Blogging highlights of 2014

Here are some of the highlights of my blog posts in 2014.

They are not necessarily the most popular, or the most commented-on, but the ones that I think were worth reading, and the ones I would most like to see comments on.

January 2014

• Healing ministry book may get some readers | Khanya


• Memories of Pete Seeger | Notes from underground

February 2014

• St Benedict’s House, Rosettenville past and present | Khanya


• Tales from Dystopia XVI: The SB | Khanya

March 2014

• Some observations on the Ukraine crisis | Notes from underground


• Farewell to Father Pantelejmon | Khanya

April 2014

• Centenary of St Alphege’s Church, Pietermaritzburg | Khanya


• Tales from Dystopia XVII: Ethnic cleansing and Christian objections to it | Khanya


• The End of Dystopia: 20 Years of Freedom | Khanya

May 2014

• Racism in the Church | Khanya


• Tales from Dystopia XVIII: Europeans are cordially invited | Khanya

June 2014

• Memoir of St Martin’s Anglican Church, Durban North | Khanya


• Pentecost at Gerardville | Khanya

July 2014

• The Gadarene rush to war | Khanya

August 2014

• Tuesday 4 August 1914 | Khanya


• Fire and water | Notes from underground

September 2014

• Church planting in Madidi | Khanya


• Neopentecostal megachurches and their celebrity pastors | Khanya

October 2014

• Neoliberalism and the Gospel | Khanya


• Blessed are the crazy: Mental illness and the Christian faith | Khanya


• The City of Tshwane gets it right: a service-delivery thank you | Notes from underground

November 2014

• Patronal Feast of St Andrew’s Romanian Orthodox Church | Khanya

December 2014

• Christianity, sin and morality | Khanya


• Apartheid and racism in children’s literature | Notes from underground


• In Memoriam: Assaria Kamburona (1932-2014) | Khanya

Could there be said to be any outstanding highlights for the whole year?

Probably it is

• Pentecost at Gerardville | Khanya

Yugoslavia and the Betrayal of Democracy | Oriental Review

Yugoslavia and the Betrayal of Democracy | Oriental Review:

Vaněk asserts that Tito’s Yugoslavia in the wake of the Stalin-Tito split was the closest society in the world to his ideal of a worker-managed economy, and that as a result it was able to provide an example of a highly-efficient, humane and human-scaled economy, sporting near full employment, incredibly high educational standards and a high standard of living, which was the envy of many of the other nations in the region. He notes that the Yugoslav economy was built through a long process of trial-and-error, but that its income growth between 1951 and 1959 was unparalleled anywhere else in the world except Japan.

Pope Francis: 'I am skeptical' unity will be reached

Pope Francis: 'I am skeptical' unity will be reached: “We’re on this path [to unity],” the Pope said, “but we must wait until the theologians agree among themselves. We’ll never get to that day, I assure you. I am skeptical.”

In context, Pope Francis’ point was that unity is too important to wait for theological agreement. While he meant to highlight the pressing need to work together, the Pope nonetheless provided an unintentionally frank admission that full unity in the truth is unlikely.

A conservative blog for peace: The psychiatrist who chose conscience over enabling government evil, and more

A conservative blog for peace: The psychiatrist who chose conscience over enabling government evil, and more:

When should a psychiatrist refuse to treat a patient? If you were a psychiatrist assigned by the government to make torturers feel better about their lives, what would you do? That's not a rhetorical question. Back in the 1950s, the psychiatrist and philosopher Frantz Fanon was forced to answer that question, in his own life.

Science Shows Something Surprising About People Who Love to Write - Mic

Science Shows Something Surprising About People Who Love to Write - Mic:

No matter the quality of your prose, the act of writing itself leads to strong physical and mental health benefits, like long-term improvements in mood, stress levels and depressive symptoms. In a 2005 study on the emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing, researchers found that just 15 to 20 minutes of writing three to five times over the course of the four-month study was enough to make a difference.

ISIS: What the US Doesn’t Understand by Ahmed Rashid | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books

ISIS: What the US Doesn’t Understand by Ahmed Rashid | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books:

In contrast to al-Qaeda, however, ISIS has not made the US and its allies its main target. Where al-Qaeda directed its anger at the “distant enemy,” the United States, ISIS wants to destroy the near enemy, the Arab regimes, first. This is above all a war within Islam: a conflict of Sunni against Shia, but also a war by Sunni extremists against more moderate Muslims—between those who think the Muslim world should be dominated by a single strand of Wahhabism and its extremist offshoot Salafism and those who support a pluralistic vision of Muslim society. The leaders of ISIS seek to eliminate all Muslim and non-Muslim minorities from the Middle East—not only erasing the old borders and states imposed by Western powers, but changing the entire ethnic, tribal, and religious composition of the region.

An Orthodox view of Pope and Patriarch's Turkish encounter Vatican Radio

An Orthodox view of Pope and Patriarch's Turkish encounter Vatican Radio:

Pope Francis’ visit to Turkey, which concluded on Sunday, came exactly 35 years after the setting up of a joint international commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The principle purpose of the three day visit was to celebrate the feast of St Andrew together with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew 1st, spiritual leader of the Orthodox world.

10 Surprising Things That Benefit Our Brain That You Can Do Everyday | The Mind Unleashed

10 Surprising Things That Benefit Our Brain That You Can Do Everyday | The Mind Unleashed:

1. Your brain does creative work better when you’re tired.

Here’s how it breaks down:

If you’re a morning lark, say, you’ll want to favor those morning hours when you’re feeling fresher to get your most demanding, analytic work done. Using your brain to solve problems, answer questions and make decisions is best done when you’re at your peak. For night owls, this is obviously a much later period in the day.

On the other hand, if you’re trying to do creative work, you’ll actually have more luck when you’re more tired and your brain isn’t functioning as efficiently. This sounds crazy, but it actually makes sense when you look at the reasoning behind it. It’s one of the reasons that great ideas often happen in the shower after a long day of work.

The Origins of Aggressive Atheism - The Atlantic

The Origins of Aggressive Atheism - The Atlantic:

American faith has gone through many awakenings. Depending on how you count, there have been three or four distinctive surges of Protestant religiosity in the United States, marked by tent revivals, missionary work, widespread conversions, and, often, intense rhetoric about the consequences of sin. These "Great Awakenings" have been memorialized through texts like "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," a sermon delivered by the preacher Jonathan Edwards in 1741, who warned of the "fire of wrath" in hell.

So it's provocative to title your book Atheist Awakening. Oxford University Press's newest release on non-belief, by researchers Richard Cimino and Christopher Smith, claims to be the "first sociological exploration of organized secularism in America," tracing the evolution of the atheist community over the past several decades.

Orthodoxy in America: Will Increasing Political Conservatism Lead to Increasingly Becoming a High Church Sect? | Red River Orthodox

Orthodoxy in America: Will Increasing Political Conservatism Lead to Increasingly Becoming a High Church Sect? | Red River Orthodox:

Claude S. Fischer recently wrote an intriguing sociology of religion article for the Boston Review. The data is data that’s been well known for some time. The “spiritual but not religious” or the “nones” category is growing and growing fast. What is fascinating in this article, though, is that he correlates the rate of that group’s growth with political views. In sum, the more a church coheres with values of “the Christian right,” the less likely it is to attract members who believe in God but call themselves spiritual but not religious. In fact, the data suggests such churches not only fail to attract such people, but push such people away.

Free Syrian Army abandons Aleppo, leader flees to Turkey - MURAT YETKİN

Free Syrian Army abandons Aleppo, leader flees to Turkey - MURAT YETKİN: The Free Syrian Army (FSA), the recognized armed opposition group against the Bashar al-Assad in Syria, has ceased its resistance in Aleppo, Syria’s second biggest city, withdrawing its 14,000 militia from the city, a ranking Turkish security source told the H�rriyet Daily News on Nov. 17.

“Its leader Jamal Marouf has fled to Turkey,” confirmed the source, who asked not to be named. “He is currently being hosted and protected by the Turkish state.”

The source did not give an exact date of the escape but said it was within the last two weeks, that is, the first half of November. The source declined to give Marouf’s whereabouts in Turkey.

As a result, the FSA has lost control over the Bab al-Hawa border gate (opposite from Turkey’s Cilveg�z� in Reyhanlı), which is now being held by a weak coalition of smaller groups led by Ahrar al-Sham.

The source said some of the weaponry delivered to the FSA by the U.S.-led coalition in its fight against both Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria might have fallen into the hands of Ahrar al-Sham and al-Nusra, the Syria branch of al-Qaeda.

6 links that will show you what Google knows about you — Productivity in the Cloud — Medium

6 links that will show you what Google knows about you — Productivity in the Cloud — Medium:

Want to find out all the things Google knows about you? Here are 6 links that will show you some of the data Google has about you.

Analysis: The Khampepe Report, a crushing blow to SA’s diplomatic credibility | Daily Maverick

Analysis: The Khampepe Report, a crushing blow to SA’s diplomatic credibility | Daily Maverick:

For more than 12 years, the South African government fought to keep the contents of the Khampepe Report under wraps. Finally, they failed, and the details of a damning cover-up were revealed: Zimbabwe’s 2002 elections were rigged, and South Africa knew all about it. Zimbabwe has been paying the price for this ever since. Now it’s South Africa’s turn. By SIMON ALLISON.

Three-Hundred Sayings of the Ascetics of the Orthodox Church

Three-Hundred Sayings of the Ascetics of the Orthodox Church:

Once some thieves came to an old hermit and said, "We are taking everything in your cell." He answered, "Take whatever you need, my children." They took almost everything in the cell and left. But they missed a little bag of money that was hidden. The elder picked it up and went after them, crying, "Children! You forgot something!" The thieves were amazed. Not only did they not take the money, but they returned everything that they had taken. "Truly," they said, "this is a man of God."

Thank heavens for Justin Welby! � The Spectator

Thank heavens for Justin Welby! -- The Spectator:

This week, payday loan companies are facing reform (or in some cases oblivion) as new caps on interest payments come into effect. That the industry finds itself in this position is thanks, in no small part, to it having been hooked around the neck by the Archbishop’s crosier.

Welby has inspired reform of the industry not by trying to set himself up as the leader of the opposition in a cassock, but by acting as an effective leader of the Church of England. His approach to the payday loan industry was not to demand that it be banned, he being aware that an even darker industry of doorstep loan sharks would replace it, but to compete with it head on. He took the church to the needy by supporting credit unions which will do the job of Wonga but without annualised interest rates of 5,853 per cent and threatening letters from fictitious firms of lawyers.

Aids ‘family tree’ traced back to Kinshasa | Blog

Aids ‘family tree’ traced back to Kinshasa | Blog: Aids-related deaths have fallen by 20 per cent over the past three years, to 1.5 million a year. And the 2.1 million new cases in 2013 represents a 38 per cent decline since 2001. Increased access to drugs has improved the situation. Also, the number of men getting circumcised to reduce their risk of contracting HIV has doubled.

Rolling Stone Names President Obama ‘One of the Most Successful Presidents in American History’ | B. Scott | Celebrity Entertainment News, Fashion, Music and Advice

Rolling Stone Names President Obama ‘One of the Most Successful Presidents in American History’ | B. Scott | Celebrity Entertainment News, Fashion, Music and Advice

How Did Amazon End Up as Literary Enemy No. 1? | Vanity Fair

How Did Amazon End Up as Literary Enemy No. 1? | Vanity Fair: Amazon’s war with publishing giant Hachette over e-book pricing has earned it a black eye in the media, with the likes of Philip Roth, James Patterson, and Stephen Colbert demanding that the online mega-store stand down. How did Amazon—which was once seen as the book industry’s savior—end up as Literary Enemy Number One? And how much of this fight is even about money? Keith Gessen reports.

Announcing the Orthodox Illustration Project – Orthodox Arts Journal

Announcing the Orthodox Illustration Project – Orthodox Arts Journal: In brief, the purpose of the project is to make available online a collection of graphic illustrations of the highest quality. The collection will focus on iconographic drawings and related graphic ornaments stylistically suited to the illumination of printed Orthodox publications. The project will address the needs of Orthodox book designers, graphic artists, and many others, who desire excellent imagery for their publications.

Feast Your Eyes on This Beautiful Linguistic Family Tree | Mental Floss

Feast Your Eyes on This Beautiful Linguistic Family Tree | Mental Floss: When linguists talk about the historical relationship between languages, they use a tree metaphor. An ancient source (say, Indo-European) has various branches (e.g., Romance, Germanic), which themselves have branches (West Germanic, North Germanic), which feed into specific languages (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian). Lessons on language families are often illustrated with a simple tree diagram that has all the information but lacks imagination. There’s no reason linguistics has to be so visually uninspiring. Minna Sundberg, creator of the webcomic Stand Still. Stay Silent, a story set in a lushly imagined post-apocalyptic Nordic world, has drawn the antidote to the boring linguistic tree diagram.