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Kester Brewin’s After Magic: Book Review – What can Batman Teach us about Christianity?

By on April 1, 2013 in Atheism, Book Reviews, Churches & Reconciliation, Ecumenism, Emerging Church, Evangelicalism, Morality, Post Modern Theology, Postmodern Theology, Religion in Britain, Secularisation, Social Justice, Sociology of Religion

It turns out Batman has a lot to teach us about Christianity. The latest book from Kester Brewin, After Magic: Moves Beyond Super-nature from Batman to Shakespeare, takes us into the worlds of literature and comic book heroes in what is an engaging exploration of how religion works. But ultimately, After Magic is a plea [...]

Widows’ Row by Shirley-Anne McMillan: Book Review

By on August 21, 2012 in Atheism, Book Reviews, Emerging Church, Evangelicalism, Irish Catholic Church, LGBT, NI Politics, Post Modern Theology, Postmodern Theology, Secularisation

I don’t usually review novels on this blog. Due to the demands of reading a lot of scholarly material in my job, I unfortunately don’t take enough time to read novels and therefore don’t feel equipped to review them. But I can recognise a good story, and that’s what I found in a new novel, [...]

Un-Emergent for Lent: Book Review of Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck, Why We’re Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be)

By on March 18, 2011 in Atheism, Book Reviews, Emerging Church, Evangelicalism, Post Modern Theology, Social Justice

I’m an alumnus of one of Ikon’s ‘Atheism for Lent’ courses. Back in 2006, along with about ten others, I read Merold Westphal’s Suspicion and Faith: the Religious Uses of Modern Atheism. What sticks with me about the course, which was facilitated by Peter Rollins, was the idea that Christians could learn something useful by [...]

Is the Emerging Church Liberal? Peter Rollins on Atheism

By on February 28, 2011 in Atheism, Ecumenism, Emerging Church, Evangelicalism, Post Modern Theology, Postmodern Theology, Religion in Britain, Social Justice

I cringe when I hear the emerging church described as liberal. I’m an American from a conservative evangelical background, so maybe that’s because I got so used to hearing ‘liberal’ used as a term of derision when I was growing up. Or maybe it’s because critics of the emerging church, especially in the United States, [...]

Ian Paisley and the Pope: The Return of Dr No?

By on July 2, 2010 in Atheism, DUP, Irish Catholic Church, Morality, NI Politics, Orange Order, Religion in Britain, Victims

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard the Rev. Ian Paisley rail publicly against the pope, identifying him as an ‘anti-Christ.’ But in an interview with the BBC World Service, Paisley reverted to ‘anti-Christ’ mode as he voiced his opposition to the pope’s state visit to the UK in September. On his blog, BBC religion correspondent [...]

Christians v. Atheists? The Battle for the Buses and the Ulster Museum

By on May 27, 2010 in Atheism, DUP, NI Politics, Religion in Britain

In its annual report, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) has noted that it received 392 complaints about the British Humanist Association’s campaign slogan: ‘There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.’ The presence of this slogan on city buses became almost iconic. But what received the most complaints? It was the [...]

Visioning 21st Century Ecumenism: More Research Results Now Available

By on May 12, 2010 in Atheism, Churches & Immigration, Churches & Reconciliation, Ecumenism, Evangelicalism, Irish Catholic Church

Reflections on and results from my School’s major research project, ‘Visioning 21st Century Ecumenism: Diversity, Dialogue and Reconciliation,’ have become available in a variety of outlets over the last few weeks. The research team is hoping that the publication of these results will stimulate new conversations about faith and religion on the island of Ireland. [...]

Philip Pullman Book Review: The Good Man Jesus & the Scoundrel Christ

By on April 27, 2010 in Atheism, Book Reviews, Emerging Church, Postmodern Theology

There’s not much in Philip Pullman’s latest book, The Good Man Jesus & the Scoundrel Christ, which would be new to anyone familiar with the Gospels. Sure, his story has two characters, Jesus and Christ, in the place of a singular ‘Jesus Christ’ figure. In Pullman’s story, Mary gives birth to twins: Jesus and Christ. [...]

What Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and the Orange Order have in Common

By on April 13, 2010 in Atheism, Irish Catholic Church, Orange Order

Prominent atheist campaigners Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have common cause with the Orange Order: Protesting against the Pope. Dawkins was the subject of a splashy headline in this week’s Sunday Times: Richard Dawkins calls for arrest of Pope Benedict XVI. The article said Dawkins, is planning a legal ambush to have the Pope arrested [...]

Atheism in the Public Square: Marginalised or Militant?

By on March 1, 2010 in Atheism, Irish politics, NI Politics, US Politics

Are atheists marginalised in our public conversations, even in the largely secular West? Last week, atheists had their first ever official visit to the White House. Sixty representatives from the Secular Coalition for America met with officials and discussed issues ranging from child medical neglect, military proselytizing, and faith-based initiatives. USA Today reports that ‘this [...]

Peter Rollins & Impossible Tales for Lent: A Review of Seven More Parables from The Orthodox Heretic

By on February 12, 2010 in Atheism, Book Reviews, Emerging Church, Post Modern Theology

Back at Christmas time, I reviewed Peter Rollins’ latest book, The Orthodox Heretic and Other Impossible Tales. With the traditional Christian season of Lent nearly upon us, Rollins’ publisher Paraclete Press has released seven additional parables, available to all those who have purchased the book. Rollins’ tales are short and sometimes cryptic. In the book, [...]