papal visit to durham?
Everyone has their fingers crossed hoping that Pope Benedict XVI will accept Tom Wright & Co.’s invite to visit Durham. You can read more about it at the Centre for Catholic Studies website.

the principalities and powers of healthcare
One of the surprising things to me about going through enrollment at Durham University was the Medical Registration. April went with me and she stopped one lady to ask what sort of paperwork would be required and how much it would cost for school insurance. The lady smiled and said, “Nothing dear. Just go through the line and sign up for it.” My wife’s mouth hit the floor and said, “You mean we don’t have to write anything down about pre-existing conditions?” The lady didn’t skip a beat, “That’s right. It’s free. This is health-care.” Bill Moyers recently interviewed a former health insurance executive for CIGNA nam

is the evangelical sub-culture good for our society?
Francis Schaeffer’s son says no! New Study on Teen Pregnancy and Conservative Religion Who are these conservative evangelicals? They are people who suffer from: • Read the Bible only in the original version – the NIV, of course! – as if there were a neutral and stable position from which this library of a book could be translated, as if translations weren’t themselves interpretations, and as if our interpretations of these interpretations didn’t go all the way down and resist closure – they do

Jacqueline du Pre’: bringing to life the work and vision of another
“[Jesus] is performing God’s love, God’s purpose, without a break, without a false note, without a stumble; yet he is never other than himself, with all that makes him distinctly human taken up with this creative work. If we look at great musicians, we see both the intensity of the struggle and the strength of the joy that goes with it. Whatever is happening, these performers are not becoming less human, less distinctive. In the fullness of their skill and their joy, another is made present. So with Jesus; this is a human life and a human will whose power and joy is the performance of who God is and what God wants, the performance of the Word of God. When the ea

ted haggard: evangelical saint
There has been a lot of hub-bub since last month’s news about the Episcopal church and their appointing openly gay bishops (see here and here). Many people have taken sides on “the issue” each tugging at the Bible in support of their own opinion. As long as it remains in the abstract as “an issue” it is easy to either promote or dismiss; especially from the pulpit. The old adage still rings true, “what