Psalm 22 (Hebrew numbering) corresponds to Psalm 21 in the Latin Vulgate.It is one of the most profound and prophetic psalms — a lament that begins in despair but ends in triumph.Traditionally understood as foreshadowing the Passion of Christ, it expresses the cry of the forsaken yet faithful soul. (= Psalm 22 in Hebrew numbering)Deus, …
A reflective essay on how Isaiah’s compassion, Jesus’ inner kingdom, and the Gnostic idea of the divine spark reveal a long evolution in humanity’s understanding of God — from fear of an external ruler to awareness of the divine within.
Apocalyptic belief in the time of Jesus reflected hope for divine justice; today’s apocalyptic fears express anxiety about human failure. One looked upward for rescue, the other inward for guilt. Yet both reveal the same human need: to find meaning when the world feels near its end.
For two millennia, Christianity offered Western civilisation a moral framework that gave meaning to suffering—but also served to stabilise power. From Constantine to empire, sacred symbols were used to sanctify authority, even as reformers tried to reclaim the gospel’s moral core. The ruins of Santa María en Cameros, where a priest once ruled from his hilltop church, stand as a parable of conscience outlasting control. To awaken from the dream is not to reject faith, but to see through it—to recover compassion, justice, and inner truth without the myths that once bound them to power.
Dame Sarah Mullally’s appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury invites a deeper question: what truly qualifies a person to lead the Church? The New Testament speaks not of degrees or honours but of love, humility, and the fruits of the Spirit. Jesus himself warned against the illusions of worldly power and status, choosing the wilderness over the throne. In an age of spiritual emptiness, it is not competence but inner transformation that gives authority and life to faith.
For two thousand years, the West has lived inside a sacred dream — the story of divine redemption. Yet the man who inspired it, Jesus of Nazareth, spoke not of metaphysical rescue but of inner change. This essay distinguishes between Jesus the teacher and the Christ of theology, tracing how faith became power and how its original insight can still guide a new awakening.
The appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury marks a turning point in the long debate over women’s place in Christianity. Critics see it as political tokenism, but history suggests otherwise: the early church included women apostles, prophets, and leaders whose voices were later silenced by orthodoxy. Recent discoveries — from catacomb frescoes in Rome to the Nag Hammadi texts in Egypt — remind us that female spiritual authority is not a modern invention but part of Christianity’s forgotten past. The real question is whether the Church today can recover this truth without collapsing into cultural fashion, and whether hope for renewal may yet come from the margins rather than the centre.
From kings and judges to prophets and people, the Bible records a changing pattern of authority. Later writings speak of an inward covenant, expressed in George Herbert’s poetry and Vaughan Williams’ music: “My God and King.”
Awe and altered states are not the private preserve of mystics. They are common human experiences, celebrated by poets across the centuries. The real work is not chasing “special states,” but learning to live more honestly in the here and now.
Our bodies evolved for scarcity, but live in abundance. Sugar, once a rare luxury, now fills every aisle — and “moderation” has proved futile. Cutting out sugar and refined starches can bring steady weight loss and calmer appetite, but it must be done wisely, with medical caveats in mind. Paul’s words in Romans 12:1 answer the deeper challenge: awareness must become discipline, and discipline a way of life.