Academic

My academic interests range from physics to theology, with much in between. I have not kept my physics up to date, but areas of cosmology and astronomy (for example attempts to explain puzzles like pulsars and quasars, planetary and stellar nebulae, and closer phenomena like comets – not to mention some of the gorgeous images produced by the Hubble Space Telescope and available at The Space Telescope Science Institute) have kept my attention.

Another interest is history, particularly of the middle Roman period, namely the last century of the Republic and the first century of the Empire, and also early and medieval English history, particularly in the period between the departure of the Romans in 440 and the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. I am also interested in the events surrounding the English and European Reformations. Since moving to Canada, I have begun exploring Canadian history.

I developed an interest in philosophy, even to the extent of reading Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason because I thought I should know what he said (this was also my reason for reading Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Tolstoy’s War and Peace, both rather different publications). During my MA this interest acquired a much more theological bent.

I am also interested in, and have a PhD in, theology. For more details see my Christianity page. My PhD explored how authority operates in the Church, and how this is affected by the Church’s understanding of justice and judgement. It has been published by Ashgate (now owned by Routledge) with the title Law, Liberty and Church: Authority and Justice in the Major Churches in England, and it can be ordered from Amazon.ca.

Sport

While I grew up watching cricket, soccer, and rugby, my interest in soccer has totally evaporated, and it is not easy to follow cricket or rugby in Canada. I have therefore switched to watching North American sports such as football, in which I must confess to cheering for the New York Jets, and baseball, along with Formula 1 Motor Racing, in which I follow Ferrari. I went to see the Jets play in Seattle in 2008 and 2012, and in San Diego in 2014, but unfortunately, they lost all three times. Due to my inherent lack of aptitude for sports, there has never been any danger of anyone asking me to play any sport at any level.

Music

My tastes in music vary from classical to hard rock. I am, however, happiest with the music of Queen. I also listen to (among others) Bryan Adams, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Deep Purple, Enya, Genesis, Jean-Michel Jarre, Elton John, Meatloaf, Mike Oldfield, Pink Floyd, ZZ Top, Beethoven, Handel, Rossini and Wagner.

Other Interests

This page would not be complete without the admission that I am a closet Trekker, a fan of Doctor Who, in both its classic version (up to the regeneration of Peter Davison into Colin Baker) and its new version, and a fan of Blake’s Seven. I have also read large quantities of science fiction.