October 31, 2016
Some say he loaded the cannon that Luther fired. Others claim he laid the egg that Luther hatched. Whichever analogy we may prefer, the great ‘Humanist’ scholar, Erasmus of Rotterdam, certainly played a catalytic role in unleashing the Reformation for better or for worse across Europe. Today is Reformation Day, commemorating Luther’s nailing of 95 […]
October 24, 2016
He described himself as a man of paradox. He was a dissident playwright who became president of Czechoslovakia after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. His name was Vaclav Havel. A political activist, he never wanted to become a politician. A writer about literature, he was not a literary critic. A playwright, he didn’t enjoy going […]
October 17, 2016
Tomorrow, Tuesday 18 October, is EU Anti-Trafficking Day. Here are some facts to wake us up. (Warning: this will be far more offensive than anything Donald Trump has ever said!) 2,999,882 – Number of people trafficked in the EU. That’s more than the population of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague put together. Imagine that for […]
October 10, 2016
Following a prayer breakfast in Strasbourg last year, some Euro-Parliamentarians asked me how they and their staff could learn more about Europe’s history and the background to today’s issues. “We’re so busy with our politics we don’t have time to read or think,” they complained. Kathia Reynders, our Belgian colleague in the Schuman Centre, came […]
October 3, 2016
One hundred days after the fateful Brexit referendum, Theresa May has announced she will launch the Great Repeal Act by April 1, 2017, thus triggering Article 50 and setting off the two-year process of leaving the European Union. In Scotland over this weekend, I encountered a deeply divided and confused Britain, the Scots being at […]
September 26, 2016
‘Forty’ is usually the biblical number for testing. But for my wife and me, married this past week for forty years, it represents much grace and blessing. Celebrating this weekend at a retreat with YWAM colleagues of retirement age, I was asked how I proposed to Romkje. I had to confess I never did. My […]
September 19, 2016
Cedric and Elina are a young couple with a dream. They want to encourage young European believers together to dream with them about the future of their continent. In a time of growing nationalism, xenophobia and international mistrust, they want to promote broader understanding and reconciliation. As Schuman Associates, they are organising this year’s European […]
September 12, 2016
The first professorial chair in sustainable relationships, announced last week by a Dutch university, aims to inform government policy towards supporting marriages and preventing relationships conflict. In a society where sustainability is seen as an essential goal in almost all areas except marriage and family relationships, the appointment of Prof Dr Esther Kluwer (48) to […]
September 5, 2016
Cathedrals, for centuries soaring above many city horizons, remain powerful statements of transcendent reality in a continent too often written off as post-Christian. Many of us with Protestant-evangelical-pentecostal backgrounds don’t quite know how to relate to these proud symbols of a much-abused, largely by-gone marriage of church and state, the era of a Christendom few […]
August 30, 2016
He was born 1700 years ago this year in Hungary, yet has left an unparalleled legacy across Europe. Five thousand monuments commemorate him in Italy, where he spent much of his childhood as son of a Roman military officer. Fourteen European cathedrals are named after him. Nearly quarter of a million French people have his […]
August 22, 2016
This is the last of four weekly excerpts from the Masterclass text, Europe and the Gospel, by Professor Evert Van de Poll. This special edition can be obtained via Schuman Resources. EVdP: Halfway between the impressive buildings of the European Council and the European Parliament in Brussels, there is a small chapel. It seems a […]
August 15, 2016
The third of four weekly excerpts from the Masterclass text, Europe and the Gospel, by Professor Evert Van de Poll. This special edition can be obtained via Schuman Resources. EVdP: Europe is more Christian than one would have thought when looking at the visible presence of the church community. Even in the pluralist, multicultural society […]
