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The last taboo?

12/12/09 | Posted by Poppy | Permalink | (6) Comments

We aren't that festive in the Poppy household at the moment as someone close to us if very ill. Every time the phone goes I'm expecting bad news and it seems to be a particularily bad time of year to be in this situation as the last taboo for converstaion seems to be even more strongly observed now than at any other time of year. More ...

Film Review: Nativity!

27/11/09 | Posted by MattPage | Permalink | (1) Comments

For many of us, the first time we really understood something about Jesus was perhaps when we starred in a nativity play. It’s a defining moment in many chldren’s lives, yet one rarely explored in the cinema.

Nativity! is the latest film by director Debbie Isitt starring Martin Freeman. Freeman plays Mr. Maddens a primary school teacher who was left with Scrooge-like attitude to Christmas after he was festively dumped by his girlfriend (Ashley Jensen) five years ago. Having previously studied drama, every year he is lumbered with producing the school’s nativity play and his enthusiasm for the project is further hampered by the shining brilliance of a rival school’s winter productions. More ...

National Gallery’s “Sacred Made Real”

31/10/09 | Posted by MattPage | Permalink | (0) Comments

The kind of statue that you would normally expect to find parading through Spanish backstreets at Easter seems like an unlikely basis for a high concept art exhibition. But this is exactly the sort of thing on show in the National Gallery’s “The Sacred Made Real” which opened last week and runs all the way through until 24th January. More ...

Halloween fun?

29/10/09 | Posted by Poppy | Permalink | (5) Comments

It is that time of year again when small children turn up at the front door demanding sweets and chocolate. I will have my door firmly shut on Saturday. Is this because I'm a Christian or just a grumpy old woman? More ...

The Hidden Gospels - Part 5: Gospel of Judas

24/09/09 | Posted by MattPage | Permalink | (0) Comments

Judas is an unusual historical figure. For the last 2000 years he has been considered the most hated man in history, yet we know almost nothing about him. Even the manner of his death is disputed. Matthew’s gospel has him die by his own hand. Acts finds him falling over in a field and bursting his intestines. Some historians even suggest that Judas never actually existed. More ...

Jesus in the NHS

12/09/09 | Posted by Poppy | Permalink | (5) Comments

I've been on holiday for a few weeks and part of my time away was spent in A & E (ER in the States) when I badly twisted my foot. Whilst I was away I missed out on all the fuss about the reforms of the American Healthcare system and the criticism of the NHS that followed but from my experience the NHS has a lot going for it when you have an accident! More ...

Shouting at Nice People who Work for the Council can Damage Your Health

07/08/09 | Posted by Poppy | Permalink | (3) Comments

That isn’t the snappiest title I’ve ever come up with but I’m fed up with people being angry. I work in local government and dealing with tantrums and hissy fits is something I deal with every day. I've heard every excuse under the sun for why people are angry but it doesn't stop them having a go at yours truely. More ...

The Hidden Gospels - Part 4: Gospel of Philip

31/07/09 | Posted by MattPage | Permalink | (8) Comments

“The companion of the Saviour is Mary Magdalene. Christ loved her more than all the disciples, and used to kiss her often on her mouth”.¹ It’s the most famous quote from the Gospel of Philip courtesy of Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code”. Interestingly the scene plays differently in the movie. Arch-conspiracy theorist Leigh Teabing gets cut off with the final “mouth” not yet upon his lips. The reason for this discrepancy goes back to the ancient text itself. Apparently parts of the only existing copy of “The Gospel of Philip” got gnawed away², meaning that, at best, we can only speculate as to where exactly Jesus was supposed to have planted one on Mary Magdalene. More ...

Jesus – the Leo personality

23/07/09 | Posted by Steve Hollinghurst | Permalink | (1) Comments

The Lion is the traditional animal that symbolizes Mark’s Gospel. It is also very common as an animal chosen in heraldry to represent royalty. Jesus spoke much of a kingdom that would come on earth that he was ruler over. The image of Jesus as King sounds potentially authoritarian in an age when monarchs are often ceremonial figureheads and we expect to elect our leaders. Yet we recognise some people as being ‘born leaders’. This would be true of the Leo Personality and was true of Jesus, but what kind of leader are we talking about? More ...

The Hidden Gospels - Part 3: The Gospel of Thomas

30/06/09 | Posted by MattPage | Permalink | (1) Comments

Perhaps the most famous of the hidden gospels is the Gospel of Thomas. We've known about it ever since it was written, but it has only been more recently when we discovered what it actually said. In 1945 a copy of Thomas' Gospel turned up in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, amongst a collection of other ancient documents, and closer study revealed that a few fragments from it had already been found 50 years earlier. More ...

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