The God of Surprises
How do you get the attention of a world that thinks it knows what Jesus is all about, when it is often only familiar with misconceptions? You do what Jesus did—you tell surprising, beguiling, captivating stories. A piece written for the #BigRead13 Lent event, with former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.
The Story of God
We live in a world confused about meaning, guidance, liberation and love—as this video series has been exploring. Is there a story that can interrupt that confusion, open our eyes, and help us find some clarity? I believe there is, and in this 9 minute video I tell it.
The Meaning of Life? Here’s a 5th Option
What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of *my* life? In Part 1 of thise series I outlined four popular answers to the question, as seen in our films, books and stories. Here I offer a fifth option. Because, it is my conviction that God gives our lives meaning in at least
The Rowan Williams vs Richard Dawkins Debate
On February 23, 2012 Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and atheist biologist Richard Dawkins debated the origin of life and humanity at Oxford's Sheldonian Theatre. Here is the full video with some personal reflections and suggestions for further reading and viewing.
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
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
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
The Heavenly Visitor in a Thousand Dreams
Does Jesus ever appear in our dreams? Missionary Ben Staggs describes a unique experience he had when visiting the Boshu people, in Ethiopia’s Me’en territory. “We sat down and spoke a bit,” Ben says, “explaining that we had come to tell them of ‘God’s talk’. I described who God is, what He is like, and