29 June 2026 In his recent encyclical, 'Magnifica Humanitas’, Pope Leo has expressed his concerns about AI and its unregulated impact on the world. ‘No computational system, however sophisticated, can create a heart that gives itself, or a conscience that discerns good from evil.’ (233) His charge is to cultivate relationships. He is talking about physical relationships. ‘In an era which favours speed and fragmentation, the human person still yearns to receive care and recognition from attentive minds, kind words and hands capable of tenderness.’ he writes. (239) The internet and, in particular, AI, cannot replicate this. There is a subtle attempt at it. AI responds immediately. It is attentive. It gives the impression of being objective but it is not neutral. Most concerning of all, it creates the illusion that it is a person. It asks you questions and refines the conversation. But it is not real. It is artificial after all. Its intelligence is related to data processing...
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28 June 2026 When I was minister at East Linton, I received an e-mail from a church in Michigan. It was their liturgical artist. She had seen a Celtic cross which I had photographed in the kirkyard and posted on a blog. She asked a question about it. The answer was on the other side of the cross which I hadn’t posted. As a result of this anonymous enquiry, I was introduced to the minister and a relationship was duly established between the two congregations. Four years later, two dozen young people and their leaders came over from First Presbyterian, Holt, Michigan and stayed in our parish for a week. The congregation rose to the challenge organising a ceilidh and a barbecue, a beach party, an ecological work-party on Traprain Law and a memorable service in which tartan scarves were handed out to the Americans. The young people from both congregations integrated well and many memories created. I tell the tale because it illustrates how creative the internet can be....
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27 June 2026 Roman Catholics in Poland and evangelical Christians in Tennessee burned JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books because they thought they corrupted children with an introduction to witchcraft. Thomas Hardy’s ‘Jude the Obscure’ was famously thrown into the fire by the Bishop of Wakefield. Hardy’s novel was caricatured as ‘Jude the Obscene’. Victorians were offended by his exposure of sexual relations outside marriage, the hypocrisy of the English clergy and the elitism of the universities. As a result, Hardy never wrote another novel again and spent the rest of his life writing poetry. Burning books has been done by Jews, Christians and Muslims. The Reformers, the Roman Catholics, the Nazis and the Communists have all had a go but to no avail. It is a public spectacle but it has done nothing stop the flow of ideas which cannot be burnt in a fire! Today we are not worried about books but about the internet and, in particular, social media which has cause...
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26 June 2026 In ‘Studies in the History of Worship in Scotland’, there is a delightful chapter written by David Reid entitled, ‘The Scottish Tradition of Preaching’. He begins by declaring that it was Biblical and sacramental in the sense that through the work of the Holy Spirit, God’s living Word is heard in the ordinary words of the preacher. Reid makes four points about Scottish preaching. Firstly, he says, ‘It has been the strength of the Scottish pulpit that scholarship and passion have often been dynamically fused.’ He looks to St. Paul in whom the powers of the mind were harnessed to a burning desire to share the gospel. Secondly, the discipline of sermon preparation. In a busy week, it can be compromised but there’s work to be done in exegesis, in finding ordinary words to express deep theological insights, in keeping abreast of an intelligent congregation and their assorted questions. ‘It simply means taking the preaching task seriously.’ Thirdly, the past...
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25 June 2026 In his recent encyclical, ‘Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo makes a distinction between the ‘culture of power’ and the ‘civilisation of love’. The one is a secular concept whereby people order their world through wielding power rather than creating a world established on love. The Pope argued that we are all responsible for building this civilisation of love and he gave five paths towards building it. The first was the need to disarm words. ‘ We must all, therefore, examine our conscience regarding the words we use, the prejudices we have and the explicit or implicit aggression that lies within them.’ he writes. The second is building peace through justice. He quotes St. Augustine. ‘Do you wish to attain peace? Then practice justice.’ The two are intimately related. As the Psalmist says, ‘Justice and peace have embraced.’ If we seek justice in an unjust world, we will be making peace. The third is adopting the perspective of victims. It is th...
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24 June 2026 The UK Government is going to ban the use of social media platforms like Snapchat, Tik Tok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X for under sixteen year olds. Apparently, an overwhelming majority of parents and a significant majority of young people approve. It will begin in April 2027. There are four problems with the ban. Firstly, it doesn’t challenge the tech companies who have created these platforms with their harmful content and their addictive design. It is the young people who are deprived of the technology because it hasn’t been created in a humane way. Secondly, in depriving young people of their interaction on social media, what is being substituted in its place? Our society does not make enough provision for young people to meet together, to interact in safe places and to enjoy enriching recreational activities. Youth organisations find it difficult to recruit leaders. Thirdly, instead of shutting down this part of the internet and encouraging...
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23 June 2026 It is extraordinary that the Tartan Army got so much publicity in Boston. Two parts of our culture helped to bring the fans to public attention. The first was the kilt – our distinctive colourful national dress and the second was the bagpipes – accompanied by the drums, they are not only loud, they are very loud. But there was more to it than that. People in Boston admitted that the Scottish fans brought their city alive and they didn’t want them to leave. Their determination to celebrate the moment and embrace everyone who crossed their path was a lesson in community engagement. The fans were so cohesive. They were united in their support of the Scottish team and celebrated it in a distinctive repertoire of song. Their enthusiasm was infectious. Even after the defeat against Morocco, they gave it a positive spin and were moving forward to defeat an even more powerful team, Brazil. The Kirk can learn a lot from their strong allegiance, their cohesion and thei...