Author: Mark Vernon

The hills tell one another, and the listening Valleys hear; all our longing eyes are turn’d Up to thy bright pavilions: issue forth And let thy holy feet visit our clime! William Blake

It was my turn to do the Evening Standard column… Recall the last time a child – perhaps your niece or nephew, your son or daughter – said thank you to you. How delighted were you by their gratitude? How warm was the glow inside? And now think again. What kind of pressure was on… Continue reading The tyranny of thanks

‘We’re in 2011. We shouldn’t be thinking about magical forces and pixies and so on. We should be just thinking in terms of science and technology.’ So saith that high priest of the cult of evidence, Richard Wiseman. He’s all over the media right now as he has another book to sell – and sell… Continue reading Paranormality and the high priests of evidence

The first part of radio series I’ve written and presented, In Doubt We Trust, goes out next Sunday on BBC Radio 4 – March 6, 1.30pm. We spoke to a wide range of people in the making of it, exploring doubt not just in science and religion, but politics and economics, at a personal and… Continue reading In doubt we trust

Neuroscience is not known for underselling its genius to solve that problem called human nature. There’s neuro-economics, neuro-theology, neuro-interior-design for all I know. Here’s a new one to me: ‘biological justice’. The idea is that brain scanners in law courts will be able to tell not only if a suspect is telling the truth, but… Continue reading Minding the neurotrash

From London Bridge to Green Park, and then Tottenham Court Road to Oval, I puzzled over Gerard Benson’s poem, Riddle. The best answer I could come up with was The Word of God – resting amongst leaves – though it falters on the lines about entering a dark tunnel and being bathed in acid. Internet… Continue reading Underground riddle

I was hugely glad to catch the film, Of Gods and Men, at the end of its London release. What a powerful picture. I found watching the character Luc, played by Michael Lonsdale, particularly moving. He seems the most reconciled of the monks as they face the nauseating uncertainties of violent death. I took it… Continue reading Of Gods, men and freedom

… the publication of How To Be An Agnostic. ‘Mark Vernon – a former Anglican priest who left the church only to find dogmatic unbelief just as unsatisfying – shows how being an agnostic can be a modern version of the spiritual life. If you are discontented with simple-minded atheism and literal-minded faith, this is… Continue reading A couple of weeks away…

The anti-alternative voters kick off by saying that AV is complicated, it lacks the democratic drama of first-past-the-post, and it’s no fairer anyway, as it’s still a majoritarian system, not a proportional one. The pro-alternative voters argue that it’s not a perfect system, granted, but it will encourage prospective MPs to engage with more citizens… Continue reading As the campaign for AV gets underway…

The debate about the differences, if any, between gay and straight relationships is a tricky one to conduct as it is so intertwined with feelings about the Christian legacy in a secular world. So perhaps we can take a step back, to a time before the secular, to a time before Christianity, and see what… Continue reading Gay marriage. What would Plato say?