Author Archives: Paul

About Paul

A sceptic who tries to to be too destructively cynical - which is difficult when there is so much to be sceptical about.

Lighting the World

3rd Sunday of Epiphany – 7pm

There is an image used by James May (one of the Top Gear lads) that has stuck in my mind – I may have mentioned it to some of you. He was presenting a series, “The 20th Century”, which explored the changes that made the last century so distinctive. One of these revolutionary changes was the coming of electricity. The Earth, viewed from space, is no longer dark – it is a glowing globe. Our habits, our interests, our occupations, our very world have all been transformed. Continue reading →

Light in the Darkness

26th January, 3rd Sunday of Epiphany

As a child I always encountered Christmas in three phases. First came Anticipation and Expectation; then Christmas itself; and finally, The New Year with its resolutions and new beginnings.

As a child, anticipation ran high. Approaching Christmas the atmosphere was fragrant with baking and sweetmaking… the promise of good times. Continue reading →

Church and Culture: Down with that sort of thing

In Conversation…
A talk for Contemporary Christianity Ireland
September 2013

This talk covers a number of issues:

  • What is Culture?
  • Should we accommodate it or resist it?
  • How should we be building the kingdom of God on Earth?
  • Engaging with and Transforming Culture.

Further information, including a recording of the talk, is available on the Contemporary Christianity site.

A PDF version of the slides of the presentation may be downloaded here.

The Cost of Following Jesus

30th June

We all know the pitfall of extravagant promises. There is a story I think of when I read about the three men who wanted to follow Christ: A young man very much in love emailed his girlfriend a card that said “I would cross the hottest desert, swim the deepest sea, and climb the highest mountain to be with you.” At the bottom of the message was a PS: “It is raining heavily here, so I can’t make it tonight”. Continue reading →

Be transformed by the renewing of your minds

Christian Postgrad Conference, Dovedale, 2013

Maithrie introduced the conference, and asked the question: “What does God require of Christian Postgrads and academics?” She spoke on integrating Faith and Academic Life, and on the reality of God in our everyday environment. She challenged delegates with the thought that “from those to whom much is given, much is expected”, and proposed some ideas for renewing our minds and deepening our faith.

More information at the Conference Website.

We want a King

12th May, Sunday after Ascension

Monarchs are a strange mixture. Nations inherit them, there isn’t much choice, and nobody quite knows how they will turn out. Some are benevolent and conscientious like the present Queen. But then there was King Henry the VIII, defender of the faith, disposer of wives. And King John who lost the crown jewels in the Wash. Sri Lanka had a particularly unsavoury story of an ambitious Prince who plastered his father, the King, into a wall. Lewis Carroll’s Queen of Hearts and Blackadder’s Queenie both enjoyed a good beheading.

Monarchs have fascinated people throughout history. The Israelites, too, were intrigued by the idea of a King. In 1 Samuel 12, we discover that they had a brand new King, not by royal lineage, but by choice. Continue reading →

Love one another as I have loved you

28 April 2013, 5th Sunday of Easter

Many years ago, as a student in Nottingham, I experienced something that continues to remind me of Jesus’ words that we read this evening. “Love one another as I have loved you. By this shall all men know you are my disciples, if you have love, one for another.”

A vicar and his wife offered me accommodation in the rectory flat. I accepted the offer, because I took an instant liking to David, the vicar, and Pixie, his wife and their four children. I discovered that the flat was rent free but it was also semi-derelict, and completely bare. Its walls needed stripping, and it had no kitchen and no furniture. I returned to Sri Lanka for three months due to family illness and began to worry about how I would sort the flat. Then Pixie emailed me: the church would take care of it. Continue reading →

Love your Neighbour

28 April 2013, 5th Sunday of Easter

The news this week was dominated by the tragic collapse of a clothing factory in the Savar district of Bangladesh. Three hundred and fifty people have died– so far. Six months ago, a fire gutted another factory, killing hundred workers. In the past decade seven hundred have died in forty similar disasters in the clothing factories of Savar. The sad truth is that thousands of workers return, day after day, to dangerous factories, to produce clothes for high street brands – for us!

All these things happen in faraway countries, to people of whom we know little. Apart from compassion and pity, how should we respond?
Continue reading →

Prodigal Son, Again

10 March 2013, Lent

If you watched the recent TV series “Wonders of Life” by Brian Cox you would have seen the close ups of the moment when the water-bound larva turns into a dragonfly. It is similar to a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. The transformation is quite incredible.  It is hard to believe that the crawling larval form of the dragonfly or butterfly metamorphoses into the beautiful adult airborne creatures with bright wings. Continue reading →

The Prodigal Son

10 March 2013, Lent

The concept of “Sin” seems to be past its sell by date. I think many people would be uncomfortable or offended if someone were to suggest that they are sinners. Sin, most people feel, belongs with Medieval or Victorian Christianity; or perhaps with certain enthusiastic preaching about sin and being washed in the blood. Continue reading →