Churches are assessed as houses of “good” as well as of God in a study of their value to the community to be published by the National Churches Trust tomorrow. The concept of a “house of good” has been used to value the significant social and economic support generated by and through church buildings in England, Read more
In one of my earliest memories, my father is warning me about a famous man, “Remember, he still puts his pants on one leg at a time.” I remembered this warning when I heard about the fall of another famous icon, Brother Jean Vanier, the revered founder of L’Arche, an ecumenical community where disabled and Read more
Cersei Lannister is the usurper queen of the Seven Kingdoms. She has two brothers, Jamie Lannister, called the Kingslayer, and the dwarf Tyrion Lannister. But, of course, you know all of this unless you are more removed from civilization than, say, the Starks of Winterfell or the White Walkers who roam beyond the wall. If Read more
Young people are self-centred, self-interested and self-ish. They are ego and, ergo, their world begins (and ends) with them. They are the i-Generation – emphasis on the “I”. Maybe. “Turn it off,” she said. “I can’t watch.” My 11-year-old niece closed her eyes against the screen, blocking out the kids with no shoes, raincoats or Read more
There’s something in religious tradition that helps people be ethical. But it isn’t actually their belief in God. A couple of years ago, the idea of God came up, in an incidental way, in the Contemporary Moral Theory course I teach. I generally try not to reveal my particular beliefs and commitments too early in Read more
The Bible tells us to pray for our enemies. Now psychologists are saying the same thing. Saying a prayer may help calm anger and allow people to behave less aggressively towards those who have upset them, researchers say. “Prayer gets people to view the world in a very kind and gentle way and reduces feelings Read more