Dust & Light blog

Nearly a year ago me and two friends of mine came up with the idea of starting a collaborative blog. After much procrastination, we have finally got around to starting the thing. ‘Dust and Light’ will provide a platform for theological interaction with philosophy, culture, politics, art, etc., and is intended to provoke conversation and discussion.

You can visit the blog here: http://dustandlight.wordpress.com

I made my first post on the blog today, entitled “On What It Means To Be Free”. In it I make the point – obvious to some, less so to others – that the dominant ‘liberal’ notion of freedom we have today is basically contrary to any Christian notion of freedom.

Jeremy Clarkson on the PM

While being interviewed by journalists in Australia, Jeremy Clarkson had this to say about Britain’s current Prime Minister Gordon Brown:

“…we’ve got this one-eyed Scottish idiot. He keeps telling us the world is fine and he’s saved the world and we know he’s lying, but he’s smooth at telling us.”

Mr. Brown has responded by saying the comment is ‘unforgiveable’, which Clarkson is probably relieved about, and apparently some Scottish people have got upset. Good old Jeremy!

The Archbishop’s Christmas Message

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, will tomorrow give his Christmas sermon, and in it he says some excellent stuff about the frailty of human ‘kingdoms’, the importance of small gestures and the current economic crisis. Here are some snippets:

“The gospel tells us something hard to hear – that there is not going to be a single charismatic leader or a dedicated political campaign or a war to end all wars that will bring the golden age.

“It tells us that history will end when God decides, not when we think we have sorted all our problems out; that we cannot turn the kingdoms of this world into the kingdom of God and his anointed; that we cannot reverse what has happened and restore a golden age.”

He goes on:

“What can be done to show [God's] glory? So often the answer to this lies in the small and local gestures, the unique difference made in some particular corner of the world.

“In the months ahead it will mean in our own country asking repeatedly what is asked of us locally to care for those who bear the heaviest burdens in the wake of our economic crisis – without waiting for the magical solution, let alone the return of the good times.”

I got this from the BBC website, here, but I expect the sermon will soon be published in full on the Archbishop’s website.

Merry Christmas!