The game of statistics is one of the favourite toys of politicians. Statistical data is used by the opposition to expose a government’s shortcomings or downright failures. A government uses statistical data to demonstrate its efficiency in dealing with economic and social challenges. Funnily enough, sometimes both the opposition and the government use the same set of data to support…

In recent weeks the gender pay gap has been in the news, particularly after the BBC was forced to publish the salaries of its employees earning over £150,000 a year. Another pay gap, coming to the fore from time to time, is that between the highest and the lowest earners in the country. On average, a FTSE 100 CEO earns…

  ‘Honesty is the best policy… unless you want people to like you’. This one-liner sums up perfectly the difficulty of taking on board Jesus’ call from today’s gospel. Generally speaking, we usually prefer to guard our silence or to tell a little white lie instead of telling the honest but unpleasant truth. Life itself is difficult enough without creating…

Today’s offer, as made by Jesus, doesn’t look attractive. Initially he announces his own inglorious end of suffering grievously and being put to death. This is so shocking that the Apostles completely miss the last bit of the announcement, about Jesus’ coming back to life three days after his death. They are so scandalised that Peter remonstrates with Jesus: ‘This…

Morag, the church gossip and self-appointed arbiter of the Church’s morals, kept sticking her nose into other members’ private business. The Church members were unappreciative of her activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence. She made a mistake, however, when she accused Angus, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his van parked in front…