The manger, the sign of humility that elevates (us)
"This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12).
How Jesus used the Hebrew Scriptures
When we read the Gospels, we may be put off by the way Jesus Christ interprets the Hebrew Scriptures.
Like colours in a cheap fabric
Soviet soldier Bakhretdin Khakimov was declared missing in action during the war in Afghanistan, which claimed the lives of 15,000 USSR soldiers and more than a million Afghans. Thirty-three years later, his family found out he was alive, living as a true Afghan among his former enemies.
The Lord’s Supper: Remembering Christ’s death
Two thousand years ago, Jesus asked us to remember the Lord's supper. What made it so special?
How do I know God exists?
You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God...
Roger Williams
It is no coincidence that the first Baptist church in the United States, the first synagogue, and the first Quaker assembly house are all located in the small American state of Rhode Island. Their existence is due to the influence of Roger Williams, who resolutely upheld the principle of freedom of conscience more than 100 years before it was invoked in the First...
Redefining the impossible
The mix of emotions a family goes through when expecting a baby is both wonderful and terrifying.
When everything seems to be in order, the...
Violence: an exploration of its origins, perpetuation, and eradication
In the US, the shocking news of Charles Manson's death marked the end of a disturbing chapter in history.
Five reasons why I have faith in God
Faith has brought me not only a sense of God's presence, but also evidence that He is answering our requests. Therefore, the other reasons that made me believe have become stronger.
James Madison: The father of modern religious freedom
Influenced by the Calvinist Presbyterian John Witherspoon, James Madison, an Anglican, collaborated with Virginia's persecuted Baptists to establish the concept of religious freedom and freedom of conscience that changed America and the world forever.
What is the purpose of my life on Earth?
The unverified stories of children dying, due to severe emotional and sensorial deprivation, despite being fed and medically cared for, spread the theory that one can die because of lack of love, although being well taken care of. However, if we look more closely at the historical and personal human experience, we find that it is not necessarily the lack of love that...
The Christian Sun King of the Russes
Two strangers walk hurriedly through the busy streets of Constantinople. The great bells are quietly ringing out the call to mass, while the semantrons are hastening the footsteps of the faithful towards the place of worship. St Sophia's Cathedral stands majestically, its gates wide open, awaiting pilgrims seeking salvation.
How false religious conspiracy theories came to abound
The documentary The Resurrection Tomb is based on James Tabor and Simcha Jacobovici’s book The Jesus Discovery[1] and resumes a controversial topic, also published in 2007, when a similar film was released.
How can I know God as He is, rather than as I imagine Him to be?
To know God is an aspiration inherent in the rational being who recognises His existence.
Never forgotten by His heart
The sermons. My mother’s stories. The little sand table and Sabbath School for children. Adults’ conversations about religion. All the information I absorbed in childhood helped me sketch an image of Jesus with one major flaw: it was rendered in far too many shades of grey.


























