science and theology
"Mistaking poetry for prose can lead to false conclusions. When Robert Burns tell us his love “is like a red, red rose”, we know that we are not meant to think that his girlfriend has green leaves and prickles. Reading Genesis 1 as if it were a divinely dictated scientific text, intended to save us the trouble of actually doing science, is to make a similar kind of error…" Jon Polkinghorne ruminates on Professor Michael Reiss's resignation from the Royal Society
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author musician theologian
Maggi has kept a blog since September 2003, writing about theology and faith, the arts and literature, and a little about life and random nonsense...
In an increasingly secularised society few people have a good working knowledge of the Bible. Yet a great deal of our culture is built on stories or ideas that come from the Bible. Literature, art, music, language and even the fabric of our society - such as our justice system - are built on Christian concepts and biblical references. The Writing on the Wall provides a fascinating introduction to the Bible's best-known, and most influential, stories. Each chapter gives some background to the text of the Bible, and shows how the stories have become enmeshed in Western culture. Adam and Eve, the ten plagues of Egypt, The Prodigal Son and Mary Magdalene all feature - along with how the Bible has influenced everyone from Shakespeare to Monty Python, and Caravaggio to Banksy. 
Giving It Up explores the Lenten idea of 'giving up', taking it beyond the traditional idea of simply abstaining from something, and suggesting instead that what we need to give up is our existing ideas about God. With a daily readings for each day of Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, it follows the heroes of the Bible who had to give up their own too-small ideas about God.
This is Maggi’s bestselling book of daily readings for each day of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. Advent is the beginning of the Church year, and marks the anticipation of the coming Messiah. These readings explore how beginnings and endings in our own lives are illuminated by the different Gospel narratives of Christ's coming.
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i remember the greatest compliment I was paid during my training and my curacy was when people said
“you’re not a typical vicar are you”
I’ve been told I’m normal, too, and taken it as a compliment as I know it was intended that way. However, it is indeed a terribly sad reflection on how ministers are seen. I fear this public perception is not without foundation.
‘Clergy culture’ has a lot to answer for, I fear.
Nobody has ever accused me of being normal. My concern is whether that means I am less than normal rather than more
Have you never sung:
“You are a special child of God …?”
Christians are not allowed to be normal. It is against the rules
Mark, I’ve never sung “You are a special child of God…” and I don’t intend to start now
My last comment was rather trivial, I guess – I heard those words ’special child of God’ again today – excellent Deanery day led by Andy Knowles, who didn’t say that, but rather pointed out that Elijah described himself as ordinary.
I have been struggling with this, because there are things I have done which are not quite ordinary, and ‘not ordinary’ can be scary for other people, while ‘not myself’ is dishonest.
The incarnation is debated around how ‘normal’ Jesus was, so this all gets very deep, and into the area ‘what does it mean to be human’.