February 2007

I’ve just read that the Hollywood film director James Cameron claims that his latest film will demonstrate that he has discovered the mortal remains of Jesus of Nazareth. Indeed he avers that his claim will be supported by DNA testing.
Okay, that’s hilarious enough, but - wait for it - Cameron goes on to say [...]

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Kim offers 10 Propositions on ecumenism.

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Our friend Bene Diction points us to Conservapedia, a new wiki intended to challenge what it sees as anti-Christian anti-American bias in Wikipedia.
Conservapedia is an online resource and meeting place where we favor Christianity and America. Conservapedia has easy-to-use indexes to facilitate review of topics. You will much prefer using Conservapedia compared to Wikipedia if [...]

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All maps are a distortion in one way or another. It just isn’t possible to present the surface of a sphere onto a flat surface without introducing some sort of inaccuracy. The conventional Mercator’s projection — the one we’re all used to from our school atlases — offers a map on which straight [...]

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Wood wonders if British Christians today can really face up to the reality of death.
What strikes me most of all is that even though we make a show of accepting the reality of death, we actually don’t. The death and pain we’re singing of are familiar, comfortable; we disconnect its true meaning from our personal [...]

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Following on from Sunday’s post, I defy anyone to find a better rendering of Amazing Grace than this fine offering from the Blind Boys of Alabama. Even though they sing that verse Newton didn’t write. Brilliant.

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PhysicsWorld profiles climate-change sceptic Richard Lindzen.
via RealClimate

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Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev’d;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me [...]

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I almost hate to admit this (almost!), but I really like the Church of England’s promotion of a positive Lent. Instead of giving things up, you take actions daily: make someone laugh, give way to someone in a hurry, spend time in silence… Nothing grand or earth-shattering by themselves, but could have quite an impact [...]

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This is an interesting article which challenges the notion of “community” on the internet:
The most obvious distinctive of life in cyberspace is an ominous one: communication is generally restricted to the written word. This skews interpersonal relationships among the Netizens in disturbing ways. Since you only exist in cyberspace by virtue of your words, it [...]

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Make sure your speakers are plugged in, then sing along: Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?

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I still cannot straighten the rictus. In “The Sketch” in today’s Independent Simon Carr has outdone himself. Here’s the gist.
“Tony Blair came to the House [of Commons] to announce troop withdrawals from Iraq …The PM is looking very threadbare. He may have crossed the thin line that separates lunacy from insanity (it’s [...]

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This is not new, but then they say “the old ones are the best.”
After every flight, pilots fill out a form called a gripe sheet, which conveys to the mechanics problems encountered with the aircraft during the flight that need repair or correction. The mechanics read and correct the problem, and then respond [...]

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If anyone would like a Lenten education, try the poetry of George Herbert. Here are the last two verses of his poem “Lent”.
Who goeth in the way which Christ hath gone
Is much more sure to meet with Him then one
That travelleth by-wayes;
Perhaps my God, [...]

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Lent is here. It’s a long season, all the way from Ash Wednesday to Easter that does not exactly inspire many modern day Christians. In this fast moving world, we lack the patience for a season of such length. We prefer the one day beano, like Christmas, Easter, or (at a pinch) Pentecost. Sometimes we [...]

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Lent is a time for abstinence. Shrove Tuesday is not. It’s time to get out your frying pans and cook the most indulgent pancakes you can! What will you put on yours?

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There are some beautiful pictures at Welcome to Gower

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Locusts & Honey proposes a radical new solution to the “Synoptic problem”.
I can’t imagine why no one has thought of it before.

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I’ve just been listening to a piece on the radio about the shortage of diamorphine in British hospitals. It is used both to keep cancer patients pain-free and also in the treatment of heroin addicts. A shortage of the drug means that these two vital areas of medicine are in competition with one another.
Meanwhile, [...]

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