sarahcoppin

The Benefits of Not Travelling

I know a lot of people are struggling with self-isolation, but I must confess, this has been a wonderful time of growth for me. Generally people think of staying put as boring and mundane, and they fantasise about hitting the road (or the airport) and leaving everything behind for a life of travel. They equateContinue reading “The Benefits of Not Travelling”

The Gift of Simplicity

About a year and a half ago, I asked the Lord for an unusual News Years gift. “Lord,” I prayed, “please can you make this coming year really really boring?” He did, and it was excellent. Almost everything in my life had become far too complex, and I had developed some very serious anxiety. I knewContinue reading “The Gift of Simplicity”

Why Did God Make Us? (We are Useless!)

One of my lecturers recently asked our class a question: Why did God create us? And, as theologians tend to do, we proudly regurgitated the dogmas we were taught at Sunday school. “Because he loves us.” “Because he’s an artist.” “Because he wanted relationship.” But the more we thought about it, the more we realisedContinue reading “Why Did God Make Us? (We are Useless!)”

Consumption is Relational

Covid-19 has revealed weaknesses in our existing systems, and panic-buying in particular has revealed that we do not think about how our consumer choices affect others. Although there is plenty of toilet paper to go around, we now have an unequal distribution because with heightened anxiety, a handful of buyers have first considered their ownContinue reading “Consumption is Relational”

Secularism is an illusion

[NYC subway, 2013] The concept of secularism is based on the idea that a culture should aspire to religious neutrality. And yet there is no such thing. Every concept you inhabit, every habit that you form, and everything that you aspire to be has been informed by some kind of philosophical ideology. I repeat:Continue reading “Secularism is an illusion”

Let’s Talk About Abstinence, Baby

Or perhaps more specifically: let’s talk about how we talk about abstinence to unmarried Christians. This is story is less about abstinence itself and more about Christian attitudes towards it when advising people who are not married. Here, I am going to outline two differing Christian views on abstinence by exploring the influence of two particularContinue reading “Let’s Talk About Abstinence, Baby”

Deep Church Rising: a turn back to the tradition?

[Notre Dame, Paris 2017] I left the mega-church scene at age 21, feeling somewhat stranded and very confused. I knew that I loved Jesus, but I also knew that I no longer fancied the razzle-dazzle shiny church experience that I was raised in. Church life had always placed a heavy emphasis on the celebrity prophet/preacher/worship-leader/healing-pastorContinue reading “Deep Church Rising: a turn back to the tradition?”

Would Jesus have really died for just one person?

A few years ago, a woman whom I had never met before was praying for me. We were at one of those big Christian music festivals, and she had simply offered some words of encouragement. However she said something that has been bugging me ever since: “If you were the last person on earth, JesusContinue reading “Would Jesus have really died for just one person?”

Reflections on Musical Worship

Throughout Christian history, the way we worship God has changed enormously. Many of these changes have taken place due to the influence of surrounding cultures, which is not necessarily a bad thing. However, I’ve recently been reflecting on which aspects of our culture are influencing the way we worship God, and I’m growing more andContinue reading “Reflections on Musical Worship”