In which I play in the fields of Theology | Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

The Power of Christ’s Resurrection. For Us. Today

Anita Mathias — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 19:32:50 +0000

The dawn after the worst day, Mary Magdalene and her friend Mary had seen Jesus, whom they deeply loved— A radiant, beautiful, strong young man Tortured, mocked, and judicially murdered. But as they visit the tomb, they encounter Jesus, Very much alive. Chairete, he says, Rejoice. And then, the very first sentence the risen […]

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The True Fairy Tale of the Life of Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

Anita Mathias — Tue, 10 May 2016 20:46:21 +0000

He had been “the shyest, most unhappy-looking boy you could imagine,” –so journalist Charles Moore recollects Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, a fellow-student at Eton, and Trinity College, Cambridge. The alcoholic father, who had custody of him was, The Telegraph had revealed, a conman, a trickster, and (to Welby’s surprise) German-Jewish, not upper-class English. His […]

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Why I want to go to Tonle Batie, Cambodia with Tearfund

Anita Mathias — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 13:41:17 +0000

I am applying to travel with Tearfund to Cambodia, to the village of Tonle Batie, near Pnomh Penh. Cambodia endured extreme economic and social devastation during the years of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, which has left a legacy of widows and orphans; of people who find it difficult to trust each other enough […]

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In which Christ Has An Identical Calling for Men and Women: To Follow Him

Anita Mathias — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 09:25:45 +0000

Jesus calls us to follow him. He makes no distinction between men and women. He does not call women to follow him by “being anxious and troubled” about cooking and cleaning, and men to follow him by fishing. He praised Mary, who sat at his feet and listened to his teaching– like a seminary […]

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How Persephone Marlowe can Keep You Straight

Anita Mathias — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 07:37:18 +0000

Image credit When we moved to Oxford, and my daughter, Irene, was five, she sat next to a little girl in school called Persephone Marlowe. And in church, to our surprise, there was Persephone Marlowe. And the whole Marlowe family who were lovely and became good friends of ours. And when Irene was 10, I […]

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There will be “the essence of dogness” in Heaven: C.S. Lewis

Anita Mathias — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 21:31:29 +0000

Jake, my collie, in a buttercup meadow. ‘And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”’ (Rev 5:13). […]

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“I Killed My Daddy’s King,” and Other Thoughts on the Cross

Anita Mathias — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 23:31:45 +0000

Once, in the hectic days of chess parenting, I saw a plump little golden haired girl play chess with her father, while her siblings played in the tournament. Oh, how they fell, how rapidly–his knights and bishops and rooks and even his Queen. And then, we heard her shriek of delight, “I killed my Daddy’s […]

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On Vaughan Roberts’ interview, and the Case for Gay Christian Marriage

Anita Mathias — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 21:35:00 +0000

I read this poignant interview with Vaughan Roberts, who has been the widely respected Rector of Oxford’s most conservative evangelical church, St. Ebbe’s since 1991, and felt saddened. Roberts discloses his continuing personal battle with same sex attraction, though refuses to identify himself as homosexual… To quote, “if we have turned to Christ, we are […]

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In which Lucy fears her mother is in hell, and I long for a theology which reflects Jesus

Anita Mathias — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 20:34:00 +0000

My friend, Lucy, has recently lost her mum. Her father had died when Lucy was two, and her sister a baby, and her mother had brought them up on an army pension. “She was a shining example of selflessness, and strength in adversity,” Lucy says. Now, Lucy tells me she is having very awkward conversations […]

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When Faith falls into Place like a Jigsaw, Piece by Piece

Anita Mathias — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 10:18:00 +0000

As I was writing on the cosmic significance of the Cross of Christ, I realised that though I was born Catholic, remaining so until I was 21 and was, sometimes, a serious Catholic–even a novice in Mother Teresa’s Convent for 14 months–I had never understood why Jesus had to die. If I committed a mortal sin, I would […]

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