Author: faithrootsdw

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem

On Saturday we woke up to horrific news from Israel as Hamas terrorists had cut through security fencing and infiltrated into much of southern Israel where they had gunned people down and taken hostages. They had also launched extensive rocket attacks on Israel.  We are used to tensions in the Middle East but something seemed… Continue reading Pray for the peace of Jerusalem

Did God speak to Terah in the same way that he did to Abraham?

In Genesis 11:27-32, Terah, the father of Abraham (still known as Abram at this point) and grandfather of Lot takes his family from Ur in Mesopotamia towards Canaan.  He doesn’t get as far as the intended destination but settles at a place called Haran to the north of modern-day Israel.  There the family remain until… Continue reading Did God speak to Terah in the same way that he did to Abraham?

Where is the hope in secularism?

In a New Statesman article, Justin Welby is quoted as saying that: “Secularism is a crisis because where do people find their hope and their trust?” Stephen Evans objects to this on two grounds.  First he argues that Welby has confused his vocabulary.  Evans insists that “secularism” is “a political idea” and that Welby should… Continue reading Where is the hope in secularism?

Is it always a bad thing to name things after people or just when they are still alive?

In amongst the discussion about The Gospel Coalition setting up institutions named after Tim Keller (when he was still alive) and Don Carson, a few people have asked whether the issue is just a problem for living people.  What about the tradition of naming churches, buildings and institutions after specific people.  Older, established churches will… Continue reading Is it always a bad thing to name things after people or just when they are still alive?

A wrong turn on route to evangelical renewal

Tim Suffield has written recently about “The evangelical intellectual ecosystem.”  Tim has been raising questions about how we encourage theological thinking in the church, especially in the newer/charismatic churches and how we teach and train people theologically. There is perhaps some overlap between the kinds of questions that Tim is asking and the kind of… Continue reading A wrong turn on route to evangelical renewal

Please stop playing political football with education

I think there’s been more plans and initiatives to shake up education during my life time than I had hot school dinners back when I was a kid.  I’ve seen GCSEs replace the old GCE/CSE split, the expansion of Universities and introduction of tuition fees.  During my life time, we’ve bounced between child centred learning… Continue reading Please stop playing political football with education

Out of the frying pan …

Abram hasn’t been long in the promised land when famine hits.  He decides to leave then land and go to Egypt to find food.  There has been some debate on whether or not this was a good thing to do with some commentators pointing to the absence of explicit negative assessment.  However, sometimes the point… Continue reading Out of the frying pan …