Robbie

A Summary – Competing Spectacles by T. Reinke – Part 2: The Spectacle

In the last post we ended with the question, “What are we going to give our attention to?” There is an endless array of spectacles to gaze at. This, of course, is a big part of the problem in contemporary society. Social media, video games, media, ads, all mining for the precious resource of yourContinue reading “A Summary – Competing Spectacles by T. Reinke – Part 2: The Spectacle”

A Summary – Competing Spectacles by T. Reinke – Part 1: The Age of The Spectacle

We live in the age of the image, the age of entertainment. Or as Tony Reinke would put it in his book, the age of the spectacle. A spectacle “…is something that captures human attention, an instant where our eyes and brains focus and fixate on something projected at.” (p14) Now if the spectacle isContinue reading “A Summary – Competing Spectacles by T. Reinke – Part 1: The Age of The Spectacle”

Comparing our Sufferings

When we go through suffering we often compare our suffering to someone else’s. We do this for a few reasons I think. Sometimes we are just trying to be polite as we confront someone who has suffered what we perceive as ‘more’. Sometimes we think it can help us get a perspective on our sufferingContinue reading “Comparing our Sufferings”

The Invisible Man – What we would do…

Recently I listened to the book by H.G Wells, “The Invisible Man.” Imagine yourself in this fellow’s shoes. That’s obviously what we all instinctively do. And what is it that we think we would get up to as one who is invisible? Perhaps we think ourselves better than he. For in the end he murderedContinue reading “The Invisible Man – What we would do…”

Moral transformation – “I worked harder than all of them”

Of late we have spent some time pondering the relative involvement of ourselves in the process of sanctification. Hopefully we saw that our sanctification is the work of God first and foremost. But are we then somehow not involved in the changing of ourselves? To say this would also be an error. We are theContinue reading “Moral transformation – “I worked harder than all of them””

Dependence in Moral Tranformation

We all want to change for the better, and who better to do that job than ourselves. But are we as adept at self-improvement as we think? Of course not. Our problem with changing ourselves is the problem of ourselves. Perhaps the solution is that we need to somehow change the part of us thatContinue reading “Dependence in Moral Tranformation”

The Underwhelming Underworld

The ‘darkness within’ is a trope of popular movies and stories. There is a certain kind of relatability we have with the modern villains. But when it comes to the ‘underworld’ (that includes angels and demons, the devil, death and the spiritual realms), it’s out there in the darkness at the edge of society, certainlyContinue reading “The Underwhelming Underworld”

Bill Bryson’s “Body”, and God.

In Bill Bryson’s book “The Body”, you will find a truly remarkable account of the biological makeup of the human frame. There is a lot of detail about all its intricacies, as well as an account of the historic investigations that led to many of the discoveries in human biology. How Bill Bryson and hisContinue reading “Bill Bryson’s “Body”, and God.”

Death, Pass over.

Egypt, Judgement was coming. Justice was coming. Death was in the air. But where was mercy to be found when death abounds? Under the blood of a lamb. Blood, upon the door. It writes, this family belongs to the Lord. Death, pass over. But God’s people were slaves. Paying an endless debt to their spitefulContinue reading “Death, Pass over.”

Kintsugi, Idealism and Moderation.

Some months back I was walking with a mate and we mentally meandered across the topic of Kintsugi. It is the art of repairing pottery with gold joinery. Turns out that this topic is getting the spotlight in Christian circles as a bit of a metaphor. Instead of deeming something un-valuable and not worth fixingContinue reading “Kintsugi, Idealism and Moderation.”