of being a paedophile, and without being given the chance to answer the charge. He has described it as “a horrendous shock”, and I should think that only begins to tell us what it was like. Perhaps, worst of all, he says
Read moreI often feel that I fumble opportunities to say something Christian in a conversation, especially with those who are not Christians. I suspect I am not the only one! Much of the time I say nothing at all of any real value. Other times I mumble something that may be true but is unlikely to
Read moreAre the storms that have been battering the eastern United States this past week God’s judgment for gay marriage? That was what one caller to Radio 5 Live had suggested. Needless to say, the suggestion was dismissed and laughed at. One wit even suggested that God needed a new atlas, since San Francisco was basking
Read moreThe phrase may be ungrammatical, but it is telling. It is Don Carson’s way of describing what we do when we sin. Every sin we commit is not merely an offence against other people or against our own consciences, it is the ‘de-godding’ of God. We are effectively saying that we will not submit to
Read more“What do you think about Lance Armstrong?” was a question I was asked the other day. This was against the background of mounting evidence that the cyclist was at the head of a highly developed and yet secretive doping programme that helped him to win the Tour de France an amazing seven times. I found
Read moreWe live at a time when there is a fascination with what is new, and a lack of respect for what is old. However, like a good wine, the old can often be better than the new. Last Sunday evening, we began a short series looking at the Apostles’ Creed. In my preparation, I came
Read moreBattles Christians Face is the title of a book by Vaughan Roberts, which was republished earlier this year. Vaughan is a hugely respected Christian leader and Bible teacher – he has even spoken at our church! In the new preface, he says that it “is the most personal of my books … Of the many
Read more