Why is our Christmas crackers?
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 4 Dec 2024
As we approach Christmas, our minds turn again to images of a baby in a manger, an undisclosed number of Magi, sheep, shepherds and heavenly messengers, Jesus’ faith-filled mother Mary and his selfless father Joseph.
But is the season as simple and straightforward as it at first appears?
The Coronation ... how should this event bring us back to the Bible?
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 1 May 2023
If the King’s Coronation service follows the pattern of that of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, His Majesty Charles III will be handed a copy of the Bible as part of the ceremony. But, out of the hundreds of different English language translations, who knows which version it’ll be?
Imagine you were interviewed or gave an important talk which was reported throughout the world. If it was translated into 723 different languages, you’d probably be flattered.
The chilling history of Christian anti-Semitism
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 1 Jan 2023
Friday 27 January marks Holocaust Memorial Day – the commemoration of one of history’s most heart-rending chapters. But how did a plan that resulted in the death of 6 million Jewish people originate in what was a supposedly Christian nation?
The church in Acts was almost entirely Jewish, which explains why – in Acts 10 – Peter receives a vision of a large sheet full of unclean creatures to encourage him to visit the Gentile Cornelius.
Unholy Halloween: what’s the history?
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 1 Nov 2021
The road to hell, in a quote generally attributed to Samuel Johnson or St Bernard of Clairvaux, is paved with good intentions.
Whether you’re a UK believer organising a ‘Light Party’, an evangelical Christian running a ‘hell house’1 in America, an avid trick-or-treater pounding the streets, or one of the 11,766 people in England and Wales identifying as Wiccans in the 2011 Census, Halloween is an issue that’s hard to avoid.
Paschal lambs or curate’s eggs?
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 1 Apr 2020
Gary Clayton wonders why Easter in the West appears to have so little to do with the season celebrated by Jesus
Many years ago, shortly after I became a Christian, I took part in an evangelistic sketch showing the difference between various religions. One actor quoted from Mohammad, another from Buddha, Confucius and so on. Finally, it was my turn.
Living a life of reckless abandon
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 1 Jun 2017
Gary Clayton remembers five missionary martyrs and tells us of a new play about their story
Missionary Ed McCully wrote this to his friend Jim Elliot on 22 September 1950:
Frontline ministry
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 1 Nov 2012
Before the African sun has crept over the hills to the north, the 63 Sudanese men planning to enter the army as chaplains begin running in formation.They chant prayers and sing about Jesus. The soldier at the front carries a green flag with a red cross bearing the words ‘Mountain Chaplaincy Corps’.
The chaplains run for 60 minutes, passing through the town of Nimule, then climb to the top of a hill before running back down again and returning to the camp led by Wes and Vicky Bentley. As the soldiers stream into the compound, it begins to get light — a soft pink glow appearing on the eastern horizon.