James’s Blog: Capturing Jesus.

James’s Blog: Capturing Jesus.

Most attempts to put Jesus on film typically fail in one way or another, which is inevitable. If Jesus can’t be contained by a tomb, then there’s no way the screen can hold him. The gospels give us so many different aspects of Jesus’ character, while filmmakers tend to fall into the trap of emphasising one or two aspects that mean the most to him or her. If the filmmaker wants to get across the fact that Jesus was a charismatic, joyful figure then the actor wanders across the Middle East with a goofy grin on his face in every single scene, while if a gracious, gentle Jesus is preferred then he is expected to make gooey eyes at every single person he meets. It’s no wonder no-one has ever done the role justice. Read more

James’s Blog: Now That’s What James Calls Worship #1.

James’s Blog: Now That’s What James Calls Worship #1.

My friend Terry writes a blog and has been doing an enjoyable series of posts on Christian albums that have had an impact on him over the years. I’ve been thinking of doing something similar myself for a while, mostly as a follow-up to my own post from last year, but I didn’t want to just copy Terry. That’s not cool. So, instead I thought of something completely different and totally not related in any way to what Terry has been doing. Read more

James’s Blog: The Ballad of the Handyman.

James’s Blog:  The Ballad of the Handyman.

The workshop smelt of oil and sweat,

Of stone and wood and clay.

The tools of many disciplines,

Around, about they lay.

The handyman, he raised his head:

“How may I help today?” Read more

James’s Blog: A Conversation.

James’s Blog:  A Conversation.

“I haven’t seen you at the shelter recently.”

“Yeah, well, I guess I don’t see much point these days.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t think I believe it any more. To be honest, I don’t really see how you can believe it.”

“What do you mean? You’ve given up your faith?” Read more

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