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Foxe’s ‘Book of Martyrs’

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Mention of John Foxe’s Actes and Monuments, popularly known as the Book of Martyrs, has often cropped up in my reading.

I was aware that this book chronicled the persecution of English Protestant reformers by Roman Catholics, and that the work exerted a vast (pro-Protestant, anti-Catholic) influence from the time of its first publication in the 16th century right up until the 20th century.

I probably assumed that it was a work of propaganda, and could not be taken seriously as an historical record. …

Halloween and the reinvention of paganism

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There seems to be more fascination with Halloween with each succeeding year.  Much of this is due to simple commercial exploitation.  For many retailers, it is now the third most lucrative event of the year.

But for the increasing numbers of people following the various resurgences of paganism, there is a more serious significance.  According to this BBC article, Samhain is for pagans one of the most important religious festivals, a time when the barriers between the physical world and the spiritual are at their thinnest.…

Was that an apology?

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Those who are in the public eye often find it difficult to back down, to admit that they were wrong, to apologise.

The recent furore involving Pakistan Cricket chief Ijaz Butt is a case in point.

With members of his own team under investigation for allegedly fixing certain on-field events in order to defraud bookies, he declared, in an interview, that talk was rife that England players had been up to the same kinds of tricks. …

The Reformation: tell us the truth

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When the Pope arrived in Scotland a couple of days ago, on the first leg of his state visit to the UK, a welcome speech touched on the Reformation and mentioned the persecution of Catholics by Protestants.  It did not, however, refer to the treatment of Reformers by Catholics.

In a recent article in The Living Church, John Martin notes that in London stand two churches within a mile of one another, each commemorating religious martyrs:-

A plaque in St.

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The Kinsman-Redeemer

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The classic illustration of redemption is found in the Book of Ruth.  The framework of this touching idyll consists of two clauses of ancient Hebrew legislation: the law of Levirate marriage, rendering compulsory the widow’s marriage to her late husband’s next of kin, Deut 25:5-10, and the law of the kinsman redeemer, Lev 25:25-34.  Adied by these two enactments, Ruth, the loyal but poverty-stricken stranger, was able to marry into the best family in the district and to become the ancestress of King David and of the Messiah.…

The London Men’s Convention, 18th April 2009

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Last Saturday I attended, for the first time, the London Men’s Convention.  Ten of us drove down from Norwich to an aircraft hangar in London’s Docklands that goes by the name of ExCeL  Royal Albert Hall it certainly isn’t, but you can’t keep nearly 4,000 men down, especially when stirred by the preaching of Tim Keller and others, and by the music of Stuart Townend.

The theme of the day was ‘The Man for all Men: Be Men of Jesus’, and the four main talks covered,

  1. He came as King (Matthew 14:22-33) – Wes McNabb
  2. He died for sins (John 19:23-37) – Tim Keller
  3. He rose to rule (John 20:1-3, 10-18 – Tim Keller
  4. He will return in glory (2 Thessalonians 1:1-12) – Mike Cain
…