US Scholar Robert Gagnon has engaged with John Stevens (FIEC) in a facebook post on this issue. He writes: “Yes, John Stevens and Fellow British Evangelicals: There Is Only One Political Party in America That Deserves the Label Satanic (and It’s Not the Republican Party) Robert Gagnon Only just now seeing that John Stevens, National… Continue reading Empires, beasts and demons: A response to Robert Gagnon on the Democrats and Republicans
Category: ethics
What was going on in the White House
I’ve been experimenting with a slightly different approach to the faithroots podcast/video side of things. I’ve been putting together some short videos, filmed on my phone whilst I go for a walk. I’m calling it #WalkAndTalk. One of the series I’ve put together starts to look at the recent hoo-ha at the White House between… Continue reading What was going on in the White House
Islamophobia?
I’ve just written about whether we dared to talk about Islam. The context was a comment someone made on social media about whether you might dare to speak about Islam in (places like) Bradford. However, it got me thinking about the question of Islamophobia. This is a term that has grown in currency in recent… Continue reading Islamophobia?
Why the debate about sin, temptation and desire matters
I’ve had four concerns about the debate around temptation, desire and sin (concupiscence). I wanted to just pick up on three crucial implications from these. First of all, by narrowing the debate down to one application, the impression has been unfortunately given that this isn’t to do with all of us. Rather, it only affects… Continue reading Why the debate about sin, temptation and desire matters
Really alive, really reborn
I revisited James 1:13 as part of my discussion on desire today. It struck me that in that debate, we need to pay attention to what James says about how desire conceives and gives birth to sin which grows into death. That statement should make us sit up and think carefully about what is going… Continue reading Really alive, really reborn
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?
“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
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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