“Jesus taught us that the kingdom of God is near, close, not far away, among us, within us, and people are pressing into it. To participate in this kingdom we are called to live in a state of deeply honest and perpetual re-cognition. I believe that there is a current reality of true peace and joy that we miss out on because the subtle influence of institutionalized Christianity has shifted our focus far away from the present and, like the Pharisees, has “shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people”. Unhealthy religion refuses to live in the present; it will either push out hope into a distant future or long for traditions of the past.”

“There is a depressing predictability to what’s currently happening in the Middle-East. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth – something that Jesus warned about in the Sermon on the Mount. Israel under Roman occupation was the original context of those words. If you live like that, the whole world ends up blind and whole world ends up toothless. But how do you break the cycle of violence? (And do we wish to?) Jesus, didn’t lead a violent revolt against the Roman Empire; he didn’t attack other religions. He criticised his fellow Jews for their hypocrisy and taught his disciples to be meek, to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, to love their enemies, to lose their lives and take up the cross.”

“Jesus has already decided that he, like the father in his story, wants to be in the house with all the sinners. Now he is hoping that the religious folks will join him. He knows it is a stretch. They have trained themselves to reject people, convincing themselves and each other that separation is pious and necessary.”

“I think many Christians are yet to find a comfortable resolution between their theology and their sexuality, which leads to discomfort and resentment. This internal discomfort spills over into external condemnation of the sexual freedoms of others.”

Shouldn’t we be mending our nets instead of rooting out tares, rending our garments, or dividing our fellowships into smaller and smaller groups? Jesus told us to become fishers, not weeders.

“So I had started to wonder. Perhaps God was just an idea people made up? Maybe that’s enough for there to be some kind of meaning? But I was stuck. I still loved the scriptures with their teachings and narratives, but I didn’t know how to square them with the physicalist assumptions I had silently taken on board.”

“I now believe that scripture teaches the active presence of God and Jesus in the life of the believer by the Spirit. I also believe that the reason the Spirit is sometimes called 'holy’ is to draw a distinction between the holy Spirit of God and our naturally unholy spirit. These refreshing and reassuring conclusions encourage us to accept God’s help to reflect his holy character in our lives.“

“Solomon states his intent: the Proverbs are designed to steer the reader away from seductive Hedonism (also presented as a woman) and towards Lady Wisdom.3 For all his destructive foolishness, Solomon is the one who most intelligently articulates the principal dilemma all humans face. Will you marry Wisdom, or be seduced to partner Hedonism?”

“Solomon states his intent: the Proverbs are designed to steer the reader away from seductive Hedonism (also presented as a woman) and towards Lady Wisdom.3 For all his destructive foolishness, Solomon is the one who most intelligently articulates the principal dilemma all humans face. Will you marry Wisdom, or be seduced to partner Hedonism?”

“I now believe that scripture teaches the active presence of God and Jesus in the life of the believer by the Spirit. I also believe that the reason the Spirit is sometimes called 'holy’ is to draw a distinction between the holy Spirit of God and our naturally unholy spirit. These refreshing and reassuring conclusions encourage us to accept God’s help to reflect his holy character in our lives.“

“It’s a crippling thing to feel invisible. A demeaning experience. A feeling Hagar knows all too well. Hagar is an immigrant, a slave, and a concubine; she is as far outside the preferred social clique as one can be. … Hagar never stood a chance. She occupies the lowliest, least visible, layer of society. No-one sees a slave.”

“All around us in nature we see the pattern of death, burial and resurrection. Seeds die, fall to the ground and then new life occurs. It is just the same with the spiritual. The unhelpful desires must die and be buried in order for new life to grow.”

“It's tempting to crave certainty and steadfastness in our faith, but that is not faith. God is steadfast, that is what we can be certain of. He demonstrates his certainty and steadfastness in his unrelenting, and pursuing love. The steadfast thing that we can cling to is being known and loved by God. That is what we can rest on.”

“Just as the Jews were unable to obtain their freedom by their own might, we are also unable to free ourselves from the captivity of death and sin by our own might too. Just as Cyrus saved the Jews from captivity and slavery; similarly Jesus saves us from the captivity and slavery of sin.”

“There are more debates about Mary Magdalene than any other New Testament woman, almost undoubtedly because she developed a close personal relationship with Jesus, which prompts salacious rumours and bizarre theories to flourish.”

“Faith is risk. If I rely on God and he doesn’t come through, I lose everything. This is what Paul meant when he said that if there’s no resurrection of the dead then we’re to be pitied more than anyone – we are absolutely depending on God to fulfill his promise. So faith is not just risk. There’s a deep emotional element as well. Faith is willingly allowing ourselves to be vulnerable.”

“This story is about my journey from where I was to where I am now. It focuses on autism and gender diversity, as well as difficult life experiences and discrimination. This story outlines a journey to positive self-knowledge and acceptance. I’m hoping you will find it helpful to hear about the life of someone whose brain may work very differently from yours.”

“He wept for those whom he loved that were suffering. He wept too, I think, for those who did not understand what he had been sent to do. But he knew – he had always known. And in these last few days he tries to prepare his disciples for what he knew was inevitable. And John passes that information on to us. Five chapters out of the 21 that make up the Gospel of John are more or less dedicated to Jesus trying to equip his followers for what was going to happen. Because he knew. He had always known.”

“Is this an act of foolishness by Samson? Or is it an act of faith? He gives up everything to her, but I never previously considered the possibility that he gave up everything for her. Genuine love for her, even knowing that betrayal will come.”