Have a look at this tweet. Now think it through carefully. Is there any bit of it that we might consider true? The answer is “no.” If a young person in your church said it, you’d pull them to one side and chat with them about the risk of attempting to put out provocative messages… Continue reading What are your culture wars leading you to say?
Category: ethics
Remember: You are not Jesus!
What turns out to be the most controversial is often a surprise. Sometimes I can write something or say something and it gets little reaction when I would expect it to create a lot of heat. Other times, I say something I consider fairly innocuous or obvious and it creates waves with people taking the… Continue reading Remember: You are not Jesus!
What did you expect?
The release of Nazanin Zhagari-Ratcliffe from prison in Iran is wonderful news. It has been a terrible injustice that she has effectively held hostage for these past six years and deprived of those years with her husband and her young daughter. It has been so moving to see them re-united. At the press-conference following her… Continue reading What did you expect?
Cost of living crisis: A Biblical Theology of economics and poverty
I’ve been writing a few articles to get us thinking about the cost of living crisis and how we respond as Christians. Today I want to step back and look at the big picture of how the Bible approaches questions concerning economics and poverty. Our starting point is this diagram from Christopher Wright which picks… Continue reading Cost of living crisis: A Biblical Theology of economics and poverty
Why I’m still a complementarian
A little while back, Aimee Byrd wrote “Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.” The book was significant because Aimee was writing from a conservative evangelical perspective, she would have at least up until that point been identified as complementarian but in the book she went head to head with the dominant complementarian voices in the… Continue reading Why I’m still a complementarian
How might we talk to our children about Ukraine?
How should parents and Sunday School teachers talk to worried and anxious children about what is going on in the World around us It is many years since we’ve seen such horrific genocidal conflict so close to home and with a level of danger from nuclear conflict hanging oh too realistically in the air. If… Continue reading How might we talk to our children about Ukraine?
The cost of living crisis: Poverty and politics
I want to return to our discussion about poverty and the cost of living crisis. Over the past week, a lot of people will have been getting updates from their energy companies to tell them that prices are increasing, potentially doubling the cost of heating and lighting your home. For some this will mean a… Continue reading The cost of living crisis: Poverty and politics
#PrayForUkraine
If you’ve not caught up with the latest #FaithrootsPodcast, here are the links to watch on YouTube or listen via Anchor and Spotify. In the conversation we discuss: Should pastors take sides and speak on political issues? 2. To what extent is the current situation about Spiritual conflict? 3. What is God doing in the… Continue reading #PrayForUkraine
What if the nuclear missiles were to hit in 20 minutes?
Someone asked this question on Twitter the other day. Fortunately, before everyone panicked, it became clear that the question was intended as hypothetical. But what would you do if the warning message went out that you had twenty minutes before the missiles began to hit? In that context, if you live in an urban area… Continue reading What if the nuclear missiles were to hit in 20 minutes?
What if Putin really believes his own propaganda?
Over the past few days, western leaders have expressed concern that Vladimir Putin’s regime are making false claims about biological and chemical warfare labs in Ukraine which are allegedly being funded/supported by the US. The fear is that this is paving the way for Putin to launch his own chemical weapons attack possibly as a… Continue reading What if Putin really believes his own propaganda?