Article in Stretton Focus, December 2016 Watching the news and reading the papers it seems to me that the world is becoming more and more polarised on a number of issues. Take politics for example. The Trump/Clinton confrontation was highly polarised. Obviously, there were differences between the two candidates but they were scathing about each […]
Knowing and being Known
Article in Stretton Focus, January 2015 Science is the pursuit of knowledge. We know a lot more than our predecessors did, about almost everything. Our knowledge of the universe has changed beyond recognition from what it was say 200 years ago. The odd thing is – and the world is full of paradoxes, that the […]
The Mustard Seed
Article in Stretton Focus, February 2015 Recently, I watched the film Amadeus for the umpteenth time. It is a superb film but is also very cruel. It tells the story of Salieri, a pedestrian composer who wants to write great music. He promises God that if he will grant him the talent then all the […]
What is Salvation ?
Article in Stretton Focus, March 2015 Salvation is an old fashioned religious word that is well past its sell-by date. It carries with it connotations of being saved ‘out of’ this sinful world, and being given a ticket to Paradise. What that Paradise will be like is an open question. Religions have different beliefs on […]
Guilty ?
Article in Stretton Focus, April 2015 “I feel so guilty” – how often do we hear this? It’s often said by people with aged parents, or with a severely ill spouse, who can no longer cope, and has to resort to a nursing home. They have done all they can, but it still does not […]
Who or What is God ?
Article in Stretton Focus, May 2015 The title of my piece sounds like an obvious question to ask. But I had been in the ministry for 40 years before I began to ask it. You may think that was a bit late in the day, and so it was! Those of us who are brought […]
Changing times ? Maybe not
Article in Stretton Focus, June 2015 More and more the Christian underpinning of our society seems under attack. Britain was renowned for its liberal Christian faith. People mattered. Social welfare, the NHS, state education, a paternal approach to those in need globally, all have been a matter of pride for a country which valued people. […]
Unconditional help
Article in Stretton Focus, July 2015 One day a poor Scottish farmer heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He looked and saw a terrified boy struggling to free himself from the black mud. Farmer Hugh Fleming without thought for his own safety saved the lad from what would certainly have been […]
Babette’s Feast
Article in Stretton Focus, August 2015 This is a film set in the late 19th century. Babette was a brilliant cook and worked as chef in a Paris restaurant. Not an everyday café but the sort of place which today would be loaded with stars and rosettes and be the subject of articles in the […]
Lonely ?
Article in Stretton Focus, September 2015 In today’s western society there are more people living alone than at any other time in history. There are many reasons for this – families are smaller and spread far and wide; divorce; separation; single parents. We are living longer, and surviving the death of partner and friends. Thanks […]