The Truth Shall Make You Odd

“They think they are having not a quarrel but a conversation.” These are the words of Plato, in his dialogue The Republic. I don’t know about you, but I certainly feel that we have forgotten how to have a conversation and our public debate has descended into not so much a quarrel, but an all-out … More Rapport de face à face: what Emmanuel Lévinas and the Three Wise Men have to teach us this year

One of the challenges of being a School Chaplain is finding accessible and engaging ways to tell the stories of our faith to young people. A few years ago, I had such a challenge and, as a consequence, wrote a set of monologues entitled Voices Through Time, which tell the Christmas story in the first person, from … More Voices Through Time

“What lies there are about relics! One claims to have a feather from the wing of the angel Gabriel, and the Bishop of Mainz has a flame from the burning bush. And how does it happen that eighteen apostles are buried in Germany when Christ had only twelve?” Last year, the reformed churches throughout the … More In honour of Oscar Romero – an afternoon with a bloodstained alb: why we need the saints

Distrusting completely our own wisdom, according to that counsel of the Holy Spirit, “Do not rely on your own insight” (Prov. 3:5), we humbly present to the judgment of all those who wish to be here… This is the opening line of Martin Luther’s 28 Theses or propositions, which explore the nature of sin, free will and … More A Letter from Heidelberg – some thoughts on the IICSA Case Study

I once saw someone walking down the street wearing a t-shirt with the caption, “Binary: it’s as easy as 01 10 11.” If you understand binary code, then you are probably chuckling right now. If you don’t, then you’re in good company: I didn’t understand it either and had to look it up. 01 10 … More The Church of England and “Radical Inclusion”: it’s as easy as 01 10 11

A year ago, the great city of Manchester was rocked by a dreadful terrorist attack, which killed 22 and injured 116. These were innocent people, many of whom were children, who had come together to enjoy a concert by Ariana Grande. A week later, I found myself in Greater Manchester, fulfilling a preaching invitation from … More They might have guns, but we have flowers.

I didn’t intend this blog to be a repository where my homilies would go to die, but writing on this week’s Gospel passage was a really helpful experience in clarifying some thoughts on the mystery of God’s love, so I thought I would share it. Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so I … More Love was his meaning, but what does this mean for us?

On Friday, Angela Tilby wrote an article in the Church Times about an Evangelical takeover of the Church of England. I was moved to write a response but I didn’t imagine that it would cause such a stir! The Church Times gave Angela and me an opportunity to talk in person on this week’s podcast. Enjoy!

In this week’s edition of the Church Times, Angela Tilby published an article lamenting what is, in her view, an Evangelical takeover of the Church of England. She argues that it is no more apparent than in the Thy Kingdom Come initiative, spearheaded by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. But is the whole Church of England really … More The myth of the Evangelical takeover

“You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you…” St John concludes that sentence with the word “free” but the American writer and essayist Flannery O’Connor took a rather different approach: in her view, the truth shall make you “odd”. Both are true, I think. Through the person of Jesus Christ, his life, … More The odd thought…