by Andy Roland | May 24, 2023 | Bible
INTRODUCTION It is a simple fact that all through Christian history people have experienced a spiritual change of heart, bringing a new vitality to their lives, coming through conversion and mystical experience. Here is a famous example. ‘In the...
by Andy Roland | Apr 5, 2023 | Bible, Holy Week, Jesus
A BIG QUESTION To people in the ancient world, Jesus died simply because he was a troublemaker and a bad Jew (a glutton and a drunkard – Luke 7.34). For Jews his death was a stumbling block to any attempt to take him seriously; to Gentiles his death was...
by Andy Roland | Apr 3, 2023 | Bible, Lent
MARCH 2023 Marketing Much of my marketing this month has been trying to drum up support for my two talks on Holy Week. So far with little success. There were just five of us at St Cuthbert’s on 28th, but one young lady did give me a lovely small pink rose...
by Andy Roland | Jan 31, 2023 | Bible, writing
MY WRITING LIFE JANUARY 2023 A New Year Linda has spent all of January in Plympton with her father who went down with Covid and is recovering quite slowly. So I invited quite a lot of people around for food and drink, starting with three neighbours for a...
by Andy Roland | Jan 20, 2023 | Easter, Jesus, Post-modern times, Religion
THE PSYCHIC REALM From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord deliver us. (Traditional Scottish prayer) As we think about death and what if anything might come after we need neither blind belief nor blind...
by Andy Roland | Dec 19, 2022 | Advent, Bible, Church, Church’s Year, Religion
THE HISTORY OF HELL The Four Last Things I knew a priest went to buy some tobacco from a small tobacconist near St Paul’s on Christmas Eve. All the other shops were blazing with lights but not this one. The priest asked if he was not putting up any...
