Monthly Archives: December 2007

Do you believe in the Virgin Birth?

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Lots of people give their answers (including Rowan) here.

Doug’s been writing some interesting stuff on this recently (here is the latest).

My problem remains how to reconcile Jesus’ humanity with his special creation; or, put differently, I don’t see why God’s creative activity _has_to_ conflict with the normal processes of reproduction. Incarnation isn’t dependent on it; indeed, I suspect that the story was developed in order to support the doctrine of the incarnation and now works to accomplish the precise opposite. Either way it’s an extremely marginal belief and not essential to faith.

en courage

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A colleague mentioned – I suspect via Bob Jackson – that incumbents do their most substantial and creative work between 8 & 13 years in post (don’t ask me how they define that!). I find that a hopeful thought. I’ve been here four and a half years and I’m only now starting to see the shape and nature of what needs to be done. Still, God is manifestly in charge of the process and his timing is always perfect.

A long way down (Nick Hornby)

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I like Hornby’s writing – he has a very Christian sensibility, by which I mean he’s quite happy to reveal the truth about people, in all our worm-eaten glory, but he does so without judgement and with much compassion and humour. He has a gentle spirit. This was good, and absorbing, without being great.

Life on Mars

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I should first say that I really enjoyed this series (watched it all on DVD) with lots of echoes of Thomas Covenant’s dilemmas, cracking characterisation and effective realisation of the environment of 1973. Having said that…. I just had the sense it could have been so much more. I suspect the original story was geared around a single series, and when it became obvious that it was successful it got padded out across two – but the padding didn’t really work and there wasn’t enough plot development to sustain interest. I might change my mind if I rewatch it, and the rewatching reveals more than I was first aware of, but I doubt it.

Very good though, and I’ll certainly watch the planned sequel. Four out of five.

Borat

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By turns hilarious and excruciating. I came to the end of it feeling just a little nauseous, as if I’d been morally compromised in some way. I was also hoping for a “No Pamela Andersons have been hurt in the making of this film” notice, but there wasn’t one. Two out of five.