Month: November 2022
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John Wesley’s “Catholic Spirit”
One of my favourite of John Wesley’s sermons — compulsory reading for Methodist preachers — is the one entitled “Catholic Spirit”. In the original 18th century language, there is no denying that Wesley can be heavy going though! Here’s my abridgement of that sermon, in something like modern english.
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Please stop complaining about how busy you are!
This is an old piece from the Harvard Business Review, but it is still true. It is aimed at business types, but many clergy friends would benefit from it. Please Stop Complaining about how busy you are I am not trying to belittle anyone’s work-load in the slightest. But in using it as a one-upping…
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On Science, Maths and Faith
John Wesley was convinced that should he study mathematics to any depth he’d become an atheist. If he had taken that journey, I venture to suggest he would have discovered that he was wrong. I’m not any kind of mathematician — I pretty much crashed and burned in my university maths classes — though I…
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Another step into the Fediverse
I’ve added a plug-in which I’m told makes this blog part of the Fediverse, followable from Mastodon. I wonder if it works? This is a test post. Nothing to see here.
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The problem of pain
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Long live the king!
There was once a time when theology was considered “queen of the sciences”. Sadly, the old queen is now locked away in a high tower. She is little trouble to anyone, though her wailings might still disturb a sensitive soul passing by the foot of her prison. Theology no longer has any place of honour…
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John Wesley: “On the use of money”
Maybe the most widely quoted (and mis-quoted) of John Wesley’s sermons is “The use of money”. Ever since Mrs Thatcher quoted it to justify her odious political programme it has been widely misunderstood, as this abridgement will (I hope) clarify:
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Light & Shadow
This was my ‘homework’ assignment for the first session of the course I’m doing. They’re all phone pictures, but I’m quite pleased with them as a set. But really I’m posting these as an experiment to see how galleries work.
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Hymn of the day
One of the habits from my old blog that I’m planning to bring here is the posting of a hymn, usually by Charles Wesley, each Sunday. Here’s one for Advent Sunday. Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.…