August 15, 2026
Dig your bare toes into the soil next time you walk in nature. Scoop up a handful of earth and look at it closely. Is it alive and wriggling? Or does it look lifeless and inert? When we touch earth, we are touching something deeply ancient, deeply alive. It may seem solid and lifeless, but […]
August 8, 2026
Take a deep breath. Breathe in that mountain air, that sea air, that forest air, that countryside air… or, if you’re still stuck in the city in this holiday season, that city air. What is it that you breathed in… and out? We do this automatically some 20,000 times a day. Yet how often do […]
August 1, 2026
As you frolic in the water during your summer vacations – or for those perhaps on winter ski breaks in the southern hemisphere – pause to reflect on the amazing phenomenon of H₂O. To us, water seems to be everywhere. Yet, in the context of the cosmos, it is unspeakably rare. Though hydrogen and oxygen […]
July 24, 2026
Recent protests in Ukraine against government decisions affecting key anti-corruption and defence institutions may look like dangerous dissent undermining national unity and the war effort. In actuality, they demonstrate the remarkable strength of the nation’s civil society, in sharp contrast to their Russian neighbours. And they carry lessons for us in Europe and America. […]
July 18, 2026
A dinner discussion last weekend with an old associate reminded me how I first became aware of him when he and three other young people were imprisoned in Morocco. The year was 1982. We had sent out summer teams on evangelistic outreaches from the Heidebeek training community where I was leader, to various locations in […]
A dinner discussion last weekend with an old associate reminded me how I first became aware of him when he and three other young people were imprisoned in Morocco. The year was 1982. We had sent out summer teams on evangelistic outreaches from the Heidebeek training community where I was leader, to various locations in […]
July 11, 2026
A Norwegian colleague living on the Arctic Circle alerted me this week to a surprising best-seller about the Bible produced by two atheist socialist parliamentarians. The Bible–they conclude–is far richer and stranger, more radical and compelling, humane and relevant than many secular Europeans have imagined. When two prominent Norwegian politicians from the Rødt (Red) Party […]
July 4, 2026
The 250th anniversary of American independence today is a timely occasion to reflect on the human journey from dependence to independence and to interdependence – among individuals, communities and nations. Many Americans are wondering about the future of their democracy. Ukrainians are fighting for their independence from imperial Russia. Britons are questioning the wisdom of […]
June 27, 2026
A miracle of global fraternity in our fractured, polarised, warring world has been created by one of humanity’s great shared languages: football. Every four years billions of people watch the World Cup together. Families who seldom agree on politics cheer together. Children in remote villages without reliable electricity follow the scores on mobile phones. Nations […]
June 20, 2026
Artificial Intelligence has invaded our lives bringing both boundless opportunities and unprecedented challenges. We cannot ignore it. Last month, Pope Leo XIV addressed artificial intelligence as the defining moral and social challenge of the twenty-first century in his first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas (‘Magnificent Humanity’). Last week I attended a dialogue in the European Parliament in […]
June 13, 2026
Any nation, big or small, can become a great nation. Some nations think they are great, or strive to restore ‘greatness’. But what really makes a nation great? Military power? Economic wealth? Territorial size? Technological achievement? Many nations and empires through the centuries boasted all these things and yet became a curse to themselves and […]
June 8, 2026
Do you sometimes wonder about the relevance of our Christian faith outside the church building? Or how the story of Jesus relates to some of the biggest questions facing Europe, cities, culture, faith, justice, identity and politics? This summer in Amsterdam might be exactly what you need. The Schuman Centre for European Studies is inviting […]
