Thought for the week

Johannes Kepler was a distinguished 17th century German astronomer and mathematician. His laws of planetary motion modified the earlier work of Nicolaus Corpernicus and provided one of the foundations for Isaac Newton’s theory of universal gravitation. Kepler was a Christian who believed that God created the universe in an orderly fashion and that the laws…

Porsche, the German luxury sports car company, has been criticised for airbrushing a statue of Jesus out of a recent promotional video celebrating 60 years of its iconic 911 model. The video was shot in Lisbon and shows a Porsche 911 in the foreground with the famous Cristo Rei landmark in the background. The giant…

A new football season has begun. Some top footballers are Christians and try to show their faith by the way they live. Heurelho da Silva Gomes comes from Brazil. He has played as goalkeeper for his national team as well as for Premier League teams Tottenham Hotspur and Watford. His early life wasn’t easy. He…

Every day we hear reports of people who have died. The daily global number of deaths is around 150,000 people. People die in the wars in Yemen, Sudan, and Ukraine. Starving children die. Old people die in care homes. Seriously sick people die in hospitals. New-born babies die and sometimes their mothers also die. Death…

The war in Ukraine is having a massive human cost. Ukraine has suffered 109,000 casualties and 15,000 killed in action. Russia has suffered 190,000 casualties and 35,000 killed in action. A notebook has been discovered written by Vitaliy Taktashov, a young Russian soldier. The notebook contains letters Vitaliy wrote to his wife. On 29 November…

From time to time a news story reveals the alleged misbehaviour of a well-known person. What has previously been personal and private is in the headlines and people have views about it, often negative. The pressure on all involved is very great and the long-term consequences may be very serious. Reputations and careers are destroyed,…

Tendai Mtawarira was born in Zimbabwe but now lives in South Africa. Until his retirement in 2019 he was a star prop forward for the Springbok rugby team. He is 6ft 2in and weighs 18st 13lbs. When he was nine years old, he was given a nickname by his schoolmates in Zimbabwe the “Beast”. He…

Last week we were on holiday in Tenby, Pembrokeshire. One evening we were walking around Castle Hill and saw the lifeboat station was open. We went in and saw the lifeboat crew who had just returned from a training exercise and were hosing down their modern Tamar class all-weather lifeboat. The station also has a…

On 22 June 1948 the HMT Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury, Essex, carrying 429 passengers from the Caribbean to fill labour shortages in Britain. These people, many of whom had served in the British armed forces in World War Two, became known as the Windrush Generation. They played a vital role in rebuilding the battered…

The Guinness Book of World Records estimates that more than 5 billion copies of the Bible have been printed. Christians find great help and encouragement from reading the Bible regularly as God speaks to them through it. In Psalm 139 King David reflects on the Lord whom he loves and who knows everything about him;…