A Thinking Man

There is a lot of loss around.  And I’m not just referring to people mourning the loss of  a loved person.  When someone is bereaved you would expect the mourning.  It is natural and understandable.  But apart from the loss of human beings, there are many other kinds of losses, and many people in [...]

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In 1968 the sociologist Peter Berger famously predicted that in the 21st century, religious believers would only be likely to be in small sects, huddled together to resist a worldwide secular culture.  In 1710 Thomas Woolstan predicted that religion would be gone by 1900.  And many other thinkers (Voltaire, Jefferson, Marx, Engels, Freud) have all anticipated [...]

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I recently attended a two-day gathering of several hundred people. This large group could be divided into several sub-groups, with each sub-group thinking that they were the ones who were right, they had the real truth, they were the ‘pure and faithful ones’, they were the ones who could ‘really help’. You would think [...]

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The feathers of the Malaysian peacock pheasant were stunning. The display had lit them in the centre of the room so that they looked like a metallic sculpture. I wanted to take the work of art home.
The Darwin Exhibition is running at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge for few more days. My visit yesterday, on [...]

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Matthew Parris on his death:
When I die, and if I have to arrange it myself, I will consult nobody, and do it unassisted if I can. I entertain not a flicker of moral or practical doubt on the subject, and never have. Speaking only for myself — in such matters one should never judge for [...]

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The Church of England’s liturgical committee (what a way to kill the opening of a blog!) has recently devised a new service which will enable clergy to offer couples who wish to get married in church the chance to get their children baptised at the same time - all for the modest fee of £272.
This [...]

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I went to see Anne, a family member last week. She is now living in a Care Home.  She has been there for just over 6 months and in many ways is reasonably happy.  At times she was able to be philosophical about it, accepting that there were no other realistic alternatives.  She seemed relaxed [...]

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I caught part of BBC’s Songs of Praise last night. Well, it was on the TV, and I have spent enough years in my former life as an active Christian to have a strong cultural resonance with some of the music, and there was nothing else in particular to do, so I watched.
In the [...]

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There was a pile of dog poo on the pavement.
As they walked to work, four men trod in it and messed up their shoes.
The first man felt very sad. He looked at the mess and smelled the smell and said to himself: “You know, this just about sums me up. This always happens [...]

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Have you heard the story about the man and his monkey?
One day John was sitting in his office, minding his own business, when suddenly his boss opened the door and threw in a monkey. “Here,” said his boss. “Here’s a new monkey for you. You’ve got to keep this one.” And [...]

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