January 19, 2015
Questions bombard us from all sides. Where and when will the next Islamist terror attack be? What will Putin do next? What effect will the Greek elections have on the European economy? Can democracy survive the intolerance of the ‘tolerance’ parties? Where is Europe headed? What message of hope do we have to bring to […]
January 12, 2015
Let me exercise the freedom of expression everyone on the streets says they are defending: Je n’suis pas Charlie! After the mass demonstrations in Paris and other cities across Europe and beyond, I’m left unsettled and confused. What statement exactly were our leaders and the crowds trying to make? Of course the terrorist attack was […]
January 5, 2015
Many were glad to say goodbye to 2014. There were days we didn’t want to see the headlines with more tragic reports about the Ukraine, Crimea, Gaza strip, Ebola, Syria, MH17 downed over the separatist territory, the bizarre fate of MH370 eventually located off the Perth coast; and lastly, three days after Christmas, the disappearance […]
December 29, 2014
These days between Christmas and New Year offer time to reflect on reading material which influenced my thinking over the past twelve months, books both old and new. The oldest of course is the Bible itself, which continues to amaze me as the life-source of so much we take for granted in our western world. […]
December 22, 2014
The Peace on Earth declared by the angelic choir two thousand years ago still seems to be a long way off as we approach yet another Christmas Day. As does Isaiah’s promise of the Son’s government and peace of which there would be no end. Peace in the Middle East seems especially elusive. And we […]
December 15, 2014
Twenty-five years ago, a revolution was bursting upon the world. An obsolete and inhumane Communist system began to crumble under the weight of its own lies. A generation has now grown into adulthood too young to remember the tense buildup to the euphoric scenes surrounding the breaching of the Berlin Wall, or the equally dramatic […]
December 8, 2014
Early last Wednesday morning, several hundred politicians, civil servants, diplomats, businessmen and women, church leaders, and activists sat together at table in the European Parliament building in Brussels for the annual European Prayer Breakfast. One of some 130 similar gatherings around the world, the Prayer Breakfast is a meeting place focused around Jesus and his […]
December 1, 2014
Despite initially strong opposition to his visit to the European Parliament, Pope Francis received repeated rounds of applause on his visit to Strasbourg last week even as he urged his listeners to ‘return to the firm conviction of the founders of the European Union’, a vision revolving around the sacredness of the human person, not […]
November 22, 2014
The Dutch have been getting their knickers in a twist these days about the skin colour of Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), Sinterklaas’s helper. But perhaps the commotion is all about the wrong person. For the earliest icons of Sint Nicolas or Sinterklaas, the origin of Santa Claus, suggest that he was the black man. Maybe […]
November 17, 2014
Dr William Yoder, a missionary based in Minsk whom I recently met in England, sent out this commentary on the Ukrainian crisis last week, offering perspectives at odds with much western media coverage. Whether or not we agree with this view, we should recall the prayer of St Francis: ‘Grant that I may not so […]
November 10, 2014
The events of 25 years ago in Berlin commemorated with sound and spectacle this weekend came suddenly and unexpectedly. Yet a revolution of the human spirit had been underway for at least decade which led to the triumph of the ‘soft powers’ of love, truth and justice over tyranny. Recently I was invited to guest […]
November 3, 2014
If Europeans studied their history, they would count their blessings, realise they were freer and better off than at any other time of history and would therefore not despair and complain. Delivering the annual Europe Lecture in The Hague last week, the 76-year old former president of Latvia, Dr. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, drew these conclusions speaking […]
