As it is in Heaven…
I’ve been giving some thought to the Lord’s prayer. After all, if you are not sure how to pray, it’s the go to model Jesus left us. Though we sometimes veer away from the “should” word (so bossy) Jesus is happy to use it, and in Matt 6:9 instructs us, “This, then, is how you should pray.” Immediately before he had been warning against prayers that are too showy (Matt 6:5) or too wordy and too long (Matt 6:7-8). I don’t intent to go into a detailed unpacking of the prayer – as simply praying it a few times is likely to be more useful. And...
Read MoreWhat makes us human: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Us…
OK, so this is going to be a shameless plug for a short podcast series I’m hosting which explores Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Faith and Humanity, called “Faithfully Forward.” Lest you cheekily ask “And what qualifies you to be an expert on AI?” please note that I am the host of the series, definitely not the expert. But I am excited at the experts we (Dr Aaron Chidgzey and I) have been able to pull together for these podcasts. First up (4 Nov) is Dr Michael Jensen, rector of St Mark’s Church, Darling Point, the author of numerous books and a...
Read MoreAnd the Fourth Dimension: Time
Ask a physicist what the fourth dimension is and they are likely to reply that it is time. That’s a helpful insight based on Einstein’s theory of relativity which combines our usual three dimensional understanding of place (length, width and height) together with time into a four dimensional framework called spacetime. Behind it is the conviction that you can’t really know what happened unless you can point to the four co-ordinates of where it happened (the precise position of its length, width and height) and when it happened (time). In short, in physics it is not enough...
Read MoreFrom SMART to BAD Goals…
I love throw away comments. They often highlight an important truth with a pithy little statement that needs nuance and unpacking, but has a kernel of truth that must be embraced. Here is one I heard recently. The speaker was lamenting our overly cautious approach to change and innovative projects. And then he said it… just straight out and simply; “I’m not a big fan of SMART goals. Personally I long for BAD goals.” It was an audience that knew what he was talking about and the sentiment was a little mixed – some appreciative, some more cautious. For those...
Read MoreWhen your inner critic works for you…
It’s a generalisation to be sure, but roughly speaking you can divide people into two categories – those whose inner critic is frantically busy, leaving them demotivated, insecure and perpetually dissatisfied, and those who don’t appear to have an inner critic – or if they do, have one who is unobservant and perpetually on holiday, leaving them blissfully unaware of their many flaws or of things they could do far better. It has become popular to be negative about our inner critic, and indeed, if you have a voice in your head that consistently tells you that you are...
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