Having had a look at what Calvin has to say about slaves and masters based on Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5-6, I thought it would be worth having a look at his comments on the other two issues treated there, first on parents and children, then on wives and husbands. Calvin picks up on the… Continue reading Calvin on parents and children
Author: faithrootsdw
Shemima Begum
In 2019, Shemima Begum left Britain as a 15 year old to join ISIL along with two other school girls. In Syria she married a Jihadist and had children with him that died. She was later found in a refugee camp. The Home Secretary with Tribunal support determined that she should be stripped of her… Continue reading Shemima Begum
Calvin on slavery
I thought it might be of interest to have a look at one of the Reformers and see how he handled the question of slavery in Scripture. So here’s some commentary on how John Calvin handles Ephesians 6. Calvin is of particular interest because as I’ve argued previously, he seems to argue from Ephesians 5:21… Continue reading Calvin on slavery
Should we lament our lack of Psalm singing?
I love the Psalms. I love reading from them, meditating on them, preaching them and I love singing a few of them. I also enjoy spotting when other hymns and songs draw on the language and themes of the Psalms. But I don’t think that we must sing the Psalms and definitely not all of… Continue reading Should we lament our lack of Psalm singing?
Distorted purpose
So far, we’ve seen how God made humanity in his image to: reflect his glory, to fill (multiply and populate) and to subdue (rule over/steward) his creation. Man and woman are together made in God’s image to complement one another. God blesses them by providing for them and protecting them. At the same time, he… Continue reading Distorted purpose
The danger of conclusions drawn from circumstances
Yesterday I wrote about the short term supply chain problems affecting various economies around the world and causing specific shortages in terms of food in the UK. I observed that people are quick to draw conclusions from correlations that support their particular political presuppositions so that some people are adamant that this has been caused… Continue reading The danger of conclusions drawn from circumstances
Evangelism and the local church (3) Events
In this third article I wanted to say something about running special events as a church. How does this fit with an approach where we make evangelism about our day to day lives in a local community? I don’t think it is a good thing if the sum total of a church’s evangelism is running… Continue reading Evangelism and the local church (3) Events
Did you vote for food shortages?
Although this site is primarily focused on pastoral and doctrinal issues, I often seek to engage with wider issues too including aspects of politics. This is because I believe we are here part of the world around us and meant to play our part in society. This means first of all that Christians should be… Continue reading Did you vote for food shortages?
Evangelism and the local church (2) cold contact
In part one, I said that my approach to evangelism is: “We live in an area and get to know people and we go and knock on some doors.” You will also have picked up through the article that I envisage this happening in the context of being part of the local church. Now, whilst… Continue reading Evangelism and the local church (2) cold contact
Avoiding scaremongering
I want to share with you two examples of how the media’s handling of COVID-19 has been extremely unhelpful. The public have a significant part to play in response to the pandemic and therefore needs accurate information in order to make informed decisions. The first example was published in the Independent. You can read the… Continue reading Avoiding scaremongering
