The Divine Universe

  Jesus’ parables usually challenge conventional religion and social norms. They are intended to shock or offend in order to present a wisdom deeper than common sense. But he could on occasion be boringly conventional. The parable of the wise and foolish virgins is an example. No one would be shocked or offended to be [...]

  The word ‘God’ in our English Old Testament translates the Hebrew word Elohim, and we should notice that, ending in ‘im’, it is a plural noun. Christianity is what is called a monotheistic religion. We believe in one God, but that does not necessarily mean that the Christian God is what philosophers call a [...]

It has been suggested that I make it clear that the opinions expressed in this blog are my own and personal. While I hope they are not heretical, they do not represent official church teaching or the official position of my community, the Society of Saint Francis. William SSF

Even if you are a religious believer like myself, this is a moot point. It might seem that it is not a theological issue but rather a philosophical one, but the question underpins theological debate. How do we know that something exists? Philosophers tell us that to exist means, strictly, to be a distinct entity [...]

The relationship between science and religion has been variable since experimental science entered European culture from Moslem North Africa in the 14th century. Most of the time they have been at ease with one another, but there have been tense periods when the discoveries of science seemed to contradict the dogmas of religion. Nicholas Copernicus [...]

Jesus seems to be subverting the Jewish law and even contradicting common sense. He challenges the idea of legitimate punishment. The law about an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth was, in fact, a civilizing move, away from barbarism. If someone committed an offence against you, your response was to be [...]

Jesus sat down. It was the traditional posture to teach from rather than standing. A modern lecturer would begin by outlining what he was going to say, but Jesus gets straight into it. “Blessed (happy) are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Poverty of spirit could mean two things: it [...]

In 1925 Pope Pius XI instituted the feast of Christ the King on the last Sunday of the liturgical year. After the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus escaped alone to the desert because he feared that the crowd wanted to make him king. On his last journey to Jerusalem with his disciples, he accepted [...]

Zacchaeus. (Luke 19:1-10) I have always visualised Zacchaeus as portly and middle-aged. Nevertheless he must have been reasonably athletic to be climbing trees, even though he cannot have been very young, having risen to the position of chief tax collector in Jericho. I wonder what he expected to see. The reports going round would be [...]

So far as the four canonical gospels are concerned Mary is not a prominent figure. In John’s gospel Jesus even seems on a couple of occasions to put her down. It is only in the birth stories of Matthew and Luke that Mary is a central character. It seems it must have been generally known [...]