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I have just finished reading “The Gospel in the Marketplace of Ideas” because I thought it would be a help in speaking (or writing) about Jesus to modern people. The book is subtitled “Paul’s Mars Hill Experience for Our Pluralistic World” as the authors wisely focussed on Paul’s sermon addressed to Gentiles who would not […]

Amid the many stories of the planet’s wildlife being slaughtered there emerged this week the story of the large piratical fishing trawler which bears its most recent name of Thunder. It underlined again the difficulty in policing the oceans and also the sad fact that if you want to destroy species and make a fortune […]

It has become a common sight to see ocean cruise ships packing the harbour in Dublin Port. We have become a destination of choice for those cruises sailing in more temperate climes whose passengers might just prefer the soft weather here to the baking sun over there! Whatever brings them here the sight of ships […]

Appearing around the same time (1930) Pluto the Planet and Pluto the Puphave enjoyed a shared identity.    All this may be about to change as newphotos of the former came into the public domain last Tuesday revealing fresh secrets of the Planet whereas the Pup has nothing left to reveal! In the flyby NASA treated […]

It’s nearly 2,000 years since the Apostle Paul heard the Macedonian call to “Come over and help us”. The people of Greece could do with a little help again today! This time however, whatever the spiritual needs are, they pale in the face of the gigantic load of debt which the European Community seems determined […]

Roll out the barbeque and let’s celebrate. It’s the 4th of July known as the day the US of A shook off the shackles of a British Parliament with its outrageous tax demands. Not even the infamous Boston Tea Party where tea valued around €750,000 (at today’s prices) was dumped into Boston harbour could slake […]

Roll out the barbeque and let’s celebrate. It’s the 4th of July known as the day the US of A shook off the shackles of a British Parliament with its outrageous tax demands. Not even the infamous Boston Tea Party where tea valued around €750,000 (at today’s prices) was dumped into Boston harbour could slake […]

We are 9 days into Ramadan and my Jordanian barber reckoned he was over the worst part. The first 3 days were, in his view, the hardest. The long hours of daylight that come with the mid-summer Ramadan (it’s a movable fast) made each day a struggle and that hour before sunset when the smells […]

There has only been one story this week and that has been the death of the 6 students in Berkeley. They had gone out on J-1 student visas which allowed them to work during their vacation and experience something of the American dream. Sadly it all turned into a nightmare. It was a 21st birthday […]