The Government and JVCI are currently wrestling with the question about where to go next with our COVID-19 vaccination programme. The jabs have been offered to all over 18s with close to a 90% take-up and in the summer this was extended to 16-18 year olds. As of the 1st September 2021 88.5% of the… Continue reading The next big ethical COVID decision -vaccinating children
Category: ethics
Facemasks and shielding – can Romans 14-15 help us make decisions about in person church?
Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen churches increasingly returning towards a situation similar to pre-COVID normal. We are a long way from reaching that situation yet for a few reasons. First of all, the summer months meant that many churches had reduced attendance due to holidays anyway. Secondly, many churches have continued with some… Continue reading Facemasks and shielding – can Romans 14-15 help us make decisions about in person church?
Marriage at work (10) Conclusions
III. 1. Summary of Findings In Part 1, we argued for what might be described as a “Soft-Complementarian” interpretation of Ephesians 5:21-33. We argued that:
Marriage at work (9) Protection and abuse
8.1. The Problem So far, our scenarios have assumed a reasonably positive family situation. We have considered to some extent the husband’s responsibility when his wife is unwilling to submit to his leadership in decision making, but what happens when the context turns more sinister?
Marriage at work (8) Decision making
How do we couples make decisions in the light of Ephesians 5:21-33? If wives submit to their husbands, does that mean that, as the head, he is responsible for all decision making? Must she give in to him when there is an argument?
Marriage at work (7) Wives and work
In this chapter, I will argue that not only does Ephesians 5:22 allow wives to work, but they may also take the role of lead wage earner. I am arguing on the basis that our exegesis has demonstrated that whilst “headship” and “submission” are transcultural requirements, their expression is culturally contextualised, so that:
Marriage at work (6) “This is a mystery
We now come to the climax of the instruction to husbands and wives. These verses hold the whole instruction together and show how Christ’s relationship to the church is the basis for the marriage relationship. As we noted earlier, Paul has been building up to this point by introducing body and flesh language in v29-30.[1]
Marriage at work (5) “husbands love”
The instruction to husbands could be seen as the key, radical point within Paul’s instructions.[1] Paul devotes more space to this instruction than to the other aspects of the Household Codes[2] and the command to love supplies a surprising twist.
Marriage at work (4) “Wives submit”
3.1. Two Views We now get into the body of Paul’s instruction to wives and husbands. So what does he mean by “wives submit” and why does he require it? As we have seen already, Egalitarians treat any requirement for wives to be subordinate and husbands to lead as a temporary cultural requirement.
COVID-19 and the ethics of mask wearing
Regular readers of Faithroot.com will have seen my occasional risk assessment and advice posts concerning COVID-19. In summary, my position through the summer has been that churches should seek to move cautiously towards full re-opening. In the short term this would mean Continuing to allow additional capacity to provide extra space for people to meet… Continue reading COVID-19 and the ethics of mask wearing
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