The Sirens' Song

I didn't like school. Most lessons held little interest for me. My attitude was: why should I waste time tuning in to double maths when I could be daydreaming?

Suffice to say, school didn't much like me either, and I left with a string of low-grade qualifications. My only decentish result was a grade 'C' O-Level in Classical Studies.

That was my favourite subject. The teacher, Mr Hamlet, was brilliant. He made the tales of ancient Greece and Rome seem vibrantly alive. I found Homer's Iliad and Odyssey so captivating that I may actually have done some revision for the Classical Studies exam. CSE Physics, not so much.

With all that in mind, I eagerly booked tickets for Christopher Nolan's film version of The Odyssey, in all its stunning IMAX glory.

One episode in Odysseus's epic journey home especially struck me. The sirens bit. You know, those beautiful creatures who sang a song so alluring that passing sailors were drawn to shore, where their ships were promptly dashed on the rocks.

Odysseus desperately wanted to hear the sirens' song, but he didn't especially want to be shipwrecked. The solution? He had his crew stop their ears with wax and had himself lashed to the ship's mast. That way, he could hear the song but wasn't able to grab the tiller and send his ship careering towards the rocks. Clever, eh?

It worked. When they were safely out of earshot, Odysseus was set free, and the crew removed the wax from their lugholes. In the film version, our hero explains to his curious shipmates what the Sirens' song was all about:

"It was all the things you wanted it to be… then, all the things you wished you'd never wished for.... It told you what you most want is what you most can't have. And what you most can't have is what you already had and lost. It was the song of all the promises I failed to keep. And it told me I don't really want to go home."

You won't find a song like that on Spotify. It speaks of the restless longing of the human heart.

In the end, the pull of home won out for Odysseus. He risked all to get to his island kingdom of Ithaca and his beloved Penelope, who awaited him there.

On the Sunday after watching The Odyssey, we sang a song in church that was, to my mind, more wonderful than that of Homer's sirens:

There is a hope that lifts my weary head,

A consolation strong against despair,

That when the world has plunged me in its deepest pit,

I find the Saviour there!

Through present sufferings, future’s fear,

He whispers ‘courage’ in my ear.

For I am safe in everlasting arms,

And they will lead me home.

— Stuart Townend

*For various local parish magazines 

To begin at the beginning

So begins Under Milk Wood, by Dylan Thomas. But beginning at the beginning isn't original to Thomas. Whether consciously or not, the playwright and poet seemed to be echoing the opening sentence of the first book in the Bible, 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.' (Genesis 1:1). Interesting, that.

For until the middle of the 20th century, the scientific consensus was that there was no beginning. The universe, it was held, has always existed because matter is eternal. Not much need for a Creator, then. That consensus was shattered when scientists teased out the logical implications of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Real world evidence that the universe had a beginning came from the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation, a lingering trace of the 'Big Bang'.

But as the old saying goes, 'nothing comes of nothing'. That presumably means the universe could not have created itself. Created itself from what, exactly? And so we're back to Genesis 1:1. Astrophysicist Robert Jastrow reflected his book, God and the Astronomers, "For a scientist who lives by faith in reason, discovering the universe's origin ends like a 'bad dream'. They have climbed the mountains of ignorance, but as they pull themselves over the final rock, they find a band of theologians and philosophers who have been sitting there for centuries."

That's the thing. Begin at the beginning, and you are confronted by an all-powerful, wise, and good Creator who exists outside of time and space. In other words, God. But how could we know such a transcendent being? Well, we could if he was pleased to reveal himself to us. Which is where Jesus comes in.

John opens his Gospel with these words, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Through him, all things were made.' (John 1:1-2). Then John says, ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’ (John 1:14). He through whom the word was made entered his creation as man to bring us back to God by his sin-atoning death and mighty resurrection. The Bible begins at the beginning and concludes with Jesus, 'the Beginning and the End'.

* For various local parish magazines 

A ripe old age

 

It was bad enough when a woman of a certain age complimented me for looking 'dapper'. I thought only snappily dressed elderly gents were called that. Now people I haven't seen for a while ask me if I have already retired, or when I'm going to. For the record, I'm still the right side of 60 (just), and don't intend to stop working anytime soon. Nonetheless, I seem to have crossed an invisible line and suddenly become an older man. At least in the eyes of others.

This was exacerbated the other week when my boy racerish Vauxhall Corsa developed a fault, and the repair garage gave me an ‘vintage’ Honda Jazz as a courtesy car. Twice on a short journey, I was cut up at roundabouts. Other drivers obviously thought it would take an age for me to get anywhere near them, so they chanced it. The cheek.

Nothing against older people, of course. I just didn’t expect to become one quite so soon. But the prospect of ageing doesn't mean it's all downhill from now on. Yes, a certain amount of physical and even mental deterioration can be expected with the advancing years, but old age can still be a time of spiritual growth and ripening fruitfulness.

I have known believers who became frail and housebound in old age, yet even with the advancing years they were full of faith, hope, and love. Spending time with them put me in mind of words found in one of the psalms, 

 The righteous will still bear fruit in old age,                                                                                                  they will stay fresh and green,                                                                                                                        proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright;                                                                                                                    he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.’                                                                                     (Psalm 92:14-15)

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The shame of it

‘What will the neighbours say?’ worries Mrs Waldo in Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. Her husband’s much gossiped about behaviour was tarnishing the family name. Thomas’s play for voices was the product of 1950s Britain when the fear of being shamed in the eyes of one’s local community helped to keep people in order. Although that didn’t quite work in the case of Mr Waldo.

 

The idea of being shamed by what anyone else may think of us seems a little quaint now. Self-expression trumps the censure of society. Who cares what the neighbours say? But perhaps good old-fashioned shame has nothing to be ashamed of. Even in our shameless times. Think of the habitual shoplifters who fear neither the opprobrium of society nor the sanctions of the law. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah bemoaned the spiritually broken times in which he lived,  “they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush”.

 

But it is sometimes recognised that shame may still serve a useful purpose. In a recent article in The Times the columnist James Marriott reflected on how we may cure people of their addiction to smartphones. He argued that the key thing is not so much the government clamping down on big tech, as socially stigmatising mindless scrolling, or using screens as a way of keeping the kids quiet. Oh, the shame of appearing to be a phone-addicted zombie.

 

Shame is the healthy, although uncomfortable feeling that arises when we are found out doing something wrong, or at least something that is frowned upon by society. It is a sign that our consciences are in good working order. Daniel (of the lion’s den fame) in the Bible confessed the failings of his fellow Jews who were exiled to Babylon in these terms, “To us, O Lord, belongs open shame…. because we have sinned against you.”

 

How can we hope to cover our shame and blot out the wrongdoing that caused it? Jesus came to deal with the guilt of our sin by dying on the cross for us. He faced the shame of public crucifixion as his enemies jeered at him, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” But it was precisely because he was the Son of God that he endured the cross, despising the shame. That is what it cost him to save us. By faith in Jesus we can know the forgiveness of our sins. Plus, the Scriptures assure us, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 

*For local parish magazines 

An idle tale

That's how early followers of Jesus reacted to emerging reports that he had risen from the dead. 

I mean, once you're dead, you're dead, right? Even Jesus couldn't defy that iron law. The story was easy to dismiss because it seemed so unlikely, but also because those who told it weren't regarded as reliable witnesses. Women, their testimony counted for nothing in those days.

But the last thing Jesus' female followers expected was to find him alive from the dead. Early on the first Easter Sunday morning Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome made their way to his tomb laden with spices to complete the process of laying Jesus' body to rest. They wondered how they were going to move the large stone that covered entrance to Jesus' tomb so they could go about their work. But they needn't have worried, for when they arrived at the tomb, they found that the stone had already been rolled way. They entered the tomb, but mystifyingly, the body of Jesus was nowhere to be found. 

Two men wearing clothes that gleamed like lightning explained all, “He is not here; he has risen!”. As the women went to tell the other disciples what they had seen, they encountered the risen Jesus for themselves. When the women excitedly told the others what they had seen and heard the response wasn’t one of ready faith. Hardly. As Luke says in his Gospel account, ’these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.’ 

Jesus appeared as a bodily presence to his other followers later that day. It was only then that they were convinced he had indeed been raised from the dead. What the women said was true. 

Jesus’ resurrection was the most momentous event in history. It means his death atoned for our sins. It means the power of death has been conquered that we may have the hope of eternal life by faith in him. It authenticates Jesus’ claim that he was the Son of God. 

Jesus is risen! Maybe not such an idle tale after all.

* For various local parish magazines 

The line separating good and evil

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

In July 2024 on BBC Question Time political commentator Andew Marr hailed the election of the new Labour government led by Sir Keir Stamer with these words, "For the first time in many of our lives, actually Britain looks like a little haven of peace and stability". With near constant speculation in the media over how much longer Starmer will occupy 10 Downing Street, Marr’s quote hasn’t aged well.

On being elected the Prime Minister pledged to clean up public life. Then In February 2025 he proceeded to appoint Peter Mandelson as UK Ambassador to the United States of America. Starmer was forced to sack him from that role some seven months later, once Mandelson's links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstine were revealed. The scandal blew up again earlier this year when the publication of the Epstein files laid bare the full extent of the former ambassador’s relationship with the disgraced financier. Mandelson has since been questioned by the police, although he denies any criminal wrongdoing. Starmer is now under pressure again, as the process by which Mandelson was vetted for his ambassador role has come under intense scrutiny. 

My point isn’t a party political one. Politicians of all stripes have been involved scandals over the years. So have high up business people, figures from the church and members of the royal family. As the Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn reflected,  “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart". 

Believing that your political cause is more virtuous than the other lot is no bulwark against moral compromise. It only serves to make the hypocrisy worse when self-regarding politicians are caught out doing themselves what they decried in their opponents. As Tim Shipman, political editor at the Spectator points out, "Sanctimony in politics usually comes back to bite the sanctimonious. When those concerned hold themselves in as high esteem as Starmer does, the fall is even further. Believing you are good does not insulate you from behaving badly." (The Spectator's Evening Blend email, 17 April 2026)

Recent events are a stark reminder of our fallen humanity. No matter how high we may rise, there is something within us that brings us back to earth with a bump. The Bible calls that something ‘sin’. Our political leaders have no answer to this problem, for they like us are part of the problem. But God has an answer, and his answer is Jesus. The Son of God came into the world to save us by dying on the cross for our sins. By faith in him we may be forgiven and be put right with God. That's good news not only for public figures engulfed by scandal, but you and me. 

* For various local parish magazines 

A Christian Country?

Some local councils (not ours, thankfully) have changed their Christmas Festivals into Winter Festivals. On seeing that people often roll their eyes and mutter, ‘Isn’t Britain meant to be a Christian country?’ It depends on what you mean by that.

Has the Christian faith had a massive effect on our country’s history and culture? Yes. Does Christianity have an official role in the political constitution of our land? Again, yes. The King is also supreme governor of the Church of England. Anglican Bishops have seats in the House of Lords. The Monarch is crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury. 

Does that mean that each individual citizen of the United Kingdom is therefore a follower of Jesus? Clearly not. According to the latest census, people identifying as Christian are now in a minority. We live in a society where people of many faiths and no religious faith manage to rub along together. A good thing too. 

As a Baptist I believe in the separation of Church and State. I don’t think that the monarch should be supreme governor of a branch of the church or that Anglican bishops should be appointed to the House of Lords ex officio. Yes, Christians may be involved in politics at a local or national level. It’s also right for individual believers to exercise influence on society, but of course people of other faiths or none are free to do the same. 

We can’t link Christianity and national citizenship because the church is composed of people ‘every nation, and tribe and tongue’. A Christian is a person who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for our sins and rose again from the dead. A Christian acknowledges that Jesus is Lord of their lives. A church is a local gathering of believers who seek to bear witness to Jesus and serve him in their daily lives. No one can think themselves a Christian because of where they were born. What counts is whether they have been born again. 

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Christmas and a grace too powerful to name

Wikimedia Commons

The musical Hamilton has been a big hit, with acclaimed performances on Broadway and London’s West End. The Hamilton in question is Alexander Hamilton (circa 1755-1804). The American politician was involved in the Revolutionary War against the British and became the first US secretary to the treasury under George Washington. Hamilton helped to frame the constitution of the newly established republic. The life of Founding Father seems like an unlikely subject for an all singing, all dancing musical, but it works.

My wife and I recently saw the film version of a Broadway performance of the musical, released to mark the show’s tenth anniversary. We went in part to see what all the fuss was about and enjoyed it. Act II certainly packs an emotional punch. Without giving away too many spoilers, Hamilton becomes estranged from his wife, Eliza. A terrible tragedy then strikes their family, following which they are reconciled. The drama of the moment is carried forward by the song It’s Quiet Uptown.

In the song, a grieving Hamilton acknowledges that he is undeserving of his wife’s love. Surveying the scene, Eliza’s sister Angelica reflects, ‘there is a grace too powerful to name’. As the couple hold hands as a gesture of reconciliation the chorus sings, ‘forgiveness, can you imagine?’ Watching this unfold, I’m thinking, ‘Preach it. Amen to that!’

Better still, what happened at the first Christmas revealed that grace indeed has a name. In the New Testament Paul writes of God’s grace ‘which has now been manifested through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus.’

Grace is God’s love for underserving sinners, lavished upon us in Jesus. The Son of God came to die in our place that we may be reconciled to God and have our sins forgiven. Forgiveness, can you imagine? You can do more than imagine by receiving God’s gift of forgiveness by faith in Jesus. That’s the power of grace.

Providence Baptist Church Carol Service, Sunday 21 December, 10.30am - All welcome! 

* For various local newspapers & magazines 

On (finally) visiting Great Chalfield Manor

 

My wife and I have been on and off members of the National Trust for many years. Our latest 'on' period expired at the end of October. We've done all the local NT properties multiple times; Stourhead, Dyrham, Lacock, etc. Plus visiting many further afield ones for day trips or when on holiday. But decades came and went, and we'd not yet explored Great Chalfield Manor near Melksham. With only a few weeks left before our membership ran out, we finally made it.

 

It was a beautiful sunny day. The garden flowers were in full bloom, while the trees were just beginning to take on their autumnal shades. The manor house is regarded as a fine example of late medieval architecture. We joined a tour of the old place. Our knowledgeable guide filled us in on the fascinating history of the residence as he showed us around numerous rooms, each of which had a story to tell. Be sure to check the property’s National Trust website before you visit, as the manor house is only open for guided tours on certain days of the week.

 

Great Chalfield Manor and Garden is only around 15 minutes away from where we live. So near, yet we almost missed out on the opportunity to visit the hidden gem. Our tendency to neglect special places that are close to hand put me in mind of the spiritual quest of Augustine of Hippo (354-430AD). In his pre-Christian life Augustine sought truth and beauty in the external world, where he hoped God might be found. He failed to realise that God was closer than he had imagined. “You were with me” he said, “and I was not with you.”

 

Although we may be far from God, he is close to us. As the Bible says, “in him we live, dwell and have our being”. Augustine came to see that God has made it possible for us to draw near to him. He bridged the gap that separates us from him by sending his Son Jesus Christ to die upon the cross for our sins. Augustine, who had searched high and low for God, experienced the warmth of his embrace in Jesus,  confessing, “you touched me, and I burned for your peace". 

 

You may also be searching for meaning and purpose in life, but thus far what you are seeking has escaped you. As Augustine discovered, the answer may be closer than you think, “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)

        * For various local parish magazines 

On revivals, quiet and loud

In his poem Dover Beach published in 1867, Matthew Arnold pictured the tide going out on the sea of faith with a “melancholy, long, withdrawing roar”. In some ways Arnold’s poem was quite prophetic. Church attendance figures have plummeted since the 1860s. For the first time on record the 2011 UK Census revealed that people who identify as Christian are now a minority in our country. 'New Atheists' such as Richard Dawkins confidently claimed that further religious decline was inevitable. Secular reason would soon obliterate the last vestiges of faith.

Not so fast. Newspapers are reporting an uptick in churchgoing among young adults. They are calling it “the quiet revival”. Some suggest that a newfound interest in faith is because the secular world is failing on its own terms. The up-and-coming generation were promised a more prosperous future. If only they knuckled down at school and went to Uni, the world would be their oyster. But having done all that, many now find that they can’t get a decent job. Buying their own home is a distant dream. Disillusionment over what society has to offer could be part of the reason why people are exploring what the Christian faith is all about.  

But perhaps there's more to it than that. Even in our secular age people long for something beyond the delights and disappointments of this present world. A transcendent realm beckons. The sense of communal connection at the summer’s Oasis concerts was described in almost religious terms in some write ups. Hard bitten rock critics described the ecstatic crowds belting out, “you and I are gonna live forever” as if they were worshippers singing a hymn. Although fans should take note of Noel Gallagher’s caution in Don’t Look Back in Anger, 

Please don’t put your life in the hands
Of a Rock ‘n’ Roll band
Who’ll throw it all away. 

Maybe its not the case that, "I all I need are cigarettes and alcohol", after all? Writing in The Times, James Marriott reports that young people are looking for a “full fat faith”, with a focus on encountering God in worship and clear Bible teaching.  As yet, this “quiet revival” is rather patchy, with a focus on larger city churches. That said, stirrings are evident here and there in some Wiltshire fellowships. All this is welcome, at least to a Christian observer. However, a return to faith in Christ is not widespread in society at large, where apathy often reigns. 

For that to change a considerably louder revival is needed. The last large-scale Christian awakening in Britain was the 1904/05 Revival, which was especially evident in Wales, although other parts of the UK were also affected. In that short period, it is said that over 100,000 new converts were added to the membership of churches in Wales alone.

'Revival' means bringing back to life something that was either dead or dying. As the writer G. K. Chesterton explained, “Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave.” What Arnold failed to realise when on Dover Beach was that while the tide may go out on the sea of faith, it can always come back in again. 

* For various local rags & mags 

Entitled

Who would be a politician, especially today? Our political leaders are forever trying to balance the competing demands of different sectors of society. If they tax the mega-rich to boost the public purse, the wealthy up-sticks and head for low tax regimes like Monaco. An estimated 16,500 dollar millionaires are expected to do exactly that this year. Meanwhile, eight million people are claiming universal credit benefits, with almost half the claimants not even required to look for work. It doesn’t add up, which is why the national debt is skyrocketing. 

Writing in The Times, columnist Matthew Syed argues that a sense of entitlement is holding our country back. It's not just about disappearing millionaires and the ever-growing number of  benefit claimants. As Syed points out, we all know that more new homes need to be built so young adults can get on the property ladder. However,  nimbies are quick to protest if their view of green fields and rolling hills is threatened by a new housing estate. Syed’s prescription for the ‘entitlement epidemic’ is a healthy dose of patriotism. But I wonder whether love for good old Blighty is a strong enough force to make a difference.

In his Letter to the Philippians the apostle Paul urged his readers, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Very fine principle. But a sense of entitlement is hard to shift. People are often quicker to demand their rights than fulfil their responsibilities to others. If ever anyone was entitled to anything it was Jesus. Paul describes him as ‘being in the form of God’, resplendent with divine majesty. Yet he was willing to stoop from the heights of heavenly glory to ‘take the form of a servant’, coming into the world as man. More than that, Jesus came to suffer and die on the cross to save his people from sin.

Those who believe in Jesus are called to imitate his attitude by giving due consideration to the interests of others. That applies to the way Christians relate to society, as well as their fellow believers. We should not only insist on our own right to freedom of speech, but also the right of those who may disagree with us. If we can work, we must work and pay our taxes so that decent public services may be provided for the benefit of all. The Christian vision of life helps us move the dial from self-interested entitlement to a pursuit of the common good.

* For various local magazines 

Won’t Get Fooled Again

 

The Chapel I attended as a teenager in Rhiwderin near Newport, South Wales boasted a rather fascinating member of the congregation. His name was Bert Entwistle. Bert had a wonderful baritone voice and sang in local choirs. But that wasn’t the thing that made him such an intriguing figure to my teenage friends and me. It was his son we were especially interested in. For John Entwistle was bass guitar player with The Who. Bert kindly arranged for us to have a signed photo of the bassist. The band has just announced their farewell tour, some sixty years since forming in the mid-1960s. Although only singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist Pete Townshend are still in the land of the living.

One of The Who’s best known songs is ‘Won't Get Fooled Again’, released in 1971. The air was full of revolution in the previous decade. Young people were busy throwing off the old order of deference and restraint. They demanded a less inhibited and more equal society. ‘Free love’ and all that. The heady idealism of that time had begun to peter out in 70s. In ‘Won't Get Fooled Again’, Daltrey belts out Townshend’s disillusioned commentary, ‘Things look just the same, and history ain’t changed’. At the climax of the song he roars, ‘Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.’

That’s the trouble with revolutions. The old order may be overthrown, but the new lot aren’t necessarily a whole lot better. Which is the basic lesson of George Orwell’s novels Animal Farm and 1984. Orwell had Soviet Russia firmly in his sights. The October Revolution may have got rid of the Tsar’s corrupt regime, but you’d hardly call Stalin’s Russia a bastion of justice, equality and freedom. Similarly with the so-called ‘Woke Revolution’. The intention may have been good, to champion the cause of the oppressed and marginalised. But once the Woke Revolutionaries gained cultural power and influence, they soon became dab hands at doing a bit of oppressing themselves.  In a now notorious case, Kathleen Stock was hounded out of her professorship at the University of Sussex for daring to insist that being a woman has something to do with biology. 

Well, earlier this year the Supreme Court ruled that for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 the terms ‘man’ and ‘woman’ refer to biological sex, not gender identity. Even senior politicians who seemed a tad confused about the details of male and female anatomy now accept this common-sense judgement.

But why is it that even the most idealistic people who believe they are on the ‘right side of history’ often end up acting in a pretty brutal way? Former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg put his finger on it when commenting on why the internet seems to spew out so much fake news and other vile stuff, “This is the awful truth: we like misinformation, we like lurid headlines, we like gossip, we like mischief, we like people saying critical things of each other.” Clegg added, “We are not nice. Human beings are not always nice and never ever have been.” What Clegg calls “not nice” the Bible calls “sin”. That is our wilful tendency to defy God and do damage to others.

That’s why revolutions fail, and the new bosses soon become as bad as the old ones they removed. Accepting the Bible’s realistic account of human nature will help ensure we won’t get fooled again by people who promise sweeping change. The problem of sin is one that we cannot resolve on our own. That is why God sent his Son Jesus into our broken world. He came to rescue us from sin by dying upon the cross in our place and being raised from the dead. By faith in Jesus we can be forgiven and receive power to live a new life. The 'Christian Revolution' is based not on human efforts to remodel the world, but the life-transforming grace of God: "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17) 

* For various local magazines 

Read the world’s bestselling book

The Times newspaper recently published an in-depth survey of the attitudes and opinions of ‘Generation Z’, people born between 1997 and 2013. Interestingly, the younger generation seems to be more attuned to the spiritual side of life. According to The Times, “62 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds identified as either ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ spiritual.”

Allied to this is a new interest in the Bible among GenZers. Publishers report that between 2019-24 there was an 87 per cent increase in Bible sales. People are evidently searching for a something that will make sense of their lives and give them hope.

So, what's the Bible all about? First and foremost it's a book about God. According to the Good Book, he's a God of sovereign purpose, boundless love, awesome power and spotless purity. The one true and living God eternally exists in three glorious Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Bible teaches that human beings are made in the image of God. But sin has ruined our relationship with God. We are made for him and nothing less than knowing God can satisfy the human heart. The Son of God, Jesus Christ became man in order to die on the cross that we might be put right with God.

But Jesus did not stay dead. God raised him from the grave and exalted him to heaven. In Jesus Christ, God offers us a relationship with himself that is real and satisfying by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says that one day we will all have to give an account to God for the way we have lived our lives. Jesus died in our place of so that we might not be condemned but have everlasting life.

According to Guinness World Records, the best-selling book of all time is the Christian Bible. The 'Good Book' has something to say to people of all generations. Why not give it a read yourself? A wide variety of English translations are available for free on BibleGateway.com, or you can get a hard copy in most bookshops. The Gospel According to John in the New Testament would be a good place to start. Attending a church where the Bible is explained and applied will also help you get to grips with the message of God's Word. 

* For various local magazines 

Artificial Intelligence

My wife, our grown-up children and I once discussed which of us would soon find ourselves out of work due to the advance of Artificial Intelligence. As a pastor I was pretty confident that no AI-enabled robot could do my job. My son promptly asked ChatGPT to write a Baptist style sermon on a passage from Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians. It completed the task in seconds. The sermon took the form of a typical Baptist message and helpfully explained the text. Would have taken me hours to do that. No, I haven’t been tempted to take AI shortcuts in my sermon prep. Honest.

Apparently, many Uni students don’t have such qualms. ChatGPT and other AI platforms are being used to write essays to save budding scholars the bother. Lecturers complain that the attention span of today’s students has been addled by their use of social media. They have difficulty reading the requisite number of books and then deploy AI to write essays on A Tale of Two Cities, or whatever. The trouble is that that AI platforms sometimes make mistakes. No less a journal than the Chicago Sun-Times recently published an AI-authored summer reading list for 2025. The list helpfully included a brief blurb for each title recommended. However, alert readers quickly pointed out that some of the books were fake. Rather embarrassing for the paper.

 AI no doubt has its uses, but it can’t be left to get on with things without our involvement. Just ask the red-faced editor of the Chicago Sun-Times. There is no substitute for human ingenuity in the arts, science, and literature. We cannot delegate ethical decisions to algorithms. Besides, we will always need the human touch. Have you ever tried to sort out a customer service problem using an AI Chat facility? ‘Artificial’, certainly. ‘Intelligence’, not so much. Even exchanges with other people using texts, email, or social media can’t replicate face-to-face communication.

One of the most profound statements in the Bible is found in the opening chapter of the Gospel of John, ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’. Christians believe that in Jesus God entered our world to speak to us in person. We can read his words as recorded in the Gospel accounts of the New Testament. Jesus did more than speak to us about the love of God. He came to show us God’s love for humanity by laying down his life for our sins upon the cross. The risen Jesus in present in the lives of his people by the power of the Holy Spirit. When the Lord returns his people will see his face and share his glory.

Flaws and glitches notwithstanding, Artificial Intelligence may be able to do things that put our capabilities in the shade. But the most sophisticated computer has nothing on human beings, whom God created in his own image. Like all technological revolutions AI brings with it opportunities as well as threats. Some jobs may well be lost, but new ones will no doubt be developed. Reassuringly, members of my congregation didn't seem too enamoured at the prospect of me being replaced by a cyber-pastor. 

*For various local magazines 

On Time

 

Relax if you are given to tardiness. This isn’t a piece on the importance of punctuality. Rather, I want to reflect on our relationship to time itself. Although it has to be said that time isn’t an easy thing to define. Early Christian thinker Augustine of Hippo puzzled over the question ‘What is time?’ saying,  ‘If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks me, I do not know.’ All he could say is that some events lie behind us in the past and some lie ahead of us in the future. If nothing at all existed there would be no present.

 Augustine proposed that God did not make the universe in time, but with time. God is eternal, existing outside of time. He didn’t wait around for ages before creating the world. The clock only started ticking as it were at the beginning of creation. Modern cosmology tends to agree on that point. Anyway, the thing is that we exist in time. Our lives are constantly moving from the past, through the present and into the future.

The trouble is that these days people only seem interested in the present. The past isn’t worth thinking about. People did bad stuff back then. Slavery and that. The future will have to look after itself. In 2010 Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg dismissed the idea of building more nuclear power stations as they wouldn’t be good to go for another ten years. I mean, who cares what happens in the 2020s? Maybe it’s apt that after a career in politics Clegg went to work for Facebook/Meta.

Social media tends to make us focus on the present moment, rather than the past or the future. What’s going on now captivates out attention, no matter how trivial. This is an age of momentary celebrity and throwaway fashion. Why bother with the time-consuming process of saving for major purchases? Much easier to take out instant credit to buy on a whim something that flashed before our eyes in an online ad.

There’s no escaping time, however. We are all products of our past experiences. What we decide in the present will impact on how we fare in the future. But our history need not be our destiny. God entered our world of time and space in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to die on the cross that our past sins and failings may be forgiven. He rose from the dead that those who believe in him may have the hope of everlasting life. God gives us time to seek him while he may be found and call upon him while he is near. 

*For various local magazines 

Love so amazing

 

The crucifixion of Jesus was the supreme manifestation of human malice and hatred. Those who plotted his demise knew he hadn’t done anything to deserve being executed upon a cross. Jesus proclaimed a message of love and showed that love in action by healing the sick and feeding the hungry. The ordinary people flocked to hear Jesus’ preaching. That was the problem. The Jewish religious establishment were afraid that if this Jesus movement took off, they would lose their position in society. Innocent though he was, Jesus had to go.

 

There was only room for one king in the Roman Empire. It was on that basis the religious leaders manipulated the governor of Judea, Pontus Pilate into having Jesus put to death. “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend.” They cried, “Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” Sure enough, Pilate handed over Jesus to be crucified. It was customary to attach a charge sheet to the cross of a crucified man. Jesus’ read, ‘The King of the Jews’.

 

We could see this simply as one of countless miscarriages of justice that have happened over the course of history to this day. What makes the crucifixion of Jesus unique is that this condemned man was the Son of God. The miracles he performed were signposts to his divine power. Why did Christ not use the power by which he healed the sick and raised the dead to extricate himself from being crucified? Jesus described his God-given mission to his followers in these words: “Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 

Jesus died for our sins that we may be forgiven and be put right with God. Yes, the cross of Jesus was an act of vile hatred on the part of his enemies. But more profoundly, it was a stunning revelation of the love of God. Paul could reflect, “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

 

Isaac Watts’s hymn When I survey the wondrous cross is often sung in church services at Eastertime. The hymn concludes on a note of wonder at the love of Jesus for his people:

 

Love so amazing, so divine,

demands my soul, my life, my all.

*For Easter edition of various local parish magazines  

 

Snowdrops

Snowdrops, Mells 

A galanthophile is a person who loves snowdrops. Apparently, there are around 500 different varieties of this delicate, white-petalled plant. A true galanthophile will be able to tell a ‘Ding Dong’ from a ‘Heffalump’. Don’t ask me, though. I just like the things. It’s always a joy to see multitudes of them in bloom along the banks of the B3098 on the way to West Lavington.

A favourite winter walk for the wife and me is through the Somerset village of Mells. You can pick up a path alongside the Mells Stream that will take you past the ruins of Fussell’s Iron Works. Around this time of year, you will find snowdrops a-plenty springing up in front of the old furnaces that loom high over the path.

Snowdrops are an early promise that the arid deadness of winter will pass. Soon there will be daffodils and tulips. Spring will have sprung. In the meantime, the humble snowdrop is a little reminder of the beauty of creation. We don’t simply live in a world that provides us with the bare necessities of life (as Baloo might put it), but in a world that fills us with delight. After all, you can’t eat snowdrops, which are poisonous to human beings. But who would be without them?

The Christian faith teaches us that God created our world to display his wisdom, power and goodness. The snowdrop is a wonderful example of his handiwork. Yes, we live in a fallen world that is twisted and broken, but there is still much that is beautiful for us to behold. The purity of the snowdrop stands in contrast with the grubbiness of human greed, hatred and cruelty.

None of us is free from the taint of sin. The goodness of God hinted at in Ding Dongs and Heffalumps is revealed most wonderfully in the fact that he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place and cleanse us from sin. As Isaiah the prophet almost said,

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:

though your sins are like scarlet,

    they shall be as white as [a] snow[drop]."

* For various local parish magazines

‘Emmanuel: God with us’

Joseph, a carpenter from Nazareth was considering breaking off his engagement to Mary. She was pregnant. And he wasn’t the father. According to Matthew’s Gospel, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream to convince him to go through with the marriage. The heavenly visitor told the carpenter, ‘do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.’ As the Lord had spoken by Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel.” The name given to Jesus by ancient prophecy tells us something about his unique identity and mission.

 

God with us

Matthew explains that Emmanuel means, ‘God with us’. Christians believe that the baby boy who was born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger was God in human form. Now, that’s an awesome claim. We might perhaps expect that God would do God-like stuff, like create the universe to display his wisdom, power and goodness. But would the Creator of heaven and earth stoop to enter our world as man? The New Testament insists that he did. Jesus is the Son of God, fully divine in every way. Yet he became human. He is Emmanuel, God with us as one of us.

 

God for us

The angel of the Lord also instructed Jospeh that Mary’s son was to be named Jesus. Once more, a word of explanation is given, “for he will save his people from their sins”. Jesus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means ‘the Lord saves’. That is the reason why God became man, to rescue us from sin and death. Christ, who was without sin, died in our place on the cross that we may be forgiven. As Paul affirms, ‘God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’

 

God in us

Matthew concludes his Gospel by telling us that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples. The final words of the risen Lord to his followers in Mathew’s account are, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ Jesus ascended to heaven, having completed the work of salvation. He then poured out the Holy Spirit upon the church on the Day of Pentecost. Christ dwells in his people by the power of the Spirit. His presence in the lives of his followers now is the pledge of greater things to come, ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’. Jesus became Emmanuel, God with us so that those who believe in him may be with God for ever. 

See here for Providence Baptist Church Christmas Services 

* Article for various local parish mags 

Losing our virtue

Matthew Syed is one of the most insightful columnists writing today. A couple of his recent articles in The Sunday Times really made me think. In one he argued, ‘All the policy in the world won’t save us if we can’t rediscover patience’. Easy access to money has ‘taken the waiting out of wanting’. Both governments and individuals prefer to borrow to spend now, rather than save up and purchase goods more cheaply. Government debt is unsustainably high, at 100% of GDP and those Klarna bills soon mount up. We need to learn once more that patience is a priceless virtue.

In another piece Syed reflected on a key lesson from the Grenfell Tower inquiry, namely, ‘Today’s disasters aren’t caused by lack of regulation, but simple dishonesty’. Governments can pass as many new regulations as they wish, but if building contractors dishonestly subvert health and safety rules, more disasters are likely to happen. As with patience, fidelity to truth pays economic dividends. Countries where people are more likely to be honest are typically wealthier than lands where lies and corruption are the order of the day.

It is difficult to gainsay the points made by the columnist. Theologian David Wells spotted the trend he highlights more than two decades ago. In Losing our Virtue he suggested that where populations widely adopt civic virtues like honesty and consideration for others, governments can give people a considerable amount of freedom to live their lives. Where such virtues are scarce, the State is forced to try and  maintain order by regulating its citizens' conduct ever more tightly. As Wells put it, “What was once an open space between law and freedom, one governed by character and truth, is now deserted, so law must now do what character has abandoned.” And so Community Protection Notices are being used to force unruly members of the community to behave in a neighbourly manner. 

But as the writer’s point about Grenfell shows, more government regulation isn’t necessarily the answer. Especially when the State has lost its moral authority. The idea that our political leaders can form us into more virtuous citizens is laughable. The last lot never recovered from ‘Partygate’. Sir Keir Starmer pledged to lead a ‘government of service’. A noble sentiment, but to many it seems more like a ‘government of scroungers’. The PM and some of his senior ministers have faced a barrage of criticism for accepting hordes of freebies; from expensive clothing to pricey concert tickets.

Syed has certainly diagnosed the cause of many of our ills today, but he prescribes no cure. How may we regain our virtue? It is increasingly recognised that the ‘Christian Revolution’ had a transformative effect on the moral and spiritual climate of the ancient world. This was not a top-down imposition of morality by regulation, but a matter of personal regeneration. As Paul wrote, ‘if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.’ In the New Testament believers are frequently urged to shun their old vices and display the virtues of truth, self-control and hard work. So, Vive la Christian Revolution!

Vicious cycles

I’m an ex-cyclist. I quit when I was the one calling for my children to wait up, rather than the other way around. They were in their mid-teens at that point, I think. Now they’re in their late twenties. When I finally dispensed with my unloved and neglected bike, I didn’t even accord it the dignity of flogging it on eBay. The lime-green Raleigh roadster was deposited without ceremony at Warminster recycling centre. Destined for a new life in India, apparently.

I wasn’t much of a cyclist anyway. I don’t think I’ve ever knowingly worn Lycra. My top speed was probably achieved as a paperboy. A dog I regularly encountered in Tredegar Street, Rhidwerin, would snap at my pedals until the road went downhill on entering my home village of Bassaleg, near Newport. Eat your heart out, Geraint Thomas.

With apologies to Orwell’s Animal Farm, for me it’s a case of “two legs good, two wheels bad.” Cyclists may object. Oh, well. For their sakes, my wife and I must repeatedly stop holding hands to let them whizz past when we’re strolling along the Kennet & Avon towpath.

And my point is? Oddly, that freedom is a precious thing. Cyclists are free to get on their bikes, while I’m free never to get in the saddle again. Old married couples and two-wheelers may groan at the sight of each other on the K&A, but neither party owns the towpath. We just have to give each other a bit of space to do our own thing.

Now, freedom has limits. I’m not at liberty to push cyclists into the canal as they pedal past. Cyclists aren’t free to run into us if we’re a bit tardy getting out of the way. Similarly, the law does not give us the liberty to incite violence against others, as keyboard warriors who made incendiary comments during the summer riots have found to their cost.

But with all the necessary qualifications in place, in a democratic society we need to be able to say stuff that other people may find objectionable or even offensive. Christians shouldn’t have a problem with that, as we don’t believe people can be coerced into the kingdom of God. We do not ask the state to advance or defend our beliefs. Our God requires no blasphemy laws to protect the honour of his name.

The truth is best served by making space for an honest and forthright exchange of views, even when some of those views are despised by fashionable opinion. Otherwise, you end up with a vicious cycle of intolerance and repression. Freedom withers; truth is sacrificed. As Jesus himself once said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

 * For various local mags