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
Everyone Has a God. Here’s How to Discover Yours
Worship is a universal phenomenon. Anthropologists tell us it's found in some form in every culture. It seems that we all have a longing to place something or someone as a supreme authority or meaning-giver in our lives. To put it simply, everyone has a God - even if we're 'not religious'. So who (or
Losing My Religion: Dialogue with an Ex-Christian [Podcast]
In a previous post I shared some thoughts on how to converse across the Christian-atheist divide, following my dialogue with ex-Christian Rebekah Bennetch on Premier Christian Radio's Unbelievable? program. Like all good conversations, I walked away from the interview with much to ponder. Here are three reflections I scribbled down after the recording. You can
How to Talk to an Atheist (or a Christian)
I love it when Christians and atheists come together to talk. Recently I was invited to be a guest on Justin Brierley's Unbelievable? radio show to dialogue with an ex-Christian named Rebekah. We heard her story, discussed some of the assumptions Christians make about atheists, then explored ways Christians and atheists can better converse together.