De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Last week, I posted this blog about Justin Welby's comments regarding the Paris attacks. Rather than a personal attack on Welby, the reason I felt I wanted to write something on this was that I felt disappointed and frustrated with his response as a faith leader. As I was writing it seems, Welby was also, and posted this blog on his own website which claims that he got it wrong and his comments were taken out of context: The essence of my answer was that everyone has moments when they question things, and one sees that in the Psalms. The psalmist in Psalm 44 asks God if he is asleep, and challenges him in the most direct terms about his failure to deliver Israel. It is a psalm of protest. When there are tragedies like Paris, when friends suffer, when evil seems to cover the face of the Earth, then we should be like the psalmist. This is perfectly reasonable and I am prepared to accept this explanation from Welby. The very theme of my blog is questioning in faith, like a...

Welcome to my reflection on this week's Sunday readings at Mass, where I look at the Scripture we will hear at Mass on Sunday in its historical, social and theological context to see what wisdom can be gleaned. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I sincerely hope that this reflection will inspire you, answer some questions you may have, help you to see how fantastic Sacred Scripture is and perhaps begin to share some of my love and passion for the Bible as you begin to comprehend how layered and multi-faceted, and what a carefully considered part of the Mass the readings are. If you want to know how these posts came about, please read my first post in this series  here . My particular hope is that these blogs will help you develop a love of the Old Testament, and help to foster a better understanding of its value in understanding how Jesus fulfils what is prefigured therein. I would like to think this regular blog would be a great help to anyone who reads at Ma...

I was shocked and more than a bit disappointed to hear about Justin Welby's admission to BBC's Songs of Praise that the Paris attacks made him doubt the presence of God ( see here ), whatever that means. I must be naive to think that 'belief in God' might be a bare minimum for anyone thinking of applying for the job of leader of the C of E? This sort of reaction presses all the wrong buttons for me. I don't think it is a good thing for a religious leader to express that he has doubts, even in a misguided attempt to show solidarity with an increasingly secular population. Asking "where was God in all this" is one of the oldest questions in theology and the answer is always "with the people who are suffering". If he has doubts, how can he lead others away from doubt? Surely the job he is in is to encourage and give confidence, confidence built on his personal relationship with God in prayer, his intellectual understanding of the realit...

Welcome to my reflection on this week's Sunday readings at Mass, where I look at the Scripture we will hear at Mass on Sunday in its historical, social and theological context to see what wisdom can be gleaned. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I sincerely hope that this reflection will inspire you, answer some questions you may have, help you to see how fantastic Sacred Scripture is and perhaps begin to share some of my love and passion for the Bible as you begin to comprehend how layered and multi-faceted, and what a carefully considered part of the Mass the readings are. If you want to know how these posts came about, please read my first post in this series  here . My particular hope is that these blogs will help you develop a love of the Old Testament, and help to foster a better understanding of its value in understanding how Jesus fulfils what is prefigured therein. I would like to think this regular blog would be a great help to anyone who reads at Mas...

Andrew Neil started This Week last night with a refreshing and powerful tour de force on the Paris Attacks. Imagine how powerful it would have been if this had been delivered by David Cameron?

This is precisely what has been missing from the Muslim response to the ongoing atrocities of Daesh . Sadiq Khan, the most senior Muslim in Labour’s ranks, has spoken out  at a Westminster lunch for journalists, about his fears that his teenage daughters could be tricked into going to Syria by online jihadists and disclosed that he had grown up in south London with boys who went on to act in “terrible ways”. Khan is the first Muslim I have heard who has the courage to be honest about the reality of the situation, stating: “Extremism isn’t a theoretical risk. Most British Muslims have come across someone with extremist views at some point – and so have I. “It’s affected my personal life, my friendships and my career. People I knew as a boy have gone on to hold extremist views, and even to act on them in terrible ways.” Mr Khan recalled that when he worked as a lawyer he had the “horrible” task of representing people with extremist views: “I’ve lost count of the ...

I've had quite a black day today. Overwhelmingly, I feel uneasy about this. I feel uneasy that the world has just taken another scary step towards darkness and chaos. Looking at my Facebook timeline I am disturbed by the number of anti-religious comments in reaction to what has happened. I know that we immediately want to find someone to blame (this helps us to understand) and I can recognise that for many peaceful people, going about their day-to-day lives quite without malice or hatred, the sudden and brutal events of Friday night leave them looking for a reason why? How could any human being do something so irrational? The answer? To all intents and purposes, the only tangible explanation would appear to be a murderous ideology which demands fidelity and threatens death or at least, enslavement, for those who refuse to 'submit' ( Islam literally means 'submit'). To the modern secular mind, the only thing that matters is that the madness used to justify t...

Welcome to my reflection on this week's Sunday readings at Mass, where I look at the Scripture we will hear at Mass on Sunday in its historical, social and theological context to see what wisdom can be gleaned. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I sincerely hope that this reflection will inspire you, answer some questions you may have, help you to see how fantastic Sacred Scripture is and perhaps begin to share some of my love and passion for the Bible as you begin to comprehend how layered and multi-faceted, and what a carefully considered part of the Mass the readings are. If you want to know how these posts came about, please read my first post in this series here . My particular hope is that these blogs will help you develop a love of the Old Testament, and help to foster a better understanding of its value in understanding how Jesus fulfils what is prefigured therein. I would like to think this regular blog would be a great help to anyone who reads at Mas...

If I am asked to do a talk anywhere, it is usually about sex. I think this is because there is so little information avaliable to young Catholics regarding human sexuality and the Church's teaching regarding it. The thing is, what the Church teaches in this regard is so affirming, so positive, so powerful and life changing, that there is a great hunger for it. If you want to know more, there could be no greater opportunity than this symposium which is coming up in January in London: Picture by Joseph Shaw, LMS Chairman. Choose Life, Choose Love | St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church Theology of the Body Symposium, London, 13 th  – 17 th  January 2016   St Patrick's Church in Soho, London, is delighted to be hosting a  Theology of the Body Symposium  to explore the Church's teachings concerning human identity and sexuality. The Symposium, which is part of the 'Choose Life, Choose Love' series, will take place between 13 th  – 17 th ...