In March’s Evangelicals Now, Bill James seeks to address what he calls “The problem with Empathy.” A few Christian writers and speakers have sought to argue in recent times that whilst we ought to sympathise with others, we shouldn’t empathise. Some have gone so far as to call empathy sin.* James argues that empathy’s problem… Continue reading Sold short on empathy
Author: faithrootsdw
An alien interloper?
One of the key questions that has come up in the debate about sin, desire and temptation is whether or not we are responsible for our temptations. This in fact is key to the position that Matthew Roberts and others hold. The argument is that the desires which tempt us according to James are our… Continue reading An alien interloper?
Reckoning
Here’s the latest in our Jesus and the Gospels series on Luke 16
Grace working backwards
The other Sunday, I preached on Nehemiah 13. At the start of the chapter, God’s people are reminded that the Moabites were meant to be excluded from the assembly of God’s people. Afterwards, my dad, who was visiting, reminded me of the case of Ruth, she was a Moabite and yet was welcomed into God’s… Continue reading Grace working backwards
The Faithroots Jesus Project
You may have noticed a new page on the site. The Jesus Project is an attempt to bring together some resources looking at Jesus and the Gospels, focusing on Luke’s account in his Gospel. The aim is to integrate materials for families, the First Look Course and an evangelistic resource and more in depth teaching… Continue reading The Faithroots Jesus Project
“Tending towards…” – why I’m not about to become a Leeds United fan!
I’m a Bradford City supporter. Our nearest and greatest rivals are Leeds United. Imagine if someone were to say that because I supported Bradford and that is near Leeds and that I don’t support Manchester United, then I am dangerously tending towards being a Leeds fan. You would recognise that for the nonsense it is.… Continue reading “Tending towards…” – why I’m not about to become a Leeds United fan!
Disagreeing well or badly
At the end of their article debating sin, desire and temptation in Evangelicals Now, John Stevens and Matthew Roberts suggest that they’ve tried to model disagreeing well. Do they achieve this?
Matthew Roberts and John Stevens debate sin, temptation and desire in Evangelicals Now: Initial reflections on Matthew’s article
Well, Matthew Roberts and John Stevens’ articles are now live on the Evangelicals Now website, should you choose to read them. Sadly, Matthew continues to repeat the same errors that I’ve already identified in his article. In summary, Matthew sets out a position on sin which we would all agree with, namely that sin is a heart… Continue reading Matthew Roberts and John Stevens debate sin, temptation and desire in Evangelicals Now: Initial reflections on Matthew’s article
The best kind of preaching feedback
Occasionally I see articles about how to give good preaching feedback. Often the focus is on things like getting the person to feed back themselves first, then it is about sandwiching negatives with positives. That’s all good stuff, however, I want to suggest a slightly different approach. Here are some of the questions I encourage… Continue reading The best kind of preaching feedback
Giving Putin everything he wants?
Donald Trump has suggested that Russia is easier to talk to than Ukraine. It’s worth thinking about why that might be. Consider what Trump is pushing for. Not only do those proposals favour Russia and not Ukraine but three of them align with Russians prevear aims to expand into Eastern Ukraine, to have a more… Continue reading Giving Putin everything he wants?
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