John H
http://www.confessingevangelical.com
According to TMH, I’m one of six Lutherans living in Britain. Well, there are a few more of us than that, but I admit we are fairly thin on the ground over here. I’ve been a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of England since 2004, having previously been an Anglican evangelical. I live on the south-eastern fringes of London, with my wife and our three sons, and work as a technology lawyer.
John H writes:
Who else is planning to catch the new Trek? Saw it last Friday. Is good fun. Could do without the utterly pointless underwear shot of Alice Eve (who is easy enough on the eye already without the director having to resort to such tedious high jinks), the deliberate nods to the Canon got a little [...]
John H writes:
“Church confidentiality agreements”? Lord, have mercy.
John H writes:
“Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord”
Chris: that’s great. Reminds me of this passage from Alexander Schmemann’s book For the Life of the World, which I was reading only this morning: And yet, from its very beginning Christianity has been the proclamation of joy, of the only possible joy on earth. It rendered impossible all joy we usually think of as [...]
John H writes:
Jaredd: part of me thinks this is the business world with a bible verse stuck on it. That’s because that’s what it is. Except a business would probably carry out its survey and statistical analysis with a bit more competence. That’s not to say that an exercise like this is altogether a bad thing, but [...]
John H writes:
Justin: that reminds me of last night’s BBC coverage, where they had a segment describing Pope Francis’s background in Argentina, his criticisms of neo-liberal capitalism, his work supporting the poor, kissing people’s feet, modest background, living in a flat, taking the bus, etc. etc. Also the fact that he is clearly a cannier political operator, [...]
John H writes:
Also, a man. Surprisingly, David Cameron didn’t repeat the exhortation he gave the Church of England to “get with the programme” over women bishops. (jn)
John H writes:
One helpful idea I’ve come across recently is the distinction between having a Rule, and having rules.
John H writes:
When Steve Martin allegedly said it’s hard to write music about misery and death for the banjo I figured there’s got to be a way to do that. It’s only a matter of time. You are aware of the music of Sufjan Stevens, right? (sw)
John H writes:
Cause and effect
Sorry to hear about your cousin and uncle, Jeremiah. They sound to have had rather lonely deaths: another regrettable modern trend. The costs of burial are, I would guess, a mixture of cause and effect. The increased popularity of cremation reduces demand for cheap burial plots, which in turn means there’s no economic or political [...]
John H writes:
Andy: I think that cremation is not the cause, but rather a symptom of a growing inability to deal with death or to grieve in healthy ways. Very well put. Is cremation increasingly popular [in Britain]? Like is it more common than burial now? Yes, hugely so. According to this BBC article, 72% of bodies [...]
