Christianity as the urban religion

I'm currently reading David Frye's good book entitled "Walls: A History of Civilisation in Blood and Brick" and he uses the construction of walls to demarcate between 'civilisation' on one side and the 'wilderness' on the other. This got me thinking about the disposition and historic residence of the Church along these lines. Walls create …

Amusing myself to death

I've been struggling for some time in knowing where I fit in with Christianity. I know I am a Christian of some sort. It is God's truth, love, wisdom and beauty that keep me going, outside of it I am nothing. Despite this the conflict between my personal convictions and trying to work them out have been …

Liberalism and schism in the Church of England

Not too long ago I had written out a post on liberalism, particularly in the Church of England. It was precipitated by a mixture of a piece in the Telegraph and some interactions my wife had with a liberal anglo-catholic friend. However after reading Anthony Smith's take on the Telegraph article I've found myself reforming my views on the …

Is evangelicalism in trouble?

I was listening to a podcast recently where the Presbyterian speaker proclaimed 'Evangelicalism is in serious trouble.' This was news to me yet the statement has stuck in my mind and I've been turning it over ever since. Is this man true? Is this man false? I don't really want it to be true and to some …

What does the Sunday Assembly mean for Church?

On a recent commute in I had the pleasure to listen to the recent BBC feature on the Sunday Assembly 'Swapping Psalms for Pop Songs'. The Sunday Assembly is a relatively recent phenomenon which originated as an 'Atheist Church' where individuals; get together, sing songs, listen to several readings and hear an inspirational talk. The …

On emotional spirituality

I was reading a sample of the book “Strip the Vanity of the Heretics” by Coptic Orthodox Bishop Anba Raphael online whereon a particular section jumped out to me. Part six of the section ‘Intellectual errors of deviant religious groups’ (which probably includes all Protestants for him) goes.. Humans are composite of body, soul and …