Another Review of My Book

This review appeared in this week's Baptist Times (29th Jan 2010)

(Click the image to enlarge)

God Bless You Barack Obama?

Just in case you missed it, you can catch Robert Beckford's exploration of Obama's spirituality on iPlayer here:



As the blurb says: 'America's religious Right had claimed God for them. Beckford reveals how Obama adopted the precepts of black liberation theology and turned them into a winning manifesto that reached out to all Americans.'

Dara O'Briain on the Bible Creationism

In this clip, comedian Dara O'Briain offers his insights into the world of biblical literalism and creationism.

A few quotes:

For God’s sake stop taking it literally – it’s only the Bible, it’s not Gospel.

Three arguments against God making us exactly as we are:

1. Have a look at yourself… This is the same guy who apparently made mountaintops and sunsets. What kind of off-day exactly was he having when he threw you together?
2. If we were truly created by God, why do we still occasionally bite the insides of our own mouths?
3. The appendix. Why would he put it in you when it does nothing except randomly kill you?

HT Polly

Trumpet Angels

I went to church this morning (I know, I know... but I am a minister), and there was a very beautiful 'Christmas banner' adorning the front of the church. It had three feminine angels blowing three elegant trumpets. Lovely.

Except...


... What has this to do with Christmas????

Out of sheer awkwardness I asked a few people, and they said (and I parapharase), "well... Angels... Christmas... innit?"

Well... yes, but not angels with trumpets!
When angels are happy they sing, when they are trouble, they blow trumpets.

The angels who appear to the shepherds washing their socks by night are singing:

Luke 2:13-14 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

Angels with trumpets come from, you guessed it - the book of Revelation!

Revelation 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

Revelation 8:6-9 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets made ready to blow them. The first angel blew his trumpet, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were hurled to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea became blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

And so on, and so on, and so on...

When I pointed this out, I was asked by those close to me to keep quiet, and stop spoiling Christmas.

Bah Humbug.

But watch out for those angels with trumpets...

Postcards from the wall #12

Here's the latest in my series of postcards from my study wall...


With thanks to Christine and Harry.

Poor Joseph...

Read more at Ekklesia
HT: JW

Postcards from the Wall #11

Here's the latest in my series of postcards from my study wall...

WFT??????

I popped into Crane's music store in Cardiff yesterday to buy a new guitar stand. They had this very clever folding unit reduced from £14.99 to a fiver, so I bought it.

When I got it out of the packet, I started unfolding, and trying to work out which bit went where.

After a few seconds of fumbling around, Liz said to me, 'Why don't you just read the instructions?!?'.

So I did.

It was very enlightening...

Here they are (and I quote exactly!):

• One: The prototype of the foldaway guitar rack
• Two: Step One Take the top of the circle head and from the top downward to the fix side
• Three: Step two Take the middle A type horizontal pole and from the left and right sides to the fix side
• Four: Step three Put the guitar at the rack and from ascend toward front to the fix side
• Five: Step four Take the empress feet rack and from the front hereafter revolve to the fix side
• Six: Step five Take the forepaw rack and from empress to front to the fix side
• Fold then take the above steps and anti face operation.Please take the steps of the operation,in order to prevent damage the products.

He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!

You have 7 days left to listen on iPlayer to the BBC tribute to the iconic Python film, broadcast in honour of it's 30th anniversary. The BBC blurb is as follows:

When Monty Python's Life Of Brian was released in 1979, it was denounced by many around the world as blasphemous - and was an instant box office smash. Thirty years later it is regularly voted one of the funniest films ever, topping a Radio Times poll only last month.

Comedian Sanjeev Bhaskar celebrates this anarchic British classic, looking at the film's origins, the shoot in Tunisia, and its controversial afterlife. The Python film is an absurdist take on the story of Christ, where a man called Brian (played by Graham Chapman) is mistaken for the Messiah and attempts to escape the attentions of his devoted followers. It is a deft satire on religious intolerance which brilliantly lampooned Biblical epics like Ben Hur.

George Harrison stepped in with the money, setting up Handmade films to get it made, because he wanted to see the film. And it gave us many unforgettable scenes and peerless lines: John Cleese's Roman Legionnaire correcting Brian's Latin graffiti; "What have the Romans ever done for us?", "Welease Woger" and the singalong crucifixion finale.

Contributors include the film's director Terry Jones; producer John Goldstone; Carol Cleveland; and Sonia Jones, who sang the title song. We hear Michael Palin recall the moment of inspiration in a Paris bar; Terry Gilliam talks about his fantasy space ship animation; John Cleese remembers the pain of being "crucified" in Tunisia; Carol Cleveland recalls working with Spike Milligan (he made a cameo appearance as a prophet); and Eric Idle remembers the less then enthusiastic response to Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.

Top ten biblical deaths

John Lyons asks for suggestions towards a 'top 10' of biblical deaths.

Here's my list (NB I have omitted the death of Jesus on the grounds of cliché).

1. Death by hailstone: Joshua 10:11 As they fled before Israel, while they were going down the slope of Beth-horon, the LORD threw down huge stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died because of the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.
2. Death on a campsite: Judges 4:21 Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, until it went down into the ground -- he was lying fast asleep from weariness -- and he died.
3. Death by sexism: Judges 9:53-54 But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head, and crushed his skull. Immediately he called to the young man who carried his armor and said to him, "Draw your sword and kill me, so people will not say about me, 'A woman killed him.'" So the young man thrust him through, and he died.
4. Death by man: Judges 20:5-6 The lords of Gibeah rose up against me, and surrounded the house at night. They intended to kill me, and they raped my concubine until she died. Then I took my concubine and cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout the whole extent of Israel's territory; for they have committed a vile outrage in Israel.
5. Death by lack of perspective: 1 Samuel 4:17-18 The messenger replied, "Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the troops; your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured." When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli1 fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died.
6. Death by loyalty: 1 Samuel 31:5 When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him.
7. Death by stomach upset: 2 Chronicles 21:18-19 After all this the LORD struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease. In course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great agony.
8. Death by idolatry: Acts 12:23 And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
9. Death by environmental devastations: Revelation 16:3 The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing in the sea died.
10. Death of Death: Revelation 20:14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire;