One of my concerns yesterday was that the arguments in the House of Commons were about pragmatics. There was no serious attempt to debate the principle of assisted dying. I get the impression that many MPs, even those who disagree with assisted dying in principle have accepted that it is going to come in at… Continue reading Abortion and assisted dying … The link
Author: faithrootsdw
What the carols mean. Advent Series
A few years back, we ran an Advent sermon series looking at the meaning of different carols at my then church. During the pandemic, I expanded this into a series of talks looking at a range of carols and advent hymns, both traditional and modern. You can listen to the talks here:
Pity as the enemy of compassion
The UK Parliament has just voted for a second reading of the bill to introduced assisted dying. I want to step back and reflect on the debate that was held in the House of Commons. I tuned in to the early stages of the debate and heard several of the speeches. What struck me was… Continue reading Pity as the enemy of compassion
1 Corinthians 7 and strawmen (Andrew Bartlett’s response)
This is a guest post. As promised, here is the first of Andrew Bartlett’s responses to my critique and engagement with his book. I will respond in a further article to his comments here. I don’t intend there to be a lenthy back and forth on each topic but there are some things worth picking… Continue reading 1 Corinthians 7 and strawmen (Andrew Bartlett’s response)
Both opponents and proponents of assisted dying need to be open about faith presuppositions
The other day, I responded to Lord Falconer’s complaint that some MPs were bringing their faith into the debate on assisted dying. Today, Esther Rantzen has argued that opponents of assisted dying need to be open about their faith reasons. Well as it happens, I agree with her (kind of). You see, I’ve persistently argued… Continue reading Both opponents and proponents of assisted dying need to be open about faith presuppositions
1 Corinthians 7, marriage, sex, mutual submission and the complementarian/egalitarian debate
In his book, Men and Women in Christ, Andrew Bartlett begins his Biblical assessment with 1 Corinthians 7. He goes there before addressing the classic texts in the debate (Ephesians 5, 1 Timothy 2, 1 Corinthians 11 & 14 etc). He comments: “By far the longest and most detailed piece of writing in the New… Continue reading 1 Corinthians 7, marriage, sex, mutual submission and the complementarian/egalitarian debate
Leaving and cleaving: Reflections on questions that don’t seem to get as much attention in the current debate about Anglican futures.
I posted this question on Facebook the other day Why is the case for evangelicals in the Church of England always put in terms of why they shouldn’t (or even sometimes, should) leave the Church of England and not why they should/shouldn’t join with other Evangelicals? I’m planning to write a bit more about this… Continue reading Leaving and cleaving: Reflections on questions that don’t seem to get as much attention in the current debate about Anglican futures.
Missing the Gospel in a response to the dropping fertility rate
I was disappointed to read this article in Evangelicals Now about how Christians should respond to a drop in the fertility rate. Now, it certainly is the case that this has declined sharply over the years and that there are some reasons which we might be unhappy to hear. However, I don’t know whether that… Continue reading Missing the Gospel in a response to the dropping fertility rate
How novel is complementarianism?
I’ve responded to this question briefly before in response to claims made on social media that Complementarianism is novel. I want to return to it again here in response to Andrew Bartlett’s book because one of his starting arguments is that both complementarianism and egalitarianism are novel positions. Bartlett, offers a necessarily brief survey of… Continue reading How novel is complementarianism?
Who is imposing their religious views?
The Justice Secretary Shabana Mahood has come out strongly against assisted dying. She has made it known that she has religious views that underpin her position. Lord Falconer who has himself attempted to bring an assisted dying law into force through the House of Lords has complained that people should not impose their religious views… Continue reading Who is imposing their religious views?
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