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.

Temptation

17 February 2013, Lent

I have recently been thinking about how things are reused – hyped up or dumbed down – especially on TV and in the advertising world. For example if Sir Winston Churchill had been told that someday a generation of kids would believe he was the bulldog on TV saying “ohhh yes” as he promotes insurance, he would never have believed it! Dvorak’s New World Symphony with sweeping panoramic views of the countryside concludes with a loaf of Hovis bread. And then there is the Go Compare man singing opera. In the same way, the meaning of the word temptation has been hijacked. It is now generally associated with a box of chocolates – “dark temptations” they might call it, an expensive perfume, ice cream or a pudding. Temptations today are more a nod and wink towards indulgence and the slightly naughty. We in turn relish the thought of succumbing to it. As Oscar Wilde put it “I can resist everything except temptation”. Continue reading →

Metamorphosis

17 February 2013, Lent

I have recently discovered that acquiring a driving licence requires something of a metamorphosis! I now have a new identity – I’ve turned from a pedestrian into a driver. I no longer see myself as a pedestrian – even when I am a pedestrian! I no longer nip across roads in suicidal leaps through slow moving traffic, because I have a new perspective. Instead of seeing myself as outsmarting traffic, I see myself as a hazard to an approaching driver! I am no longer a passenger peering at cute dogs we pass – I now scour the road for hazards. I have a clear purpose in sight – getting my driving licence. Continue reading →

Sanctified and Sent

20 May 2012, 7th Sunday of Easter

I wonder if you have watched the series “Rev” – about Alan, a Church of England vicar in London. Alan has an interesting “nickname” given to him by heavy-drinking conspiracy theorist Colin. Colin always greets him with a hearty “Hello Vicarage”, and Alan’s wife is duly addressed as Mrs Vicarage. Continue reading →

Living Water

Pentecost

I am just beginning to understand the Northern Irish Summer. I have noticed that the sun is definitely shy and evasive; the rain is not! In a place where water from the sky is greeted with stony glares and angry muttering, it is difficult to get excited about “Living Water”. Not when it drips on us throughout the year, flows from our taps, wets our gardens, dampens our dogs, and soaks our lives.

Continue reading →