Author: faithrootsdw

Is “open or closed communion?” the right question?

One of the graces in COVID is that it has pushed us hard to think about some key aspects of church life such as “What really is gathered worship?” and “What are the priority ministries of a church in the week?” There has also been quite a bit of discussion about when, how and why… Continue reading Is “open or closed communion?” the right question?

If you are going to troll Christians at least get some basics right!

Here is Professor Alice Roberts (Professor of Public Engagement with Science at Birmingham University) expressing her views on Christianity. She goes on in her thread to raise the typical humanist complaint about Christiasn engaging in education and public life.  Now, leaving aside any major disagreements about theology or philosophy, here are the bigger concerns.  First… Continue reading If you are going to troll Christians at least get some basics right!

Paul and the mysterious Jesus quote

I picked up on a discussion the other day about Paul’s relationship to the Gospels. The original questioner observed that there was a notorious issue with Paul’s lack of reference to the Gospel accounts in his letters and sermons.  The usual assumption for this is that Paul wrote first with the Gospels coming much later… Continue reading Paul and the mysterious Jesus quote

Be careful little lips what you say -the heresy bar

“Wayne Grudem is a heretic, I know so cos my dad is an elder and he says so!” I’m paraphrasing a little but not by much.  The conversation was not with a youngster but with someone claiming to lead a ministry.  It was a brief twitter conversation.  Readers here will hopefully be up to date… Continue reading Be careful little lips what you say -the heresy bar

Covid and euthanasia of the elderly

Dystopian Literature often focuses on the concept that elderly people in an ordered authoritarian society will be required to accept that a day will come when they must lay down their lives. [1]For example, in “The Fixed Period” by Trollope, the inhabitants of Britannica near New Zealand legislate that at 67 years old, citizens should… Continue reading Covid and euthanasia of the elderly

The biggest lie of all

I’ve been interacting with the big dark world of conspiracy theories in recent blogs and YouTube videos.  One of my main arguments is that we don’t deal with “conspiracy theories” so much as “Conspiracy.” That in effect there is one viral lie that sheds into individual beliefs, communities’ religious groupings and political movements. The lie… Continue reading The biggest lie of all

Coronavirus and what the data is telling us

This is one of my regular appeals for us to work harder at understanding the Pandemic and to be slower to jump to tribal political responses of either panic or complacency. This week it was announced that the UK now topped the list as the worst hit country for deaths per million.  This led to… Continue reading Coronavirus and what the data is telling us

You say it best when you say nothing at all

What will stand out for you about the Presidential inauguration in future weeks and months? Many have commented on the powerful oratory of Amanda Gorman’s poetry recital. Perhaps it was the oddness of the event, the absence of the outgoing president, the facemasks and lack of a crowd, the realisation that a normal gesture created… Continue reading You say it best when you say nothing at all