I like Derren Brown. And if that amounts to the most heretical statement since Rob Bell denied the existence of hell, so be it. I’ve only recently caught up with the guy but having watched some of his programmes online and checked-out his website, I’ve become a fan.

Now it’s only my opinion but his film on Easter Monday wasn’t his best in terms of building suspense and he came over as being quite cynical...

I’m 45 today. I’m not young; I’m not old. And I’m not middle-aged either. Ok!

For most of my life I have been very angry; mostly at myself but also towards those nearest to me. I’ve never hit anyone or anything. But I have shouted and screamed; gone very red in the face; paced up and down rooms like a raging bull; and probably caused a few people to be quite scared. The inward anger caused the depression; the outward caused a marriage to fail.

It has taken a few prayer ministry sessions but much of ...

I’m an ‘inspector’ apparently. It’s a description of my personality according to the system devised by a Professor David Keirsey (Please Understand Me II). I’ve always shied away from such personality tests fearing the tester at the end of the process would say something like, ‘Get out of here – you’re an absolute monster’!

So being an ‘inspector’ doesn’t seem too bad. Here’s a sentence from the lon...

I thought I’d start a ‘Monday celebrity column’ … No not really – but I couldn’t let the news about Catherine Zeta Jones’ illness pass without some comment. She announced last week that she is being treated for type 2 bipolar condition – a kind of depressive illness.

The stigma that still comes with depression or any kind of mental health issue is immense and CZJ is to be commended for coming out publicly wit...

This weekend sees the first ever Mardi Gras on Anglesey – an occasion described by the organisers as ‘the largest gay event ever in the history of north Wales’. Promising a festival atmosphere the organisers have a number of live musical acts and DJs to entertain the crowds, including the duo made famous by the XFactor – Diva Fever.

At the same tim...

As every good preacher knows, context is everything. Taking a verse out of its context can be quite dangerous (in relative terms, that is – no one’s going to die because you do it). Crucial to the New Perspective on Paul, therefore, is reading Paul in his own cultural context.

Second Temple Judaism (formerly known as the ‘intertestamental period’) is the period that covers the time both Jesus and Paul walked the ea...

Following on from the last post about Gehenna being a place of destruction the same meaning is to be found in the next verse to be considered – Matthew 10:28 - 'Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell'. The historical context to be taken into account here is that Matthew wrote his gospel during a time of persecution and it is sugges...

Could it be that the threat of hell is one of the church’s most potent weapons in the attempt to control people? It certainly seemed that way in Louis Theroux’s film on the Phelps family last week. I’ve blogged previously about this church (or should that be cult?) and the way they spew out their hatred of all but themselves but Theroux’s insightful film took the lid off a pretty disturbing set-up.

Central to this ch...

The Welsh Revival of 1904-05 has to be counted as one of the greatest historical events in Wales’ religious history. In this country alone some 100,000 people were saved – most of them in pretty dramatic fashion, with many swooning on the floor under the power of the Spirit and others were wailing their repentance.

Around the world – in countries like India, Korea etc. – the numbers stack up even higher. It became ...