Beyond Tut Tut: Thinking Through the New Zealand Massacre…
Friday March 15, 2019 was indeed, as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described it, “one of New Zealand’s darkest days”, for on that day a gunman, (his name best left unspoken), killed 50 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, and injured many others. It was an attack that represents so many things… for the families of victims, a long term journey with grief, sadness and probably rage – for many of them it will never ease; for New Zealand, the loss of innocence, for it has now not been spared the violence present in many parts of the world; for the world, a...
Read MoreWhen a Cardinal Sins: Reflections on the conviction of George Pell
For those not in the loop (and they must be a very small number), Cardinal George Pell has been found guilty of child sexual abuse, and is being held in detention while his sentence is awaited. As he is the most senior cleric in the world to be convicted of this crime, it is deeply unsettling. He could have become the Pope – having been a serious contender (though not the front runner) when Pope Benedict resigned in 2013. Until stepping down from his role at the Vatican to face trial in Australia, he was the third most senior figure in the Roman Catholic Church (far and away the...
Read MoreQuotable: Marilynne Robinson – Gilead, take 2
Last week we looked at some quotes from Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer prize winning novel Gilead. The book is a fictional series of reflections by dying clergyman, John Ames, to his seven year old son. It is filled with wisdom, and is a celebration of life. Here are some more reflections from the book… I think the attempt to defend belief can unsettle it, in fact, because there is always an inadequacy in argument about ultimate things. Marilynne Robinson Any human face is a claim on you, because you can’t help but understand the singularity of it, the courage and loneliness...
Read MoreQuotable: Marilynne Robinson – Gilead
American novelist Marilynne Robinson (1943- ) won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize (for fiction) with her novel Gilead. It is the fictional autobiography of aging Congregationalist minister John Ames, who, aware that his serious heart condition means his death is imminent, wants to leave a memoir for his seven year old son to remember him by. The book is a wonderful celebration of life, and is filled with profound insights. Here are a few… Love is holy because it is like grace – the worthiness of the object is never what matters. Marilynne Robinson It’s not a man’s working...
Read MoreQuotable: With Frederick Buechner – Take 2
This is a second take on Frederick Buechner (1926-), an ordained Presbyterian minister, who is a notable novelist, preacher and theologian. I recently read one of his memoirs, Telling Secrets, and it led me to track down some insights from his thirty plus published works. His novel, Godric, was a 1981 finalist for the Pulitzer prize. You might well be aware of the most famous of Buechner quotes: “God calls you to the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Here are some others… One life on this earth is all that we get, whether it is enough...
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