Thoughts on Christian Theology
Here you will find past and present reflections on issues which have arisen in my life as a result of teaching, or as a cathedral organist, or as a result of issues I have raised in the public domain
Click on the Title to go to the relevant page
This will be an ever changing page with nothing to be subtracted but plenty to be added as my life evolves
Christian Unity: This is a sermon I gave in St John's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Limerick to open the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 1996. The focus is on meditation, the core objective of all religions.
Capitalism, the new morality of the 21st century: With the decline in the moral and cohesive influence
of Christianity the vacuum has been filled by the self-centred needs of politicians and the financial market
Traditional versus Evolutionary Christianity: I was often accused in the public press and in private in Ireland of being an heretic. Here is my response, that it it possible to hold to evolution in theology while encouraging others to tread the more traditional path. There is room for both but only if openness of mind exists.
Ecology: This is a growing problem and one with which Chriatianity is beginning to grapple. The problem is that Christian humanity feels it has a divine right to both survive and to control the whole of earth's creation. Did the dinosaurs feel that way? How confident should we be of our own survival given the mess we are creating?
Same sex relationships: Following the much publicised debate throughout the Anglican Communion on the attempted elevation of Canon John in England and the elevation of Gene Robinson in America to the episcopate I was asked for my reflections on the problems posed by gay/lesbian relationaships. Here is my response: Good in terms of human relations but bad theology!
Lent: What really happened during the '40' days in the 'wilderness'? This, for me, was the core element of the life of Jesus - meditation for a healing and teaching ministry.
Good Friday and The Resurrection Part 1: The origins of Easter lie in the pagan world which has now taken over from Christianity at this time of the year with its emphasis on consumerism. The response has been 'Designer Christianity' where the individual, as in consumerism, counts for little.
Good Friday and the Resurrection Part 2: Fact, fiction, or spiritual enlightenment? This was not an issue for the early church. Paul, interestingly enough, attests to a spiritual resurrection - a fact rarely mentioned in churches! The problem was resolved only after some 300 years of debate.
Christmas: Comments on the nature of truth and the conflict between individual responsibility and authoritarian control.
Reflections on Tintern Abbey: Thoughts occasioned by a visit to this wonderful ruined monastery made famous by the poet Wordsworth in his "Intimations on immortality".
A search for compassion and realism in religion explores the nature and dangers of Fundamentalism in Religion and the World.
The church featured is that of Tintern Abbey. It is a marvellous expression of medieval architecture, full of light and symetry, and full of the sense of eternity in a setting which blends the sacred with natural creation. These buildings endure and still speak to us. Wonderful. Could that be said of our modern buildings? I may be an evolutionary theologian but I revere the past and their achievements. Too often those who would change for modernity's sake throw out the spiritual (never the intellectual!) asperations of past generations be it in buildings, music or liturgy. They do so at their peril and to the detriment of the faith. An old friend of mine, Ivor Bulmer-Thomas, first Chairman of the Redundant Churches Fund which cares for many an unwanted gem, referred to them as "sermons in stone". Amen to that. As I travel round the amazing variety of British churches I shall photograph them and include them on this web site.