The Bible and Culture

When's the last time you saw a 697 foot tall angel? And talk about a man of steel, this dude is. Standing on a hill in Gateshead, hovering over the Tyne and facing Newcastle is what appear to be the largest angel sculpture in the whole world.... and increasingly one of the most beloved and visited angels ever. Here are some pictures I took on the way back from a visit to the Roman Wall at Housesteads. See what you think... … [Read more...]

'Though my soul may set in darkness, It will rise in perfect light, I have loved the son too dearly, To be fearful of the night'--- My variation of a poem by Sarah Williams 'The Old Astronomer to his Pupil' (the original having the word 'stars' instead of 'son'/sun). … [Read more...]

Zach Snyder, the man who brought graphic novels like Watchman, and also works like 300 to the silver screen, has now turned the philosophy 'nothing succeeds like excess' to the Superman franchise. Let's talk positives first. This move has some excellent actors in it---- Russell Crowe plays Jor-el, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane play Pa and Ma Kent, Amy Adams plays Loise Lane, Lawrence Fishburne plays Perry White (o.k... a little humor in that choice), Toby from West Wing shows up as a Einstein … [Read more...]

A deep seated need and desire and lust that leads one to impulsive and compulsive behavior. We're talking OCD of a demonic sort. The sort pursued by 'dead souls' the subject of Ian Rankin's eleven novel in the John Rebus series. In this particular case, we are talking about paedophilia and also psychopathic serial murdering. Here is a brief summary from Publisher's Weekly of the plot of this Rankin novel. "Edinburgh's Det. Insp. John Rebus is beset by troubles from the past and the … [Read more...]

Being a father can be hard work. But it is also incomparable joy. See the picture above. Yes that's me and our kids at Myrtle Beach in 1986, having a blast. I sure do miss those days. When your children are all grown up it is of course different. Christy now, pictured above, has already gone to be with the Lord. David has had a rough spring with a bulging disk in his back. And our Russian gal Yuliya has been working her brains out trying to get going on her dissertation at the University … [Read more...]

It is a very difficult thing to follow up an award winning novel with a worthy sequel. Very difficult. Usually, the writer psychologically thinks that now he can rest on his laurels a bit, and he does not put as much effort into the sequel as he might have done were he still striving to write a novel that would really put him on the map. If we were worrying about Ian Rankin falling into some kind of sophomore slump, we can forget about it--- entirely. This novel crackles with energy, pace, … [Read more...]

No this is not a little Swiss or German village with a clock tower. This is Ledbury where my friends the Keyes are going to retire. I'm not sure that you can get to Ledbury on a canal barge from Worcester, but there are hundreds of such barges on the canals in the area. Below we have a picture of my friend Tim Keyes and his dog Tom by the barge parking lot in Worcester. Worcester has a certain holiday or saucy feel to it, when you see all these people living on barges, at least in the … [Read more...]

Churches are often structures that are built, or added onto over the period of hundreds or even a thousand years. What you see above is the door to the Ledbury Cathedral, and notice it has an arch that is apparently meant to look like a Norman arch (think Durham). When you go inside this cathedral you find a variety of things. For example, you discover the church was originally much smaller than it is now, because you find a gargoyle on a column on the right side aisle. Gargoyles were … [Read more...]

While neither Worcester or Ledbury are timberbeam cities in the way Chester is, there are nonetheless various excellent examples of that sort of architecture in the two cities involves in this post. Above you see the old rectifying house. Now you might think this was a place where sinners received their correction, but actually it has to do with beer and its processing! From Ledbury we find a very interesting Boots the chemist (i.e. pharmacy) set in such a timberbeam structure. … [Read more...]

LINDISFARNE LITURGY Was it ever thus, then and there So no one need ask who, when and where The stones themselves cried out With the metal bells That God was in his heaven Though some were in their hells… Did it seem quite fixed, fashioned, formed So few would dare to query, quibble, quit The pilgrimage well-trodden Up the Dun Cow Lane To Cuthbert’s choired cathedral Saints sung the same refrain… From holy isle, aisle, I’ll Never look away, askance, above The … [Read more...]