Columns

  • Needed – particular kinds of saints

    Jul 18, 2019

    Simone Weil once commented that it’s not enough today to be merely a saint; rather, “we must have the saintliness demanded by the present moment.”

  • An important new book

    Jul 12, 2019

    Each year, I write a column sharing with readers the title and a brief synopsis of the ten books that touched me most that year.

  • Development for whom?

    Jul 12, 2019

    Wearing a white skull cap and beige baju Melayu, he showed me a six-point memo that the fishermen had couriered to the Department of the Environment in early June.

  • Climate change: An existential threat that demands action

    Jul 05, 2019

    France and Spain have recorded high temperatures as a heatwave blankets Europe, both countries going above 40C. Half a dozen people have died.

  • The loss of heaven and the fear of hell

    Jul 04, 2019

    Growing up as a Roman Catholic, like the rest of my generation, I was taught a prayer called, The Act of Contrition. Every Catholic back then had to memorise it and say it during or after going to confession.

  • What has gone wrong in our world?

    Jun 28, 2019

    Genesis shows that God created a world that was fertile and teeming with life. Water flowed from the very ground, which was fertile along river plains.

  • What makes for Christian communion?

    Jun 28, 2019

    The question of intercommunion within our churches today is a big one, an important one, and a painful one. I’m old enough to remember another time, a

  • Rachel Held Evans, 1981-2019

    Jun 21, 2019

    No community should botch its deaths. Mircea Eliade wrote those words and they’re a warning: If we do not properly celebrate the life of someone who has left us, we do an injustice to that person and cheat ourselves of some of the gifts that he or she left behind.

  • Are we sensitive enough to hear the cry of the poor?

    Jun 21, 2019

    The Orang Asli in Kuala Koh are suffering from some mysterious disease that has already taken 14 lives. Orang Asli in other parts of the country have been facing encroachment into their native customary land and conversion of forests to plantations for some time now. They are also worried about the impact of nearby economic activity such as logging and mining.

  • Equality and justice in the kingdom of God

    Jun 14, 2019

    Every year, the international charity confederation Oxfam provides its annual update on the state of the world and each time it makes for dismal reading. Wealth and income disparities seem to be growing ever-wider.