January 28, 2019
It was a busy European week. On Monday, Theresa May refused to rule out a no-deal Brexit or to keep Britain in an EU customs union as she sought a way to take her nation out of the Union. On Tuesday, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron met in Aachen to sign a new treaty of […]
January 21, 2019
“Is the world getting better, worse or staying the same?” If you think it is getting worse, you’re in good company. The majority of audiences in 30 countries who were asked this question believed that things were indeed getting worse in our world. Among Christians too, many are predisposed to a negative perspective as wars, […]
January 14, 2019
Tomorrow is B-Day, Brexit Day, when Parliament in London decides whether or not to accept Theresa May’s controversial deal. If rejected, the PM will get three working days to produce ‘Plan B’, with an expected Commons vote next Monday. If the vote is again negative, the UK leaves the EU on Friday, March 29, with […]
January 7, 2019
What’s in store for us this year? At first glance, there’s not much to be optimistic about 2019. A lamentable leadership vacuum has emerged both in Europe and globally, foreboding further instability and the rise of strongman politics. As with recent years, populism continues to polarise and destabilise. The upcoming European Parliament elections threaten to […]
December 31, 2018
Starting with a literal bang – the traditional New Year’s fireworks in the city centre – our first year of urban living has been full, fast and fulfilling. Not that we don’t occasionally miss the birds and trees, and the nature and the quiet of the Veluwe, our home for over forty years. Yet Romkje […]
December 24, 2018
December 17, 2018
While in Norway last week, I was reminded of the Scandinavian celebration of the Feast of Saint Lucy (Santa Lucia in Norway and Denmark, and Sankta Lucia in Sweden and Swedish-speaking Finland), on December 13. This year that was last Thursday, when all across Scandinavia girls dressed in white with a red sash around their […]
December 10, 2018
During Advent we celebrate the Incarnation, God’s rescue mission to Planet Earth. It is a good time to ask ourselves how faithfully we follow the example of the Babe of Bethlehem as we obey his mission commission. Last week we reflected on the question posed by the media after the recent killing of a young […]
December 3, 2018
To celebrate Advent–as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the nativity of Jesus and his return at the Second Coming–is simply ‘foolishness to the Greeks’ of Paul’s day and secular Europeans of our own day. It makes as much sense as risking one’s life to take the story of […]
November 26, 2018
This month has marked the 29th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (November 9) and of the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia (November 17), two events which catalysed the collapse of the communist system. In 1989, headlines everywhere announced the unbelievable news that the Wall had fallen. Euphoric crowds celebrated in the streets. The […]
November 19, 2018
The epilogue of a series of draft chapters for a popular-style illustrated coffee-table book about how the Bible has shaped so many facets of our western lives. Feedback is welcomed. So what if the Bible has been so influential in shaping Europe’s thought and culture in the past? What does that have to do with […]
November 12, 2018
The 20th and last in a series of draft chapters for a popular-style illustrated coffee-table book about how the Bible has shaped so many facets of our western lives. Feedback is welcomed. THE BIBLE, WINE AND BEER “Come quickly!’ cried Dom Pérignon to his fellow Benedictine monks, “I’m drinking stars!” The cellar master of Hautvillers […]
