The story of Easter includes an episode of two travellers on the Emmaus road (Luke 24: 13 – 35). They, like many of us today, were distressed and down-hearted. Life was tough, with challenges that burdened them. This place of disillusionment and grief is common to man. Disappointments are everywhere. …
Read More »Open Bible Churches ‘encourage members to be vaccinated’, admit to split in Christian community
“[…] We believe that the Covid-19 vaccination should be an individual choice and have encouraged our church members to be vaccinated. “The views expressed by some members [within the Christian community] do not represent views shared by all or necessarily by the majority…” The following media release on Covid-19 vaccines …
Read More »Noble: Sorrow at Christmas—‘how can we sing songs while we weep at our fate?’
In the period between Christmas 2020 and 2021, because of Covid-19, we have lost a staggering 2,456 persons. We have empty chairs and beds in many homes, which serve as a haunting reminder. How do we eat a Christmas Day meal without the presence and joy of a loved one? …
Read More »Noble: Crisis, chaos and freedom—be your brother’s keeper, take the vaccine
If we do not know the endpoint of an event, how do we move towards it? What do you do when deep-seated tiredness steps in—a place where you are past the breaking point emotionally, physically, socially and spiritually? When you keep hearing crashing waves as you lie in bed even …
Read More »Noble to vaccine-hesitants: ‘When did Christians lose their connection with their fellow men and science?’
There is a story about a Samaritan called ‘good’ in the Bible because he did not walk by a suffering Jew. He had no prior relationship with the man lying beaten on the roadside, who was not part of his community, yet he acted out of compassion. Giving up his …
Read More »Noble: As USA learns cost of lies about equality, will T&T remove scales from its eyes?
“The truth does not care about our governments, ideologies, religions. It will lie in wait… I once would fear the cost of truth. Now I only ask, what is the cost of lies? “[…] Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is …
Read More »Raffique Shah: ‘Black power’ and Indians; when flowering racial unity sparked a revolution
The following column was written by Raffique Shah on 9 June 2000: IN 1970, I was the only Indian officer in the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment. I was also the youngest officer, having graduated from Sandhurst in July 1966, some four months after I had turned 20. When I returned …
Read More »Dear Editor: The message of Good Friday is love
“The passing of Jesus Christ—his crucifixion, his resurrection and his ascension—is crucial for Christianity, and the current clergy and laity are charged with continuing his mission. “… The message is one of Love, that is, love of God and love of our neighbours and doing unto others as you would …
Read More »Noble: Facing the naked truth: the fate of the Christian church
Beneath the veneer of the bikinied women in the Trinity Cathedral lies a harsh truth: the Anglican church is not financially sustainable. If the operating and investment budgets cannot be met by their offerings, the church is in trouble. This is to be expected since the Anglican church is the …
Read More »Gilkes: Deconstructing religion; Zionism, US/European exceptionalism and the rest of us
Back in the mid-80s, when I was in Form 3 or 4 at St Benedict’s College, a film was shown about the Rapture—an event in which the ‘righteous’ would suddenly be swept up into the clouds to be with Jesus and away from the horrific tribulations that would befall everyone …
Read More »Noble: Living in a messy world; God understands suicide, so help—don’t judge!
God understands suicide. There are seven stories about suicide in the Bible, including Samson, seen as victorious, killing more in death than in life and finding his way into the Hall of Fame (Hebrews 11). Suicide is a complicated story in the Bible. It is a short-circuiting of God’s plans …
Read More »And God liberated woman: Afryea finds genesis of today’s gender struggle in Holy Bible
In the King James Version of the Holy Bible, Job 42:12-15 reads as follows: So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. […] He had also seven sons and three daughters, and he called the name of the first Jemima, and the name of the …
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