Beautiful places, challenging thoughts, critical reviews
Philo, the son of a fisherman in first century Tyre, is traumatised by his sister’s sinister illness. When his father drowns, the family is thrown into poverty. Only little Ione provides a ray of sunshine.
Continue reading “Peek below the surface”
I’ve been thinking about Jesus’s promise to his followers:
My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. (John 10:10)
To whom does that apply? And where are the people who enjoy this rich and satisfying life?
Continue reading “What’s going on in the world?”
O Lord, my Lord, I see You as a Crystal,
Reflecting varied facets of Your light.
I marvel at Creation, then am dazzled
By seeming shifts between Your love and might.
I have had the privilege of ‘meeting’ Natasha a couple of times on Zoom, hearing her read an extract from her WIP and even singing Abba’s and Awan’s songs that appear in this book. Her invitation to take part in a blog tour to promote the book launch on 6th August 2022 thrilled me. I read the ARC out aloud to my wife – we were both captivated by it – and these are my impressions.
As the cover image implies, this is a deeply moving book. It explores interactions within a single family attempting to survive in a bountiful but unfamiliar world.
Continue reading “Eye-opening, heart-rending”
Illicit sexual relations, duplicity, disdain, brutality – Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary each experienced most of these indignities, in some cases hatched through their own scheming. And yet these five women, three of whom were not even Israelites, were chosen by God as forebears of the promised Messiah, His Son Jesus!
Continue reading “Unlikely foremothers – vividly brought to life”
Spring has come, nature bursts out in joy. But people panic and die.
Lord, what are you saying to us?
Are you judging the world?
Continue reading ““Lord, don’t you care…?””
Pete Hughes stands back from both traditional historical accounts and selective Bible passages to concentrate on the story God has been unfolding over the centuries.
Chapters such as ‘Creation and the Image-Bearers of God’, ‘From Slavery to the Promised Land’, ‘Jesus, the Gospel and the Kingdom of God’ and ‘The Resurrection and the Birth of the New Humanity’ trace the biblical story in a refreshingly contemporary manner. Interwoven with these theological considerations, we witness some very personal experiences – highs and lows – as the the young Anglican Vicar follows God’s leading to plant and nurture what is now known as KXC.
Continue reading “All Things New by Pete Hughes”
Continue reading “Hate your life! – A Bible Reflection”A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else – your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
Dr. Wolfgang J. Bittner erklärt, was es bedeutet, ‘hebräisch’ zu denken – in Geschichten statt durch Begriffe. Hier ein Auszug aus seiner These.
‘Wir sind bei einem der wesentlichen Aspekte dessen, was man hebräisches Denken, hebräische Wirklichkeitsauffassung nennen kann. Über einen Begriff kann ich nachdenken. Das hebräische Denken ist interessiert an den Vorgängen, die man betrachten kann. Im Musical Anatevka, das auf die jiddische Dichtung von Tewje dem Milchmann (Scholem Alejchem) zurück geht, taucht der Begriff Liebe auf. Continue reading “Wie denkt man eigentlich, wenn man ‘hebräisch’ denkt?”
