The Divine Universe

There is a tendency among Christians to idealise or sentimentalise Jesus’ family life. There is a story in Luke’s Gospel that lets us know that Jesus, like all young boys, could be troublesome at times and that Joseph and Mary reacted as any mum and dad would.
According to Luke, this is what happened. Jesus was [...]

How many people treasure the image of a location in outer space where good people enjoy eternal bliss? It doesn’t fit with the images of heaven in Jesus’ parables, but it is interesting to explore outer space anyway. It’s a fascinating subject and opens up wonderful possibilities to the fertile imagination. We now know much [...]

It is very difficult to explain my profound sense of the reality of God. Belief in the God of love could be wishful thinking. Wishful thinking is not a dependable source of truth. But there are benefits in wishful thinking. It is stimulating, creative, and it brings joy, serenity and hope. However, it can fog [...]

There was a problem. The claim that Jesus was Messiah rested in part on his direct descent from David. Matthew and Luke trace his lineage through Joseph, but it seems to have been widely known that the child was conceived out of wedlock. The Jews taunted Jesus with this during an argument in Jerusalem. Luke, [...]

This odd idea was in an article against religion by an atheist who asserted that belief in God is like believing there is a teapot orbiting Pluto. I suppose it was his image of the god he doesn’t believe in. I am religious, but I would certainly agree with him. I don’t believe in his [...]

When I look into the night sky, I see a number of stars and some of the planets of the Solar System. But I am not seeing them as they are now. The image of the most distant stars that I can see with the naked eye has taken several years to get here. Light [...]

What’s it all about? Such a mixture of money spending, merrymaking and midsummer madness. And it all ends on Christmas Day. We Antipodeans then collapse in a puddle of perspiration and a pile of pretty paper.
Churchgoing Christians call it Advent, preparation time for celebrating the Nativity of Christ. Most of our Christian festivals celebrate past [...]