Man's Greatest Enemy

All of us, if we've lived a little, have had to contend with the lure of temptation. From the mundane, "Just one more piece of chocolate cake," to the come on of a cold beer when you've got a drinking problem, to the more serious attractions to violence and crime, we all know the experience of that voice in our ear.

Our modern scientific perspective prefers evidence-based interventions as solutions, leading us to explain away vice and bad habits as weakness, upbringing, chemical imbalance, even genetic disposition. We seldom in our modern world even think of putting temptation down to influence from nefarious spirits. Reason over superstition would read the promotional literature for the modern point of view.

But are we missing something in excluding the theological view? After all, Jesus warned us time and again of our unhealthy subservience to demons, and perhaps we should listen more carefully to that advice.

Man's Greatest Enemy, today on Thinking with Somebody Else's Head.

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Honouring the Christmas Spirit

I published this wonderful radio program last December, but felt it deserved another airing. Hope you enjoy another reminder of the need to honour the Christmas spirit.

Another Christmas period, and all that that brings. The packed parking lots, the festive yuletide happy hours, cooking – and eating – the fatted calf.

And maybe, in a quiet, reflective moment, a spark of Christmas spirit will catch flame inside you and for a few seconds or moments or, if you’re lucky, hours, you’ll feel a deep sense of piece and connection with your fellow man and the universe that you recognize as the Christmas spirit.

Those tantalizing moments are tragically short-lived. Some complain that they don’t like this time of year because we should have this spirit all round. “It’s fake and phony,” they say. But it doesn’t feel that way to any who are still enough to allow themselves to receive the grace and depth of that spirit. The Holy Spirit we can call it, and we should take time to remember that this time of year is for honouring that divine presence. Yes, Christmas, of all times, is time to remember that.

Honouring the Christmas Spirit, today on Thinking with Somebody Else’s Head.

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A Study of the Divine - Highlight Version

Welcome to our highlights version of the latest Thinking with Somebody Else's Head program, A Study of the Divine. A perfect answer to the annual debate about how we can be true to the spirit of Christmas. Here, in the midst of the running about, a reminder of that true spirit.

Click here to listen to this excerpt.

And a reminder, the full program is available through iTunes or on our site.

A Study of the Divine

Another Christmas season is upon us, and with it the annual debate in the hearts of the pensive: how to tap in to the true spirit of the time and not just get caught up in the shopping and seasonal festivities? This latter position firmly in the lead judging by the mad scramble for mall parking and the expanded line-ups at liquor store checkouts.

And since there is so much attention given in all the normal channels to this economic and convivial perspective, let me fill a gap by taking a stand for the true spirit of Christmas.

For the story, rich in lore and wonder and marvellous mystery, is a beautiful one that, even though largely ignored 11 1/2 months of the year, finally and necessarily demands to be heard and reflected upon. It is a time when we who feel this can venture forth our thoughts and feelings about this most sacred of times, and contemplate the mystical story that lies at the base of our December celebrations.

A Study of the Divine, today on Thinking with Somebody Else's Head.

Click here to listen to this episode.