Advent Reflection: the strange case of Zechariah

If there is humour to be found in religion, I find it in the matter of fact way biblical authors speak of extraordinary, supernatural and miraculous events without any hint of needing to clarify how strange the whole situation is. It leaves one most sympathetic to the characters of the drama, however much they appear to be rebuked by the text.

Advent Reflection: Post-Christian Britain now needs a Christian minority fuelled by the audacious hope of the gospel

The recent revelation that the 2021 census revealed Christians to be a minority for the first time really should not have been met with the flurry of news headlines that it was.

Matt Hancock is either a proposition to be believed or blatantly psychopathic – you must choose

The month was April 2020. No story appeared to be more heart-breaking in a sea of pandemic headlines than the tragic death of 13-year-old Covid patient Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, forced to die alone in a London hospital due to the cruel and thoroughly inhumane pandemic measures.

It was on one of those tedious press briefings to which we all became hooked that, promising something would be done to ensure no such horror would be visited upon another family, then-Health Secretary Matthew Hancock (who signed the rules off incidentally) burst into tears.

Why Jordan Peterson is not about to become a Christian

I was made aware over the weekend of a video that has been made, chronicling the faith journey from 2017 to 2021 of Jordan Peterson, the Canadian psychologist and unlikely intellectual phenomenon. The video is 22 minutes in length and so is a serious commitment – a highly able occupational psychologist told me once that people can’t passively listen for more than 15 minutes at a time and I have always stuck to this advice even when it’s proved a nuisance to my plans.

The video features a selection of clips, culminating in a now-viral clip in which, at a time of great personal crisis, Peterson breaks down discussing the resurrection of Christ.

Advent Reflection: grief and the Christmas story

Last Sunday was the third Sunday in Advent, known within the church as Gaudete Sunday (rejoice Sunday).

In the chosen reading from Philippians chapter 4 (4-7), Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Advent Reflection: saying yes to God

When we read through the Christmas story, what is striking throughout the narrative, pulled together from the gospel accounts of Luke and Matthew, is the constant theme of men and women chosen to play an integral part in the story, saying yes to God, affirming their trust in him.

Advent Reflection: hope in fearful times

This reflection for the first week of Advent will invite you to consider 3 important questions: In what do I hope? On what do I depend? What do I love most?

It’s those who seek to defer gratification, not the cheery November Noel brigade, who really understand this season’s meaning and significance

“Have you put your Christmas decs up yet?” The question shouldn’t be a serious one in the middle of November. Sure, we’re used to shops shoving Christmas in our faces from about the start of September onwards, the commercial rationale for which is well understood. But large numbers of people this year, seem to have decided that Christmas started as soon as Halloween was over, and if you’re one of those who think Christmas decorations are the preserve of December, you’re a misery.

Vaccine passports aren't about public protection but our unhealthy addiction to fear

I know! I know! Another bloody Covid blog! I’m as sick of writing them as I’m sure you are of reading them. But there is no reprieve. With every step in the right direction, it seems we face yet another horror – yet another authoritarian leap that would have seemed unthinkable just a couple of years ago.

The latest of such horrors is vaccine passports, which I have no doubt will be extended and extended until every activity that might involve leaving your house will require you to present your papers, and of course to get the NHS app whether you want the dam thing or not.

The real story of masks isn't one of public health but a marriage of fear and toxic politics

It’s the end of the road for the mandatory wearing of masks. When they were introduced, few subjects proved more polarising and more capable of provoking visceral rage between the two sides of the debate. As we prepare for their wearing to become a matter of personal choice, the controversy has brewed up once more, and the topic is just as divisive.

The non-binary identity is not beyond criticism, when it's built on deeply binary nonsense

What’s a narcissist to do! After mental health struggles and overdoses, it must be a bit of a bind trying to think what battle to exploit for publicity next. Of course, one could always retreat from the world, sort oneself out and come back when one is ready to be judged by the talents that brought one into the public eye – but where’s the fun in that!

The answer, at least for the 28-year-old troubled American singer Demi Lovato, is to join the growing ranks of people describing themselves as ‘non-binary.’

In praise of waiting

Written for Linkedin: view the original here.

 

I had my first post-pandemic hospital appointment in London this week. I approached it with a sense of curiosity, having not seen either the inside of a hospital or indeed what has become of London on a busy weekday since Covid-19 reached our shores.

My enduring thought, once I had got home, was that the entire episode had been characterised by a total absence of waiting.

Madness this week: royals without honour, roadmaps and a lesson in chitchat

The insanity of the week commencing 15 February 2021.

Why I defend Bill Michael, no matter his privilege

Written for Linkedin: view the original here.

 

Bill Michael, the outgoing UK chair of KPMG, is probably not someone who many people would feel inspired to defend. He has quit his role after comments he made criticising staff for moaning about the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, and for a blistering attack on Unconscious Bias Training.

Living Christian: responding to things our non-religious friends say

 

In this first article exploring the challenges of living our Christian faith today, I want to look at the things our non-religious friends say.

My top lessons from 5 years of blogging

    This blog, unbelievably, has been going for over 5 years. In all that time, whilst I have continually reflected on it and wondered how I can improve it, I’ve never shared what I’ve learned, or what I would have done differently if I were starting out again.

Why do men feel so unloved?

A Facebook post caught my eye today: a young man complained that women, children and pets are unconditionally loved. Men, he lamented, are not.

I am not sure what in this person’s life prompted such a comment, but it got me thinking why someone would feel this way.

Album review: McCartney III, by Paul McCartney

A slightly different blogpost today: an album review, made at the request of my cousin Mike.

The lesson of this Covid Christmas farce is that sometimes rules have to write themselves

Who needs a pantomime this year! The public brouhaha over Covid Christmas rules; the ‘will they, won’t they’ and the constant cries of “they’re cancelling Christmas” have provided  quite enough theatrics for anyone.

Covid hysteria has sentenced us to psychological ruin – we must break free of its chains!

     

“Since we marched obediently into captivity last spring, we have turned servile. Look at us now, arguing about whether we should be in one tier of absurd limits on our lives, or another.”