Faith

Evil: the problem of it

~ admin

You will have heard it said: I cannot believe in God. Look at the evil in the world! Or perhaps more personally: I saw how they treated each other even though they believed in God. I cannot believe in that.

I should like to show that the very reason that is given for not believing in God, is the very reason that says you must believe in him. Now this is a short article and will not necessarily answer all the questions you may have, and certainly will not be an exhaustive description of all the possible understandings of the problem.

Continue reading →

Harvest time

~ admin

It is the end of harvest time.

If you received the letters ‘himnnsy’ in Scrabble, you might think you had been dealt a loser, unless you were second to play and the first word put down before you was ‘groin’. On the other hand ‘harvest’ is full of possibilities, you would stare at the vast array knowing that would not starve for choice as you share the heat with your opponents, just as the pastor demonstrated in his children’s talk today, and when you add a single letter to them the field is fully ripe to harvest. There will be no tares or tears when your turn comes round. But there were two words he did not mention, probably because they were not in line with what he wanted to say today, but do you see them?

Continue reading →

History

~ admin

It had escaped Coco’s notice, but in 2011 EIIR said:

Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves from our recklessness or our greed. God sent into the world a unique person, neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a saviour, with the power to forgive.

On the other hand Georg Hegel said:

Continue reading →

De morte

~ admin ~ 1 Comment

We were in the Republic when the day came, and even though not on this occasion in a Chambre d’hôtes where Louis XXII had once resided, great consolation was shown towards us, but it was not until subjects of the House of Orange also came for refreshment, rest and repast that in the brotherhood of equality, liberty was granted to cry out:

Continue reading →

Unvaccinated?

~ admin ~ 1 Comment

The BBC have run an analysis ‘Unvaccinated’. It is available for eleven months.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0019g27/unvaccinated

‘Covid-19 is on the rise again in the UK. After multiple lockdowns and more than 197,000 deaths, experts are warning we’re now entering a fifth wave of the pandemic. So why are around four million adults in the UK still yet to receive a single dose of the vaccine? In this timely, eye-opening investigation Professor Hannah Fry seeks to understand why so many remain unvaccinated against Covid-19.

Continue reading →

The heavens declare

~ admin

The James Webb pictures have started to be released.

If you know anything about William Blake you will know of his impressive imagination. When you see something like Gerrard Hoffnung’s the Symphony Orchestra you might wonder whether it was inspired by Blake’s last judgement, turned on its head of course. What is the point of this? Well it was Martin’s The Great Day of His Wrath that set me off. It is but a short ride in a fast machine, if you can bear with it.

Continue reading →

Zacchaeus

~ admin
Now, Zacchaeus was a very little man,
and a very little man was he.
He climbed up into a sycamore tree,
for the Saviour he wanted to see.

And when the Saviour passed that way,
he looked up in the tree,
and said: Now Zacchaeus, you come down,
for I’m coming to your house for tea.

I am coming to your house for tea.
Yes, I am coming.
I am coming to your house today for tea.

Now Zacchaeus went a very little way
and a very little way went he;
and when he welcomed Jesus in,
some changes we would see.
‘I’ll split my goods in half’, he said;
‘Give one half to the poor;
I will pay back what I’ve cheated you
and times it all by four!”		Jesus said to him,
today salvation has come to your house
For the Son of man
Has come to seek and save the lost

Now, Zacchaeus was a very little man,
and a very little man was he.
but Jesus who was sent to us
came to die on the Roman tree
He came to look for those who were lost
to find and save them all;
and what he did for Zacchaeus
he can do for you and me

For God so loved the world
He gave his Son to come and save us,
So believe in him;
receive eternal life

You may have sung Zacchaeus to this tune once or twice before, but if not…

Words: Traditional/Unknown
Music Lambton Whorm Traditional/John Bull
The copyright of this arrangement of the music is held by Stuart Moffatt (© 2022).
The midi file was produced using Noteworthy Composer.
The mp3 was produced using Myriad software.
On NWC Scriptorium

Remember me!

~ admin

When forgetfulness hurts or otherwise

Having made reference to one musical, Coco thought a reference to another would not go amiss. It has some catchy tunes, though be careful; if you listen too often to them you may start liking them. They are like roasted peanuts or salted caramel, sweet to the mouth, but heavy on the hips. The theology expressed in the words is a little bit off the mark as well. Coco would recommend you listen to it in Latin rather than a tongue that you understand. The poor and heretical theology will then bypass the mind and not cause offence.

Continue reading →