Popular culture
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I wish it could be Christmas every day
Based on a short address delivered on 22nd December 2024 at QE Park Baptist Church, Guildford, UK. As such it is most appropriate to the UK-based reader. It was a sunny day in late August, during my summer holiday in North Wales, that I first saw items in a shop specially promoted as Christmas presents. Continue reading
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Bread in the Desert
Luke 4:3–8 and Deuteronomy 8:1–6 Trusting in the Desert The desert has long been associated with Christian spirituality. As a harsh environment it necessitates trust in God and his provision. Other than the struggle for survival there are few distractions. The desert, or wilderness, speaks of testing too. Even in modern Western culture it has Continue reading
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John 15:18–25 and Psalm 69:4: They hated me without reason
In 2006 a fairly awful film starring Will Ferrell called Talladega Nights was released. It’s about a racing driver, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, even fans of NASCAR racing. Yet despite its lack of any cinematic value, it does have a rather memorable scene in which a family gathers to say grace. They Continue reading
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Julian of Norwich and Leonard Cohen’s Window
For various reasons I have been reading Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love over the past month, or so. By chance a month ago I heard Leonard Cohen’s song The Window, and since then I have been left pondering whether he had Julian in mind when he wrote this song. For two reasons I Continue reading
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Peace in Our Time
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6, NIV Before we get to the Prince of Peace. I want to share a mystery with you. I Continue reading
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Where Did It All Go Wrong?
A Reflection on Genesis 3:1–24 1. Certain Death Many people are quick to dismiss the Bible—often without pause to think what it is they might be disowning. There is, however, an assertion of the Bible that is difficult to deny. Written on most pages, in different ways, is the bad news that precedes the good Continue reading
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Nick Cave’s Seven Psalms
Generative Possibility Nick Cave’s album, Seven Psalms, was released on the 17th June 2022. I discovered this collection because of the title’s likely nod to the Penitential, or Seven, Psalms. This post is a review of Cave’s short album, but one with a difference. By considering seven features—or signs—of the biblical psalms I address the Continue reading
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A Review: Rachel Mann’s ‘Spectres of God’
Rachel Mann, Spectres of God: Theological Notes for an Age of Ghosts, My Theology, Darton, Longman and Todd, 2021 Rachel Mann writes as poet-priest in a short book which is one of fifteen in the new ‘My Theology’ series. These books can be read in a single sitting but might be better imbibed more slowly. Continue reading
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Jesus, Psalm 19 and Empty Words
The Sound of Silence Jesus had something to say about empty words. We’ll get to these words a little a later after we’ve encountered some other words, as well as some silence. Simon and Garfunkel rereleased The Sound of Silence as a single some fifty-six years ago in September 1965 to some acclaim. Its previous Continue reading
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Johnny Cash’s Psalm 1: I Walk the Line
Johnny Cash the Psalmist perhaps sounds a little unlikely. And to be fair it is probably by some peculiar coincidence that there are so many connections between Cash’s I Walk The Line and Psalm 1. But the intertextual and thematic connections are worth considering. I suggest that both texts are enriched by reflecting on the Continue reading
About Me
This blog’s central aim is to explore all aspects of how the Psalter (the biblical psalms) functions as Scripture today.
To this end it will also include book reviews on the Book of Psalms and related topics.
Some posts will reflect more broadly on biblical interpretation or hermeneutics.
If you like what you see here and want to arrange for me to give a lecture, run a teaching event or a short retreat based around The Psalms then contact me so we can discuss how this might work.
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