Saint Stephen’s Anglican Church

Gospel of Jesus’ Wife [recto], from Wikipedia

A whole bunch of folks were shocked and dismayed two years ago when Harvard Divinity School Professor Karen L. King announced she had discovered an ancient Christian manuscript that claims Jesus had a wife.

It now turns out (surprise! surprise!) that the document—gleefully dubbed The Gospel . . . → Read More: “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife” divorced from the truth

History, they often say, starts as tragedy and repeats itself as farce. But in Ukraine tragedy is being repeated as tragedy. Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s creeping occupation of the Ukraine is taken directly from the playbook Adolf Hitler devised for the invasion of Czechoslovakia in the late 1930s.

And the truly chilling aspect of Putin’s . . . → Read More: History repeats itself as tragedy in Ukraine

World War II was raging when I was born and most of the younger men from our village had volunteered or been drafted into the armed forces—even the Vicar was in uniform, serving as an Army chaplain. Thus my youthful role models were largely men of my grandfather’s age.

This, doubtless, explains why my idea . . . → Read More: Conversation with God means we should listen

Obeisance to authority has never been a notably human trait. Indeed, the impetus to flout authority seems to be implanted in our genes. As boys, for instance, we treated things forbidden—such as death-defying games of tag across the slick, moss covered tiles of the school roof—merely as challenges to do so as often as possible. . . . → Read More: America’s Nihilists are barbarians at the gates

Modern historians tend to judge past civilizations not on their achievements but on how their philosophies of life stack up against our own. For example, great Romans are often branded as male chauvinists, ignoring the fact that Romans, both male and female, would find today’s brand of feminism quite irrelevant.

Equally, academics often express surprise . . . → Read More: Was lack of diploma the deciding factor?