Although this site is primarily focused on pastoral and doctrinal issues, I often seek to engage with wider issues too including aspects of politics. This is because I believe we are here part of the world around us and meant to play our part in society. This means first of all that Christians should be… Continue reading Did you vote for food shortages?
Category: ethics
Avoiding scaremongering
I want to share with you two examples of how the media’s handling of COVID-19 has been extremely unhelpful. The public have a significant part to play in response to the pandemic and therefore needs accurate information in order to make informed decisions. The first example was published in the Independent. You can read the… Continue reading Avoiding scaremongering
A man of their time?
Over the past year there’s been much discussion about how we should relate to and view Christians from previous generations, especially those who tend to hold hero status amongst us. This has been provoked by the #BlackLivesMatter movement and the tearing down of statues erected to historical figures often with a reputation for philanthropy but… Continue reading A man of their time?
Social Care – a proposal
On Monday I wrote about the proposals to provide for social care by increasing the National Insurance rate. I thought I’d sketch out a proposal of my own here to contribute to the debate. My proposal is as follows. First, scrap the current National Insurance system which in reality acts as another form of compulsory… Continue reading Social Care – a proposal
Vaccinating children – a middle road between the scare stories
There’s a strong possibility that the Government, on the advice of the Chief Medical Officers will decide to offer the COVID-19 vaccine to 12-15 year olds. Given that the JCVI have advised not to offer the vaccine on the basis of individual health benefit v risk calculations, this means that if you are a parent,… Continue reading Vaccinating children – a middle road between the scare stories
Some thoughts on social care and the elderly
It was the issue considered by many to have robbed Theresa May of a majority back in 2017 and it may well rob Boris Johnson of his when the next General Election comes (although he is presumably calculating that a short term loss of popularity won’t be sustained). The vexing question is concerning what to… Continue reading Some thoughts on social care and the elderly
Is food poverty real and do food banks help?
If you were to talk to people about the big needs in communities and how churches can help, you’ll find that they quite often settle on the assumption that a primary issue is food poverty. Furthermore, it tends to be assumed that a major solution to food poverty is the existence of foodbanks (alongside things… Continue reading Is food poverty real and do food banks help?
The next big ethical COVID decision -vaccinating children
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
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:
Faithroots 