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Monthly Archives: December 2010
A bit of redding
When I moved to Scotland, I prepared (as I thought) by reading Lewis Grassic Gibbon pretty thoroughly. Wonderful ‘speak’ from the Mearns – i.e. E. Scotland. But we went to Callander, where many of the words and expressions I tried out … Continue reading
Posted in Lent
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The new bathtime religion
Those lovely gift-box toiletries, where the packaging is almost more gorgeous than the contents … somebody knew me well when they gave me this. There is no need to draw conclusions about where I do my reading. So what is … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Have a radical Christmas
I was a bit disappointed, though not very surprised, to find that there were no Christian leaders amongst the ’12 people of Christmas’ whom the Scotsman thought yesterday make Edinburgh ‘the in-place to celebrate Christmas’. Not that I would want … Continue reading
Posted in Christmas, Church
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The one and the many
One of the good things about reading the nativity story mainly from Matthew, as we do this year, is that you get quite a bit about Joseph. I find 1:19 strangely chilling – “Mary’s husband, Joseph, being a righteous man … Continue reading
Posted in compassion, justice
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Ekmek yapma makinesi
I’m the sort of person who has to read any words that I come across. If the conversation lags at table, I’ll read the ingredients on the mustard jar. When I go on holiday, the only anxiety I have is … Continue reading
Posted in language
2 Comments
Where shall we sing?
A weekend of carols. We managed to get the church warm enough for a Carol Service on Friday, and we sang ‘While shepherds watched ..’ to what is apparently the original tune, i.e. Cranbrook (= On Ilkla Moor Baht’ at). … Continue reading
Posted in children, mission
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Visual aids for the Incarnation
I suppose I’m a bit slow about iconography, but it took me ages to realise that there was more the the asymmetry of the Sinai icon of Christ Pantocrator (above) than imperfect craftsmanship. In fact, it’s generally recognised that one … Continue reading
Posted in images, Incarnation
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Asia Bibi
At last the Asia Bibi case is making the headlines properly. Last month, a court near Lahore condemned her to death by hanging for ‘blasphemy’ – there had been some sort of argument between her, a Christian Pakistani, and her Muslim neighbours and fellow-workers and … Continue reading
Posted in toleration, women
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Decisions, decisions
I’ve been reflecting on some decisions I’ve taken recently, and trying to work out how I took them. I’m the sort of person who swithers a bit (good Scots word – maybe from a Norwegian root – meaning ‘to be … Continue reading
Posted in Holy Spirit
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Paying for consent
When I taught medieval history and political thought, one of the principles we explored was the claim to consent to tax levied by the monarch – the Roman Law principle of ‘What touches all must be agreed by all’. This … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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crisping ripples 