Biblish: According to…
One stock phrase that comes up quite often in many English Bible translations is according to. It’s bona fide English, but it contains within it a subtle trap which can be quite annoying or disconcerting for the reader and this is why. You’ll probably recognise 2 kinds of use of according to in everyday English: …
We’re all gods now
and so Scotland needs a new Blasphemy Law Or maybe the law isn’t being Revoked, just Rearmed and Re-aimed ‘We are not stoning you for any good work,’ they replied, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your Law, “I have said …
Unless the Lord builds the house
“Unless the LORD builds the house,its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city,the watchmen stand guard in vain” Psalm 127:1 (NIV) Here we are over 3 months after the lockdown got fully going in the UK, the 132nd of March (31+30+31+30+10) as some wisecracks have put it. Had it not been …
Too long away
Kai! (Exclamation) We have been away from Nigeria for too long! It sometimes just strikes me. One way I notice is that when I call up translators on the phone or sign off to friends in Nigeria I have to work just a little bit harder to remember all the correct greetings. And the funniest …
Valuing God’s Images
Two weeks ago, shortly after protests began over the gratuitous public murder of George Floyd, the chapter of Bible to read with my daughters was Numbers 35. It couldn’t be more relevant for contemporary America… and actually the whole world. “ ‘If a man strikes someone with an iron object so that he dies, he …
Reopening/Reconnecting
I just got an email from our church in Nigeria about a protocol for reopening tomorrow (June 21) in socially safe manner, with this delightfully understated line: 9. Members that do not feel motivated to adhere to the guidelines in this document are welcome to remain home for their and others’ safety. I may be wrong …
Last Post: Tears to the eyes
Today is VE day: Victory in Europe Day. 75 years ago peace broke out in Europe, and today as Europe struggles along mostly locked down with an unseen enemy laying waste to the economies and life of the countries, trumpeters and buglers are being encouraged to play the Last Post at 2.55pm from their homes. …
Covid-19 Tips from Nigeria: A second burial Ceremony
It’s hard in these coronavirus lockdown days when loved ones die and you can’t be with them at the end and when funerals can’t happen. Christians know it doesn’t really matter for the dead, but for the living. Some funerals are being live-streamed, but every attempt falls short. What can be done? It occurred to …