Category: The Arts
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136 Revelation
Regular readers will know that I like John Henry Newman’s words: “No revelation can be complete and systematic, from the weakness of the human intellect; so far as it is not such, it is mysterious … The religious truth is neither light nor darkness, but both together; it is like the dim view of a…
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132 The Flight into Egypt
The Flight into Egypt by Henry Ossawa Tanner [1859-1937] The journey of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph to the land of Egypt takes place under the cover of darkness. The fact that it happens ‘by night’ (Matthew 2:14) underscores the urgent note of danger and the threat of death. As the angel announces to Joseph, Herod is…
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130. Just Knowing or Revelation?
Earlier this summer I read that Alice Oswald had been elected as the next Professor of Poetry at Oxford University. I recognised her name but wasn’t familiar with her poetry, so on a whim I went to BBC Sounds and on entering her name came upon a programme in which she had been interviewed. I…
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129. Supper with Jesus
We see a painting which will be described in detail, below. This painting is entitled ‘Supper at Emmaus’ and Caravaggio painted it in 1602. He was a hugely gifted and theologically perceptive painter with a bit of a reputation for violent behaviour: he often had to leave town in a hurry. Before we look at…
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127. Life and death
We.see a painting of a dark table with an upturned skull on it, and a lit white candle.. The background is a pale colour, there is a dark strip down the left hand side, and a less clear dark strip down the lower part of the right hand side. This painting “Skull and Candle”is by…
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125 The Wounded Angel
July 2023 I enjoy looking at paintings. They often slip under my guard and take me by surprise. I sense that they speak and my soul hears them before the rest of me catches up. One painting that does this for me is this one. This picture is entitled ‘The Wounded Angel’. Its is by…
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123. Faith
23rd June I remember, many years ago reading a poem by David Whyte entitled ‘Faith’: I want to write about faith About the way the moon rises Over cold snow, night after night. Faithful even as it fades from fullness Slowly becoming that last curving and impossible Sliver of light before the final darkness. But…
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118. Listening to the Flowers
January 2023 In exploring feral spirituality my intuition is a trusty guide. It led me to ask for a Christmas gift of Louise Gluck’s ‘Poems 1962-2020’, which I duly received. People who write poetry often seem to have something of the feral about them, perhaps as they feel beholden to no-one but their muse. I’ve begun dipping…
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116. ‘Into My Arms’
December 2022 A friend of mine, John Walker, was recently telling me about his son Jonny: a gifted musician…who founded the Keep Streets Live Campaign, to advocate for public spaces for people and against the criminalization of homelessness and street culture. Jonny once said: “Buskers act as civic lighthouses. We give directions, we break up fights, we…
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114. Charlie Mackesy
January 2023 A couple of years ago I read and enthused about a book ‘A Boy, a Mole, a Fox and a Horse’ by Charlie Mackesy, and gave copies to friends as Christmas presents. This Christmas there was a film version of the story on BBC 1, and an audio version on BBC Sounds. Even…