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The youth needs a voice
We want to win our children for Christ.” This is the mission statement displayed prominently inside an Anglican church in Athlone, Cape Town. Read more…
Kutless – Live from Portland
CD REVIEW
Recorded in their hometown in Oregon, this live album (which comes with a bonus DVD) offers a fair retrospective of Christian rock group Kutless’ four studio albums since their 2000 debut — but curiously omits their best song by far, All Of The Worlds.
Musically positioned somewhere in between the superior Switchfoot and P.O.D. (or, to pick a secular influence, Linkin Park), Kutless rock hard—and often blandly. Reflecting their attachment to sponsorship, no matter how carefully chosen, Kutless sound just a bit too formulaic and corporate.
The lyrics are forthrightly in a worship vein (including a convincing rock version of worship staple Better Is One Day), and singer Jon Micah Sumrall delivers sincere personal testimony about his faith and prayers between songs. It’s all very loud and very evangelical. Read more…
The lessons of Iraq
Four years ago, military forces led by the United States and Britain invaded Iraq, a sovereign country, in defiance of international law and on pretexts that even at the time were, charitably put, disputable, and which time has exposed as gross deceit. Read more…
Why I need Station 15
Is there such a state as demoralisation? If so, that is what I am suffering from at the moment, at this stage of Lent.
I have not quite lost my morals, just my morale. I feel depressed and at times hopeless about the moral climate that seems to be all around. The daily scripture readings are about repentance, things like “cursed is the man who…and blessed is the man who…”, and I almost feel obliged to put myself into the cursed box, as I don’t feel quite good enough to be in the blessed box. Read more…
Mary Magdalen – The essential history
MARY MAGDALEN: The Essential History, by Susan Haskins. Random House, Houghton. 2006. 518pp.
Reviewed by Günther Simmermacher Read more…
Brooke Fraser – Albertine
CD REVIEW
Singer-songwriter Brooke Fraser, an All Black’s daughter, is currently New Zealand’s second-best selling homegrown talent (after Hayley Westenra) — and her second album shows why.
Even more than on her fine debut, 2003’s What To Do With Daylight, Fraser exhibits a flair for catchy melodies as well as meaningful and sometimes deeply moving lyrics, all complemented by her lovely voice.
This is the kind of album that after repeated listening quietly creeps up on the listener with its hypnotic beauty, sense of peace and genuine soul.
A committed Christian, Fraser’s lyrics are often profoundly religious and inspiring. Read more…
The fight on crime
Complaining about crime is becoming South Africa’s favourite pastime. Even if crime rates are dropping, as the authorities claim, it is not difficult to see why this should be so—and the government has itself to blame. Read more…
The quality of a homily
I am disillusioned by the quality of the homilies at our Sunday Masses. I’m told that the Vatican has instructed that homilies must explain the Scripture readings at the Mass, and that’s all. Is this why the sermons are so uninspiring? What happened to the preachers of a few years ago, who could stir us to love God and our neighbour and practise our faith? Knowing the Scriptures is all very well, but surely our religion is more than Bible knowledge. Read more…
South Africa still needs healing
If there is a topic I try avoid, it is racial animosity or racism. My heart bleeds every time I entertain thoughts of racism. Time is reversed and apartheid is alive and kicking again. The pain can be unbearable. It’s an experience you don’t want to wish on anyone. Read more…
The Church’s political brain
A little more than ten years ago, the bishops of Southern Africa took a prudent decision when they established the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO). Read more…
