The 4th book of Psalms I have no idea what God is going to punish Pastor Wilhite for (see the image below). Possibly for his theology. The 4th book of Psalms, those 17 religious songs between psalms 90 and 106, have a theme, God is above us. The layout is like this:Book 1: Psalms 1 …
I will never use algebra?
"Why do they teach algebra when I will never use it?" This question has turned up on social media recently. Once one person has posted it another posts the same thing. None of them has stopped to think, "Why have I no use for algebra?" Picture from Wikipedia commons The reason that algebra is taught …
Where is God in this? — Part viii: The monarchy
The divine right of kings The idea of the divine right of kings, that God had appointed the monarch to have authority and could not be held accountable by parliaments, was popular in Europe from the medieval period. By the sixteenth- and seventeenth-centuries this had grown to mean that the king also had authority over …
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Let the whole world go wild with joy – Psalm 98
The 4th book of Psalms The third psalm in a row that says that God is coming to judge the earth in righteousness. Unlike the manic street preacher I would pass on Briggate when I worked in Leeds, these psalms do not say God's judgement is something to be afraid of. God is coming to …
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Formal language and lying in autism
With these words, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman," President Bill Clinton condemned himself. It was clearly a lie. The tell of the lie is repeated, what do "did not," "sexual relations," and "that woman" have in common? They are all formal word pairings where "didn't," "sex" and "her" would be more …
Trinity
A poem for Trinity Sunday In the beginning was chaos.Into the chaosthe Spirit of God fluttered over the waterand into a place where there was no lightand a new day dawned,An idea in the mind of the Creator, Spirit, Word Godcame into reality. Into the created world the Word walked.Into the chaosthe Spirit of God …
God’s power – Psalm 97
The 4th book of Psalms In the novel Small Gods by Terry Pratchett, Om, the great god, visits the Discworld*, only to find he is in the form of a small tortoise, he has none of his godly powers. Om has no power because the power of gods depends on the number of believers, and …
Executive function and visual thinking
Some people when asked to imagine a church steeple will imagine something generic pointing up into the air. Me? I would see, in detail, the spire of St Thomas's Longroyd Bridge near here, or again Wakefield Cathedral... now it is Salisbury Cathedral... and now the crooked spire of Chesterfield. Saint Patrick's Cathedral. New YorkPhoto by …
7 reasons to celebrate Pentecost
Pentecost: The birthday of the Church Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com 1 Pentecost is known as the birthday of the Church Pentecost is known as the birthday of the Church. The Church did not start with Jesus' birth, resurrection or ascension but when the Holy Spirit was poured out on Jesus' followers. 2 The Holy …
Looking forward to a redeemed world – Psalm 96
The 4th book of Psalms Psalm 96 is a song of triumph, not only for God's present victory in bringing the people out of exile but also to God's final victory when the whole Earth is redeemed. The silhouette of small hills across a bay. Above is a red and god sky of a sunset, …
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Making an ass of myself 