http://www.thinkingfaith.org/index.htm The online journal of the British Jesuits en-gb Wed, 16 May 2012 14:55:00 +0000 Copyright: (C) Jesuit Media Initiatives article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120516_1.htm The Feast of the Ascension strikes many Christians as the poor relative of the two rather bigger celebrations which top and tail the long and joyful season of Eastertide: Easter itself, and Pentecost. But Damian Howard SJ ascribes to this feast the utmost significance. What are we to make of the story of Jesus being taken up into a cloud, an episode that not only sounds like mythology but also violates our modern sense of space? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120516_1.htm Wed, 16 May 2012 14:54:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120509_1.htm One New Testament book is reserved for Easter Day and the following fifty days until Pentecost, and is never otherwise read publicly in Catholic Sunday or weekday liturgies. This book is The Acts of the Apostles. Peter Edmonds SJ invites us to spend some time exploring its background and character as we attempt to grasp the significance of Easter and deepen the peace, hope and joy which the season offers. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120509_1.htm Wed, 9 May 2012 11:44:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120503_3.htm An afternoon in conversation with retired Episcopalian Bishop Richard Holloway left his audience at the 2012 LSE Literary Festival feeling encouraged by and grateful for his honesty. Gerard Hughes SJ describes an engaging discussion that touched on some of the more controversial aspects of belief and Church affairs, and suggests a way in which such topics might be further explored by people of faith this summer. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120503_3.htm Thu, 3 May 2012 17:14:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120503_2.htm The LSE Literary Festival 2012 adopted the theme of ‘Relating Cultures’. There are few places where the meaning and challenges of this phrase can be seen more clearly than in South Africa. But can the South African experience be conveyed honestly and accurately through the written word? Grant Tungay SJ heard two prominent fiction writers talk powerfully about the difficulties, impact and importance of telling their stories. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120503_2.htm Thu, 3 May 2012 17:13:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120503_1.htm An exchange of ideas about science and the media at the 2012 LSE Literary Festival was characterised by a lively and friendly dialogue between professionals in both fields, even if the odd frustration was apparent. Frances Murphy thinks about how a conversation about religion and the media might follow a similar path. How did the discussion at the LSE manifest the dangers of misrepresentation of both science and religion in the media? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120503_1.htm Thu, 3 May 2012 17:12:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120425_1.htm The fourth phase of the RCIA goes by the name of Mystagogy. This is a rather obscure term used in early Christianity, best known in the ‘Mystagogical Catecheses’ of Cyril of Jerusalem, where they are in effect baptismal or sacramental homilies. In this article James Crampsey explores some passages in the Synoptic Gospels against the horizon of Mystagogy. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120425_1.htm Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:02:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120417_2.htm 18 April marks the start of the 100 day countdown to the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. James Parker of Catholic 2012 urges us to channel the growing excitement about the Olympics and Paralympics into efforts to build a legacy of peace. How can we ensure that the events of London 2012 take place in the spirit of peace that the first Games were intended to create? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120417_2.htm Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:16:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120417_1.htm On 24 March 2012, thousands of young Catholics descended upon Wembley Arena for the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation’s Flame Congress, one of many events that will celebrate the partnership of faith and sport in this Olympic year. James Potter, chaplain to a Jesuit school in South London, was inspired by the enthusiasm he encountered there and hopes that this remarkable event will have been the seed from which many more similar initiatives grow. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120417_1.htm Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:15:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120412_1.htm This weekend will mark the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic on her maiden voyage. Titanic never made it to Liverpool, where she was designed and registered, but Lord David Alton reveals the little-known story of the ship’s historical and ongoing links with Catholic life in the city. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120412_1.htm Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:10:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120410_1.htm Michael Paul Gallagher SJ describes how the freedom of the imagination to embrace, not escape, the drama of our lives was crucial to a unique Jesuit thinker, William Lynch SJ. For Lynch, this freedom lies in Christ’s subversion of the ‘old imagination’, which is the source of our Easter hope. How does our faith resource us to imagine the narratives of our lives creatively and concretely? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120410_1.htm Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:47:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120405_1.htm Throughout Lent, we have been using iconic films to examine the way in which the Seven Deadly Sins filter into our daily experience. Concluding our series, Philip Endean SJ looks at the dynamic of wrath in the 1996 film Shine. But how much have we achieved by becoming aware of the presence of these sins in our lives? In Holy Week, we are reminded of the limitations of our own penitential efforts and encouraged to open ourselves to the possibility of the only gift through which we can be redeemed. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120405_1.htm Thu, 5 Apr 2012 11:49:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120330_1.htm In his 2004 film, Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock documents his experiment of eating only McDonald’s food for 30 days. This film does showcase the sin of gluttony, argues James Hanvey SJ, but not necessarily on the part of the consumer. The penultimate article in our Lenten series uncovers the reality behind the many guises that gluttony wears and the flaws in the ‘logic of excess’ on which it thrives. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120330_1.htm Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:49:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20120330_1.htm The ‘three pillars’ on which Dermot Lane bases his new book on the theology of religions are the teaching of Vatican II, the role of the Holy Spirit as the foundation for dialogue and a Christology which sees Jesus not as an obstacle but an inspiration to engagement with the other. No one who cares for the future of the Church in the midst of a pluralist world can afford to ignore this book. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20120330_1.htm Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:48:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120328_1.htm Lenten fasting is a popular topic of conversation at this time of year, in secular as well as religious circles. But does giving something up for six weeks each year really have any spiritual value, or is it just a diet dressed up as a religious practice? Gemma Simmonds CJ explains that the purpose of a restraint of the appetite was an important question even for St Ignatius, so much so that his Spiritual Exercises contain the little-known ‘Rules With Regard To Eating’. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120328_1.htm Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:18:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120323_1.htm Greed is good: true or false? Michael Kirwan SJ tackles this question by watching Danny Boyle’s Shallow Grave, in which he sees traces of a much older morality tale. In week 5 of our Lenten series, we ask: is there really anything wrong with seeking to acquire goods to satisfy our natural appetites? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120323_1.htm Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:51:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120321_2.htm On 21 March each year, we celebrate a literary form that has a tendency to divide its readership. This World Poetry Day, Nathan Koblintz invites us to read works by two celebrated poets, Gerald Manley Hopkins SJ and Emily Dickinson. In letting their poems speak to us about faith, can we understand how poetry can be a way of leading us closer to God? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120321_2.htm Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:36:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120321_1.htm A new exhibition in Pisa brings together science and religion in a place where their relationship has, historically, been fruitful. Br Guy Consolmagno SJ of the Vatican Observatory, one of the sponsors of the exhibition, explains that the life of Pietro Cardinal Maffi, a former Archbishop of Pisa, was an example of the deep union of science and religion, a union which this exhibition seeks to nurture. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120321_1.htm Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:35:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120315_2.htm Our fourth Deadly Sin on Film is often thought of as an ‘unspectacular sin’, says Rob Marsh SJ, but we would do well to pay more attention to the real nature of sloth and the dangers of falling into its trap. How does 1999’s Best Picture, American Beauty narrate a slothful existence and something of an Ignatian transformation in its central character? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120315_2.htm Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:36:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120315_1.htm The final episode of BBC Four’s Catholics series focused on the women who staff and attend Westminster Cathedral. Christine Allen Dench found Richard Alwyn’s documentary to be respectful of the women to whom we were introduced, but wonders how fully he showcased the spectrum of roles that women occupy in the Church. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120315_1.htm Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:35:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120309_3.htm This is a film about old people, and jokes about death and old age abound. Having been told that she must wait six months for a hip replacement in the UK, Muriel is appalled. How can she plan that far ahead at her age? ‘I don’t even buy green bananas!’ http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120309_3.htm Fri, 9 Mar 2012 17:30:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120309_2.htm Alexander Payne’s latest offering The Descendants is based on the book by Kaui Hart Hemmings who wrote it aged 28, whilst living in San Francisco as a full time mum. It is another opportunity for us to admire Payne’s skill at portraying middle-aged men trying to cope with a mid life crisis badly. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120309_2.htm Fri, 9 Mar 2012 17:29:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120309_1.htm The modern setting of Coriolanus works excellently. The opening shots of protestors leading the charge against riot police, flanked by cameramen and mobile phones, could have come from many a news bulletin in the past year. And the ambiguous south-eastern European setting (a ‘city calling itself Rome’) could be Athens... http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120309_1.htm Fri, 9 Mar 2012 17:28:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120307_1.htm Steve McQueen’s recent film, Shame generated a media storm with its bleak portrayal of sex addiction. Gemma Simmonds uses the film as a lens through which we can think seriously about and better understand the sin of lust, in the third instalment of our Lenten series on the Seven Deadly Sins on Film. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120307_1.htm Wed, 7 Mar 2012 12:31:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120302_1.htm Biblical scholar Nicholas King SJ uses St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians to demonstrate that even the early Christians struggled to live as a united Church. In an article adapted from a talk delivered during this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we see how the words that challenged the Christians of Corinth continue to challenge modern Christians. How does Paul present his solution to the problem of Christian disunity? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120302_1.htm Fri, 2 Mar 2012 13:42:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20120302_1.htm Here we have a series of attempts to reflect deeply on questions that are both intellectually and emotionally difficult. These chapters show how the resources of the Catholic moral tradition can be brought to bear on novel and difficult bioethical problems. They will be of great use not least to those who wish to engage with a range of perspectives before coming to their own conclusions. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20120302_1.htm Fri, 2 Mar 2012 13:41:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120228_2.htm In week 2 of our Lenten series exploring the seven deadly sins, Anna Abram turns her attention to Anthony Minghella’s 1999 film, The Talented Mr Ripley. Matt Damon plays Tom Ripley, a young musician who takes advantage of a misunderstanding to further his ambitions. How does his character show us that pride can be, quite literally, deadly? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120228_2.htm Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:05:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120228_1.htm The BBC Four series, Catholics began last week with an episode entitled ‘Priests’, filmed at Allen Hall, the seminary of the Diocese of Westminster. Philip Endean SJ reflects on the picture of seminary life that was painted by the programme and how this fits into the wider canvas of priestly ministry. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120228_1.htm Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:05:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120222_1.htm Thinking Faith’s Lenten programme will offer a unique take on the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ through the medium of film. Each week we will use an iconic film to illustrate how one of the sins is encountered in our world and our experience, even if we don't recognise the sin as a theological reality. To begin the series, Nathan Koblintz explores the envious relationship between Salieri and Mozart in Peter Shaffer’s Oscar-winning Amadeus (1984). http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120222_1.htm Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:31:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120220_1.htm During the penitential season of Lent, Thinking Faith will be reflecting upon the ‘seven deadly sins’ by relating each to an illustrative film. In this introductory article, Nicholas Austin SJ looks at the powerful thriller Seven and examines the history of the seven deadly sins, asking what accounts for their perennial attraction. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120220_1.htm Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:31:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120217_1.htm The ‘Prayer for Generosity’ is much-loved by followers of Ignatian spirituality, although little is known about its authorship. The prayer is attributed frequently to St Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, but was it really composed by him? Jack Mahoney SJ investigates the origins of this ‘brief but elegant prayer’. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120217_1.htm Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:46:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20120213_1.htm David Hay’s biography of Alister Hardy, founder of the Religious Experience Research Unit, might almost have been entitled, ‘From Plankton to Prayer’. This is an attractive portrait of a man who had both the technical competence and the personal courage to challenge some of the most entrenched prejudices of his, and our, time. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20120213_1.htm Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:21:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120213_2.htm Director Clint Eastwood doesn’t dwell on the prurient stuff in J. Edgar – it’s straight-up history, in other words. The trouble is that we pretty much know the history (or could read it on Wikipedia). DiCaprio’s talents are hidden here, somewhere beneath ten or twenty pounds of prosthetics. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120213_2.htm Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:20:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120213_1.htm Man on a Ledge is not an award-winning film. It is not even a particularly memorable film. But it is a solid piece of movie making that achieves the first aim of any film: to tell a good story. It is great fun and a good time out at the cinema. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120213_1.htm Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:19:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120208_1.htm Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond is due to meet next week with Michael Moore, Secretary of State for Scotland, to discuss the referendum on independence that has been promised to the Scottish people by the SNP. Jim Gallagher, a former Government advisor on devolution, describes the history of the devolution project thus far and asks how the Catholic Church in Scotland might address the referendum. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120208_1.htm Wed, 8 Feb 2012 14:11:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120127_1.htm As we celebrate the Feast of St Thomas Aquinas on 28 January, Joe Egerton argues that by reflecting on what we understand by Aquinas being a saint, we may better appreciate how much he has to offer us in solving today’s problems. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120127_1.htm Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:09:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20120127_1.htm Dominic Robinson’s study is a technical work of theology examining what it means for humanity to be created in the image of God. In drawing ecumenical attention to an important issue which goes right to the heart of three great twentieth century theologians, Robinson’s study has much to commend it and deserves to be widely read. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20120127_1.htm Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:08:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120127_1.htm If W./E. had been released this time seven years ago, ahead of the Prince of Wales’s wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles, the very mention of the Wallis/Edward legend might have been enough to capitalise on the interest of the audience and allow them to overlook the film’s failure to humanise its characters. But the relationship between Wallis and David lacks chemistry, and with more of a focus on the dull, modern day story-line it is hard to engage with Mrs Simpson enough to be moved by Madonna’s portrait of her. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120127_1.htm Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:07:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120125_1.htm The World Economic Forum in Davos begins today under the cloud of the IMF’s warning of the risks that the eurozone crisis poses to the global economy. With the integration of politics and economics receiving more attention than ever before, Brendan MacPartlin SJ describes the recommendations of a Vatican document published at the end of last year, in which the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace outlined a vision for financial reform under the guidance of a new, global body. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120125_1.htm Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:24:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120120_1.htm We are now three weeks into the New Year – how successfully have you kept to your resolutions? Maybe the key to a revitalised start to 2012 lies in an honest appraisal of our hopes and expectations. Gerard J. Hughes encourages us not to be scared of becoming disillusioned, but rather to cherish the realism that allows us to find God in all things. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120120_1.htm Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:12:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120120_3.htm Shame portrays sordid complexity and repellent behaviour in a beautiful way, which is consistent with Steve McQueen’s first film, Hunger (2008) about the IRA hunger strikers. Michael Fassbender is totally convincing and compelling as the taut man in the grip of addiction. His character is broodingly physical, non-expressive and nondescript yet watchable. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120120_3.htm Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:11:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120120_2.htm War Horse follows a simple line, emphasising the emotional connection between the heroic horse and his original, west-country, farm-boy owner. Every scene has picture book clarity, without becoming chilling or vicious. It’s here, rather than in the plot, that the idea of war’s horror is most immediately expressed. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120120_2.htm Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:10:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120120_1.htm The Artist is a French movie about the movies. It honours and prods us with its spats-covered shoes to remember how films used to be made before we embraced the digital and 3D revolution. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120120_1.htm Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:09:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120117_1.htm In his latest book, Professor Nicholas Boyle argues that the character of the twenty-first century will be decided by an event that will take place at some point in the middle of this decade, as has been the case in previous centuries. But what will that event be? Professor Boyle looks at the crises and opportunities that are presenting themselves currently in Europe and beyond, and asks how we can see ‘a Christian meaning in the present moment of decision’. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120117_1.htm Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:00:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20120117_1.htm Catholic Social Conscience is a vitalising workbook, a collection of some sixteen essays by scholars and practitioners which assess the actual, contemporary impact of Catholic Social Teaching and propose an extension of its reach into the depths of twenty-first century challenges. This collection of thoughtful essays, significantly and deeply European in character, will prove groundbreaking. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20120117_1.htm Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120113_1.htm ‘I went to Brussels with one objective: to protect Britain’s national interest.’ So said David Cameron about his approach to the European Council in December 2011, but what does it mean to say that Britain has a ‘national interest’ on any particular issue? Tony Carroll seeks to answer this question, and looks at the UK’s current position with regard to Europe in light of modern understandings of the concepts of sovereignty and solidarity. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120113_1.htm Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:47:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120113_2.htm It’s Streep’s performance, bouncing off Jim Broadbent’s Denis – and a host of other British character actors – that is the centre of this film; and it is Streep and Broadbent who will justify your £7 if you choose to go and see it, because I am afraid the rest of the piece rather misses the target. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120113_2.htm Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:46:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120113_1.htm What struck me most about the film and about the lives of Aung San Suu Kyi and her husband, Dr Michael Aris, was the way it made me reflect on the nature of vocation. In the language of Daw Suu’s Buddhism, she is following the path that will lead her to truth – not power or fame or achievement but truth. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20120113_1.htm Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:45:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120111_1.htm What has been the reaction outside of the United Kingdom to David Cameron’s decision to withhold the UK’s participation in the Eurozone rescue plan? Frank Turner SJ of the Jesuit European Social Centre, explains how things stand now for Britain and for the other 26 EU member states, and suggests some criteria according to which this decision and its effects ought to be assessed. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120111_1.htm Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:21:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20120111_1.htm People in modern, Western democracies live in less violent times than at any point in history. This is the thesis that psychologist and Harvard Professor, Steven Pinker sets out to defend. Pinker draws on history, psychology and philosophy in a work of amazing scope and detailed reference, but it still needs to be interrogated by contemporary economics, politics and theology. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20120111_1.htm Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:20:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111229_1.htm The Church’s celebration of Christmas continues with the Feast of the Holy Family, which this year falls on 30 December. Jack Mahoney marks the occasion by contemplating the relationship between Jesus and his mother as it is expressed in an intriguing yet non-biblical tradition, a tradition which also has an important place in the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius. Might Our Lady have been the first person to see Christ after his resurrection? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111229_1.htm Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:21:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111220_1.htm Our individual journeys through Advent will bring us together at the crib in a few days, where we will join all those whose ‘joyful hope’ is founded in the coming of Christ. Jack Mahoney suggests that our prayer over the coming days could be inspired by some familiar yet mysterious characters, who were full of hope even though their own journey to the crib was long and uncertain. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111220_1.htm Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:56:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20111220_1.htm In Between Heaven and Mirth, James Martin goes to great lengths to emphasise the importance of humour, joy and rejoicing if we are to appreciate, not only life, but God who calls us to happiness. This is a book which promises to present some serious food for thought, but as St Teresa of Avila herself exclaimed, ‘God preserve us from serious saints!’ http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20111220_1.htm Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:55:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111215_1.htm The gift of the Incarnation is the foundation of the hope that nourishes our faith during the season of Advent. But as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, we might ask ourselves how we engage with a belief in the Second Coming of Christ, something which is often radicalised and even distorted in popular discourse, and as such may not be a strong tenet of faith for many Catholics. Sr Cathy Jones asks if there is a place for belief in ‘the rapture’ in the Catholic consciousness. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111215_1.htm Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:32:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111208_1.htm How do our Advent hymns and the context in which we sing them both reflect and shape the character of the season? Musician, Ian Coleman urges us to read the Book of Revelation through a liturgical lens to see in it a rich description of ‘the great Cosmic liturgy’ that we try to express through our Advent hymnody, a liturgy in which Christ is always and already present. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111208_1.htm Thu, 8 Dec 2011 16:14:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20111208_1.htm Christianity in Evolution is remarkable for the extensive reading and research needed to give substance to the author’s line of argument and for the courage he displays in challenging us, in the light of evolutionary truths, to look again at some of the ways our faith has been expressed. This is a very important contribution to the development of theology in our evolutionary age. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20111208_1.htm Thu, 8 Dec 2011 16:13:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111208_2.htm 50/50 tells the story of a young man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who finds out that he has a rare form of cancer and must undergo rigorous chemotherapy treatment that leaves him with a 50 percent chance of survival. Whilst many people may argue that there’s nothing funny about cancer, writer, Will Reiser, who himself was diagnosed with the disease and went through the gruelling treatment, has clearly used these of events as a means of extracting humour for the film. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111208_2.htm Thu, 8 Dec 2011 16:12:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111208_1.htm If Laurence Olivier had presence, Marilyn Monroe had magnetism. Michelle Williams is excellent as Marilyn Monroe, alternating between the recognisable on-screen sex symbol and the less familiar off-screen tortured soul. But like Branagh’s Olivier, Williams’ Monroe is missing that extra innate spark which turned a pretty actress into a screen goddess. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111208_1.htm Thu, 8 Dec 2011 16:11:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111205_1.htm The beginning of Advent marked the start of a new liturgical year for the Church. We are now in Year B and our guide for most of the Sunday readings will be Mark. Peter Edmonds SJ traces the path through Mark’s Gospel that we will follow over the coming year – what will we hear when we listen attentively to the voice of Saint Mark? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111205_1.htm Mon, 5 Dec 2011 16:04:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111130_1.htm On 1 December, the Society of Jesus celebrates the Feast of Jesuit martyr, St Edmund Campion and companions. Campion scholar, Gerard Kilroy recounts the final days and hours of Campion’s life, and looks at how their events reveal different aspects of his character: the friend; the scholar; the saint and martyr. Which of these descriptions best represents the patron of the British Province? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111130_1.htm Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:44:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111129_1.htm As the Chancellor of the Exchequer makes his Autumn Statement and the Opposition make their criticisms, Joe Egerton takes the long view and suggests that we need to consider the scenario that sustained, long term growth is a thing of the past. How, as Christians, might we respond to that challenge? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111129_1.htm Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:39:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111125_1.htm Long before he became a Catholic in 1922, G.K. Chesterton was well known as a debater and defender of the possibility of Christian faith. Using paradox and comedy, he mixed journalism and philosophy, poetry and short stories, often with the hope of waking people up from their lazy assumptions about reality. Michael Paul Gallagher SJ offers an imaginary monologue in the voice of Chesterton that adapts his phrases and ideas, and tries to capture aspects of his vision which can help us revive our language of religious wonder for Advent. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111125_1.htm Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:15:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111122_1.htm On the thirtieth anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s letter ‘on the role of the Christian Family in the Modern World’, Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ reflects on the understanding of love offered in Familiaris Consortio. Love is ‘the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being.’ http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111122_1.htm Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:33:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111116_1.htm From the first Sunday of Advent, all English-speaking Mass-goers will be using the full text of the revised translation of the Missal. One revision in particular, to one of the most familiar people’s responses, has caused some confusion among congregations who have already begun to introduce the new translation. Jack Mahoney looks closely at the response, ‘And with your spirit’ and directs our attention to one aspect of its meaning that we might otherwise neglect. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111116_1.htm Wed, 16 Nov 2011 123:07:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111111_1.htm How has the eurozone crisis been allowed to escalate to its current level? What does the future look like for the euro? William Mathews SJ explores the state of financial affairs in Europe and suggests that financial engineers have a number of lessons to learn from their counterparts in other fields of engineering. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111111_1.htm Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:45:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111111_1.htm There are consistently fine performances and the great script, fast pace and clever dialogue, will appeal to fans of The West Wing; State of Play and In the Thick of It – although there were no laughs. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111111_1.htm Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:45:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20111107_1.htm Within a couple of pages of this transcript of a debate between outspoken champions of theism and atheism, the goalposts are radically switched from ‘Science and Religion’ to ‘contemporary evolutionary theory and theistic belief’. Many theists will already feel that Plantinga’s arguments read uncomfortably, placing as they do considerable credence in the ‘intelligent design’ ideas of Michael Behe. Similarly, I dare say that many atheists will wince with embarrassment at the scoffing tone of Dennett. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20111107_1.htm Mon, 7 Nov 2011 15:55:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111107_2.htm It is surprising that director, Sara Blecher and her team chose deliberately not to force our picture of what happened during some of the most disturbing and violent years in the modern period: Apartheid. Otelo Burning deliberately tones down the political narrative of the time but does not negate it any way. The film focuses on telling human stories, the ordinary moments that would have been encountered whether the characters had been embroiled in the Apartheid era or not. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111107_2.htm Mon, 7 Nov 2011 15:54:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111107_1.htm At the heart of Habemus Papam is the election of a successor to a recently deceased Pope. Director, Nanni Moretti is a self-confessed atheist, which makes the warmth with which he regards the papacy quite amazing. Is it a great film? No, it is not. But it is a very kind film, an interesting film – indeed, a powerful film. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111107_1.htm Mon, 7 Nov 2011 15:53:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111101_1.htm On Thursday 27 October Pope Benedict returned to Assisi to mark the 25^th anniversary of one of the most remarkable events of his predecessor’s pontificate – a day of prayerful reflection for peace together with fellow Christians and members of other religious traditions. Michael Barnes SJ describes the way in which the visit highlights a continuity between the papacies of Benedict XVI and John Paul II, while the shift in focus of this event is indicative of their differences. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111101_1.htm Tue, 1 Nov 2011 15:31:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111031_1.htm As we observe the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls on 1^st and 2^nd November, we might ask if and how we are separated from the dead, and what our prayers for them mean. John McDade SJ answers these questions by exploring further the doctrine of Purgatory – how are we given life in death through achieving complete attentiveness to God? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111031_1.htm Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:51:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111028_1.htm The sight of crowds of people dressed up as ghosts, demons and monsters will be a familiar one this coming Halloween weekend, but what is the real tradition of All Hallows’ Eve and how has the Christian vision behind it been distorted? John McDade SJ reclaims the truth about our death in Christ that informs our doctrine and our imagination. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111028_1.htm Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:54:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111028_6.htm A businesswoman returns from Hong Kong to her home in Minneapolis carrying a deadly virus. Within two days both she and her young son are dead. So begins Contagion, the new Steven Soderbergh film about an epidemic in our modern world and its social repercussions. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111028_6.htm Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:53:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111028_5.htm This is an excellent film – it achieves something unusual, offering a thoughtful and filmic version of a very popular novel. It is a gripping, compelling and terrifying descent into distress, denial and egotism. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111028_5.htm Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:52:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111028_4.htm The film tells the story of an incredible ‘ordinary’ person – Carolyn Parker – in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Others might have walked away and many from the neighbourhood had, but Carolyn Parker was determined to stay and build not only her house, but to weave together again the fragments of her broken neighbourhood. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111028_4.htm Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:51:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111028_3.htm Director, Andrea Arnold’s previous film, Fish Tank, was praised for its grit and its head-on confrontation with estate life; she has given Wuthering Heights the same treatment, but this time it doesn’t work. The same approach that imbued Fish Tank with its authenticity imposes on this notorious love story a crassness that is both irritating and unnecessary. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111028_3.htm Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:50:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111028_2.htm If you are the kind of person who secretly hopes for something special to happen from time to time, but don’t allow yourself to expect that it will, then this movie is actually for nobody else but you. The great achievement of director Gérald Hustache-Mathieu is that amidst the rancour and despair, he manages to preserve a few glowing embers of hope that ultimately outshine everything else. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111028_2.htm Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:49:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111028_1.htm Carol Morley’s film takes as its starting point a shocking news story from 2006. The body of Joyce Vincent, a forty-year-old woman, was discovered in January of that year in her bedsit in Wood Green; she had been dead over two years. This film captures evocatively a nomadic urban life and gives us glimpses of and insights into a person whose inner self remains strangely invisible. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111028_1.htm Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:48:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111021_2.htm Restless is ‘an affecting and delicate teen romance’, a doomed affair in which Annabelle has been diagnosed with cancer with only three months to live. It’s a version of Love Story for the twenty-first century, and true to the genre leaves no heart-string unplucked. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111021_2.htm Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:30:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111021_1.htm 360 begins with a photo shoot. A young woman has decided to join an online prostitution agency and dreams of clients in exotic places and of becoming rich.The acting talent is all very good, including British actors Jude Law, Rachel Weisz and Anthony Hopkins. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111021_1.htm Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:30:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111017_1.htm The Feast of St Luke occurs on 18 October – why do we read the gospel that bears his name? Perhaps it is to make more sense of the readings we hear at Mass; to deepen our knowledge of our Christian faith; or to experience a masterpiece of world literature and to savour its narrative. Peter Edmonds SJ suggests a way for us to approach our encounter with Jesus and his story in Luke’s Gospel. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111017_1.htm Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111014_1.htm Monday 17 October 2011 is International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, calling our attention to the inequality and social injustice that afflict our global community. How can we take direction from the Bible in our efforts towards achieving social justice? Dominik Markl SJ looks at how the Old and New Testaments lay the foundations on which we can build a society that strives to be ‘a perfect community of love’. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111014_1.htm Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111014_2.htm At its heart, the film’s morality is conservative and sentimental. The two teenage girls represent polar opposites: one’s a keen student, who needs to loosen up, the other a wild child who ignores her intellectual brilliance in favour of a sharp wit and brittle invulnerability. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111014_2.htm Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111014_1.htm The first part of the film titled Justine takes place amidst a glamorous wedding between Justine and her husband Michael at an expensive country hotel that is cut off, it seems, from the rest of the world. The young couple show up late for the reception in good spirits, but when they are forced to take part in the suffocating pleasantries of the evening’s reception things begin to break down. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20111014_1.htm Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111012_1.htm The evidence of torture uncovered in Libya has prompted new questions to be asked about its practice and the degree of complicity of states who claim to uphold the right to freedom from torture. Isidore Bonabom SJ argues that there is something crucial missing from internationally-accepted definitions of torture, which, if it were included, might help us to re-think our approach to this issue. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111012_1.htm Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:02:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111007_1.htm The words with which we prepare to receive the Eucharist are changing with the introduction of the new English translation of the Missal. Liturgist, Andrew Cameron-Mowat SJ asks if these new words, which replace a prayer that has been in use since 1970, express the essence of our ritual preparation to share in the body and blood of Christ. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111007_1.htm Fri, 7 Oct 2011 15:22:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20111007_1.htm This book is to be highly recommended for anyone wanting to have unlocked for them the treasure of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theology. It will be invaluable for undergraduates and anyone interested in learning more about this key theologian of the contemporary Church. It will surely also fulfil the author’s own secondary aim: to lead its readers to prayer of faith, hope and charity, to greater holiness of life. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20111007_1.htm Fri, 7 Oct 2011 15:21:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111005_1.htm In Boris Johnson’s address to the Conservative Party conference yesterday, he pledged to take steps to draw young people away from gang culture in light of August’s riots. Fr John Moffatt SJ, chaplain to a Jesuit school in the North London area where the troubles began, thinks that the way forward after this summer’s events is to listen to the stories of all of those involved in the riots – if we don’t understand one another’s narratives, how can we write a new one for our society? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20111005_1.htm Wed, 5 Oct 2011 15:03:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110929_1.htm The appearances of the risen Jesus to his disciples are recorded in the four gospels and by St Paul, although each of these sources provides us with a different narrative. But are there other encounters between Jesus and his disciples that may actually have taken place after the resurrection, even if the context in which they are placed by the evangelists suggests otherwise? Fr Jack Mahoney SJ examines some puzzling passages in the gospels. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110929_1.htm Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:07:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110923_1.htm A startling exhibition of relics at the British Museum until 9 October features important contributions from the British Province of the Society of Jesus and Stonyhurst College. Stonyhurst curator, Jan Graffius describes the fascinating history of the objects on loan to Treasures of Heaven: Saints, relics and devotion in medieval Europe, and urges visitors to appreciate the beauty and meaning of the exhibition. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110923_1.htm Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:00:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110923_1.htm José A. Pagola challenges the tired clichés with which Jesus is all too often arrayed and aims to ‘approximate’ Jesus with historical rigour and in simple language. The author has that precious gift of rereading a familiar text with illuminatingly fresh eyes, and ordinary readers will respond to that. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110923_1.htm Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110923_1.htm Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy works well as a piece of cinema but less so as an adaptation of the novel. Le Carré’s novel is held together by a brilliantly-constructed tension that comes from distrust and paranoia because this is a story of spies spying on spies; this tension is highly underdeveloped in the film. It fails to engage with the fundamental aspects of spy culture and post-war British identity which could have made it more interesting and memorable. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110923_1.htm Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110921_2.htm One month after the end of MAGiS and World Youth Day 2011, Niall Leahy SJ describes his eventful and invigorating week in Madrid. How could the encounters with God and between pilgrims that took place this summer happen on a more local level, helping the hundreds of thousands of World Youth Day pilgrims and others to remain, ‘Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith’? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110921_2.htm Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:55:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110921_1.htm In the days leading up to World Youth Day in Madrid, 3000 young people from all over the world gathered in Loyola to take part in MAGiS, a programme run by the Jesuits and other Ignatian orders. These days of preparation, reflection and celebration included a week-long ‘experience’, allowing each pilgrim to be ‘With Christ at the Heart of the World’. Frances Murphy describes the challenges and joys of her pilgrimage: walking the Camino de Santiago. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110921_1.htm Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:54:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110915_1.htm 9/11 and the subsequent 7/7 attacks on London put religion at the centre of questions of national security, and the boundaries in Britain between the ‘political’ and the ‘religious’ were overthrown. Professor Gwen Griffith-Dickson gives a fascinating insight into the current relationship between the State and Muslim communities in particular. What has been the legacy of the terrorist attacks, in policy and in practice? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110915_1.htm Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:30:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110909_1.htm Did the events of 11 September 2001 change the future of interreligious relations? Michael Barnes SJ offers an in-depth analysis of the place of religion in the public consciousness over the last ten years, and of how this has affected the way in which religions talk to one another. How can any person of faith begin to narrate the events of 9/11, personally or in dialogue with others? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110909_1.htm Fri, 9 Sep 2011 14:45:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110909_1.htm As a non-scientist, Paul Gilding approaches the issue of climate change with a combination of basic scientific understanding and common sense. He begs to differ from the doomsday predictions proffered by such eminences as James Lovelock. Gilding is pointing to perhaps the most important sign of our present times; he’s also responding to it with what he calls hope. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110909_1.htm Fri, 9 Sep 2011 14:45:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110909_1.htm Jane Eyre breathes like fresh Yorkshire air, wholesome and invigorating for our interior lives that crave a bit of goodness. The nutritiousness of this film is owed to one particular point, that it succeeds in bringing to life a lead character who is virtuous but not at all boring. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110909_1.htm Fri, 9 Sep 2011 14:45:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110905_1.htm The new translation of the Roman Missal is now being introduced at Masses in the English-speaking world, after much discussion in recent months about the thinking behind the translation and its finer details. Musician and liturgist, Frances Novillo takes an extended look at the new translation, placing it in its historical context, explaining the principles that informed the translators and reviewing the changes that have been made to the text. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110905_1.htm Mon, 5 Sep 2011 15:30:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110902_1.htm In the Spiritual Exercises, St Ignatius places before us a fundamental choice between the way of Lucifer and the way of Christ. The Meditation on the Two Standards offers us a means of imagining these two ways of life competing for our commitment. Roger Dawson SJ explores the decision that we are confronted with in the meditation: what is at stake for us in choosing between the two standards? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110902_1.htm Fri, 2 Sep 2011 14:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110902_2.htm What is it in people that makes them behave so cruelly towards others with no regard for their humanity? Winner of both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, In a Better World (originally titled Hævnen, meaning ‘revenge’ in Danish) is about two twelve-year-old boys, Christian and Elias. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110902_2.htm Fri, 2 Sep 2011 14:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110902_1.htm In 1942 the French government supported a Nazi-decreed raid on the Jewish population living in Paris. Julia is a journalist and during her research into the topic she discovers the story of Sarah and her escape from the concentration camps. However, she later learns that the house she is to inherit is in fact the house that Sarah and her family were taken away from. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110902_1.htm Fri, 2 Sep 2011 14:00:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110826_1.htm There are many reasons why readers of this autobiography of the peer and former Editor of The Times, William Rees-Mogg might have reached for its cover from the bookseller’s shelves. The prose tantalises but also infuriates the reader and leaves them looking for more. Rees-Mogg describes all that passed before him with a kind of ethereal semi-detachment. This approach gives the impression of his floating above the action rather than being engrossed in it. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110826_1.htm Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:30:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110822_1.htm East Africa is currently suffering its most severe drought in sixty years. The worst-affected country has been Somalia, with famine in five districts, resulting in an outpouring of refugees to neighbouring Ethiopia and Kenya. Father Frido Pfleuger SJ, regional director of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Eastern Africa, has just returned from a visit to the Dollo Ado refugee camps in south-east Ethiopia, and in this interview he describes his impressions of the situation on the ground and how JRS is getting involved. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110822_1.htm Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:30:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110822_1.htm A.N. Wilson has reconstructed a historical tour guide packed with entertaining and illuminating details, carefully and clearly describing the complex local conflicts of the Ghibelines and Guelfs that dominated Dante’s Florence, telling of riots in Florence in the key year of 1300 and tracing Dante’s personal relationships.He describes Dante’s great work, The Comedy, as a ‘mystical autobiography’ in the tradition of St. Augustine’s Confessions and insists that ‘if Dante’s Comedy works – if it takes you over, which is what it is trying to do – then in the end, you become the pilgrim’. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110822_1.htm Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:30:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110729_2.htm The Feast of St Ignatius Loyola on Sunday 31^st July will be celebrated by followers of the Ignatian tradition the world over. In an article written for the Ignatian jubilee year in 1991, Philip Endean SJ compared Ignatius with another 16^th century figure in whose tradition millions of Christians continue to practise their faith: Martin Luther. How did these two contemporaries find themselves on differing paths? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110729_2.htm Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110729_1.htm Fr Bill MacCurtain imagines the scene that will be set for us by this Sunday’s reading from Matthew’s Gospel. What would it have been like to be among the crowd who were fed by the five loaves and two fish? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110729_1.htm Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110729_1.htm This film continues the tradition of the entire series, which sees a host of the very best British actors lending their considerable talent to films dominated by child actors and computer-generated beings. It is time for Harry and all of us to confront our prejudices and misunderstandings. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110729_1.htm Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110727_1.htm At a conference of the European Physical Society last weekend, there were suggestions that scientists at the Large Hadron Collider are getting closer to finding the elusive particle, the Higgs boson. Its discovery might be able to answer many important questions for scientists, but there are always further questions to ask for believers in God, writes Michael Smith SJ. Will ‘The Grand Theory of Everything’, which rests upon the discovery of the Higgs boson, really tell us the whole story? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110727_1.htm Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:32:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110722_1.htm Victorian Catholicism basked in the energising sun of a ‘second spring’. Newman heralded the dawn of a new era after Catholic Emancipation and the re-establishment of a Catholic hierarchy restored to Catholics respectability, national identity and, for the most part, their proper role in society. W. Gordon Gorman documented Catholic success in “Rome’s Recruits: ”: a List of Protestants who have become Catholics since the Tractarian Movement’. Have we entered a ‘third spring’? If so, John Beaumont assumes the Gorman role. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110722_1.htm Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:30:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110720_1.htm Familiar as the words of the Sermon of the Mount may be, the standards that it sets for Christian living continue to pose a radical challenge to followers of Christ. Fr Jack Mahoney concludes his study of the sermon, asking what value we might find in historical and more modern attempts to interpret and live up to the values set forth in this important passage in Matthew’s Gospel. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110720_1.htm Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:30:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110715_2.htm Having split the critics, The Tree of Life is variously a spiritual masterpiece and a self-indulgent journey through childhood. It is remarkable as both an example of film’s power to feel intimate and an American production that rejects narrative, cliché and high drama. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110715_2.htm Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:24:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110715_1.htm The Princess of Montpensier is a story about human passions and human weaknesses, set during the tumultuous 16th century in France. It combines skilful performances, a careful script and masterful direction to produce a story which both entertains and edifies. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110715_1.htm Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:23:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110713_1.htm Fr Jack Mahoney looks again at the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel, describing how the structure of the sermon can help us to understand what Jesus wanted to tell his disciples. What are we to make of the new righteousness, which ‘exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees’, to which Jesus is calling his followers? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110713_1.htm Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:05:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110704_1.htm The report released today by the Dilnot Commission on Funding of Care and Support sets out the need for the financial reform of the social care system in the UK. Coupled with the recent findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission with regard to the home care of elderly, it seems as if social care in the UK needs to take a new direction. Angela Kitching describes a crucial element in the Japanese social care system which could make a difference in the UK – what is ikigai? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110704_1.htm Mon, 4 Jul 2011 14:05:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110704_1.htm Precisely because Soul Matters arises from a practical and personal engagement with both hands-on medicine and an active prayer life, it is a book that is relevant to anybody involved in healthcare and beyond. It poses a challenge not only to health practitioners, providers and chaplains, but also to society at large and crucially to Government as it formulates national and local policies. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110704_1.htm Mon, 4 Jul 2011 14:04:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110701_1.htm The three authors of God’s Century are young, American, political scientists who refute any lingering notion that religion is a spent force, insisting rather that ‘over the past four decades religion’s influence on politics has reversed its decline and become more powerful on every continent and across every world religion’. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110701_1.htm Fri, 1 Jul 2011 15:54:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110701_2.htm Barbara Ward: Her Life and Letters sets out the evolution of the globally important contribution of the British woman who had a significant part to play in the creation of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. A strand of this important publication that will surprise many in the Churches and beyond is Barbara Ward’s early advocacy of environmentalism. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110701_2.htm Fri, 1 Jul 2011 15:53:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110623_2.htm The findings released this week about the provision of care and support for elderly people in their own homes have highlighted incidents of neglect and bad practice. How can we as a society make a reality of Care in the Community? Joe Egerton argues that understanding the approach of Enoch Powell, who made Care in the Community a centrepiece of his policy as Minister of Health, could help us to meet the challenge of providing proper care for a growing elderly population. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110623_2.htm Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:25:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110623_1.htm This year, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) marks the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention. Concluding Thinking Faith’s series for Refugee Week 2011, Amaya Valcarcel, Jesuit Refugee Service International Advocacy Coordinator, considers the aptness of the law to deal with forced displacement today. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110623_1.htm Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:24:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110622_1.htm Bandi Mbubi, who came to the UK from the Democratic Republic of Congo as an asylum seeker twenty years ago, tells his story to Thinking Faith in Refugee Week. Bandi describes how the Jesuit Refugee Service were able to ‘accompany, serve and defend’ him when he was detained upon his arrival in the UK, and how he has been inspired to do the same for others. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110622_1.htm Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:55:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110620_1.htm Today marks the beginning of Refugee Week, 20-26 June, which this year will celebrate ‘60 Years of Contribution’ to the protection of refugees since the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Louise Zanre, Director of Jesuit Refugee Service UK, begins Thinking Faith’s series for Refugee Week by asking why a change in popular opinion about refugees is needed now more than ever. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110620_1.htm Mon, 20 Jun 2011 12:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110617_1.htm Six years ago this month, Chile completed a reform of its criminal justice system that changed the way in which judicial administration was carried out. Nathan Stone, a Jesuit priest of the Chilean province, looks at the current conditions of Chile’s prisons and asks what effects this reform has had. What are the ideological, religious and political motivations that underlie Chile’s penal system? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110617_1.htm Fri, 17 Jun 2011 15:25:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110617_1.htm Jim Manney, a senior editor for Loyola Press, makes a very good case for the Examen being the ‘simple, life-changing prayer’ he claims it to be in this book’s title. He is very honest about the effort involved in prayer of this kind and the challenges it poses. The real strength of the book lies in the experiential account that the author gives of his own induction into this process. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110617_1.htm Fri, 17 Jun 2011 15:25:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110614_1.htm Syria faces prolonged unrest as the protests that have swept through the Arab world this year continue to provoke an aggressive response from the country’s armed forces. In Egypt and Tunisia, similar protests culminated in the resignations of the presidents of each country, but how and why did these revolutions begin? Syrian Jesuit, Fadi Halliso examines the origins and development of the protest movements in Egypt and Tunisia, focusing particularly on the role played by social networking sites. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110614_1.htm Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110610_1.htm Finally the buckle has come off the swash of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise to leave a sorry sight and a few disgruntled fans. This franchise spends money to make money. But somehow the charm, wit and action of the previous films have disappeared on the tide. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110610_1.htm Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:30:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110607_1.htm Was William Shakespeare a Catholic? The Archbishop of Canterbury suggested recently that the playwright ‘probably had a Catholic background’, but how are we to interpret this? Jesuit historian, Thomas McCoog looks at the literary and historical quest to determine Shakespeare’s religious identity – including a claim that he visited the Venerable English College in Rome – and asks how much would be gained by settling the matter conclusively. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110607_1.htm Tue, 7 Jun 2011 14:51:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110603_1.htm A report published this week by the Home Affairs Committee claims that the number of asylum seekers who have been granted leave to remain in the UK means that ‘in practice an amnesty has taken place’, although this has been denied by ministers. Austen Ivereigh of Strangers into Citizens, who have been campaigning since 2006 for an ‘earned regularisation’ for status-less migrants, explains the evolution of government policy and practice with regard to migrants. Is this ‘amnesty’ a step in the right direction? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110603_1.htm Fri, 3 Jun 2011 17:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110602_1.htm In a new book, Irish theologian, Gerry O’Hanlon SJ analyses the current crisis afflicting the Church in Ireland and identifies the frustrations felt by Irish Catholics who feel that their voices are not being heard. How might wider conversations about the future be the key to a restoration of confidence in the Irish Church? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110602_1.htm Thu, 2 Jun 2011 12:00:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110527_1.htm There is a charm and a challenge in making your own Bible. A.C. Grayling is of course one of many now well-known atheists, but The Good Book is and is meant to be a positive work offered for ‘the good of humanity and the good of the world’. Believers might find that the good in The Good Book sits well with their belief and begs for hospitality. But beyond this amiability, believers will also look for something more. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110527_1.htm Fri, 27 May 2011 14:20:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110527_2.htm Kenneth Branagh, the surprising director of Thor, understands the central dynamic of the story. He has changed the tone from the comic book, which is less serious and more post-modern in its use of irony. At the core of every Marvel comic is a morality tale and at the centre of this story is the parable of the Prodigal Son. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110527_2.htm Fri, 27 May 2011 14:20:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110527_1.htm Third Star tells the story of 29-year-old terminal cancer patient, James (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his three close friends who agree to take him on a camping trip to his favourite place. The film is a poignant exploration of the effect of terminal illness more on those who will be left behind than on the patient. The plot is fairly plateaued until its conclusion, which places a prism in front of the fairly linear story that leads up to it and distorts the images of all of the characters. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110527_1.htm Fri, 27 May 2011 14:20:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110520_1.htm A recent publication addressing the Catholic approach to the theology of religions gives Michael Barnes SJ an opportunity to look at the direction that this discipline is taking. Since Vatican II, the Church has engaged creatively with people of other faiths, but in recent years these conversations have become increasingly political in nature, not least since 9/11. How is the Church placed to not only prepare for but respond to encounters with other faiths? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110520_1.htm Fri, 20 May 2011 10:20:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110517_1.htm A recent publication addressing the Catholic approach to the theology of religions gives Michael Barnes SJ an opportunity to look at the direction that this discipline is taking. Since Vatican II, the Church has engaged creatively with people of other faiths, but in recent years these conversations have become increasingly political in nature, not least since 9/11. How is the Church placed to not only prepare for but respond to encounters with other faiths? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110517_1.htm Tue, 17 May 2011 10:50:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110513_1.htm As Paraguay prepares to celebrate the 200^th anniversary of its independence on 15 May 2011, Paul Duffy reviews a new book looking at the history of the country in which the Jesuits established the Reductions in the 17^th century.’ http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110513_1.htm Fri, 13 May 2011 15:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110513_1.htm Little White Lies is a comedy about unhappy people being happy for brief periods of time, and occasionally making us laugh. What comes across very strongly is how almost unbearably egotistical unhappy people are... if you’re in the right mood, this is a thought-provoking film. It provoked in me some thoughts about what friendship really is, and that maybe emotions I had previously labelled empathy might just have been projection of my own weaknesses and needs. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110513_1.htm Fri, 13 May 2011 15:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110512_1.htm This month marks 400 years since the publication of the King James Version of the Bible, for which much admiration has been expressed in this, its anniversary year. But just how much has it contributed to Christian theology and the English language? Scripture scholar and translator, Nicholas King SJ describes the traditions and translations on which the King James Version drew, and clears up one or two misconceptions about the text. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110512_1.htm Thu, 12 May 2011 10:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110503_2.htm As this week’s UK-wide referendum approaches on the question of changing the voting system for parliamentary elections, Catholics may be wondering whether the Church’s teaching offers any guidance on how to vote. Peter Scally SJ explores the question. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110503_2.htm Tue, 3 May 2011 17:20:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110503_1.htm The election to the papacy of Cardinal Karol Wojtyła in 1978 was a moment of great joy for Poland and the first Polish Pope continued to have a great influence on the people of his homeland over the next quarter of a century. Polish Jesuit, Rafal Huzarski, describes how Blessed John Paul II, beatified last Sunday 1 May, was for the Poles ‘a kind of reflection of themselves’. Even without direct political intervention, how did the Pope shape the course of recent Polish history? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110503_1.htm Tue, 3 May 2011 17:19:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110428_1.htm This Sunday 1 May, Pope John Paul II will be beatified in Rome. Tony McCaffry traces the life story of the pope who travelled more than any other, and engaged on many levels with civil society and other faith groups. How were Karol Wojtyła’s early years instrumental in shaping the thinking of a pope who ‘saw the importance of being present to the world’ and prayed side by side with the world’s faith leaders? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110428_1.htm Thu, 28 Apr 2011 14:24:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110421_1.htm ‘The command that is the source and summit of Christian life is this: “Do this in remembrance of me.”’ As we celebrate on Maundy Thursday the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, eminent Jesuit liturgist, J-Glenn Murray explores the way in which Black African-American worship attempts to respond to the invitation of this great command. How can the universal Church be enriched by the fruits of its local encounters with Black culture? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110421_1.htm Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:57:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110421_3.htm Emilio Estevez’s The Way has a tender accuracy to it that may have much to do with Estevez’s relationship with his father, Martin Sheen, whom he directs. Sheen plays Tom, an American who travels to the Pyrenees to bring home his son who has died on the first day of his pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. It’s the texture of life on the Camino that the film captures so well. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110421_3.htm Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:56:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110421_2.htm Cave of Forgotten Dreams is no ordinary documentary. It is not a lesson or an argument. It is an experience. In December 1994, three French explorers examining the cliffs along the Ardèche River found air vents which they thought might be evidence of an as-yet-undiscovered cave. Thousands of years ago, before the mouth of the cave collapsed in a landslide, prehistoric man left his mark by covering the walls with paintings of animals, now long extinct. Cave of Forgotten Dreams reminds us that our interest in prehistoric man lies in his humanity as much as in his mystery. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110421_2.htm Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:55:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110421_1.htm Norwegian Wood, the adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s bestselling 1987 novel, is a quiet and ponderous film, charting the tragic passage of a young man’s journey through life. Youth collides with reality, love with loss, and hope with grief as characters come to terms with the inevitable truths we must all come to terms with at one point or another. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110421_1.htm Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:54:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110420_2.htm How can we hear something new in the Passion narratives of the gospels each time we listen to them? Perhaps there are voices in these accounts of Jesus’s trial and crucifixion which we have not really heard before, or words to which we have never listened attentively. Scripture scholar, Peter Edmonds SJ chooses three voices from the Passion narrative of St Matthew whose words can guide our prayer this Holy Week. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110420_2.htm Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:45:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110420_1.htm Through our liturgies over the coming days, we will observe the Passion, death and Resurrection of Christ. Peter Knott SJ describes how the events of Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday form a narrative which helps us to make sense of our own lives, particularly our disappointments and failings. ‘The risen Christ remains an abiding reality, ever with us even in our own Good Friday.’ http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110420_1.htm Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:44:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110408_1.htm How has evolutionary thinking after Darwin affected the way in which we understand our human identity? Does evolutionary psychology provide us with any insights into the origins of religious belief? Professor Celia Deane-Drummond argues that confronting head-on the tensions between theology and evolutionary science that might arise from asking such questions can lead to a new creativity in our self-understanding, as we approach a horizon in our human history. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110408_1.htm Fri, 8 Apr 2011 14:50:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110401_1.htm A very distinct, post-Reformation Catholic historiographical tradition considers the presence of the Society of Jesus in England more a liability than an asset. Herbert Vaughan, despite his education at Stonyhurst and his younger brother, Bernard’s fame as a Jesuit preacher at Farm Street, viewed the Society from this perspective. The conflict between Bishop Vaughan and the English province over the establishment of a Jesuit college in Manchester became so acrimonious that Pope Pius IX admitted, ‘this business of the Jesuits is a real mess.’ http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110401_1.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2011 12:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110401_2.htm The storyline of a drug which increases brain power but has frightening side effects is one with great scope for making its audience think. But coming away from Limitless, I was left pondering only one question: What was the point? One of the biggest turn-offs of the film is the obtrusive first-person narration. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110401_2.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2011 12:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110401_1.htm The Adjustment Bureau is one of those rare celluloid jewels that I would add to my list of films that could be used by teachers, catechists and lecturers as a resource for introducing groups to philosophical or theological issues. How do you marry belief in freewill with the omniscience and omnipotence of God? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110401_1.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2011 12:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110330_2.htm Theologian, James Hanvey SJ offers a powerful critique of our current social and economic climate as he explores the meaning and potential of the Big Society from the perspective of Catholic Social Teaching. In a major address delivered last month to a Caritas Social Action Network conference, Fr Hanvey argues that ‘the Church must claim its freedom in all its works of charity’. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110330_2.htm Wed, 30 Mar 2011 15:25:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110330_1.htm David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ agenda is still being questioned and causing confusion nearly a year after the 2010 General Election. Is it just a fig leaf for the spending cuts which have generated anger and frustration nationwide, or is there a more comprehensive political vision behind the idea? Angela Kitching asks whether the Big Society has a future, and looks at what it represents to both parties in the coalition government. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110330_1.htm Wed, 30 Mar 2011 15:25:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110325_1.htm In the face of crises in New Zealand, Japan and the turmoil in North Africa, how does one respond with integrity and wisdom to such appalling suffering and sense of loss? Father Richard Leonard’s book assesses the variety of responses that religious people give at these moments of crisis and is a courageous attempt to tackle these challenges head on. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110325_1.htm Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110325_1.htm During periods of depression, young Oliver Tate – just like his father the marine biologist – lives life as though from the bottom of the ocean. In this portrayal of adolescence, directed by Richard Ayoade, we discover that like other elements of our personality, depression is an heirloom that can be passed from one generation to another. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110325_1.htm Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110323_2.htm This week, the Pontifical Council for Culture launches the ‘Courtyard of the Gentiles’, a new initiative aimed at facilitating dialogue between believers and non-believers. Jack Valero, founder of Catholic Voices, describes the group’s recent encounters with the Central London Humanist Group – meetings which shared the aims of the Courtyard of the Gentiles. How can two groups with opposing views engage in a fruitful dialogue? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110323_2.htm Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110323_1.htm Using many of Archbishop Romero’s own words, Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ gives an account of the public life of the modern martyr whose anniversary is celebrated tomorrow. How did the formerly conservative priest ‘rediscover his roots’ and become a champion of the cause of the oppressed? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110323_1.htm Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110321_1.htm In a new book due to be launched tomorrow in London, Australian Jesuit, Richard Leonard looks at how we understand the presence of God in our lives when we are faced with suffering. Using his own experience of a family tragedy, Fr Richard speaks about his personal response when he is tempted to ask: ‘Where the hell is God?’ http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110321_1.htm Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:46:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110318_1.htm Next week, the 31^st anniversary of the death of Archbishop Oscar Romero will be marked by people around the world to whom he remains an inspiration – in his life and death – as they strive for justice. His country of El Salvador saw many other lives lost as members of the Church were targeted by the authorities as a result of their protestations against an oppressive regime. Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ, who worked with many of these martyrs, tells their stories and gives an insight into the Church teaching that lay behind their deep commitment to justice. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110318_1.htm Fri, 18 Mar 2011 13:24:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110318_1.htm Gerard Hughes’ Fidelity Without Fundamentalism challenges us, as religious believers in an increasingly complex world, to resist the siren calls of fundamentalism in our attempts to remain faithful to our tradition. This is philosophy at its readable best, at the service of theology and of Christian liturgy and practice. Hughes strengthens, by the example of his argument, our capacity to cope with complexity while remaining believers. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110318_1.htm Fri, 18 Mar 2011 13:24:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110315_1.htm As we each find our own ways to mark the season of Lent, we follow in the footsteps of centuries of Christians who have spent time preparing to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. How did the Church’s understanding of the forty days of Lent change between the Council of Nicaea in the 4th century and the Second Vatican Council? Church historian Norman Tanner SJ gives a short history of this time of joy and preparation. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110315_1.htm Tue, 15 Mar 2011 14:24:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110308_1.htm Giving up chocolate? Deleting your Facebook account? We all choose to mark Lent in different ways and more often than not focus on abstaining from something we enjoy, but is this always good for us? Nicholas Austin SJ explores how our attempts at an ascetic way of life for forty days each year can go wrong if our motivations are not rooted in the wisdom of the Christian tradition. How can we rediscover the virtue of asceticism? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110308_1.htm Tue, 8 Mar 2011 15:12:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110308_1.htm Father Michael Campbell-Johnston’s (known as Father CJ) illuminating account of his life’s work striving for social justice, is compiled from the annual letters he wrote in the years from his ordination in 1964 to his second year in Barbados in 2004. Just Faith: A Jesuit Striving for Social Justice is a delight to read. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110308_1.htm Tue, 8 Mar 2011 15:12:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110304_1.htm In this biography of Socrates, Bettany Hughes blends her skills of scholarship, research and communication in an accessible and enticing style. The Hemlock Cup is a literary time machine: philosophy is embedded in a political, economic and social story focussed on one character’s life, written brilliantly in attractive, brief chapters. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110304_1.htm Fri, 4 Mar 2011 13:46:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110304_2.htm In 1955 at the age of 29, Allen Ginsberg, famed poet of the Beat Generation, wrote his first and most famous published poem: Howl. This film by the same name is an exploration of the poem, its creation and the controversy surrounding it. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110304_2.htm Fri, 4 Mar 2011 13:45:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110304_1.htm Newcomer, David Michod’s suspenseful thriller speaks of people: wonderful characters pitch-perfectly acted across the board, drive a tragic story forward by effectively asking profound questions about the creation of evil and the force of justice. The upholder of the moral system in the film is the imperious grandmother, a beautifully terrifying performance that garnered Australian veteran, Jacki Weaver an Oscar nomination. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110304_1.htm Fri, 4 Mar 2011 13:44:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110225_1.htm When Oscar nominee, Colin Firth was asked to guest-edit the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, he wanted to look at the sometimes complex relationship between faith and film. Who better to talk about this than renowned screenwriter, Frank Cottrell Boyce? The writer of several films, including Hilary and Jackie and Welcome to Sarajevo, describes what it is like to be a Catholic in the film industry. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110225_1.htm Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:52:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110225_2.htm Entertaining and beautiful though this 2010 version of True Grit is, there is a lot of stolid reproduction of the genre in it: Matt Damon and Jeff Bridges are extraordinary, but their performances are pretty much all hunk and bulk, shootin’ and tootin’. The conventionality is obvious from the start, as the camera pulls back to show us a vast set, teeming with expensive extras in an apparently immaculate recreation of frontier America in the 1870s. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110225_2.htm Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:51:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110225_1.htm 12 years after Ayub Khan-Din’s East is East secured its place in British cinema history we are given another glimpse into his story through the thinly veiled Khan family; back for more in West is West. If you enjoyed East is East, have no fear – this won’t desecrate its memory. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110225_1.htm Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:50:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110217_2.htm This is a collection of sermons delivered in the first decade of the 21^st Century at the Episcopal Church of St James, by Michael Northcott – an Anglican priest who is also Professor of Ethics at the University of Edinburgh. In each sermon he demonstrates both his rigorous knowledge of contemporary environmental and scientific issues and his profound understanding of Christian theology. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110217_2.htm Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:43:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110217_1.htm The two questions that Kirtzman’s book attempts to answer are how Ponzi master Bernie Madoff got away with his illegal financial dealings for decades, becoming a revered, almost god-like figure on Wall Street; and what the motivation was that drove him to behave in this extraordinarily manipulative but risky manner. It’s a dramatic page-turner but also a sad and sobering book. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110217_1.htm Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:42:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110217_2.htm Adapted from Mordecai Richler’s novel of the same name, Barney’s Version tells the story of the rash, impulsive, heavy drinking, olive-oil-merchant-cum-TV-producer Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti) and the turbulent relationships he has forged over the course of his life. Perhaps where Barney’s Version succeeds is that unlike so many films it is not merely a story of good versus bad. Barney is neither saint nor devil. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110217_2.htm Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:41:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110217_1.htm Over the course of the past few years, Cambodian journalist, Thet Sambath has slowly amassed an oral history archive of two score or so hours of recordings of interviews with perpetrators of the Cambodian massacres of 1975-79 – Nuon Chea, regional officials of the Khmer Rouge administration, and also the ordinary killers. It is Sambath’s voluntary work that is the focus of Rob Lemkin’s commendable film. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110217_1.htm Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:40:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110211_1.htm On 24 January 2011, Mexican bishop and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia died at the age of 86. His work with and for the indigenous people of his diocese in the south of Mexico ensured that he became a well-known and much-respected figure in Latin America. Gerald McCarthy describes the life of a man whose episcopacy spanned four decades of enormous change in Mexico, both within and outside of the Church. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110211_1.htm Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:45:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110211_1.htm The Fighter entices you into the ring, dances with you for a few rounds, jabbing and shoving you onto your ropes of reflection and then issues a direct punch to your sensibilities of whether you find yourself endeared to the characters and their life. The film was inspired by a true story tracking the life of blue collar ‘Irish’ Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his drug addicted half-brother, Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale). http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110211_1.htm Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:44:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110204_1.htm The editor of this book, a Jesuit priest teaching in the Faculty of Social Science at the Gregorian University in Rome, was asked by one of his African students: ‘When I return to my homeland next month, how best can I apply the social teaching of the Catholic Church to my culture?’ Hence this book, which attempts to answer precisely this question for six different cultures. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110204_1.htm Fri, 4 Feb 2011 13:45:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110204_3.htm It’s unlikely that this version of Brighton Rock will garner the same acclaim as its predecessor, and Joffe has chosen pace and excitement over the deeper concerns of the novel. The Catholicism of the film is a faith reduced to ethical principles and guilt when these principles are broken, and it seemed a world away from a life-giving faith based on a relationship with a loving God. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110204_3.htm Fri, 4 Feb 2011 13:44:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110204_2.htm Rabbit Hole explores the process of grief in intricate detail, as a couple attempt to ‘put their lives back on track’ after the death of their young son. Since Rabbit Hole was originally a play, it has a better script than most films. Furthermore, the film is relentlessly honest about the long term effects of mourning. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110204_2.htm Fri, 4 Feb 2011 13:43:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110204_1.htm Directed by Clint Eastwood, Hereafter is concerned with the age-old human fascination with life after death. In his hands, despite excellent acting, the topic is one dimensional and unfulfilled. There is no solace to be found in religion in any of the three narratives that the film weaves together. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110204_1.htm Fri, 4 Feb 2011 13:42:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110203_1.htm In Homelessness Week, Gerald O’Collins SJ asks us to think about the way in which Jesus identified himself with the homeless, and took every opportunity to speak about and help them. When we consider that Jesus himself was homeless for much of his life, how does this challenge us to see the face of Jesus in all of those in need? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110203_1.htm Thu, 3 Feb 2011 13:55:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110128_1.htm Writer Aline Brosh McKenna also scripted The Devil Wears Prada and the plots have obvious similarities. Morning Glory is not such a tightly made film, but there are some great gags, and four days after seeing the film, I’m still smiling at certain images and jokes. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110128_1.htm Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:55:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110125_1.htm Today we celebrate the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, the event in which the ‘most ferocious enemy of the Church became its most zealous son and missionary’. How is Paul’s conversion described in the New Testament, in his own words and in the accounts in the Acts of the Apostles? Marcel Uwineza SJ looks closely at how Paul and Luke portray the change affected in Paul on the Damascus Road. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110125_1.htm Tue, 25 Jan 2011 12:09:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110121_1.htm Leslie Griffiths is today a Member of the House of Lords, a former President of the Methodist Conference, and an accomplished broadcaster and writer. His accessible, wise and inspirational autobiography is all the more refreshing for the hesitation with which its subject has approached the task of recording his story. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110121_1.htm Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:39:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110121_1.htm On the whole, The Next Three Days is a pacey and engaging thriller and an interesting rendition of the original. This film is more thought-provoking than the French version, which seemed wilfully to avoid any of the moral doubts and questions. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110121_1.htm Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:38:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110119_1.htm What has been the impact so far of the reforms that came into effect in the House of Commons last year as a result of the recommendations of the Reform Committee? Joe Egerton argues that a current debate in Parliament regarding pensions and investments is testing whether Robert Parsons was correct to believe that a reformed Commons, in charge of its own agenda, would be a witness for justice and truth. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20110119_1.htm Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:59:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110119_1.htm Black Swan is unusual, very slick and stands as a palatable metaphor for contemporary stories of self-destruction. It taps into a very contemporary philosophy about what it means to achieve ‘self-fulfilment’. As Christians we should feel uncomfortable with the persistence with which glory is associated with a selfish ‘doing what I really want to do’. We know the truth that an exciting, life-altering transcendence is accessible through a giving-up, rather than a giving-in to, of self. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110119_1.htm Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:58:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110114_1.htm Daniel Hardy was an extraordinary man – and this is an extraordinary book. A sort of theological memoir, it works on various levels: an intimate record of a spiritual journey; thought-provoking theology; an homage to a great teacher; the story of family and close friends facing the loss of someone deeply loved. What holds these levels together is a series of conversations which Hardy held during the last months of his life. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110114_1.htm Fri, 14 Jan 2011 14:18:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110114_1.htm The King’s Speech is a moving story about human relationships, about fear and about courage. Sensitively filmed, expertly scripted and superbly acted, it comes as close to cinematic perfection as any film has the right to be. The script deals particularly well with the presentation of its historical subject and the calibre of the acting is first-rate. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110114_1.htm Fri, 14 Jan 2011 14:17:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110107_1.htm Jesse Norman MP’s The Big Society brings some academic acumen to the Big Society debate. Norman’s approach, while it includes some positive proposals for reform, begins and ends with an insightful critique of macro-economics: he does not develop the concept of rebuilding our society from the bottom up. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20110107_1.htm Fri, 7 Jan 2011 14:30:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110107_3.htm Director, Edward Zwick, who co-wrote the screen play for Love and Other Drugs, makes a welcome attempt to deliver an adult comedy about ethical conflicts in romantic relationships, unprofessional profiteering in the competitive drug world, and the human reluctance to face deep relationships, but the film never quite delivers on any one front. This is a film that needed to show much more of the vulnerability lying underneath the façade of its two main characters. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110107_3.htm Fri, 7 Jan 2011 14:29:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110107_2.htm After the success of The Social Network (aka the Facebook film), it was only a matter of time before filmmakers latched onto what is now perhaps the most influential social tool we have at our disposal and used it to explore what it says about people and society as a whole. Certainly, the idea that Facebook is a unifying tool that helps to build and maintain relationships is an interesting one, and one that Catfish scrutinises. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110107_2.htm Fri, 7 Jan 2011 14:28:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110107_1.htm Opinion may vary on how true a film adaptation should be to the original work, but there is no denying that adaptation is a form of translation, moving from one medium into another. The primary duty of any translator, whether between languages or media, is to provide a version which expresses as closely as possible the intended message of the original. In this, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader fails utterly. Much of the Christian overtone of the book is lost in this film, along with the fun and adventure. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20110107_1.htm Fri, 7 Jan 2011 14:27:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101231_1.htm What do we know about the Star that, according to Matthew’s Gospel, guided the Magi to Bethlehem to worship the baby Jesus? Was it just a feature that Matthew added to his narrative to convey a particular message to his readers, or was there an astronomical event to which he was referring? Vatican astronomer, Guy Consolmagno SJ presents various theories about the Star of Bethlehem… but should we be preoccupied with calculations and planetary conjunctions? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101231_1.htm Fri, 31 Dec 2010 12:28:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101229_1.htm For many people, Christmas Day marks the end of a hectic few weeks of festivities; for the Church, however, it is the beginning of the celebration that we prepare for throughout Advent. But why, asks Philip Endean SJ, do we anticipate anew the coming of Christ each year? Perhaps we should think of Christmas itself as a time of expectation. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101229_1.htm Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:29:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101223_2.htm The familiar imagery of Christmas helps us to capture, as best we can, our understanding of God becoming man – but how can we grasp the wonder of the birth of Jesus through what can often seem like a trivial celebration? Philosopher, Gerard J. Hughes SJ invites us to find, in the pictures on our Christmas cards and the presentation of our cribs, something of both the simplicity and the mystery of the Incarnation, for which our words are inadequate. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101223_2.htm Thu, 23 Dec 2010 21:48:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101223_1.htm The final episode of BBC One’s The Nativity brings this delicate yet brave interpretation of the story of the birth of Christ to a beautiful and moving conclusion. Jim Conway SJ thinks that Tony Jordan’s creative script has presented the heavenly and earthly aspects of the Nativity story to the viewers of this series in a way of which St Ignatius would have approved. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101223_1.htm Thu, 23 Dec 2010 21:47:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101222_2.htm Over the coming days, regular churchgoers will be joined at Mass by many people who are largely absent from parish life – but what are we to make of this increase in Mass attendance? Michael Bossy SJ asks whether the presence of occasional Mass-goers on these rare occasions is a mere pretence for the sake of show and ‘tradition’, or if it should be welcomed as something of genuine spiritual value. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101222_2.htm Wed, 22 Dec 2010 21:14:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101222_1.htm As Mary and Joseph’s testing journey to Bethlehem nears its end in the penultimate episode of BBC One’s The Nativity, the Magi are undertaking their own perilous journey to the same destination. Nathan Koblintz finds much to be admired in the characters and dialogue of these learned figures, and thinks that their wonderings provide a valuable contrast to the very human aspects of Tony Jordan’s take on the story. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101222_1.htm Wed, 22 Dec 2010 21:13:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101221_1.htm As the BBC’s dramatisation of The Nativity continues, Andrew Dickson finds clear reflections of biblical theology as the stories of the Magi and of a poor shepherd develop. While Mary’s narrative diverges slightly from Catholic tradition in this second episode, this captivating series is shaping up to be a challenging but excellent interpretation of a familiar story. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101221_1.htm Tue, 21 Dec 2010 19:04:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101220_1.htm The first of four episodes of BBC One’s The Nativity focused on the relationship of a young couple with whose story we are very familiar, although we may not have seen it in this light before. Tim Byron SJ has high hopes for the rest of this sensitively acted and cleverly written series, which weaves together the many threads of ‘the greatest story ever told’. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101220_1.htm Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:30:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101217_1.htm Why is it that Catholic Social Teaching remains a mystery to most Catholics? Perhaps, as this book argues, its principles seem abstract and there appears to be no vehicle for translating them into action. Faithful Citizens sets out to provide precisely such a vehicle. And it does this by bringing together Catholic Social Teaching and Community Organising. Hopefully Faithful Citizens will not only be read but also used. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101217_1.htm Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:27:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101217_2.htm Anyone who enjoyed Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation will have been looking forward to a reprise of the themes explored there, delivered with the same insight and sensitivity, the same carefully-constructed cinematographic eye, and perhaps deeper understanding about the relationships involved. However, Somewhere is dull and self-indulgent: it’s as if they have decided not just to represent the boredom of vapid stardom, but to offer us an experience of it. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101217_2.htm Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:26:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101217_1.htm The two leads are Cuban musicians caught up in the emigration of talent to the opportunities of New York in the 1940s and 50s. From their first meeting the film charts the love life and ambitions of the pianist, Chico, and the singer, Rita, as their paths meet and separate across continents and film sets. Any thinness in the plot and realism of Chico & Rita is hardly the point: it’s a sweet and unusual film for this time of year and any music lovers will be more than satisfied. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101217_1.htm Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:25:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101210_1.htm ‘In Advent we practise listening for Him, so that we will learn to listen to Him.’ The gospel readings of the four Sundays of Advent invite us to listen, in different ways, for the coming of Christ, writes Sr Margaret Atkins. Just as we have different modes of listening in our everyday lives, we find this reflected in the invitations to attentiveness that we hear in the Advent scriptures. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101210_1.htm Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:24:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101210_2.htm 11 December marks the anniversary of the Union of South Africa’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1931. South African history, before and since that time, has encompassed numerous debates surrounding equality and freedom, and proposed new legislation is recalling one such question, that of public access to information. Anthony Egan SJ of the Jesuit Institute in South Africa investigates why the African National Congress are seeking to place restrictions on the country’s media outlets. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101210_2.htm Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:23:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101210_1.htm The Advent series of Faith Matters lectures at Westminster Cathedral, which concludes on Tuesday 14 December, explores the life and thought of Blessed John Cardinal Newman. This collection of five lectures delivered in the 2009 series, on Catholic faith and life is brilliant contemporary ‘spiritual reading’. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101210_1.htm Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:22:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101210_1.htm The American is based on the novel, A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth. Its central character, Jack (George Clooney) is a hitman who makes guns to order. Clooney has notched up another string to his bow by doing something so different, and credit to this creative and able director to take the actor left field. But The American could have been so much more if the writers had been equally bold. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101210_1.htm Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:21:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101202_1.htm What do we learn about John the Baptist from the gospel passages about him that will be read over the following two Sundays? As we continue our liturgical journey through Advent by hearing about this man who ‘was clothed with camel’s hair...and ate locusts and wild honey’, Peter Edmonds SJ looks at how each gospel writer’s portrayal of him can help us in a different aspect of our preparation for the coming of Christ. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101202_1.htm Thu, 2 Dec 2010 15:24:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101202_1.htm Based on the true story of a Cistercian Monastery in North Africa, Xavier Beauvois’ film examines the sharp end of contact between the Islam and Christian worlds. Despite the tense atmosphere of violent menace, Of Gods and Men refuses to be graphic in its depiction of horror, concentrating on the emotional impact and the social consequences. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101202_1.htm Thu, 2 Dec 2010 15:23:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101201_1.htm One of the many ways in which the Catholic Church contributes to the struggle against HIV and AIDS in Africa is through education. With the support of the African Jesuit AIDS Network, a recent campaign in a Jesuit parish in Tanzania aimed to inform the values and behaviour of young people in their approach to HIV and AIDS. On World AIDS Day, Ekeno Augostine SJ and Martin Waweru SJ, who facilitated the campaign, describe its success. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101201_1.htm Wed, 1 Dec 2010 14:19:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101201_1.htm A recent survey for Quakers in Britain showed that few people today know anything about Quakers. Few of those questioned were aware that Quakers exist today, let alone knew what they believe and what they do. In his book, The Spirit of the Quakers, Geoffrey Durham seeks to rectify this. The book provides an introduction for the general reader, a gentle ‘next step’ for those wishing to know more but it is not without challenges for committed Quakers. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101201_1.htm Wed, 1 Dec 2010 14:18:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101126_1.htm Joe Egerton draws on a course he offered at the Mount Street Jesuit Centre to argue that J K Rowling has given Christians a valuable resource to introduce some of the central beliefs of the Catholic faith to a generation that knows the life of Harry Potter far better than it knows the life of Jesus Christ. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101126_1.htm Fri, 26 Nov 2010 16:03:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101126_2.htm After seven Harry Potter books, six internationally blockbusting movies, billions of pounds spent and made, and not a little prodding from my young nieces, I finally got round to seeing what all the fuss is about. Did I like it? Sure. I’m actually looking forward to part II. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101126_2.htm Fri, 26 Nov 2010 16:02:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101126_1.htm The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest goes easy on the emotional drama, concentrating on tension and investigation. The tension in the film is not just within the plot. It lies in the gap between the moral certainties of the narrative and the savagery of the film-making. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101126_1.htm Fri, 26 Nov 2010 16:01:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101124_2.htm In an interview published this week as a book entitled Light of the World, Pope Benedict XVI makes some remarks about the use of condoms in the prevention of the spread of HIV which have been widely publicised over recent days. Anthony Egan SJ suggests that while the Pope’s comments do not, contrary to what has been reported, mark a break away from Catholic teaching, there is in fact a subtle innovation behind his words. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101124_2.htm Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101124_1.htm The recent canonisation of Mary MacKillop brought pilgrims to Rome not only from Australia, but from Scotland too. One of them was Scottish historian, Alastair Cherry, who recounts the story of his pilgrimage and what it tells us about the woman with Highland roots who is now Australia’s first saint. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101124_1.htm Wed, 24 Nov 2010 16:59:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101119_1.htm This Saturday, 20 November, marks the one hundredth anniversary of the death of Leo Tolstoy, author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina, two of the most celebrated books in literary history. Tolstoy’s novels, and those of his contemporaries such as Dostoevsky, occupy an important place in Russia’s complex religious and social history, which itself found expression through 19^th century Russian literature, as Dairmid Gunn describes. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101119_1.htm Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:46:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101119_4.htm This is a horror film, but it’s a very arty horror film, and one that plays with the genre, fully using it to touch on a number of major contemporary issues. Cannibalism is a metaphor for the wickedness and pain that humans can inflict on each other. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101119_4.htm Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:45:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101119_3.htm The First Grader is an inspiring film based on the true story of an 84 year old Kenyan man, Kimani Ng’ang’a Maruge, who, following the announcement of the government’s policy that there would be free education for all, decided that this was his opportunity to learn to read. This film of charm and resilience will make you laugh, cry, think and will inspire. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101119_3.htm Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:44:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101119_2.htm More than anything, arguably, Treacle Jr. is an exploration of that certain kind of hardship that finds itself prevalent but often overlooked in the developed western world, and how people deal with it, together or alone. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101119_2.htm Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:43:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101119_1.htm It’s easy to feel dismissive, but for a film motivated by the attraction of bathos – that the people behind the fantasies of romantic novels are going to be messier, uglier and more boring than their fictional counterparts – Guilty Pleasures is to be praised for never sneering at its subjects. Instead the tone remains sweet and amused throughout, tender even, towards those involved in the vast industry, the writers, readers, and cover stars. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101119_1.htm Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:42:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101116_1.htm Controversial French author, Michel Houellebecq last week won France’s top literary award, the Prix Goncourt, for his novel, The Map and the Territory. In his earlier novels, Houellebecq raised insightful questions about the human social condition and the search for happiness, argues John McDade SJ, themes which are also prominent in the writing of Leo Tolstoy, the centenary of whose death will be marked later this week. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101116_1.htm Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:42:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101116_1.htm Christianity Today attempts in a brief 150 pages to present the basic history, teachings and practices of Christianity for the student and uninitiated alike. It can be recommended as a brief introduction: excellent on history and biblical scholarship, and good on questions about the relationship between Christianity and science. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101116_1.htm Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:41:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101105_1.htm Rev Dr Michael Fuller concludes his series on Thinking Faith by elaborating on the different ways in which scientific and theological disciplines can dialogue with one another. How can we avoid reverting to an understanding of science and theology being in conflict with one another, and instead work towards a ‘constructive mutual engagement’? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101105_1.htm Fri, 5 Nov 2010 13:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101105_6.htm Apparently members of the audience at the Toronto and Telluride Film Festivals required medical attention upon watching Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, so it is with some pride that I am able to report nothing more severe than light sweats and an expletive-muttering journey from the cinema to the quiet, empty pub where this review is being written. I do have to confess that during the film I experienced wincing, screwing up my eyes and doing the thing where you look over the top of your glasses at the screen so it all goes a bit blurry. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101105_6.htm Fri, 5 Nov 2010 13:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101105_5.htm One cannot help but be moved by Illègal and as well, to be interrogated by the process that makes prisoners of innocent people. Many have fled persecution but have had a refusal made on their claim for protection. Others have entered legally but, after overstaying a visa, have slipped into illegality in terms of their right to stay in the country. Others again have entered the fortress clandestinely and, once within, have slipped into a shadow world of living in fear with no papers and prone to awful exploitation. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101105_5.htm Fri, 5 Nov 2010 13:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101105_4.htm Perhaps it was this proximity to a reality I believe in that made Biutiful such a destabilising film to watch. The physical reality Uxbal lives in is unremittingly bleak. All of his attempts at cleaning up the loose ends in his life and healing the pain that he has been involved in are thwarted by either his own weakness, or those of others around him... http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101105_4.htm Fri, 5 Nov 2010 13:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101105_3.htm Normally, in a war film, one follows the lives of those involved as they take part in the war ‘over there’. Scenes are shot of the characters fighting bravely on foreign soil, and the impact is shown on screen through explosions and hand-to-hand combat. Not so here, Ken Loach directs a very raw portrayal of the human struggle in war. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101105_3.htm Fri, 5 Nov 2010 13:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101105_2.htm We are taken on a journey with a young girl, whose future is already mapped out; tending cattle, fighting to get an education, being married off to someone old enough to be her grandfather, raising boys, cooking and cleaning for her family and living under the dominance of men in her home and in society. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101105_2.htm Fri, 5 Nov 2010 13:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101105_1.htm What is at stake are not just ways of life that have been freely chosen, learnt and adapted through generations, but the ability to live free of outside forces restricting choices. One of the sadnesses underpinning the campaign is the sense of how fast something that has taken years and years to create can be damaged, and how slow any healing will be. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101105_1.htm Fri, 5 Nov 2010 13:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101102_1.htm Continuing his exploration of the relationship between science and theology, Dr Michael Fuller of the Theological Institute of the Scottish Episcopal Church unfolds some of the myths about historical points of alleged contention between the two disciplines. Were Columbus, Galileo and Darwin really swimming against the intellectual current of their times, or is there more to their stories than meets the eye? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101102_1.htm Tue, 2 Nov 2010 14:30:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101029_1.htm In a three-part series for Thinking Faith, Michael Fuller, an Anglican priest with a background in organic chemistry, will challenge popular notions about the relationship between science and theology. In this first article, he looks at how a more traditional understanding of the practice of science has been called into question in recent years. What developments have occurred in the philosophy of science, and what might this mean for its engagement with theology? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101029_1.htm Fri, 29 Oct 2010 12:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_8.htm Africa United is a film rich in faith. On more than one occasion, Beatrice, played by Sanyu Joanita Kintu, prays openly for her friends with a simple faith that combines remorse for past failings and hope for the future. It is a beautifully crafted film, with great scenery and a thoroughly believable cast. And what it does – to great effect – is provide us with a sketch of Africa. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_8.htm Fri, 29 Oct 2010 12:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_7.htm In the opening credits, the film sets up the conflicts that generate the action, yet never thinks to go beyond the superficial. The unimaginative handling of the drama is matched by a predictable form. Ironically, the representation of males in the film is so two-dimensional, it becomes offensive. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_7.htm Fri, 29 Oct 2010 12:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_6.htm Nicholas Halsey, played by Will Ferrell, is in the depths of a ‘bad day’. Having recently been fired from his long-term job in marketing, suffering at the hands of his own addiction, he returns home to find his locks changed, his wife gone and his possessions scattered all over his own front lawn. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_6.htm Fri, 29 Oct 2010 12:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_5.htm Part documentary, part fiction, with many of the characters played by themselves. Khaled is Khaled Abol Naga, a well-known TV and film personality in Egypt and likely to become better known to the rest of the world through film festivals like this one. Unlike The Taqwacores, with its climaxes and completions, Microphone feels more wistful. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_5.htm Fri, 29 Oct 2010 12:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_4.htm Life, above all opens with a beautiful song sung in Pedi; this is one of the eleven official languages of South Africa. The singers’ melodic voices chant ‘open the gates’; this allows for a virtual invitation, coercing the audience to enter the enticing world of the small town of Elandsdoorn, located just outside Johannesburg. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_4.htm Fri, 29 Oct 2010 12:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_3.htm Winter Vacation is made up of a series of set pieces that sit like still photographs until one of the humans moves or says something. At a street corner four teenage boys gradually congregate; there are no cars, and in the background is the sound of distant gunfire. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_3.htm Fri, 29 Oct 2010 12:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_2.htm Set in 1970s Glasgow council estates, an impassive, baby faced, intelligent boy descends from class swot to rampaging gangland thug in just a few years. The cast had a fight club for two weeks leading up to filming so that Mullan could ensure they could fight without hurting each other. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_2.htm Fri, 29 Oct 2010 12:00:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_1.htm The problem is that Rothschild is no match for Mandelson in her interviewing – and this is meant as no slight on her. Trying to provoke him into a revelation about his two sackings from Government, she comments that Blair’s actions ‘seemed very harsh.’ ‘And?’ replies PM. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101029_1.htm Fri, 29 Oct 2010 12:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101027_1.htm On the forty-fifth anniversary of the promulgation of Nostra aetate, the Second Vatican Council’s decree on the Church and other faiths, Isabel Smyth SND examines the origins of the declaration, the enormous impact it had on inter-faith relations, and the questions it leaves us with today. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101027_1.htm Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:05:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101026_1.htm To the people of the village of Aishalton in the Guyanese Interior, the political activity in most of the world’s democratic countries would seem far removed from their everyday lives. But over the past year, the villagers have been taking part in a process at the very heart of which is the concept of participatory democracy. Sarah Broscombe describes the stages and outcomes of the Community Development Plan, and the importance of involving Guyana’s indigenous population in the country’s political life. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101026_1.htm Tue, 26 Oct 2010 12:00:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101026_1.htm The novel is set, for the most part, in late Victorian Glasgow among an Irish group who have escaped the famine and are now being joined by others in flight from English oppression and in search of a better life. The real quality of the story lies in the genre to which it belongs: a picaresque novel written from the point of view of someone living by his wits, a heavy drinker earning his free whiskeys by telling tales of republican adventure. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101026_1.htm Tue, 26 Oct 2010 12:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101021_1.htm A new series on BBC2, beginning on Friday 22 October, explores the journey of five people from very different backgrounds who decided to step back from their hectic lives and experience silence. In an extract from a book to supplement The Big Silence, Brendan Callaghan SJ, who accompanied the volunteers during their eight-day retreat at St Beuno’s Spirituality Centre, describes how, through silence, we can grow in holiness and wholeness. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101021_1.htm Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:55:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101021_5.htm G.K. Chesterton wrote of fairy tales that they ‘say that apples were golden only to refresh the forgotten moment when we found that they were green.’ Conviction may not have the enchantment of a golden apple; however, its story is one of the green apples that may taste a bit bland in comparison, but of whose value we do well to be reminded. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101021_5.htm Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:54:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101021_4.htm Director, Janus Metz Pedersen and his cameraman Lars Skree spent six months with a platoon of young Danish soldiers in Helmand province. The access they were given was at times so intimate that I had to re-check that Armadillo was a documentary. In Denmark Armadillo has caused controversy over the behaviour it has captured and publicised of the soldiers during a dawn raid. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101021_4.htm Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:53:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101021_3.htm Home by Christmas is a non-fiction romance, a non-fiction phantasy, a true-untrue thing. There are some very real facts about New Zealand soldier, Edward Preston at the core of the story. These facts were captured by his daughter, the film-maker Gaylene Preston, in a number of audio-taped conversations with him before he died some years ago, and a dramatic recreation of these exchanges are the formal centre of the film. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101021_3.htm Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:52:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101021_2.htm Oddly enough there are two films about Taqwacore, the Islamic punk scene that began life as a novel. The Taqwacores is also the name of the novel that inspired the real life musicians to fuse together their faith with their musical tastes. What the film The Taqwacores gives us is a kind of North American The Young Ones. It’s entertaining enough, but it’s of more interest as a cultural artefact than it is as a story. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101021_2.htm Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:51:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101021_1.htm Writer, Christ Sparling, must have taken up a dare that he could or could not write a full-length feature film set solely in a coffin. Certainly a risk – and perhaps not too much of a box-office bonanza. But, he has pulled it off and director, Rodrigo Cortés has succeeded in creating effective visuals for the writing. This is a Spanish production, in English. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101021_1.htm Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:50:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101019_1.htm The island of Malta has in recent years come under scrutiny with regard to its position as a point of entry into Europe for asylum seekers and refugees attempting to flee Africa via the Mediterranean. Grant Tungay SJ, who spent the summer working there with the Jesuit Refugee Service, describes the plight of those who arrive in Malta under such circumstances, and the legal and political issues surrounding their situation. How can JRS offer help and companionship to those who seek refuge in Malta? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101019_1.htm Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:00:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101015_1.htm As Australia prepares to celebrate the canonisation of its first saint, Mary MacKillop, much media attention has been devoted to Mary’s story, but little is known about the fascinating life of her younger brother, Jesuit priest Donald MacKillop, to whom Mary was very close. Australian Bishop, Greg O’Kelly SJ, describes Donald’s instrumental role in a nineteenth century Jesuit mission among the Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory, his ‘New Paraguay’. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101015_1.htm Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:10:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101015_1.htm Paraguay, by Margaret Hebblethwaite, is an unusual guide book. It gives all the usual information a tourist requires about travel, hotels, restaurants and shopping. But, in addition, it contains much valuable information about the cultural, artistic and historical life of the Paraguayan people. It is a good example of the publisher’s claim to produce travel books that are not just for reference, but also for reading. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101015_1.htm Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:09:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101015_3.htm Following in the footsteps of developments like the telephone system and air travel, Facebook has made the concept of distance still more insignificant and has again redefined, or at least re-qualified, isolation. The Social Network takes us back to the days and months leading up to the creation of Facebook, and undertakes the age-old task of telling the story of beginnings. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101015_3.htm Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:08:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101015_2.htm The 2010 London Film Festival opened on Wednesday with an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go. It is a strong beginning to the Festival, which has a wide spread of films over the next fortnight, many of which will be on full release in the UK over the coming months. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101015_2.htm Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:07:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101015_1.htm Gekko defined a period in the eighties and his return is cleverly orchestrated to make us sit up and question whether he has learned anything in his time away. In fact has anyone learned anything in the time he was away? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101015_1.htm Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:06:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101012_1.htm History will be made this Sunday 17 October as Blessed Mary MacKillop is canonised in Rome and becomes Australia’s first saint. The Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart introduce us to their co-founder, a woman whose relationship with the Church was complex, but her faith in and service of God unceasing. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101012_1.htm Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:10:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101008_1.htm Here we have a volume by a distinguished American scholar whose entire life’s work has been dedicated to getting to know Muslims and Islam. Tom Michel’s A Christian View of Islam is essential reading for any Catholic who is serious about going beyond the myths and tendentious ‘knowledge’ concerning Islam so widespread today. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101008_1.htm Fri, 8 Oct 2010 14:20:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101008_2.htm Eat Pray Love boasts a fine cast and the big names don't disappoint. Nonetheless, I don't think it will be raking in the awards. Despite the beautiful cinematography and neat editing, this film needs to be faulted for the philosophy it promotes. Eat Pray Love runs the risk of rendering religious belief redundant. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101008_2.htm Fri, 8 Oct 2010 14:19:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101008_1.htm The Missouri Ozark forests in winter and their unkempt homesteads and rusting pickups are the bitter physical landscape of this haunting film. These are no Beverley Hillbillies – life is a matter of raw survival - there are clearly no hairdressers, no handbags, no tumble dryers, no lipstick. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101008_1.htm Fri, 8 Oct 2010 14:18:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101006_1.htm Discussions of the difficulties that have arisen for religious believers over the issue of evolution are well rehearsed, but some Christians are still suspicious of Darwin’s theory due to the implications they foresee for their faith. Brian Kilbey, Emeritus Professor of Molecular Parasitology at Edinburgh University, argues that we can think about God’s creativity in a way that recognises and welcomes the full value of the theory of evolution and the insights that it offers. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101006_1.htm Wed, 6 Oct 2010 14:13:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101001_1.htm The 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, due to begin this Sunday 3 October, have become the focus of international interest due to concerns over the safety and standard of the facilities and accommodation. Kensy Joseph SJ argues that India’s failure to prepare adequately for the hosting of the event is a result of a preoccupation with acquiring status symbols, to the neglect of the fulfilment of what such symbols represent. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101001_1.htm Fri, 1 Oct 2010 18:42:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101001_1.htm The Tony Blair that emerges in this book is a spiritual enigma. Neither Catholicism nor religion in general make it into the core narrative of this work despite their seeming importance to Blair’s thought – and so what is omitted here tells us as much about Blair as that which he includes. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20101001_1.htm Fri, 1 Oct 2010 18:41:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101001_2.htm Boston’s Irish community has provided the source material for some pretty good films of late. Ben Affleck’s first film in the director’s chair, Gone Baby Gone, focused on this community and was a hit with the critics. However, his latest film, The Town is a less serious escapade, a surprising, bittersweet jaunt over Boston’s mean streets and a glamorisation of the macho, bank heist film genre. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101001_2.htm Fri, 1 Oct 2010 18:40:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101001_1.htm Tamara Drewe is based on the Guardian comic strip by Posy Simmonds. You might be disappointed if you went to this film hoping for new moral ground to be broken, but you won’t be disappointed if you’re looking for an entertaining story with some real laugh-out-loud moments. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20101001_1.htm Fri, 1 Oct 2010 18:39:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100928_1.htm The small Bavarian village of Oberammergau has once again been packed with visitors all summer, coming to see the famous Passion Play, which concludes this week. Performed every ten years since the seventeenth century, the play still includes much of the original script and music, but this year includes much that is new. Peter Scally SJ attended a performance and spoke afterwards to Otto Huber, the play’s Director of Drama. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100928_1.htm Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:05:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100921_1.htm The Papal visit provided an opportunity for representatives of different faiths to gather together and share their experiences of engaging with civil society. Christine Allen of Progressio spoke to members of many faith traditions and found much to celebrate in their common achievements and struggles, a celebration that was affirmed by Pope Benedict’s words to the group. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100921_1.htm Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:22:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100919_1.htm On Saturday 18 September, Pope Benedict visited St Peter’s Residence, a Catholic care home in Vauxhall. As he met with the residents, the Pope spoke movingly about his own experience of ageing. Angela Kitching thinks there is much to be learned from his words, by people of all generations, in the context of the UK’s ageing population, particularly by those involved in the debate over funding for care for the elderly. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100919_1.htm Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:16:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100918_4.htm The Pope’s historic visits to Lambeth Palace and Westminster Abbey were among the most eagerly anticipated events of his visit, and there was much curiosity about how he would address these ecumenical gatherings. Oliver Rafferty SJ analyses the significance of the honest but welcoming words exchanged yesterday by Pope Benedict and the Archbishop of Canterbury. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100918_4.htm Sat, 18 Sep 2010 14:31:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100918_3.htm When Pope Benedict met with faith leaders on the second day of his visit, he not only spoke of the shared virtues of all people of faith, but advocated ‘face to face’ engagement as an integral part of dialogue, reports Michael Barnes SJ. What was so striking about the Pope’s affirmation of the need for exchange between faiths, in order that they might counter society’s hostility to religion? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100918_3.htm Sat, 18 Sep 2010 14:30:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100918_2.htm Fr Michael Holman SJ, Provincial of the British Jesuits, welcomes the vision for the happiness of young people that the Pope expressed at the ‘Big Assembly’ on the second day of his visit to the UK. As he addressed schoolchildren from all over the country, Pope Benedict encouraged them to grow in holiness, and asked those who teach them to let this aim shape their approach to education. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100918_2.htm Sat, 18 Sep 2010 14:29:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100918_1.htm ‘Those twenty or so minutes in the presence of the Pope have created for me a lasting memory, part of a collective memory of this visit for many Catholics.’ Philip Harrison reflects on what it meant to him, as a Jesuit in formation, to be in the presence of Pope Benedict as he thanked the religious of the United Kingdom for their role in ‘imparting wisdom’ to the young people they teach. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100918_1.htm Sat, 18 Sep 2010 14:28:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100917_1.htm Earlier today, Pope Benedict prayed with members of the religious congregations of the United Kingdom, and focused particularly on their role as educators. Education, he said ‘is about forming the human person, equipping him or her to live life to the full’. Gemma Simmonds, Director of the Institute for Religious Life at Heythrop College, considers the vital importance of the visibility of religious life in light of the Pope’s words. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100917_1.htm Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:27:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100917_3.htm Odd that a film all about water should be so dry. There’s no line of story running through Alamar that might have acted as a leavening agent. The canvas that is blank apart from the few facts the film records requests a response. If you’re ready for active film-watching then Alamar will reward you. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100917_3.htm Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:26:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100917_2.htm The Runaways charts the life of the eponymous band, made up of five teenage girls in California. The film’s loveliness doesn’t come from its pretty young faces but from its capture of the heady frustration of creativity and boredom. This is the spark of divine creativity breaking out in the gloom – and if the music is to your taste too, then it’s a heady mix. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100917_2.htm Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:25:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100917_1.htm In this second episode of the Millenium trilogy, Lisbeth awakens from a nightmare a year after the last episode in which she and Michael burned a nest of Swedish neo-nazis. I suppose the makers and actors of this film should really take it as a compliment that Hollywood is already planning the remake of Stieg Larsson’s politically correct trilogy of leftist thrillers – remakes which will doubtless dispense with the Swedish language, the Swedish chain-smoking, the Swedish humourless righteous zeal and presumably the Swedish leftist politics. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100917_1.htm Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:24:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100916_2.htm Christine Allen, Director of Catholic development organisation, Progressio, describes her meeting with Pope Benedict XVI during his formal welcome by the Queen at Holyroodhouse Palace in Edinburgh. In what context has the Pope placed his visit to the United Kingdom with his opening words? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100916_2.htm Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:49:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100916_1.htm As Pope Benedict XVI is welcomed by the Scottish public on the streets of Edinburgh, there is much anticipation of what he will say to the people of the UK over the course of his four-day visit. Thomas Rausch SJ, author of ‘Pope Benedict XVI: An Introduction to his Theological Vision’, looks closely at the ecclesiology of the Pope, who has already begun to present his thoughts on the Church and society in the first address of his visit. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100916_1.htm Thu, 16 Sep 2010 11:49:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100915_1.htm Ahead of this week’s papal visit, Catholics in the United Kingdom will be thinking about how they will engage with the atmosphere and events of the coming days. In a homily delivered last Sunday, Philip Endean SJ suggested that the much-maligned elder brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son might be a character to whom we turn for guidance – what might we learn from him that will allow our faith to be strengthened by this visit? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100915_1.htm Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:43:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100915_1.htm Emerging from two pioneering conferences at Heythrop College in 2007, Keeping Faith in Practice addresses the question: What is Pastoral or Practical Theology from a Catholic perspective? This fascinating volume draws together a range of scholars to engage in a closer study of what the editors perceive is a sea change in Catholic theological method from which a Catholic pastoral theology is emerging. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100915_1.htm Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:42:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100911_1.htm On Racial Justice Sunday this year, the Catholic Association for Racial Justice will be reflecting on the issues surrounding migration and asking the question, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ How can our faith inform our thoughts and actions as we adapt to the changing nature of our society? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100911_1.htm Sat, 11 Sep 2010 12:22:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100903_1.htm Stephen Hawking’s assertion that God did not create the universe has captured headlines this week and has once more raised questions about the relationship between faith and science. Eminent British philosopher of science, Michael Ruse, sets out in his latest book to defend the reasonability of religious belief not just in spite of, but even because of, what modern science has to say. Here is a convinced atheist who happens to be persuaded that belief in God is, nevertheless, a rationally valid and interesting conjecture. Damian Howard SJ reviews ‘Science and Spirituality’ and discusses Ruse’s contribution to the faith-science debate. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100903_1.htm Fri, 3 Sep 2010 14:54:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100903_2.htm Salt owes a lot to the gap left by the Bourne films, not only in its plotting but in the standards set for death-defying and death-dealing. Angelina Jolie takes on the eponymous role of the CIA double/triple agent. It’s pacey fun, with enough impossible by-a-whisker moments to suggest that it isn’t taking itself too seriously. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100903_2.htm Fri, 3 Sep 2010 14:53:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100903_1.htm Based on (and written alongside) the series of graphic novels by Canadian writer, Brian Lee O’Malley, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World fills the ordinary everyday life of a 23-year-old slacker musician with magic, love, life and death, and all because of a girl. The Toronto surroundings provide for the events of the film what pictures provide for a graphic novel: life, magic, vindication, a taste of the story’s reality. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100903_1.htm Fri, 3 Sep 2010 14:52:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100901_1.htm Although heavy going at times, ‘Beyond Consolation’ is a heady mix of cultural analysis, philosophical reflection, personal testimony and theological musings. It is the question of the transcendent that really exercises John Waters. Essentially, the whole book is geared toward the presentation of his take on Christianity. While he is quite prophetic, pro-faith and frequently scathing of contemporary culture's materialist reductionism, he is far from being an apologist for the Church. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100901_1.htm Wed, 1 Sep 2010 14:30:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100826_1.htm The summer season is punctuated by festivals, which unite people who share a passion for the arts though they may be of many nationalities and from all walks of life. In bringing people together, can these events reveal something of the relationships to Christ and each other to which we are called in the Eucharist? Fr James Crampsey, a parish priest in Edinburgh, sees a reflection of the biblical notion of pilgrimage in the city’s annual festival. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100826_1.htm Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:39:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100826_1.htm ‘The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything’ describes itself as ‘user-friendly’. That is an understatement. James Martin SJ writes in a direct, conversational, highly personal tone, using uncomplicated language to convey profound concepts and reflections. One cannot devour several chapters in one sitting because Martin uses many thought-provoking anecdotes, often drawn from his own life, and asks challenging questions which require a reflective answer. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100826_1.htm Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:38:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100824_1.htm With Mass attendance on the decline, what steps can be taken at the parish level to ensure that those who are distanced from the Church feel welcome and confident as they make the first steps to rejoining a parish community? Sheila Keefe, who has been working in ministries for non-churchgoing Catholics for 15 years, describes how the Church can reach out to those in need of encouragement. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100824_1.htm Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:56:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100820_2.htm This complex, absorbing, beautiful film won the 2010 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. The Secret in their Eyes has all the qualities of a classic: it is a detective story which examines the longevity of passion and the need for purpose. The film’s lack of cynicism and commercialism (no product placement here), add to its timelessness and satisfaction. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100820_2.htm Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:36:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100820_1.htm The Last Airbender was not loved by its constructors and is reaping the consequences of this now. What about the argument that the moral of the film is clearly one that is ‘good’ – self-sacrifice, courage, peacefulness rather than greed, etc. – and that this supersedes any issues we adults may have about the clarity of its faith portrayal? Its disregard for its audience in its lazy and clichéd story-telling clashes with the morality it purports to purvey. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100820_1.htm Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:35:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100818_1.htm This is a splendid volume. Dr Christopher Page is Reader in Medieval Literature and Musicology with over twenty years’ teaching experience. He is also a professional musician, the founder-director of the vocal ensemble, Gothic Voices. The result of such a blend of scholarship is a book with enormous breadth of coverage. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100818_1.htm Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:57:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100813_1.htm The Sermon on the Mount may be one of the most familiar passages in the New Testament, but do we understand fully what Jesus is promising and asking of his disciples in the words of the Beatitudes? Gerald O’Mahony SJ takes a new approach to the eight blessings as he explores Matthew 5:1-12. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100813_1.htm Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:37:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100813_3.htm Beautiful Kate is the directorial debut of actress Rachel Ward, who became well known in 1983 when she played Meghann in The Thorn Birds. Ward has transplanted the story into the parched landscape of the Australian outback. This is an impressive feature debut; it is good looking (thanks to photographer Andrew Commis), and it has some fine acting from an ensemble cast. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100813_3.htm Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:36:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100813_2.htm Stephen Cannell’s original version of The A-Team is fondly remembered for its overt use of catchphrase and comic use of excessive violence. Exploding cars, tanks being flown via parachute and gunmen abseiling down skyscrapers amidst a slew of poor jokes and cheesy dialogue – I think it would be of too much of a credit to the film to say, ‘oh it’s just a bit of fun.’ http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100813_2.htm Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:35:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100813_1.htm Gainsbourg is not a linear biopic, but one enriched by fantasy. It gives us an insight into the character of one of the world’s most famous pop musicians. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100813_1.htm Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:34:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100811_1.htm Some of Philip Pullman’s extensive children’s literature, much beloved by many adults, is explicitly atheist and anti-Church. But whereas Pullman’s delightful trilogy, ‘His Dark Materials’, is set in contemporary and imaginary worlds, his latest story, ‘The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ’, is set in the time and place of the New Testament. As Gerry O’Collins SJ points out in his short, clear and well-informed rebuttal, ‘Philip Pullman’s Jesus’, Pullman has moved into historical fiction. O’Collins’ main and telling criticism is that Pullman’s fiction does not sufficiently respect the history or the texts involved. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100811_1.htm Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:05:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100806_1.htm The forthcoming beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman gives Fr Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ occasion to think about how we might draw comparisons between this much-admired intellectual and another inspiring figure in recent Church history – Archbishop Oscar Romero. How do these two great men continue to encourage today’s Church in similar ways despite having led very different lives? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100806_1.htm Fri, 6 Aug 2010 11:23:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100803_1.htm The beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman will be one of the focal points of Pope Benedict XVI’s forthcoming visit to the United Kingdom. Newman was deeply committed to education, to the provision of spiritual and pastoral care as well as academic excellence. His interest in this field should come as no surprise to us, argues Newman scholar, Roderick Strange, as we learn more about the man whose thought and writings were inseparable from his person. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100803_1.htm Tue, 3 Aug 2010 13:40:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100730_1.htm ‘What Ignatius gives us is not a scholastic or academic theology; it is not a theory, but a theology that is lived and experienced. In this sense, too, our theology becomes a daily action, shaping and making our lives.’ To celebrate the Feast of St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, on 31 July, James Hanvey SJ exposes the theological vision manifested in the Spiritual Exercises and in Ignatius’s life. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100730_1.htm Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:29:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100723_1.htm A recent call from leading scientists for a month-long sexual abstinence in Southern Africa to help prevent the spread of HIV might seem to have echoes of what the Church has said about tackling AIDS; but the Church and the scientific establishment aren’t quite on the same page, argues Peter Knox SJ. Why has the ‘ABC’ campaign employed by various governments to reduce new infections had limited success, and how can the Church help to promote a different, value-based strategy? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100723_1.htm Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:14:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100723_1.htm ‘A Practical Guide to the Spiritual Care of the Dying Person’ published last month by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, is a very helpful tool for all those engaged on the frontlines of medicine. It is concise enough to be an effective and efficient tool to be used by staff on a ward, or maybe even professional and lay carers in home situations. Simultaneously, it is inviting enough to provoke subsequent study and discussion and offers a way into additional material. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100723_1.htm Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:13:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100723_4.htm It’s hard to know what to say about Inception without a) underselling it; b) giving away too much of the plot; or c) confusing you. The hugely exciting experience of this film does not come for free – your patience and concentration are required but will be rewarded, even if just with a distorted perception of what is real, or with something to think about for a week or so. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100723_4.htm Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:12:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100723_3.htm It wouldn’t be a Toy Story if it wasn’t laced with the skill and humour that have defined the brand since 1995: it’s the density of jokes, tics and one-liners that the original Toy Story made the norm that once again succeeds. We watched the film in 3D, which felt slightly pointless here: Toy Story 3 doesn’t need any adornment to make it better, and if this is the last of the franchise then it’s a fine end. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100723_3.htm Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:11:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100723_2.htm From the start let’s make one thing clear. This film is great. If you want a good family film that will have something for everyone, then this is it. The fact that it is in 3D adds to but does not enhance the experience. You just get the feeling it was the latest attempt to add one extra ingredient that its predecessors lacked. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100723_2.htm Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:10:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100723_1.htm For those people who prefer their narrative complete, and without ambiguity, then Catherine Breillat’s Bluebeard is a film to avoid. The surface level inconsistencies, as well as some of the criticism that has been thrown at this film, could be explained by Breillat’s choice of child narrators. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100723_1.htm Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:09:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100716_1.htm Making a 30-day retreat may seem like a daunting prospect at the best of times; doing so whilst continuing to live your everyday life seems impossible. Where do you start? When and how do you pray? What do you pray about? Having ‘Time to Change’ at hand is like having your very own retreat director guiding you each step of the way. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100716_1.htm Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:19:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100716_1.htm Even if Le Concert has a plot borrowed from The Blues Brothers, and frequently entangles the themes of political drama and broad comedy, it is a winning expression of the redemption within classical music. The strength of the film is in the music itself; the comedy is less successful: generic and bordering on stereotypical, it hampers the thrust of the film’s compassion and eulogy for creativity. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100716_1.htm Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:18:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100714_1.htm On 14 July 1979, Jesuit priest, Fr Bernard Darke was killed as he photographed what ought to have been a peaceful demonstration in Georgetown, Guyana. Malcolm Rodrigues SJ describes the political unrest leading up to and following the granting of independence to British Guyana, which provided the circumstances for Fr Darke’s death. In a time of rigged elections and ‘constitutional dictatorship’, how did the Church promote peace and denounce injustice, particularly through the Catholic Standard newspaper? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100714_1.htm Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:09:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100712_1.htm For the last four weeks, the world’s attention has been focused on South Africa as it played host to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but that month in the spotlight was preceded by years of preparation and will now have a lasting impact on the lives of the people of South Africa. Rampe Hlobo SJ suggests that South Africans have been the real winners of the World Cup – how has the tournament been a turning point for the country, and in fact the whole of Africa? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100712_1.htm Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:46:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100707_2.htm ‘Faith Maps’ summarises and encapsulates the complex thoughts of great Catholic thinkers who did not write in simple sentences. The ‘ten religious explorers’ offer a fascinating list of possibilities: Newman, Blondel, Rahner, von Balthasar, Lonergan, O’Connor, Sölle, Taylor, Sequeri and Benedict XVI. Not all are conventional theologians, but all have a theology. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100707_2.htm Wed, 7 Jul 2010 14:31:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100707_1.htm The Africa Chief for Time Magazine, based in Cape Town, takes you to places that Google-journalists don’t reach. His ‘if you want to know, go’ approach is as sound as it is old-fashioned. The result is another view of the world and an exceedingly sobering take on globalization. Perry reports on the wars that we never hear about, partly because we don’t want to and partly because governments don’t want us to. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100707_1.htm Wed, 7 Jul 2010 14:30:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100702_1.htm Is there a unified Catholic voice in the American public square, and if so, what is it saying at the moment? As the United States celebrates Independence Day on 4^th July, Professor Vincent Rougeau of the University of Notre Dame, describes the past and present tensions experienced by Catholic Americans as a result of the support and opposition encountered in various other religious and political voices. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100702_1.htm Fri, 2 Jul 2010 15:16:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100702_1.htm Tetro spreads its arms wide: its topics are familial tension, artistic ambition and life-long guilt – but for all the big emotions there is neither enough control nor enough creativity to pull off an enjoyable film. This is a big disappointment, considering that if anyone had anything to say about the interaction between art and family tensions, it should be someone from the Coppola family. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100702_1.htm Fri, 2 Jul 2010 15:15:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100630_1.htm Rev John Boyers, chaplain to Manchester United FC and Director of inter-denominational sports chaplaincy body, SCORE, tells Thinking Faith about how he became involved in football chaplaincy. What does the role of chaplain to one of the world’s biggest football clubs involve, and how does it embody a model of Christian service? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100630_1.htm Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:54:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100630_1.htm Kieran O’Mahony’s study, ‘Do We Still Need St Paul?’, is a superb collection of brief essays that re-roots any approach to and understanding of St Paul in his personal commitment to Jesus Christ. It is an accessible antidote to anyone who might be dissuaded from approaching the apostle by those who claim he is too abstractly philosophical, misogynist, or obsessed with Church organisation and structures. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100630_1.htm Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:53:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100625_1.htm Fr Bill MacCurtain considers the readings that we will hear this coming Sunday and thinks about how Elijah, James and John, sought to demonstrate their service to God using power and might. But the work with which God has entrusted us can be accomplished with simplicity and humility. Each of us, in our own circumstances, can do God’s work if we trust in God and listen to what is asked of us. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100625_1.htm Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:14:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100625_2.htm Greenberg is a study of the way that damaged people hook up, circle around each other, sometimes falling into relationships or falling out of them, but often failing to escape the dark pain that caused their unhappiness in the first place. Not that this is a relentlessly depressing film. There’s a laconic New Yorker wit that defuses the appalling horridness of people’s behaviour, and shows that some of the characters have at least a dawning awareness of their own pathology. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100625_2.htm Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:13:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100625_1.htm Essentially, the film portrays the conflict of two worldviews: the medieval and the modern. The story, despite the abundance of gore, is not told excitingly. There are great, twisting themes here but not much of a story. Given the horror one expects from Smith, there is not enough energy in the direction to drive us through the woods and marshes of this tale. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100625_1.htm Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:12:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100622_1.htm David Cameron last week issued an apology on behalf of the Government following the report of the Saville Inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday. Irish Jesuit, Brian Lennon, who has worked on peace issues in Northern Ireland for nearly 30 years, looks at the responses to this apology and at the light it sheds on recent British history. What lessons can and must be learned from the ‘unjustified and unjustifiable’ events of nearly 40 years ago? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100622_1.htm Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:53:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100617_1.htm Fr Andrew Cole explains the proceedings that follow an accusation of abuse against a member of the clergy. What steps does the Church take to meet the objectives stated in the Code of Canon Law: the restoration of justice, the reform of the offender and the repair of scandal? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100617_1.htm Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:48:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100611_2.htm The long-awaited beginning of the 2010 FIFA World Cup today has been met with enthusiasm and joy by many South Africans. Raymond Perrier describes the celebrations that have already taken place to welcome the tournament and asks: where do we find God in this celebration of 2010? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100611_2.htm Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:34:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100611_1.htm The celebrations in South Africa as the 2010 World Cup gets underway will be broadcast around the globe, but how much will we hear and read about the troubles that beset the country, some of which will be heightened by its hosting of the tournament? Graham Pugin SJ hopes that the Church can bear visible witness to the problems of trafficking, poverty and unemployment that the football may disguise. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100611_1.htm Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:33:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100611_1.htm The Brothers Bloom are a pair of con-artists struggling to maintain their integrity, and when Bloom the younger falls in love with one of their marks, the tragedy unfolds. Beneath the comedy, the film attempts to discuss the impact of both fraternal love and the search for an authentic life. Throughout the film, the script tries to flip the real and the fake, the sincere and the dishonest. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100611_1.htm Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:32:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100611_2.htm As a Sex and the City fan, I recognised the last film wasn’t a masterpiece but I adored it nonetheless. The HBO series provided us with the escapism of the stunning and unaffordable clothes and lifestyle but we didn’t care because we were always grounded with those ‘real people’ moments. In SATC2, the writer has opted for fantasy over reality. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100611_2.htm Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:31:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100607_2.htm Joe Egerton argues that the treatment of David Laws calls for unequivocal condemnation by Christians and urges the Prime Minister and Cabinet to put plans in place to frustrate the next attempt by the media to hijack the government. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100607_2.htm Mon, 7 Jun 2010 15:14:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100607_1.htm The Edinburgh 2010 International Mission Conference took place last week, bringing together 300 delegates of different Christian denominations from sixty countries. Yesterday, at the close of the conference, the international Catholic delegation was welcomed at the Sacred Heart Church, Edinburgh, for the Mass of Corpus Christi. Fr James Crampsey SJ preached on what mission means today, in the context of the feeding of the five thousand and its place in Luke’s Gospel. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100607_1.htm Mon, 7 Jun 2010 15:13:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100604_1.htm Danielle Trussoni is hoping to cash in on Dan Brown’s success with ‘Angelology’, a puzzle-solving thriller with Church conspiracies. The book also picks up a more recent publishing craze, that of the supernatural love story. But apparently vampires are passé, and if you are at all familiar with the latest publishing clichés then you will know that angels are the new vampires. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100604_1.htm Fri, 4 Jun 2010 17:07:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100601_1.htm The Holy See has announced that the Apostolic Visitation to the Archdiocese of Armagh will be overseen by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, who ten years ago commissioned a review of cases of abuse in the Church in England and Wales. Following Lord Nolan’s report, the Church has taken measures to prioritise the safety of children and vulnerable adults. Michael Smith SJ, the Safeguarding Co-ordinator for the British Jesuits, explains the policies currently in effect and looks to the further transformation in the Church in the future. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100601_1.htm Tue, 1 Jun 2010 14:14:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100528_1.htm ‘The name we give to God, The Trinity, marks the depth and height of the Christian knowledge and experience of who God is.’ In anticipation of the celebration of Trinity Sunday, 30 May, James Hanvey SJ considers how we might begin to think and speak about the loving relationship between Father, Son and Spirit into which we ourselves are welcomed. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100528_1.htm Fri, 28 May 2010 14:44:00 UTC book review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100528_1.htm Lord Bingham had a unique career as an English judge – Master of the Rolls, Lord Chief Justice and Senior Law Lord. The very great value of this book is that it provides an accessible and readable introduction to a subject anyone concerned with the common good needs to think about, a topic now firmly on the political agenda, namely what is required for good law and good government. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/BOOK_20100528_1.htm Fri, 28 May 2010 14:43:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100528_2.htm Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, is a foundling’s journey to true belonging in Disney blockbuster packaging. It is based on a popular computer game of the same name, and the young audience will be attracted to the film in the hope that it will be as entertaining as the game. It is harsh to conclude that it was all a sandy waste of time, but nothing much happens that isn’t totally predictable. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100528_2.htm Fri, 28 May 2010 14:42:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100528_1.htm Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans finds director Werner Herzog reworking and reinventing the well established and long stale ‘bad cop’ genre of film-making. Herzog creates a context within which he can achieve the contradictions and confusions needed when exploring the gulf created when morality and the law diverge, a gulf in which all in the film become immersed. From the opening scene, the film sets out to confuse, to blur lines long drawn in the audience’s minds: http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100528_1.htm Fri, 28 May 2010 14:41:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100525_1.htm As the Queen opens the new Parliament, Joe Egerton urges us to reflect on what Edith Stein, twentieth century philosopher, martyr and canonised saint, had to say about the morality of government, and recognise that the Members of the House of Commons are elected to be above all the guardians of virtue in public life. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100525_1.htm Tue, 25 May 2010 11:56:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100524_1.htm While scientists make headlines about recent advances in synthetic biology, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland will today consider a report on this novel area of research. Dr Murdo Macdonald considers the ethical and theological questions raised by the development of ‘artificial life’: are scientists really ‘playing God’? http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100524_1.htm Mon, 24 May 2010 14:10:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100521_1.htm The 400^th anniversary of the death of Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci is being celebrated this year, particularly in China, where Ricci’s unique approach to the Chinese culture had a tremendous impact. But what effect did the Chinese people have on the life and work of Ricci and his companions? Professor Nicolas Standaert considers how the thought and customs of those who received the mission, the Chinese people, shaped the work and ideas of the Jesuits. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100521_1.htm Fri, 21 May 2010 16:12:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100521_3.htm It would be wrong to suggest that Four Lions merely satirises terrorists, although that is the main focus. But really it is all humanity that is targeted. The film treats its characters with the same all-encompassing callousness that the terrorists treat their targets: humanity emerges as a parade of imbeciles and madmen. It’s this complete lack of balance that energises the film, that gives it a manic, set-piece-crammed pace and hilarity. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100521_3.htm Fri, 21 May 2010 16:11:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100521_2.htm Russell Crowe’s controversially Yorkshire characterisation is one of a number of attempts to ‘do things differently’ that make this version of Robin Hood tolerably entertaining. The attempt to give the film a claim to historical accuracy seems particularly bankrupt given the gradual decent into fantasy that occurs as the two hours unravel. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100521_2.htm Fri, 21 May 2010 16:10:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100521_1.htm As historical biography, Vincere tells the story of Italy’s fascist leader Benito Mussolini and his early lover and wife Ida Dalser. Through Dalser’s infatuation, a potent metaphor for Italy’s romance with the dictator is presented. From the first scene,his relationship with the Church represents Il Duce’s ascent to power. This is immersive cinema, a robust and dramatic study of where the personal becomes the political. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100521_1.htm Fri, 21 May 2010 16:09:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100519_1.htm Last month marked the anniversary of the death of Robert Persons, the English Jesuit who presided over the mission to his homeland and retained a deep concern for English Catholicism even after he was forced to flee the country. Despite his reputation as a controversial figure, he was sent to the English College in Rome, where his resolution of several ongoing disputes revealed a lesser known side to his character, suggests Thomas McCoog SJ. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100519_1.htm Wed, 19 May 2010 15:42:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100518_1.htm In a new document, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales explore the practice of and call to interreligious dialogue. Michael Barnes SJ examines the themes in ‘Meeting God in Friend and Stranger’, which reminds us that whenever we embrace the ‘atmosphere of curiosity’ that stimulates interreligious exchanges, we are participating in the very dialogue that God initiated with humankind. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100518_1.htm Tue, 18 May 2010 16:51:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100513_2.htm Following his series on the Sunday gospel readings during Lent, which were taken this year from Luke’s Gospel, Jack Mahoney finally considers St Luke’s description of the Ascension of our Lord, which is celebrated either today or this coming Sunday, and of the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100513_2.htm Thu, 13 May 2010 14:36:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100513_1.htm Last month, the lower house of the Belgian parliament voted to ban the wearing of the full Islamic veil in public, and with the French government set to follow suit, questions are being raised about the need and justification for such legislation. Jean-Marie Faux SJ of the Jesuit social justice centre, Centre AVEC in Brussels, argues that the ban goes against the cultural pluralism that Belgium is seeking and will compound the discrimination already faced by Belgian Muslims. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100513_1.htm Thu, 13 May 2010 14:35:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100513_1.htm It is always the struggle of the superhero that makes their respective comic or film worth its salt. Iron Man 2 re-introduces to us playboy millionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), aka Iron Man who has recently, and casually may I add, ‘privatised world peace’. However, not everything is hunky dory and, as is often the case with comic book heroes, we are shown signs of a tension lurking beneath Stark’s shiny iron veneer. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100513_1.htm Thu, 13 May 2010 14:34:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100511_1.htm 400 years ago today, Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci died in Beijing. One of the pioneers of the Jesuit mission to China, he remains a greatly respected figure for the Church and for the Chinese people. As Thinking Faith marks his anniversary this month, Yves Camus SJ introduces us to the man who has been called ‘the most outstanding cultural mediator between China and the West of all time’. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100511_1.htm Tue, 11 May 2010 17:22:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100510_1.htm South African President Jacob Zuma’s first year in office has been characterised as much by scandal surrounding his private life as by the political and economic decisions he has taken. Anthony Egan SJ, of the Jesuit Institute in South Africa, analyses Zuma’s relationships with his grassroots support base and his main rival, and suggests that the President could instigate real change by focusing national attention on the moral dangers in South African society. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100510_1.htm Mon, 10 May 2010 15:22:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100507_1.htm Yesterday’s General Election returned a result not seen in the United Kingdom for some years: that of a ‘hung Parliament’. So what happens now? Anthony Carroll SJ suggests that this outcome reflects some big changes in our society over recent decades and at the same time points to a need for a reframing of our economic and political mindsets. Only by working together will the new leadership earn the confidence of, and be able to work for the electorate. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100507_1.htm Fri, 7 May 2010 14:27:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100507_3.htm The core of the film is about the choices that young people have to make. The view of the 1970s offered in Cemetery Junction floats cleverly between nostalgia and critique. On the whole, this is a sensitive and insightful film with elements of inconsistency that don’t interrupt some great acting and thought-provoking moments. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100507_3.htm Fri, 7 May 2010 14:26:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100507_2.htm If you’ve heard anything about this film it’s that it involves lots of twists. The Disappearance of Alice Creed doesn’t pack its twists in a big, shouty soundtrack. Instead it goes in the opposite direction and decides to risk unintentional comedy. But the film is essentially a very good thriller, despite the moments of extravagance. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100507_2.htm Fri, 7 May 2010 14:25:00 UTC film review http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100507_1.htm Apart from the controversy that surrounds any artistic attempt to grapple with the Middle East – Lebanon has already attracted both protests and awards – Samuel Maoz’s debut feature is claustrophobic, intense and brutal. Set entirely inside an Israeli tank as it fights its way through a devastated city, it avoids making broad political statements in favour of a detailed examination of the impact of war on four conscripts. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/FILM_20100507_1.htm Fri, 7 May 2010 14:24:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100505_1.htm Former Labour MP John Battle is the final Party representative to offer Thinking Faith readers an opportunity to see how his Party’s policies reflect the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. As UK voters prepare to cast their ballots in the General Election, he argues that Labour’s commitment to alleviating child and family poverty and to redistributing income in favour of the poorest, best represents the preferential option for the poor. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100505_1.htm Wed, 5 May 2010 10:57:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100504_1.htm Continuing Thinking Faith’s series of Party political articles ahead of this week’s UK General Election, President of Hornsey and Wood Green Conservatives, David Grant argues that to choose the Common Good is to vote for the Conservatives. In looking at the concept of the Common Good, he claims that the Conservative promotion of a ‘Big Society’ best embodies the solution to the social problems facing our communities and our country today. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100504_1.htm Tue, 4 May 2010 12:14:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100503_1.htm In the final days before the 2010 UK General Election, Thinking Faith invites representatives of the Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Labour Parties to demonstrate how their Party recognises the values of Catholic Social Teaching, in particular the concept of the Common Good. Beginning our series, Brent Central candidate Sarah Teather aligns the Catholic concern for the dignity of the human person with the Liberal Democrat arguments for fairness and equality of opportunity. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100503_1.htm Mon, 3 May 2010 11:20:00 UTC article http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100428_1.htm In a new book, Irish Jesuit Gerry O’Hanlon looks at the difficulties currently facing the Church in Ireland. He suggests that the Church must find a new language through which it can engage honestly and positively in the public square. In an exclusive extract, he stresses the need to form the community of believers envisaged by the Second Vatican Council, so that all believers may find the courage and the means to respond to the challenges of faith. http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100428_1.htm Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:39:00 UTC