We don’t realise how rich we are! I tend to be quite careful about expressing political views online or in public. As a church pastor, my job is to help people unite around Jesus. There are a few obvious issues (matters of life and death, honesty in public life, freedom of religion and speech) which … Continue reading What is wrong with us as a country?
Category: Uncategorized
Should leaders be “vulnerable”?
Leaders in many organisations, including churches, carry a wide range of responsibilities. And these often start to feel like burdens or pressures. I think this is common across institutions and fields. There are pressures. Leadership creates a challenge in how to express that. And Christian leadership, with Jesus’ call to integrity and truthfulness, faces this … Continue reading Should leaders be “vulnerable”?
New opportunities and dangers for the church
Over the last few years, there have been some cultural shifts that have been encouraging for Christians. There have been a number of high profile intellectuals or public figures who have moved from atheism to some form of Christian faith, including Paul Kingsnorth and Ayyan Ali. The individual shifts reflect something of a cultural shift. … Continue reading New opportunities and dangers for the church
Demons and spiritual forces
Some people are fascinated by the idea of spiritual forces at work, and others find the idea outlandish and weird. No doubt some people are too fascinated by the spiritual forces at work, or too quick to blame things on demons that are really human sinful choices. But people who grew up in Western culture … Continue reading Demons and spiritual forces
Why McGilchrist is wrong on the reformation
(The outline of McGilchrist’s thesis is here: https://jotsandscribbles.blog/2023/11/07/introduction-to-the-master-and-his-emissary/) For McGilchrist, the reformation is the first step towards unbalanced left hemisphere dominance, a step towards the enlightenment. It’s easy to see why he should think this. The focus on the word of God above the visual arts in church looks like a loss of right hemisphere insights. … Continue reading Why McGilchrist is wrong on the reformation
Discipleship: weird cultishness or inevitable reality
One feature of Christianity, and especially evangelical Christianity, that strikes some outsiders as odd is the emphasis on discipleship. The idea that one would be shaped by a community in a set of beliefs and practices and ways of approaching life can seem deeply sinister. Isn’t this what cults do? But we think this way … Continue reading Discipleship: weird cultishness or inevitable reality
Why left-hemisphere perception is helpful
McGilchrist's book 'The Master and his Emissary' makes the case that the left hemisphere of the brain cortex has become dominant in ways that stop us attending to context, whole realities, metaphor etc, and in the process we have become mere users of the world regardless of environmental or social negative effects. He would argue … Continue reading Why left-hemisphere perception is helpful
A fascinating conversation
Here is a fascinating conversation with McGilchrist and Vervaeke. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6V0qmDZ2gg&t=795s I think their insights into how we process the world are fantastic. I'd want to argue that Biblical Christianity is what provides the answers to the issues they highlight.
The problem of monofocus
(The outline of McGilchrist’s thesis is here: https://jotsandscribbles.blog/2023/11/07/introduction-to-the-master-and-his-emissary/) McGilchrist suggests that the two hemispheres of our brain tend to perceive the world differently. The left hemisphere tends to have a narrow beam, a tight focus on a specific area. The right hemisphere tends to have a broad awareness of everything that is going on. McGilchrist applies … Continue reading The problem of monofocus
Freedom of association: the forgotten foundation for a free society
There are high profile campaigning groups for freedom of speech, and in the US a well known constitutional right to it. But many people have barely heard of freedom of association. So what is it, and why is it so important. Article 11 of the 1998 Human Rights Act declares that it is a right: … Continue reading Freedom of association: the forgotten foundation for a free society
Jots and Scribbles 