I remember an episode from the third series of the television comedy Blackadder, in which, fed up by the constant praise being showered upon the Scarlet Pimpernel, Blackadder describes him as:
The most overrated human being since Judas Iscariot won the AD31 Best Disciple Competition.[1] Continue reading
I recently read an article[1] about the art of human communication in which it was argued that, in order to communicate effectively, humans had to exercise their imagination in order to facilitate, not just the mere exchange of data, but also the human desire for understanding. In other words, communication was more than just the conveying of facts and information; it was the sharing of a conceptual landscape that enabled people to see the world in new and different ways – it enabled them to be open to surprising possibilities, as well as develop unforseen modes of being. Continue reading
I remember an occasion when I was still working in the trade union movement, an occasion in which I had been advocating for a union member involved in a difficult dispute with her employer. The matter had eventually ended up in the Industrial Relations Commission, with the result that I was able to achieve a partial victory for the member concerned. But it was only partial – in many other respects, the Commission’s decision in this matter did not deliver to the member the just outcome which I thought they deserved. Continue reading
In his wonderful book, Radical Hospitality, the Benedictine monk and priest, Fr Daniel Holman, records an occasion when he and an elderly fellow-monk, Father Noel, were strolling around the grounds of their monastery, enjoining the tranquil warmth of a lazy summer afternoon. Suddenly, they came upon a pair of young men – not monks, but visitors to the monastery – who were lying on the grass, likewise enjoying the warm afternoon. With one exception; the young men were smoking, and Holman, who grew up as a street-smart kid in Detroit, immediately recognised what it was they were smoking. Continue reading
There’s a reason why books like Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion become international “literary events”, while books like John Polkinghorne’s Quantum Physics and Theology: An Unexpected Kinship (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2007) pass quietly into the literary canon. Whereas Dawkins’ best-seller is full of the kind of bitter vitriol and “ne’er the twain shall meet” determinism which his fans and supporters no doubt find gratifying, (and which publishers know will generate the kind of controversy that will boost sales) Polkinghorne’s volume offers a modest, generous, and ultimately joyous exploration of what he describes as the “cousinly relationship” between quantum physics and Christian theology. This is a learned, humble, and deeply humane book; little wonder, therefore, that it has passed under the media’s sensationalist radar. Continue reading
There is, in quantum physics, a phenomenon known as the EPR effect. Put very simply, this phenomenon occurs when two sub-atomic particles interact with one another; even if the two particles are then separated by a large distance, if changes occur in one particle, the corresponding changes will occur in the other particle. In effect, having interacted with one another, the two particles remain a single system, despite being separated by large distances. It would not matter if one particle was here on earth and the other particle on the other side of the solar system; having interacted with each other, they remain entangled, so that what effects one effects the other. Continue reading
PRESCRIPT: This sermon has been preached in the context of a Baptism service, hence the references to Baptism that are contained in the text.
I think it highly significant that on the day we celebrate the Baptism of a child into the Body of Christ, the lectionary presents us with a famous episode from John’s Gospel, the episode of “Doubting Thomas”. It’s significant because it draws attention to the seriousness with which we must approach the teaching ministry of our faith, especially with respect to how we educate children into the deeper meanings of faith. A significance all the more potent precisely because today’s reading is one of those well-known passages about which it’s too easy to make assumptions; assumptions which not only blind us to the deeper meaning of the text, but which result in our children receiving flawed – and even damaging – notions of what it means to be a “believer”. Continue reading
There’s an old story, one I’m sure many of you are familiar with, concerning a woman whose daughter was making her confirmation. The woman decided a gold cross on a necklace would make an appropriate gift for the occasion; so she went to the jewelers and explained her situation to the sales-assistant. The sales-assistant smiled and said: “Oh, we’ve got lots of those! What kind do you want: plain, or one with the little man on it?” Continue reading
The 19th century Austrian novelist Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach once said: “Conquer, but don’t triumph.” By this she meant that any victory which was accompanied by the shame and humiliation of others was no victory; rather, it contained the seeds of its own destruction. For a victory to be complete, others had to be raised up out of despair and into rejoicing. Continue reading
Timeo danaos et dona ferentes – beware of Greeks bearing gifts.
Many of you may remember the scene from an episode of the wonderful TV series Yes, Prime Minister, in which Jim Hacker describes this phrase as a “Greek tag”, only for his secretary, Bernard Woolley, to respond with a long and tedious dissertation on the fact that it is actually a “Latin tag”, a quote from Virgil’s epic poem The Aeneid. Bernard then goes on to irrelevantly explain that the word Danaos means “Greek” in Greek as well as “Greek” in Latin – so that timeo danaos et dona ferentes can, afterall, be considered a kind of “Greek tag”, despite being Latin and not Greek! During the course of Bernard’s monologue, Hacker looks at him with an expression suggesting that he has been heavily sedated; but Bernard plows on, oblivious to his master’s growing boredom and frustration. Continue reading
