Culture Articles
Children of the Stone
‘Children of the Stone’ is a phrase used to describe the young Palestinians of the First Intifada (1987-93) who threw stones at the Israeli invaders of their country because they could think of no other way of defending their land after the invasion of 1987. Sandy Tolan, in his book of...
Doing time in Holot
On a recent visit to Israel to find out more about the lives of Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers there, I chanced upon a photography exhibition at the Israel Museum featuring the work of the Israeli photographer Ron Amir. It was entitled ‘Doing Time in Holot’. Holot is the detention...
Words, faith and action: Our Life is Love
Comprehending how Quakers have experienced the spiritual journey can help everyone understand and cooperate more fully in the movement of the Spirit that wants to transform the human race now, as we face the challenges of our day. Marcelle Martin, Our Life is Love: The Quaker Spiritual Journey
That’s music
Feet tapping, fingers clicking, Swaying and dancing. That’s Music. Sorrowful dirge, mourning lament, Slow march for the dead. Sad Music.
Words, faith and action: The Anti-War
‘…this is a time for Friends to take their bearings anew with the peace testimony, to explore the meaning of anti-war as a noun and not only as an adjective. An adjective modifies a noun; it qualifies something that is. But what are we as Friends today?’ Douglas Gwyn, The...
Images of Christ: The Road to Emmaus
The post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus are for me the most beautiful, but also the most problematical, parts of the Gospels. They have inspired some of the greatest works by some of our most highly revered artists – just think of Titian’s ‘Noli me tangere’ and Caravaggio’s ‘Supper at Emmaus’...
Faith in practice
Over the last decade or so, David Rubinstein has written a number of booklets on Quaker topics. But booklets by their nature are short-term reads so he has collected and published them as a 300-page book with the title Essays in Quaker History. This will give them the permanence they...
Thomas and the lost coin
Thomas was the doubter, who felt the wounded hand, And not for single moment was Thomas ever banned. No fire was lit, no stones were thrown, just balm for anxious mood, Great Love was what was found there; a Gospel understood.
People Power: Fighting for Peace
In the past hundred years the world has experienced conflict, warfare, worldwide destruction and violent death. It has also seen the growth of a mass mobilisation of people opposed to settling conflict by violent means – a rejection of war. The Imperial War Museum (IWM) in London was set up in 1917...
A bundle of insights
‘What is most personal is most universal,’ said Carl Rogers, the well-known psychologist. We can discover the truth of this in the new play by Lynn and Dave Morris, The Bundle. It follows one woman’s journey from a heartless home and abusive marriage in Chechnya through her escape to...