One of the things that came out of my recent visit to Krakow, as a delegate to the 25th World Congress of the International Association for the History of Religion (doesn’t that sound grand, and rather nineteenth century?), was a clarity on what my next book (perhaps two books) might be. I spent much ofContinue reading “Coming to Terms with the Cognitive Study of Religion”
Category Archives: Religion
Leo: What’s in a Name?
When I was much younger, merely a child, I collected lions. They might be small sculptures, toys, pictures, whatever. It was one of those things that meant that my many aunts never had to decide what to buy me for Christmas, or a birthday. They simply found a lion, or sent me a card withContinue reading “Leo: What’s in a Name?”
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 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 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”
The Pleasure of Reading J G Frazer
Having just completed the third volume of J G Frazer’s thirteen volume version of the Golden Bough, I have to say that I am really enjoying it far more than I would ever have imagined. I don’t think I could read all thirteen volumes one after the other, but with a short break between themContinue reading “The Pleasure of Reading J G Frazer”
Is the Doctor a Vampire
The other night I woke up in the middle of a dream about Dr Who. I have no idea what the narrative of the dream was, but the question that stuck in my mind, as I woke up, was whether the Doctor should be seen as a vampire. This may not be quite as oddContinue reading “Is the Doctor a Vampire”
The Akan Doctrine of God
I have just finished reading Joseph Buakye Danquah’s book on the Akan doctrine of God. This was written in 1941 and first published in 1944. It was part of a larger attempt to bring together the thought and ideas of the Akan people but much of the rest of the text was destroyed in aContinue reading “The Akan Doctrine of God”
On Reading Dalrymple, Christians and the Middle East
I have just finished reading William Dalrymple’s From the Holy Mountain. I have to say that it was one of the most depressing books that I have read in a long time. The book outlines Dalrymple’s journey from Mount Athos through Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt to the Coptic necropolis of Bagawat in theContinue reading “On Reading Dalrymple, Christians and the Middle East”
Atheism and Photography
Atheism has been around for many centuries. The early Christians were accused of being ‘atheists’ because they did not believe in the gods of the Greek and Roman world. Atheism as we know it today, however, as a rejection of all that is supernatural or non-empirical, is largely a product of the nineteenth century (withContinue reading “Atheism and Photography”
Martin Stringer Quartet 