Marrying a vicar means brings certain benefits. For one thing,  I now have a prayer hot-line to God.  Ordinary folks have to use standard delivery.  Who knows how long their requests will take – or if they’ll get there at all. But religious folks  - well.  We’s different.    When Rev Scriv dials,  red phones  start flashing in heaven and it’s all hands on deck. Bunkum.  God does not have a fast-track  for dog-collars . But even though we sort of ‘know’ the truth, we sometimes accept such fictions ... Read More

1. if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then He’s dangerous as well as deluded.  He’s not a nice bloke who got a bit confused.  He’s a megalomaniac and a perpetrator of lies. His followers are to be pitied as well as despised. 2. if he didn’t rise from the dead, then He’s not the Son of God.  He’s not a Saviour. And the gospel may be a ‘good’ way to live – but it’s completely ineffectual against death.  And suffering.  And despair. And most of all, sin. 3. if Jesus ... Read More

‘I don’t know the man.’ ‘I don’t know the man.’ ‘I don’t know the man’.   His best friend. (Matt 26:70, 72,74)   ‘Friend, do what you came for’. To his betrayer, (Matt 26:50) ‘Here is your king’ Pilate to the people, (John 19:13) ‘Crucify him.  Crucify him’. (Matt 27:22,23) ‘I have betrayed innocent blood’ (Judas.  Matt 27:4) ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Matt 27:45) ‘Yet not as I will, but as you will’ (Matt 26:39) ‘Let his blood be on us and on our children’ (Matt ... Read More

When we, or those we love are struggling, the journey from cradle to grave can seem all too brief. At those times we see death as he is –  an intruder that, heavy-handed, smashes into our homes and hearts. But day to day, perhaps our strategy is a little less subtle. If you’re like me, you’ll try to ignore death and  with everything you’ve got. You’ll tiptoe round him and dance like this is all there is and nothing can take it from you. You’ll batten down the hatches and seek to live, furiously, intensely ... Read More

Woke up this morning feeling panicked. Then I read this, from Spurgeon: He will keep the feet of his saints. (1 Samuel 2:9) The way is slippery and our feet are feeble, but the Lord will keep our feet. If we give ourselves up by obedient faith to be His holy ones, He will Himself be our guardian. Not only will He charge His angels to keep us, but He Himself will preserve our goings. He will keep our feet from falling so that we do not defile our garments, wound our souls, and cause the enemy to blaspheme. He will keep our feet from wandering ... Read More

What is it about being part of a stadium filled with cheering fans that arouses such intense emotions? Why do we behave one way in a group and another on our own? Why do people join cults, or devote their lives to moral or political causes? In his book: ‘The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements’  (1951), Eric Hoffer considers some of these questions. Hoffer argues that spiritual hunger causes people to cut off their old selves so that they can become part of something bigger and more thrilling. Mass movements, ... Read More

‘For to us a child is born and to us a son is given and the government will be on his shoulders’. (Isaiah 9:6). What does Christmas mean to you? I’m a Christian.  Been one now, for many years.  I know the right answer to this question.  But, confronted by the melee of Christmas, I’m finding myself caught up and carried along – in the wrong direction. There’s so much to do.  Groceries and presents to buy – but also deadlines to meet and bills to pay. It’s like buying Delia’s ready-mix ... Read More

‘It’s better to give than to receive’. Well sorry folks, but I’m not so sure.  If you ask me (er – and even if you don’t), the whole present business is a dangerous affair – on both sides of the equation. So what is it about gifting that I find so hard to accept? Christmas (and birthdays) are stressful for many different reasons.  Impending bankruptcy, family dynamics and a general surfeit of everything from mince pies to Cliff Richard. Nothing makes me more miserable than The Expectation of Extreme ... Read More

I’ve been spending the last few days with my mum, so apologies for the paucity of posts. However, it does give me the opportunity to have a guest post from Paul B on the topic of ‘Stir Up Sunday’. Despite the machinations of Tesco et al to rename and reclaim this day, it hasn’t always been about mixing up Christmas cake. (Nor, as Waitrose claim, should it be called ‘Delia Day’ – much as I love her kitchen manner). No, the real stir-up Sunday is about the beginning of Advent and Cranmer’s ... Read More

But I really want to be. I really, really, really want to be. But I’m not. So there it is. Some days I don’t mind so much.  I think about it a little, but it’s like the background music in the coffee shop.  Unless you stop talking or working, you barely notice. Other days it’s like a pain, or a punch in the stomach.  A  kind-of winded breathlessness.  An internal ache, a sadness that won’t lift. One red line instead of two.  Nothing, it’s nothing. It’s fine. But there’s another little voice ... Read More