This film, from the director who gave us “Titanic” is the hottest thing to hit the science fiction world. Aided with 3D glasses audiences can see where the $280 million went in making the film and the Director’s bankers can see the $1 billion it netted in the first 17 days!

It is impossible not to be fascinated and enthralled by this action-filled vision of adventure and battles in an iridescent jungle on an alien planet, where hideous, dragon-like creatures appear to leap off the screen, flora and fauna wave in the air and a heroic avatar does battle with a pterodactyl-like beast before subduing it and soaring off on its back.

This is Pandora, an Earthlike-planet with a lush rainforest environment, trees a thousand feet tall, floating mountains and an abundance of life forms, some beautiful and some terrifying.

Into this new world our hero, Jake, is sent on a spying mission. Here the natives, the tall blue-skinned “Na’vi”, (navy blue perhaps!) have long resisted the miner ... Read More »

There is something satisfactory when, in a National scientific competition for schoolchildren the winner out of the 1,000 plus entries was the designer of a home-made stove. It heightens the satisfaction to learn that he did not make it for the cash prize nor for its marketing potential but to have it taken up by Charities working in developing countries.

Richard O’Shea, an 18 year old sixth year student from Blarney, Co Cork, designed his biomass (wood dung and plant material) fired cooking stove out of tin cans. It can be made with a screwdriver, a small knife and a nail! The stove uses small quantities of fuel and produces little or no smoke.

It is reckoned that over 2 billion people in the world depend on fires for cooking. These use a lot of fuel and produce smoke. The beauty of Richard’s simple design is that it can be made from materials readily available. The life-span of the stove was not examined but, given the ease with which it could be made; replacements could form a su ... Read More »

This New Year’s Eve, at a family gathering, I was asked to quote the words of the above Scottish song. Traditionally it is always sung at the start of a New Year, usually by people gathered in an out of door setting who mangle the words! I, coming from Scotland, was asked to supply the words and only just managed to remember the first verse and chorus!

We did make some attempt at the last verse which involves the crossing over of hands, grasping the hands of your neighbours on either side and shaking them in time with the music.

The handshake, of course, is symbolic of friendship and the whole poem reminisces over the old times when the singers were growing up together.

An interesting change took place in the chorus from when it was first penned in 1788. Then the toast was to “Jo”. The Bard’s waywardness with the ladies caused him to substitute the anonymous “dear” five years later and it is this inclusive version which we now sing!

For auld lang syne, my dear, ... Read More »

Word on the Week.                         9^th January 2010.

We thought postmodernity had put it out of the house but in it comes through the back door.   The “A” word was heard in the media just when it seemed adultery had been dropped from the vocabulary.   After all the current descriptions of “having an affair” blunts the impact and to be “in a relationship” sounds almost healthy.

A possible reason is that we are dealing with Biblically literate Northern Ireland where the evangelicals call a spade a spade and not an agricultural implement.   Another reason could be that the one guilty of adultery is the wife of the First Minister who herself was a formidable political figure. &nb ... Read More »

Among the greetings from the East this Christmas came one from someone who was to be in Cebu (in the Philippines) during the early days of January. He was lamenting the influx of Filipinos to worship the effigy of Santo Nino - a representation of the baby Jesus – dating back to 1521. The feast day on 14^th January deflects attention from Christmas and contravenes the second commandment.

In Ireland we are not unfamiliar with relics or statues and recently there has been renewed interest in the Marian shrine at Knock. This occurred when a local “faith healer” prophesied that the Virgin Mary would appear and on the first occasion drew a large crowd which he asked to stare at the sun. Apart from some eye damage nothing miraculous appears to have happened and on the second occasion few turned up. It is not anticipated that there will be a third!

What the Bible says about these things has been helpfully analysed for me recently by James R Edwards in his book “Is Jesu ... Read More »

This week a friend sent me a homily recounting the martyrdom of Bishop Fisher for opposing Henry Vlll’s divorce. He wrote, “in defending the King’s first marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Fisher noted how John the Baptist, as Friend of the Bridegroom, Christ, had laid down his life in defence of marriage, “since,” he said, “the violation of marriage is no little insult to Him who is called the Bridegroom.”

The Pope of the day got involved; “Shortly afterwards, news reached England that Fisher had been created a cardinal by Pope Paul III. The king's reaction was that the Pope could send Fisher the red hat whenever he liked, but he’d make sure by the time it arrived that Fisher would have to wear it on his shoulder, 'for head he shall not have to set it on.’ &l ... Read More »

Carol services all over these islands will take a hit as millions stay glued to the telly as Olly and Joey battle it out in the final of the X factor. From an alleged 200,000 entrants the numbers are whittled down by a combination of judges’ decisions and the volume of calls from the fans in favour of their chosen performer. Tonight its either Olly or Joey.

The programme to tap into the latent desire of people to achieve fame and fortune. The lure of a fast ascent to stardom, coupled with the chance that it could be your favourite who succeeds, draws in both contestants and viewers. So far show was spawned six number one winner's singles, two number one charity singles and in total 14 number one singles by contestants including winners and runners up.

In Sunday night’s final, multiple advertising breaks will bombard the 20,000,000 viewers netting multi-million revenues from companies wishing to reach the largely young audience with the ... Read More »

There seems to be no end to the story of Thierry Henry’s foul deed on the playing fields of Paris. He was caught, red handed so to speak, by the ever watchful TV cameraman. The referee was unsighted and the linesmen were no help to him. The goal that put us out of the world cup was allowed and the injustice fixed indelibly in the Irish psyche.

Henry is a professional and knew what he had done. After a brief celebration he told the referee that he had handled the ball, a kind of confessional statement which helped his conscience but not the result.

The referee’s reaction, assisted by the jubilation of the home crowd, was to tell Henry that his job was to referee and Thierry’s was to play football. A somewhat ironic reply as the referee had just learned that Thierry had been playing handball!

In some respects a Church leader is like a referee. He has to know the rules in the Bible and how to interpret them. He will try to get into the best position to make a decision, taking ... Read More »

When St Peter was promised the Keys to heaven at Caesarea Philippi it was never imagined that his successors would use them to lock up so many childhoods as has been revealed in the Dublin diocesan report on clerical child abuse. The devastation caused to so many young lives by an organisation alleging to control the toll road to heaven reveals again the corruption that stems from a flawed theology.

The inability to accept that one may be wrong is fairly universal but when an organisation claims to have a handle on the moral authority in the land it becomes doubly difficult to make amends. Looking into the abyss of ones self-righteousness is not a pretty sight and it is not surprising that people recoil in denial at what they see.

After all St Peter reacted in denial to the accusation that he was a follower of Jesus. It needs the grace of God to produce the repentance which he showed when in reply to Jesus he said, “You know everything, you know that I love you”. St Peter’s reinstat ... Read More »

Rural Ireland descended on the Ploughing Championships at Athy in large numbers making the event the largest outdoor agricultural show in Europe.    Aided by the dry weather and numerous cups of tea, business was brisk in the Baptist Associations Marquee which was our “home” for the 3 days.

Some things never change and again we found the almost universal view that you will get to heaven by being good. Of course there are religious observations, mass going and pilgrimages but these seem to be more the props in the theatre of salvation.    Basically you get there by being and doing good, of that there was a general air of certainty.    Here was solid ground.    It was bred into us.    If we are going to be saved it will be on our record – and that record, we were told, was not all that bad.

The Bible cuts a furrow through this type of thinking.&nbs ... Read More »