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One of the hazards of being a Scotsman living in Ireland at the moment is that you are assumed to have some insights into the Independence Referendum. There is a general disbelief that one whose accent still sounds Scottish could not but be in the thick of it! In some of the more Irish Nationalistic […]

It is always interesting to learn what a celebrity thinks of Jesus as opposed to what he thinks of the Church. The latter always gets a bad press but not so Jesus. Sir Elton told Sky News a short time ago: “If Jesus was alive today, I cannot see him as the Christian person he […]

Robin Williams the American Actor and Stand-up Comedian died by his own hand on Monday. In his lifetime he has won many awards and established himself among the Hollywood greats. On Broadway in New York City, theatres dimmed their lights for one minute in his honour.  In his life he had struggled with dependency on […]

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.” The opening words to Psalm 19 which King David penned some three millenniums ago capture something of the […]

This lethal virus, for which there is no known cure, is in West Africa – sufficiently remote from us not to cause panic. But for our school children on our “Once” programme and the Sankoh’s extended family in Freetown it is a very real fear. The disease, which is highly contagious, started back in March […]

There is something quaint even old fashioned about the Commonwealth Games which opened in Glasgow this week. The athletes all had their moment of glory as the familiar scene was re-enacted. They followed the established custom of marching behind their flag bearer as they entered the arena to the strains of their own national anthem. […]

The latest tragedy to hit Malaysian Airlines is the shooting down of their flight MH17 as it flew over Ukraine’s war zone on its way from the Netherlands to Malaysia. It was taking the direct route, perhaps to save fuel or simply following the normal flight path feeling safe at a height of 33,000 feet. […]

There was once the notion the governments were to cherish all their citizens equally and respect their rights so long as they did not impinge on another’s liberty. This principle was strained in Belfast recently when Asher’s Bakery, a Christian company, was taken to task by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland for refusing to […]

Attention has been focussed this week on the area between the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers where Abraham and his family and flocks once travelled and where the Garden of Eden lay, today lies conquered by ISIS. Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has hopped out of the cradle of civilisation, as the region […]