Pupils at school, when learning about Easter, almost always ask the question, "Why is it called 'Good Friday' when it's the day Jesus died? What's good about that?"English is one of the few languages that calls this day 'Good' and apparently in Middle English, the...

I make no apologies for dwelling on the same Bible verses of late; this is all part of meditation, 'gnawing' on God's word until we have drained every last drop of nutrition from it. All too often I skip over passages merrily, keen to prove what a good speed reader I...

A cliché, the dictionary tells us, is "a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought." As a literary device, it's not considered a good idea. Other words that come to mind are hackneyed (lacking significance through having been overused)...