On Saturday evening, reports were coming in that the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameni was dead. However, we still had to await official confirmation, alert to the possibility of body doubles among his security . On Sunday, it was confirmed by the Iranian news agency that Khameni’s body had been removed from the rubble after… Continue reading Iran what next?
Category: ethics
Wolf kings
One thing that stood out for me in the book “Invading Babylon” was the idea of mountain or wolf kings. These are those seen as having cultural, political or religious power and influence. The argument as we saw in a previous article was that these kings do not have to be virtuous to survive and… Continue reading Wolf kings
What is Christian Nationalism?
This is the unedited version of an article I recently had published by Evangelicals Now. You can read the published version here. Do you remember 6 years ago, we were becoming aware of a new coronavirus, nnovel because this particular strain of virus had not been seen before. It seems to have originated in a… Continue reading What is Christian Nationalism?
Does Restore Britain have anything to offer Christians?
Some Christians have been hoping for their political white knight to turn up, a UK answer to Donald Trump, someone who might not be a Christian yet but someone who at least can promote a political brand that aligns with their specific ideology. Last year, it seemed that Tommy Robinson was the man they were… Continue reading Does Restore Britain have anything to offer Christians?
The Reformers and the Christian State
The Reformers including Luther, Calvin and Zwingli were acting in a context in which it was the established norm that the state was Christian. If the early church fathers were acting pre-Christendom and we live in a post Christendom world, Calvin and the early reformed lived within Christendom. Whilst the radical reformers would in effect… Continue reading The Reformers and the Christian State
PostScript on latest Christian Nationalism conversation
I was going to share a PostScript to Friday’s article with some further red herrings in Michael Reade’s article in Evangelicals Now. However, it struck me that Michael wasn’t really served well by his article in EN. I hope the editorial team can learn some lessons from this. Reade ended up, in my opinion, attempting… Continue reading PostScript on latest Christian Nationalism conversation
On banning Palestinian Action
The High Court has ruled that it was unlawful for the Government to proscribe Palestinian Action as a terrorist organisation last year. I agree with the ruling. I say that as someone who is not a fan of Palestinian Action. I’m broadly pro Israel. They may have taken some wrong actions over the past couple… Continue reading On banning Palestinian Action
Red Herrings alert – Responding to Michael Reade on Christian Nationalism
Evangelicals Now have published a response to my article on Christian Nationalism here. I thought it might be helpful just to engage with Michael Reade, especially at the points where he seeks to critique me. Reade states early on that: “As someone who is sympathetic to several of the political aims of Christian nationalism, I… Continue reading Red Herrings alert – Responding to Michael Reade on Christian Nationalism
Greater love hath no man than he lay down his friends for his life
This joke was originally told by Jeremy Thorpe, the Liberal leader about “the night of the long knives” when Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan sacked a number of ministers to save his own position. It’s entered the political lexicon as a go to response to leaders seeking to protect themselves by dismissing loyal allies. On a… Continue reading Greater love hath no man than he lay down his friends for his life
My brother’s keeper Lord Mandelson, sackings and resignations
There is a scene in the West Wing where Toby, one of the team has leaked classified military information. Whatever the justification, he broke the law. He comes into the Oval Office, with his resignation letter only for President Bartlett to say: “I’m sorry but I cannot accept your resignation. I have to sack you.”… Continue reading My brother’s keeper Lord Mandelson, sackings and resignations
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