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Jesus was no saint
Protect me, I implore you, from Easter – if it’s only going to be another vacuous, vaguely religious-sounding bank holiday (and do the banks really need these ‘holidays’ anyway?) I’ve just recently been dragged through St Bridget’s Day. After being deluged with the reported goodwill for Bridget, I thought it was only right to perform… Read more
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Easter in the Khyber Pass
I couldn’t miss the massive tribal turban on his head and the rifle hanging from his shoulder. I had noticed a man waving at me while I was waiting for an appointment on Peshawar university’s sparse front lawn. He had been in the shadow of a tree so I couldn’t make him out clearly. More… Read more
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Thank you for coming
My dear American missionary friends, of all types and organizations: Thank you for: • Coming to Ireland in the first place. That first day when you stepped off the plane, Ireland wasn’t quite like it is today, was it? • Patiently answering the question, “how were your holidays?”, when you have just come back from… Read more
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Racing to St Patrick’s Day
In my teens I read the old tomes of biographies that told tales of missionary doctors like David Livingstone. Maybe I should be a doctor and get serious about the biological sciences (after all I had attempted to breed newts, found in a nearby quarry, in a makeshift aquarium under my bed). But it was… Read more
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I’m sure it’s illegal
You may not have heard of Shagufta Kiran, who has been a Christian nurse in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. I wouldn’t have heard of her either except that her case is being featured by Church in Chains this month. Shagufta has been kept in custody since July 2021 when she was arrested for blasphemy.… Read more
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I’m trying to mind my language
A couple of weeks ago I emailed some supporters reminding them that our goal is ‘the fulfilment of the Great Commission’. But after I had pushed the send button, I had second thoughts. Would they know what I’m talking about using such time-worn phraseology? Maybe it would have a soporific familiarity. And anyway, what did… Read more
the electrician's children 