Christianity
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The saint who loved the colours and scents of Devon
In the early church a common word applied to all believers in Christ was ‘saint’. So when Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, he addressed it to ‘all those in Rome who are loved by God and called...
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Life as the sum of relationships
Has the lockdown made you reflect on the importance of friendship, our relationships to one another? One man who thought deeply about this was Mandell Creighton who succeeded Frederick Temple as Bishop of London in 1897. Temple said of...
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Should sermons be scripted?
Last month I wrote about G T Manley who, as a devout Christian, came top of the list of mathematics graduates at Cambridge in 1893, beating the atheist Bertrand Russell. Another very clever Christian was (my hero) Frederick Temple...
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Do very clever people believe in God?
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) was a philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, writer, essayist and Nobel laureate. There is no doubt that he was very clever. So much so that he achieved the distinction, when the results of the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos were...
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St Helena’s search for the cross
Preparing to visit Jerusalem this Easter I have been fascinated to look into the life of St Helena. Born around the year 255, she became the wife of Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus, by whom she gave birth to Constantine...
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The little town where the hopes and fears of all the years are met
Bethlehem, like Jerusalem, can be snowy in winter so maybe those wintry scenes on our traditional Christmas cards are not too far off the mark. A main feature of any visit to the town is the Church of the...
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The Christian’s hope
When I was in my teens, my father took me took me along to the University of Exeter to hear a series of lectures on the resurrection delivered by the newly elected Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey. Richard Eyre, about...
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Prayer as hearing the voice of Christ in the silence
When C.S. Lewis’s wife, Joy Davidman, died, in 1960, the priest who took the funeral service was hardly able to get the words out through his own tears. His name was Austin Farrer and I am currently a fan of his writings. Farrer’s...
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Total commitment
Frances Ridley Havergal was, by all accounts, a remarkable woman: linguist (speaking French and German and reading Hebrew and New Testament Greek), musician, poet, athlete, swimmer and mountain climber. She was also a devout Christian with an intense sense of commitment to God which...
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Luke’s journeys in this life and beyond
Since 2 June, the Common Worship Lectionary has included a reading from the Gospel of Luke on every Sunday. I have loved this because I am a fan of the way Luke tells the story of Jesus, often using journeys as a device...
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