A Case for the Humanities
As a music historian, I cringe whenever a new acquaintance asks me why studying the history of music is a valuable use of my time. As a Christian, how do I answer?
October 2017
Talking to an atheist about Eric Harris
Talking to aggressive atheists can be enjoyable and fulfilling if you have an intelligent and creative spiel.
I was talking to an atheist builder who had a pop at me for being a Christian. He declared boldly: "I'm on the side of science and not religion."
I was straight in there. "Does that mean you agree with Eric Harris then?
The builder was puzzled and asked me: "Who is Eric Harris?"
I smiled inwardly and launched into my bespoke evangelism patter.
Integrating faith and evolution: a Christian ecologist's perspective
Growing up, I saw my passion for the natural world as a gift from God. However, as I plunged deeper into my Oxford biology degree, I increasingly felt like I had to choose between biology and faith.
Listening when others won't
Mark Surey writes on the importance of listening:
I have seldom met a scholar who is not fascinated by and excited about his or her field of study. That level of interest, combined with the God-given capacity to contribute, to a large extent forms the basis for a call to scholarship. It really helps if we both want and are able to do something.
RealityBites in Crete
Just came back from a great holiday in Crete with Anne. Truth be told, Crete has a lot more sunshine than Leeds and Zeus, the Greek god, was supposedly born on that fair isle! We didn't bump into the husband of Hera or any other Greek deity but we did have a remarkable encounter with a witty and outgoing plasterer, Ron and his delightful wife, Sally. (These names are not the real names.)
Pride and peer review: taking criticism as an academic skill
It's possible to benefit greatly from academic criticism, but to do so we have to overcome our pride. And that's a theme familiar to the writers of Scripture.
Evolution: a plea for Christian empathy
Introducing a series of occasional posts on evolution, where we will be attempting to learn from the juxtaposition of disparate views with humility and charity.