Click the play button above to listen to this article. "The best-laid schemes of mice and men go oft awry. and leave us nothing but grief and pain, for promised joy!" so wrote the Scottish poet, Robert Burns (quote is modernised). Rober Burns by Alexander Nasmyth, 1787, Scottish National Portrait Gallery. Don't we all know … Continue reading Who Is God?: The Master of History
Click the play button above to listen to this article. Hundreds of years before Tolkien re-popularised fantasy stories, a writer told of dragons, hobgoblins, giants and journeys. Today John Bunyan has largely been forgotten, but for hundreds of years his book, The Pilgrim's Progress, remained the second most popular written work in the English language … Continue reading Forgotten Lives: John Bunyan
Often, we assume that God is basically like us - only more clever and powerful. The big man in the sky. But, in fact, it is easier to say what He is not than to understand who He is...
Have you noticed how the older you get the faster Christmas comes and goes? Before you know it all the songs have been played, presents opened, food eaten, friends gone, the magic has faded and January approaches. So what was the point? It's all very well taking time to remember events from history, but what … Continue reading Joy To The World: The Story Behind the Carol
An enduring memory of my childhood is my brother forensically going over every present under the Christmas tree. Was it lego? Which DVDs were in this one? How much chocolate were we getting? He would try everything short of actually ripping off the wrapping paper. My sister has been known to weigh presents as part … Continue reading O Come, O Come Emmanuel: The Story Behind the Carol
Have you seen those postcards of a quiet Christmas? The snow lies thick about a picturesque village. Warm light glows from the windows of several cottages, sprinkled about the bottom of rolling hills. You can almost hear the bells in the little chapel's steeple ringing out in the crisp night air. The only sound for … Continue reading Silent Night: The Story Behind the Carol
If you need a laugh, search the internet for bad versions of this belter. There are some brave people out there... who can't hit high notes... but, fair play to them, keep trying! Classic FM (a posh radio station here in the UK) reckons O Holy Night might just be the greatest Carol of all. … Continue reading O Holy Night: The Story Behind the Carol
Over the weeks leading up to Christmas, I thought it would be fun to explore some of the most popular Christmas carols in the English-speaking world, delve into their origins and try to unpick their meaning. As a lover of history, I'm really looking forward to it. May I start with a caveat? I am … Continue reading What is a Carol? (Christmas Special)
It's a question that is almost guaranteed to be asked when religion is being discussed. "If God made the world then who made God?" Something has to be eternal, something which is the first cause of everything else. Why? Well, if there ever was a time when absolutely nothing existed, then nothing could exist now. … Continue reading Who Made God?
With the fading of nominal Christianity in the West, it's easy for us Brits to forget that Christianity is growing rapidly around the world. A large percentage of the human race believe the Bible is our Creator's word for us today. But is it reasonable to believe what the Bible teaches? Can one religion be … Continue reading Why Believe The Bible?
Yours Truthfully 