A New Earth. A New You
Can changing your name change your life? Yes and no. The Christian vision offers something even deeper: a new earth and a new you with a new name thrown in too. Episode 7 in the Unseen Footprints article and podcast series.
God, Altruism and Natural Disasters
Why risk one’s life for a stranger? Why show kindness to another? What motivates human compassion, sacrifice and love? Richard Dawkins suggest 'selfishness'. I suggest 'God'. Queensland's catastophic floods in January 2011 revealed the best in humanity and showed us something of the divine. As rescuers, neighbours and even victims engaged in costly acts of
Hearing the Whispers of God
God is calling us, trying to get our attention. But he rarely shouts to make himself heard. Instead, he whispers to us. Before we've even opened a Bible he has been drawing, beckoning, whispering. Will we stop to hear him? Will we even attempt to hear his voice? Here are four ways he whispers to
The Sacred Heart of Sacre-Coeur
For me, one of the great tragedies of modern life is that one can visit a cathedral and not be moved. We visit these grand places of worship, marvel at the architecture, admire the artworks and look at the pretty flickering candles but feel little more than admiration. I have experienced this many a time.
What Do You Really Want?
Sometimes you get to see a dream realised and discover the dream wasn’t that great to begin with. As the party ends and the streamers are swept up, you realise you yearn for something greater, deeper, more lasting. That was my experience. Episode 3 in the Unseen Footprints article and podcast series.
How Pain Can Lead us to God
For some people, pain is the reason why they can't believe in God or spiritual things. But for others, pain is the very thing that prompts their search for 'something more'. In Episode 2 of this article and podcast series on the book Unseen Footprints, we explore the role pain has in spiritual searching. Includes
Becoming Attentive to God
If God's unseen footprints walk in and out of our lives, how can we begin to discern and follow them? Here is Episode 1 in a special series of articles and podcasts on the themes of my book, Unseen Footprints: Encountering the Divine Along the Journey of Life. We'll explore unseen realities and conclude with
Sherron Watkins: The Enron Wistleblower
The collapse of the energy giant Enron in 2001 was one of the most spectacular in corporate history. Sherron Watkins was the employee who blew the whistle on Enron’s 'creative' accounting practices and corporate fraud. As you’ll hear in this interview, it was a gutsy stand that cost Sherron greatly, but one which came with
Who are Today’s Secular Priests?
In a secular age, who are our priests? When religion has been dismissed, who do we turn to to find guidance for our lives? Here is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, More Than This: Searching for God in a Secular Age. As it turns out, many of these new 'holy' men and women are
If the Beer is Talking, What’s it Saying?
Perhaps it was growing up as a city boy. Or perhaps it was not growing up in a mainstream Christian denomination. Whatever the reason, until recently I had never experienced a Harvest Festival. Then I went to one and was reminded how we are all dependent on God for what we eat, are responsibe for