Grace taught my heart to fear

A friend of mine was talking to his 11 yr old son and heard that he wanted to stop supporting Man Utd and transfer his allegiance to Man City. My friend's response was 'Not under my roof!' This father was not threatening to throw his son out - he's not that kind of dad. He was simply saying that conversion is inconceivable. And he was serious. As a young girl was returning from a weekend away where she had heard how Jesus had died for her, she was considering that she may turn to Him and become a Christian. As her mum picked her up the first thing she said in the car was "Mum, I want to become a Christian!" A few days later I visited the family and sat on the sofa as her mum related the stotry to me. Her mum's response, with a gentle smile on her face, was to 'let her sleep on it and so forget it.' It wasn't going to happen to her daughter, not under her roof. Are we approaching a time - or has it arrived - that people in general will act...

http://www.christian.org.uk/news/kids-author-says-jesus-is-not-god/?e110909 Dear Mr Pullman, It's nice to see you lay your cards on the table. If it were me (and not God) whom you were opposing, I would be not a little scared. You are a formidable enemy, though I am not sure God has much to worry about. You weigh into the age old debate about Jesus' deity with the old news that it was in fact Paul of Tarsus who invented Christianity long after Jesus of Nazareth had popped his clogs at the unfortunately young age of - whatever it was - 33 years old according the legend rubbished by Dan Brown. You describe Paul as, “a literary and imaginative genius, who has had more influence on the world than anybody else, including Jesus. He had this great ability to persuade others and his rhetorical skills have been convincing people for 2,000 years”. As a fellow author, Mr Pullman, you must be familiar with the difficulty of getting readers to believe something is true which was written...

Its a shock when you realise the freedom you thought you had is just a beautifully crafted and well furnished cage. In a desperate, and hopefully not final, attempt to get fit i have noticed how I still really enjoy running. However the thing that is preventing me from running further ad stronger and faster is not just my body. Painful knees and a large gut do limit the range a the moment, but the real inhibitor for me at the moment - as I realised this morning - is fear. I am afraid of how running will make me feel - that slightly tight feeling in my throat, the uncomfortability of breathlessness, the potential stitch - I don't like to feel this way - and I have become addicted to feeling comfortable. So I find myself in a very subtle, personally built, and very comfortable cage. I fear the consequences of running long distances and it is preventing me getting to the point where my running is doing me any good. So - how to break out? Here's what I've got so far... 1) k...

This is copied from the LICC email by Jason Gardner. Thanks guys Inevitably, the true impact of Michael Jackson’s influence on the world will be measured not in album and video sales, or sold out world tours, but by the number and nature of conspiracy theories that already do, and perhaps always will, surround his demise. 
It is apparently the norm these days for celebrity figures who die before their time to have the events and circumstances surrounding their passing scrutinised not only by pathologists, but also by press pundits and armchair sleuths as well. 

We love a good conspiracy theory: from the second shooter on the grassy knoll in Dallas for JFK's assassination, through to Elvis being alive and well and living in a timeshare in Benidorm with Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison (my own theory). And in an age where information and communication technology have made broadcasters and journalists of us all, those deductions and ruminations now come at a supercharged rate.

I can...

Apart from the fact that i did not want to put this book down last night (not that i COULDN"T - it's not THAT good) this latest offering from Dan Brown is typical fare - a long and complicated plot involving certain talented individuals, and the potential to destabilise the world with the imminent revelation of ancient secrets. And somehow each time Robert Langdon gets tangled up in the mess just as he is about take a lazy sunday off! (Note to self- avoid contact with Robert Langdon, he attracts more danger than Miss Marple and the residents of Midsomer put together!) This time the secret society at the heart of the story is the Freemasons, whom Brown bends over backwards in an attempt to not offend them and give them a good press. The story begins with certain 'facts' (that may or may not be true 'facts'), the albino monk has become a lean, tattooed insider with a desire to limit human progress and maintain the status quo, and the building at the heart of t...

'Now you young twerps want a new name for your generation? Probably not, you just want jobs, right? Well, the media do us all such tremendous favours when they call you Generation x, right? Two clicks from the very end of the alphabet. I herby declare you Generation A, as much at the beginning of a series of astonishing triumphs and failures as Adam and Eve were so long ago.' Kurt Vonnegut. Quoted in Generation A, frontispiece, by Douglas Coupland. More reviews of this book will appear here shortly.

A few years ago I wrote this for a Bible Study for 11-14 year olds. It contradicts many of the assumptions and worldviews young people take for granted. 1. All things are made by God and are made good – even things we may be scared of like darkness or spiders or snakes. 2. It matters what we do in our world and with the creatures that live here. God said we could rule over the world but under Him, not rule over the world and ignore Him. We must have respect for our world and for every creature in it – even the ones we don’t like! 3. We are more valuable to God than animals are. 4. We have a different and better relationship to God than animals do. 5. All human beings are made in the image of God – racism, sexism and prejudice is wrong because we are all the same in God’s eyes. 6. The world is meant to function under God’s rule. 7. The reason things are bad is because the world has rebelled against God- the Bible calls this sin. 8. We wear clothes because we are sinful, not because t...

Christians are facing discrimination at work, and ridicule and rejection at home, according to new research. By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent The first poll of Britain's churchgoers, carried out for The Sunday Telegraph, found that thousands of them believe they are being turned down for promotion because of their faith. One in five said that they had faced opposition at work because of their beliefs. More than half of them revealed that they had suffered some form of persecution for being a Christian. The findings suggest a growing hostility towards religion in this country, which has been highlighted by a series of clashes between churchgoers and their employers. Church leaders, including the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, have urged Christians to "wake up" and defend their beliefs after the suspension of Caroline Petrie, a community nurse, for offering to pray for a patient. Churchgoers are likely to be further concerned by new guideline...

PERSISTENCE INDICATES A STRONG WILL. OBSTINACY INDICATES A STRONG WON'T.

This is from the Christian Institute's news feed... Labour's Equality Bill has come under fire from the Daily Mail commentator, Melanie Phillips Rights for Northerners (dailymail.co.uk 15 July 2009) Friday, 17 July 2009 A bid to protect Northerners from discrimination has led to criticism of over-the-top equality legislation by a national newspaper commentator. Melanie Phillips, writing in the Daily Mail, asks: “Can outlawing discrimination against people with sticking-out ears, a belief that Elvis has been reincarnated or a penchant for shapeless cardigans be far behind?” She said the Equality Bill is “the latest manifestation of this Government’s unshakeable attachment to what it calls ‘equality’ but might more properly be called the imposition of injustice upon groups of which it disapproves.” The commentator lambasted the Equalities Minister’s “fanatical determination to wield the blade against all who are getting in the way of the egalitarian utopia – such as men, white pe...

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched sea beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time Like tears in rain. Time... to die." like many others I find these words an amazing description of our mortality. Blogging doesn't make us immortal. But it might just help people to find a solution...

I've just finished reading "Pegasus Bridge" by Stephen E Ambrose. It reminded me of what my generation seems to take for granted - that when it comes to heroes, there was a generation called upon to volunteer to be truly heroic. In the early hours of D-Day 6 platoons of British paratroopers landed between the Orne River and the Caen Canal, far behind enemy lines, very much alone, and 5 hours ahead of the main landing party of around 160,000 Allied troops, with the aim of capturing and holding the two adjacent bridges - one of which became known as Pegasus Bridge. The importance of the sudden capture and hold of these two bridges INTACT cannot be underestimated in terms of the success of the D-Day landings and the liberation of Europe - which we are all still benefitting from. They were landed by glider a few minutes after midnight and in a matter of minutes had taken both bridges, eliminated the guards and the threat of the bridges being blown, and established a defensi...

Why is it that in 23 years of being a Christian I have only heard one sermon on the theme of meekness? This personality characteristic and 'Fruit of the Spirit' is totally overlooked and is so central to what God is doing in the life of every Christian. Moses is described as meek above all other humans in Numbers 12, and Jesus Himself is described as meek in Matthew 11 and 2 Corinthians 10. Have we so bought into the world's view of meekness that we now believe meek people are spineless walkovers, acting that way because they have no other choice - that meekness is the last resort of weak people? Meekness is one of the fundamental ways that the Christian exercises spiritual power. Having a clear understanding of your spiritual bankruptcy before God, the depths of the consequences of your sin, and the poverty of your soul, you become keenly aware of the power of grace that is at work in your life, and the resources that are now at your disposal, the power of the God that ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jz2qp A new book and DVD suggests there is a deep logic behind the fabric of the Narnia Chronicles, that has until now been hidden from the reader. Michael Ward's thesis seems to suggest that CS Lewis' understanding of medieval cosmology contributed heavily to the way he wrote of the land of Narnia, constructing each o the Chronicles around the nature of a different planet. If The Silver Chair is Lunar, Lion/Witch/Wardrobe is Jovian(Jupiter), DawnTreader is Solar and Prince Caspian is Martian. Each planet contributes to the atmosphere and storyline of the book, with the planet's influence on the children/humans in the main view. For example, Jupiter is said to be a planet of kingliness, an is described in one of Lewis' poems as 'winter ended and forgiveness given'. So we see in the story how 4 children travel to Narnia to fulfil a prophecy of winter defeated and Edmund restored and forgiven, the four children taking their ...

(This was written shortly after the publication of book 7, which I pre-ordered at Waterstones and waited 90 mins in a queue for on a cold night in Wilmslow, when I could have driven to Tesco and got it a pound cheaper, and been at home and in bed reading it inside twenty minutes!  However I had some great conversations in the queue with some complete strangers, and that did actually make it all worthwhile.)  Film no.6 is due out this summer - 15th July 2009 in the UK. Like it, hate it, or not bothered by it - this summer marks one more step towards the end of an era. The last words in the school career of Harry Potter have been written, published and sold and the last two(actually, three) films will be made; and then that’s it. Harry will be no more. That’s not to say that he will necessarily be dead (there are no plot spoilers from the books in this piece) but to a generation of young people who have grown up with ’The Boy who lived’, he will be consigned to the past. There will be ...

My new Sure antiperspirant deodorant has an on-off switch.  What on earth for?!  As far as i can tell it is not battery operated, nor in any danger of going off by itself. However, I do rejoice in the feeling of being an environmental terrorist by leaving it on 'stand-by'!

I love and hate stories like this!  (pic from BBC website - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8071865.stm) On the one hand - we're all a bunch of nutters for thinking that this is anything more than human beings reading into the marmite residue whatever we like.  After all, in another time or place this could be Osama Bin Laden, any member of ZZ Top, or a slightly windblown homeless guy from the 60s that no-one has ever heard of.  But it's not the family's fault - they just took a photo and let us make up our minds.  I love stories like this cos they remind me that we're all superstitious and suggestible, and prone to believe anyhting we want to beleive - and the Bible tells us exactly that same thing. But I hate stories like this as well.  Usually some 'Christian' leader from one denomination or other (somehow the Roman Catholics always speak up) is quoted as saying that this is a sign that Jesus is still with us, or that God has not forgotten us, or something l...

John Piper writes: "Many pastors are not known for expressing deep emotions. This seems to me especially true in relation to the profoundest theological realities. This is not good, because we ought to experience the deepest emotions about the deepest things. And we ought to speak often, and publicly, about what means most to us, IN A WAY THAT SHOWS ITS VALUE. This... is a plea for deep feelings in worthy forms from God besotted hearts and minds." (Brothers we are not professionals, p149, emphasis mine) He goes on: 'Let there be passion in the pulpit, passion in prayer and passion in conversation.' http://www.desiringgod.org/Store/Books/ByTopic/69/315_Brothers_We_Are_Not_Professionals/

I note from the BBC website ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi /entertainment/8026312.stm  ) that Phillip Pullman appeared in the stage production of His Dark Materials - the play based on his best-selling trilogy. He appeared uncredited as an Oxford academic, and seemingly had great fun, and put in a worthy performance. Is it only me, or is that not a little ironic? Here is a series of books that purport to decry theism and do away with the idea of 'god', and depict 'god' as a helpless old angel, an ultimate deceiver, who vanishes in a gentle puff of wind when his crystal 'sarcophagus' is shattered - his atoms returning the grand scheme of all things. This is a series of books that says that the universe has no author. And yet as the play is staged (and, I don't know, but presume that the play and the books speak with a similar voice) here appears the author, subtly transcending the medium and taking the nature of one of the characters! This sounds awfully famili...

One thought has become clearer and clearer in my mind over the last few months, since it was planted there on a quiet Friday afternoon in early 2008.  We become what we worship.   The startling truth of this is writ large in our lives, in the fabric of our communities, the nature of our relationships, and the pages of our philosophy books and editorial columns.  It is not so much that if I look intently at your life for a couple of weeks I will be able to tell you what you believe.  I heard that at school and immediately realised its truth.  But it is far too weak to describe our condition or persuade anyone to actually look at their own lives with a view to seeing what is really there. We become what we worship.   There is a process going on in each and everyone's life.  A hardening, a slow gravitation, a tendency.  It is a process that we are slowly becoming more like our idols.  Whatever it is we place most value on, hold most dearly, and esteem most highly - that becomes our be...