Is it possible to sell a product you don’t believe in? How motivated does one have to be to persuade a client, be it one individual or indeed a whole nation with a message in which you have zero confidence? Well, apparently Jonah pulled it off! (See Jonah 3:1-10) Admittedly, Jonah’s message is full of the fireContinue reading “Jonah – the reluctant persuader”
Category Archives: theology
The Nourishing Tomb of the Fish
Imagine surviving the innards of a fish. The gastric juices alone would do wonders for the skin! The tale of Jonah is not interested in this detail (see Jonah 2:1-10). Ancient and forever symbolism holds before us the mystery of dark entombment as a liminal place between life and death, crucifixion and resurrection. With Love ToContinue reading “The Nourishing Tomb of the Fish”
Jonah – more than a Whale of a Tale!
… and there is no whale – the text refers to a “large fish” which is only incidental to the hermeneutical thrust of the story! It is considered that the story of Jonah is a corrective cautionary tale to the purists of the era of Ezra and Nehemiah and the reestablishment of the Hebrew nation followingContinue reading “Jonah – more than a Whale of a Tale!”
“I see you”
“I see you.” This meme from the movie Avatar did the rounds for a few months. It seemed to be nourishment for a collective hunger in a world which had descended into anonymity and a penchant for the kind of efficiency that codes citizens by number rather than name. It was a kind of epiphanyContinue reading ““I see you””
Troubled times … fresh resources.
“Crisis always comes with opportunity,” suggests the Chinese pictogram. How this relates to the current ascension of the greed of the few and the corresponding upward spiral of cost to the many is elegantly demonstrated in this video clip: Human history seems to reveal a default trend of societies devolving from the most altruistic ideals toContinue reading “Troubled times … fresh resources.”
Wooing the one who jilted you …
Who would want to? The Hebrew prophet Hosea – that’s who! Initially, he nurses the pain of anger when Gomer leaves him for a polyamorous dalliance with others. The patriarchal law of his time and place would have allowed his claim on her life. Instead, we see a tender wooing back, prompted by an insightContinue reading “Wooing the one who jilted you …”
Marriage in the air…
News programs highlight that yesterday, the first Monday after New Year’s Day, is the day that typically peaks for relationship breakdown and in particular marriage separation and demands for divorce. Today is the first day that same-sex couples are able to legally tie the knot under Australian law. Synchronistically, today’s set text is from the Hebrew prophetContinue reading “Marriage in the air…”
Faith – Stop Picking on Science!
In sync with my current series as I trawl through a bundle of New Scientist articles thoughtfully loaned to me by a parishioner is this offering from today’s Facebook feed: Is your church still picking a fight with science? My current congregation never has, but one sometimes gets the impression it’s one of a group of rogue shipsContinue reading “Faith – Stop Picking on Science!”
A Million Year Mind
Let’s kick off the Physicists & a Parson Parley series with a look at the lead article in New Scientist (1 March 2014) – “Your Million Year Mind.” (I keep catching myself reading it as “your million dollar mind” – how conditioned am I by the prevailing culture of economic rationalism?) In summary, the piece explores how the measurableContinue reading “A Million Year Mind”
How Not to Talk About the Beliefs of Others | Paul Brandeis Raushenbush
How Not to Talk About the Beliefs of Others | Paul Brandeis Raushenbush. Eminent common sense – would that it were more common!
Wondering Pilgrim 