Two of the most controversial and prominent figures in evangelical Christianity are Rob Bell (of NOOMA fame) and Mark Driscoll. Both emphasise the importance of engaging with culture, ‘building bridges’ with unbelievers – both have called their churches ‘Mars Hill’ after Paul’s encounter in Acts 17. Yet they have very […]
Here is what I was going to call a ‘Feminine Manifesto’. (If you haven’t read the introductory post, please do so.) I changed its name because I decided that writing a ‘manifesto’ was a much bigger task than I could undertake here. It’s longer than I wanted it to be […]
Recently I asked where the women are who can exegete the Bible and apply it in the real world. Since then, I’ve discovered that Resurgence (aka Mars Hill Church) have a women’s ministry. While it’s difficult to find on the internet, it is there! You can see an interview with […]
I’ve been thinking a bit about 18th / 21st / 30th speeches recently. I’ve been asked to give a few but recently I’ve been wondering what I would say at my own child’s celebration. I realise I may be getting a bit ahead of myself here! But bear with me. […]
I’ve been writing about Wm Paul Young’s The Shack recently and the result has been two short papers which pick up on what seemed to me to be two main themes: Suffering and Relationship with God. There’s so much stuff in The Shack that it seems near impossible for any […]
The X-Files told us that The Truth Is Out There. The search for meaning is one of humanity’s defining features. As far back as we can trace, human societies have in this sense been essentially religious. Prehistoric burials and ancestor worship indicate our grappling with life and death from the […]
One of the main themes that Contact deals with is religion. Through the extremist preacher Joseph (right), the film shows that religion can be a very destructive force. Yet we also see a benign expression of religion that is knowledgeable and sophisticated. Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey, below) is Contact‘s poster-boy for […]
Meet Jesus at uni 