Author: faithrootsdw

The Spirit in Ephesians

A central theme in Ephesians is the work of the Holy Spirit.  If this is a letter about God’s purpose for his church, about how to be united in love as his alternative society and about standing firm in spiritual warfare, then the Holy Spirit is crucial to all of that. But before Ephesians is… Continue reading The Spirit in Ephesians

Before you cite Philippians 1:18 it might be a good idea to read it!

From time to time you see it or hear it.  Someone makes a proposal and others come back with questions and challenges.  Some disagree and think that the idea shouldn’t go ahead.  Then the response comes “Even if this is not for you, perhaps you could take a Philippians 1:18 approach.” What does that mean. … Continue reading Before you cite Philippians 1:18 it might be a good idea to read it!

Telling the story of Jesus -part 1: How it begins

As mentioned in recent articles and on the Faithroots Podcast, one of the things I’m trying to do is to encourage us to think about how we share the good news about Jesus with those who have no or very limited foundational knowledge about him. So, the focus of our podcasts over the next few… Continue reading Telling the story of Jesus -part 1: How it begins

Useful Idiots? Social Justice, critical theory and the evangelical church

In a podcast for Evangelical Times, Sharon James discusses Critical Theory with Mike Judge,  The blurb suggests that: Dr Sharon James says Critical Theory and the ideas of the Social Justice movement are the single biggest moral threat to our society. She says church leaders should not act as “useful idiots” by embracing its language… Continue reading Useful Idiots? Social Justice, critical theory and the evangelical church

The problem with the “appeal to authority” fallacy

When I wrote in response to the recent letter from lawyers and former judges about Israel and Gaza, I highlight that one problem with it was that it encouraged a form of logical fallacy which is known as “appeal to authority”, or if you want to posh term “ad verecundiam.” Fascinatingly, the problem with this… Continue reading The problem with the “appeal to authority” fallacy

Israel, red lines and the arms trade: How do we know if a red line is crossed?

I recently wrote about a letter from lawyers concerning the ICJ’s interim ruling on whether Israel were in breach of the Genocide Convention.  In the discussion around that article, someone asked me: “what ‘red line’ Israel would need to cross before we should stop arming them?” My response was to note first that before we… Continue reading Israel, red lines and the arms trade: How do we know if a red line is crossed?

“That’s interesting” Does theology belong in academia?

This was the question posed on Twitter by Jonathan Dowie (who has recently written a book on multi-lingual church which I hope to review soon).  Jonathan then went on to highlight the problem with academic writing, in short, he said “it sucks.”  His big issue was the tendency for academics to be verbose, hiding behind… Continue reading “That’s interesting” Does theology belong in academia?

A big bug bear

I wrote recently in response to Sinclair Ferguson’s comments about blogging.  My friend Steve Kneale has written more directly with his response here.  I share Steve’s sentiments.  I think Steve is right to suggest that such comments portray a lack of insight into the nature of Gospel ministry.  On a side note, one of the… Continue reading A big bug bear