As in Genesis, "Noah" the movie starts with judgment and ends in mercy. But while the judgment is God's, the mercy is man's, and that's the fundamental flaw with this latest Hollywood blockbuster from Paramount. But does that mean it has no merit?
"It won't be biblically faithful" I was warned. Well, no, it wasn't. But I never expected it to be. Hollywood is in the business of telling stories, not giving a faithful exegesis of Scripture. This was "art inspired by the Bible"; and the art was great. A strong plot led to unexpected jeopardy, even when we think we know how the story ends. The character development was powerful; the acting pretty good; the special effects every bit as special as expected; and the flood itself, terrifying.
The landscape was barren - caused apparently by men building "industrialised cities" - and only Noah and his family live carefully from the land, just harvesting what they need. As vegetarians, their clothes are woven (no leather) - in varying shades of brown – and yet strangely western. They wouldn't look out of place at a music festival.... continue reading
My son is nearly two—he delegated to me the task of buying his mother a Mothers’ Day card and writing a message in it. I’m coaching him to say “Thank you mummy” on Sunday (it will come out, at best, as “Thar Thaw Mummeeeee”).
But what do I hope he will say thank you for, in twenty years, as he looks back on having grown up with a Christian mother? Here’s what I’d love him to say as a 21-year-old, as he gives his mum some Mother’s Day chocolates (chocolates, not flowers, son—chocolates tend to get shared with husbands, flowers just get looked at on mantelpieces):... continue reading
Here’s a challenge for your children this Mothering Sunday. It’s not making a beautiful card with lots of glitter, or boiling the perfect egg for breakfast-in-bed, or arranging daffodils in a vase with panache.
No, the challenge is this:
Can you explain why you love your mother without using the word “me”?
Depending on how old they are, I expect they’ll find it surprisingly hard. I remember my Dad asking me the same thing when I was little. Beyond “she makes me dinner”, “she reads me bedtime stories”, and “she hugs me when I’m upset”, I was stumped. The reason I loved my Mum was because she loved me.... continue reading
I ordered some groceries online, including some unbelievably-low-cost-special-offer organic carrots, pre-cut into batons. But the unbelievably-low-cost-special-offer organic carrots were so unbelievably-low-cost-special-offer they sold out before my order was packed!
No problem - the supermarket provided a substitute at the same unbelievably-low-cost-special-offer price. I checked the list - it looked fine - so I said Yes to the driver.
Unpacking the bags was a bit puzzling - no sign of unbelievably-low-cost-special-offer replacement carrots. No orange vegetables to be seen. But there were some packets of snacks I didn't remember ordering. So I looked closer and found they were organic corn puffs aimed at babies above 7 months - carrot-flavoured. I ordered vegetables - they substituted baby food!
I'm so glad that supermarket wasn't in charge of the most important substitution ever made…
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
(Isaiah 53 v 5-6 - emphasis mine)
Moving on from a church is usually, to some degree or another, painful. And identifying a new church is often difficult too—trying to somehow balance all the factors while avoiding the opposite temptations of being, on the one hand, a consumer, and on the other, a martyr with a Messiah complex, doggedly set on a solo mission to bring revival to an ageing congregation of seven.
Having finally settled on a church, what about the next matter of settling in? After all that thinking, praying and heart-searching, you’d be forgiven for feeling exhausted at the prospect of round after round of small-talk.
I’ve fairly recently moved from Burnley to Surrey and have been both encouraged and challenged by the experience of becoming part of a new church.... continue reading
What do you prefer? The gospel, or controversy? No, really?
I mean, would you have read this blog if the title was just “Amazing Gospel: Do you know about it?” (And are you about to give up because you’ve realized there is no great controversy you’re about to find out about?)
Titus 3 is about the gospel—the gospel of God’s appearing in grace through Christ in the past, and of God’s appearing in glory through Christ in the future. And Paul tells us to “stress these things” and devote ourselves “to doing what is good … excellent and profitable for everyone”.... continue reading
I'm tired. It's been a tough day at work. The to-do list is calling. And the meal isn't going to cook itself. All I want is a quiet night. Every bone in my body is screaming for a few moments of peace. And just then, the phone explodes into action. I'm not talking about a pleasant "dinner invitation" phonecall - I'm talking "one of those" phonecalls. One of those circular calls of desperation.
It's not that I don't love my friends with severe mental health struggles - I am privileged to have them in my life - but the phonecalls, oh the phonecalls can be so hard. The suicidal intentions that are no longer an isolated act of desperation but a daily topic of conversations; the irrational arguments that involve dragging the reputation of others through the mud or the wild tangents that are almost impossible to follow - these are the fodder of the recurring conversations that can easily last an hour or more unless boundaries are put down (and a "you don't really care about me" rant risked).... continue reading
Is your value higher than you think? Or lower? And can it be both?
Here's part of a self-help email that popped into my Inbox this week:
"Unless we value ourselves enough to say no to certain people and situations, while even explaining why that is, we devalue ourselves. No one will place a greater value on you than you place on yourself."
After tussling with that for a while, I've drawn three conclusions:
... continue reading
As churches throughout the country prepare to get into high gear for their Easter outreach, a report by the Bible Society offers some sobering perspectives on how we need to share the good news today. The study revealed a generation of children with little knowledge of the most important stories forming the basis of Christianity, and parents who often knew little more. The poll of 800 children between the ages of 8 and 15, and 1100 adults found that:
Among my friends, it tends to be a toss-up: chocolate, alcohol or social media. They’re the three things that do the most noticeable damage to their waistlines or their ability to progress through their to-do lists and Lent is an ideal time to give them a break. Sometimes there are benefits: increased health, a few extra pounds in the wallet and a shift of emphasis from Candy Crush to quality time with elderly relatives, temporarily at least … Come the end of April they are usually back to multiple nibbles and the latest addictive game.... continue reading
