stringerquartet

Charisma, Abuse and Learning from Second Century Christians.

There were two stories that struck me from last Sunday’s BBC Sunday programme. The first, almost inevitable given recent events, was a piece on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s resignation. The programme chose to ask whether there was something specifically about evangelical theology and practice that allowed John Smyth to get away with his abusive behaviourContinue reading “Charisma, Abuse and Learning from Second Century Christians.”

The (Latest) American Revolution

What we have just seen in the USA in the last couple of weeks is an almost classic case of a Marxist revolution, albeit one that was disguised as the election of a new president. I am no Marxist, but his analysis of the evils and dangers of capitalism was pretty accurate. Where he wasContinue reading “The (Latest) American Revolution”

Suffering

In working through a very wide range of disparate material to write my book on the story in religion, I have been reading some of Michael Jackson’s work. He worked in West Africa, in Australia and elsewhere, as an anthropologist but much of his work, particularly his most recent work, draws on personal and individualContinue reading “Suffering”

Images of Violence

I recently attended an excellent conference at the Northumbria University organised by the sociology of religion group, Socrel, and focused on Religion, Justice and Social Power. Alongside some wonderful papers and a chance to hear about faith-based action for social justice in the Northeast, it was also great to catch up with colleagues and toContinue reading “Images of Violence”

NSS and the Cathedral’s Group

I have been waiting for this moment for many years. As I looked at the league table provided by THE for the latest NSS scores it was dominated by a new group of universities, mostly new universities and predominantly from the Cathedral’s group. It is something that I have been expecting, and hoping for, forContinue reading “NSS and the Cathedral’s Group”

The End of an Era

Last week I attended the funeral of a dear friend. He was the parish priest of the church my partner and I attended whilst at university in Manchester. My partner also lodged at the church for a couple of years. We were associated with the church for about ten years in total, from 1984 toContinue reading “The End of an Era”

The Structures of Racism

I have just finished reading David Aaronovitch’s book on conspiracy theories. There is much of interest in the book and, especially in the present climate, it is very thought provoking. What is perhaps most interesting is that Aaronovitch takes the discussion back to the end of the nineteenth century and shows that the conspiracy theoryContinue reading “The Structures of Racism”

Negotiating University Growth

Throughout my time at Swansea University, we placed student growth at the centre of our strategy. There were very good reasons for this, but it also presented us with several very significant challenges. In what follows I want to highlight some of the lessons that I personally learnt from that experience. We want to growContinue reading “Negotiating University Growth”

The Fickleness of Scholarship

This is the first of four blogs that will allow me to look back on the different threads of my quartet. It has been about a year since I began this blog in earnest, and so I thought this would be a good point to reflect and sum up something of where I have arrived.Continue reading “The Fickleness of Scholarship”