It’s been a while since my last post and whilst a big part of that is down to moving, I no longer live in London, the real reason is that I’ve been at something of a low ebb since then. Moving took me out of my church and forced me to attempt to find a … Continue reading The dangers of reading theology
Getting to grips with the Book of Common Prayer
I have to catch myself sometimes, I never thought I'd be this kind of Christian. Even a couple of years ago I was a fairly generic brand of miscellaneous evangelical. I'm still trying to work through what I think and where its leading me, part of this is getting my head round the challenge and … Continue reading Getting to grips with the Book of Common Prayer
This is the year which holds the writer
This text was originally posted in the entry 'I, who will already be dust by your time, have made mention of you in this book' by A Clerk of Oxford. I think its appropriate to post this on All Saints Day. This is the year which holds the writer: the thirty fifth year of the reign … Continue reading This is the year which holds the writer
The church and gender disparity
Its not exactly news to say the Church of England (CofE), overall, is still in decline in the UK. The question of where this decline is coming from however is something normally associated with age. Its really obvious in many churches, even independent churches, that the older generations are generally the more faithful in their observance … Continue reading The church and gender disparity
Is the blood of the martyrs really the seed of the church?
The phrase attributed to Tertullian is one thrown about a fair bit during times we hear about the suffering of Christians around the world. In some ways its true, the church has always grown it seems and theres always been resistance to the church worked out in violence. Very truly I tell you, unless a … Continue reading Is the blood of the martyrs really the seed of the church?
Free trade and the democratisation of theology
For the vast majority of individuals attending church their theological education comes from a number of places. The Church they attend plays a role in the forms of sermons they hear, songs they sing, words they pray and small groups they attend. Increasingly however we look to any number of various books we're recommended or the … Continue reading Free trade and the democratisation of theology
The problem with finding ourselves
Choice is a value we prize highly as a society in the West. Our media promotes narratives replete with individuals who choose their own path and our popular music often focuses on people defining themselves as individuals outside the crowd. Coming of age in our society has no ceremony, instead it's a process of figuring out who we are or … Continue reading The problem with finding ourselves
Meritocracy and Cosmopolitanism
Meritocracy is on the surface a thing that seems indisputably good. The idea that people should be appraised and awarded positions on competency alone seems obvious to us today. However this assertion, on closer inspection, belies the increasing narrowness that defines the competencies that we value as a society. The fact that these things we value are largely … Continue reading Meritocracy and Cosmopolitanism
Interaction, imposition, individualism and technology
What the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. Whether I’m online or not, my mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I … Continue reading Interaction, imposition, individualism and technology
On The Ruin Of Britain 