The Internet, Amputation, and Worship

Like everyone in the UK currently I have spent the last few weeks in lockdown. Whilst it’s far from ideal it is a time of real blessing because I am spending so much more time with my family. Life has gotten smaller, more cohesive, and more community-minded. We leave gifts with our neighbours and exchange …

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 …

Chrysostom, 1 Corinthians 14 and (Charismatic) tongues

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 (NIV) I grew up …

Excerpt from the Martyrology of Tallaght

If he be a cleric, let him not be wrathful. Let him not his voice be raised. Let him not swear falsely. Let him not be greedy. Let him not be treasure loving. Let him not be niggardly, lying. Let him not be fault-finding at meals. Do not slander thy fellow. Thy side half bare, …

Richard Burton reads the haunting poem ‘The hound of Heaven’ by Francis Thompson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gToj6SLWz8Q

Sermons and Songs aren’t enough

Several years ago there was a phase going around Evangelical circles called 'The emerging church'. The thing that stood out to me about its adherents was (and this is a massive generalisation) they weren't that big on going to Church on a Sunday and being a part of the audience. There are several books and many good …

Towards a ‘Catholic’ understanding of the miraculous

The human longing that gave birth to the Pentecostal movement is not bad in itself. The fundamental and basic hunger that is addressed by Pentecostalism is a desire for intimacy with the Uncreated God. This is good and God-given. We were meant for intimacy with the Divine. But the theological poverty that was the atmosphere …

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 …