Soundings

In their book, As Iron Sharpens Iron,1 Howard and William Hendricks emphasise the importance of spiritual mentoring before the idea became fashionable in evangelicalism. Stressing the cruciality of this work of spiritual direction in the Church, they state emphatically that mentoring is not an option “but an essential”. They write, “At their best, mentors nurture […]

For many years now, “leadership” has been the buzzword both in the Church and in secular society. But this ubiquitous “L” word has, of late, become reduced to superficial “jump on the bandwagon” jargon-worn and overused. Christian books and articles on the subject sometimes present rather secular ideas of leadership, garnished here and there with […]

In the second century, pagans in the Greco-Roman world accused Christians of atheism, cannibalism, and incest. Christians were accused of atheism partly because they refused to worship the Roman gods, and partly because they had no shrines or temples, and no altars or images. Christians were accused of cannibalism because the pagans thought that they […]

In a recent report on urbanisation trends, the World Health Organization predicted that by 2030, six out of every 10 people in the world would be city dwellers. This means that virtually every global growth over the next 30 to 40 years will take place in urban areas. Sociologists have coined two new terms to […]

During the Easter service of the Orthodox Church, the ‘Troparion’ is sung after the celebrant announces the resurrection of Christ at the door of the church and intones the blessing to the Holy Trinity. Incorporating Psalm 68, the Church declares: Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered; let those who hate him flee before […]

In February 2015, Gay Byrne, host of the Irish religious television programme The Meaning of Life, asked militant atheist Stephen Fry what he would say to God if he found himself standing before Him at the Pearly Gates. Fry replied with his characteristic sting: “Bone cancer in children: what’s that about?” He then proceeded with […]

In 2017, ISIS detonated bombs at two Coptic churches in Egypt during their Palm Sunday services that killed at least 45 worshippers. The first explosion, which killed 27 people and injured 78, took place in the Mar Girgis church located in the city of Tanta, about 90 km from Cairo. The second explosion took place […]

In his book Dispatches From the Front, the Christian ethicist Stanley Hauerwas describes a commercial produced by the National Association for Retarded Citizens. The film begins with a couple standing in a dark room and looking into a crib, the contents of which are kept from sight. Then the young mother looks up and into […]

At the beginning of the 19th century, the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley declared that obedience is the “bane of all genius, virtue, freedom, truth, “for it makes slaves of men, and of the human frame a mechanised automation.” A child of the European Enlightenment, Shelley waxed eloquent in echoing the disdain of many of […]

One of the most interesting concepts peculiar to Methodism is ‘connectionalism’, a neologism coined to describe how the Methodist Church is ordered and organised. At the practical level, connectionalism refers to the ways in which Methodist churches support each other by sharing their resources – pastors, leaders, and financial support – so that they may […]

Picture of christian person praying to the GOD while holding a bible with crucifix symbol on the background The last three decades have seen a slew of books on basic Christianity. A simple search on Amazon.com would yield titles like Christianity 101 (1993), Basic Discipleship (1992), and Christianity: The Basics (2014). These books receive their […]

Happy family with baby boy relaxing in park In her article entitled ‘The Trouble With Modern Marriage’, published in Psychology Today, Erica B. Slotter echoed the questions asked by many marital researchers: “‘What gives?’ What has changed about the nature of marriage since the 1970s that makes it less appealing to some, less satisfying to […]