I find Ian McEwan’s novel “Atonement” particularly bleak. It’s the story of a girl who witnesses a crime, Bryony sees her cousin Lola being assaulted and raped. She is convinced the assailant is the family gardener, Robbie and so he is falsely accused, arrested and convicted. Her error combined with her self-importance is the cause… Continue reading When atonement is absent
Category: ethics
The last great sin
What do Matt Hancock, Dominic Cummings and Professor Neil Ferguson have in common? That’s right, they have all been found guilty in the court of public opinion of committing the ultimate unforgivable sin. What is that sin? Well despite what you might think, it isn’t that they broke COVID rules. Despite the reaction and commentary… Continue reading The last great sin
Adultery is not just about having a messy personal life
Newspapers broke a rumour on Friday that the Health Secretary Matt Hancock was having an affair with his aide. One journalist has attempted to play this down with the headline “So Matt Hancock has a messy personal life: who doesn’t?” The headline is part of a narrative that we should not be obsessing about politician’s… Continue reading Adultery is not just about having a messy personal life
Gender is unavoidably binary
There’s been another story in the news about gender and transgenderism. A girls school have now announced that the title “Head Girl” will be replaced with “Head of School”. Let’s not dwell on three issues for the time being. First of all, that the title chosen is used across the country now to describe a… Continue reading Gender is unavoidably binary
More on slaves and the slave trade
Earlier this week in our #TheDailyDose talks I looked at what Paul had to say to Timothy about slaves and masters (1 Timothy 6:1-2). You can listen back here. As I explain in the talk, the Bible’s handling of ethical questions around keeping and trading slaves has wider implications. If the Bible permits slavery but… Continue reading More on slaves and the slave trade
Slaves and Masters
1 Timothy 6:1-2 #TheDailyDose Did Paul endorse the practice of keeping slaves? Do we have to set aside Scripture in order to oppose slavery? What implications does this have for our position on other ethical issues including men and women in ministry, same sex relationships and transgenderism?
Why we should care about protecting each other from COVID
We probably are not quite out of the woods yet with the COVID-19 pandemic. The encouraging news is that we have fully vaccinated over 50% of the adult population and over 75% have received at least one dose. However, there are other pressures that are not such good news. First of all, the “Delta” (Indian)… Continue reading Why we should care about protecting each other from COVID
Sexual ethics and consent
I was struck by a helpful comment made by the preacher at church recently. Their text was 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 with the focus on verse 3 which says “3 God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.” The helpful comment they made was that Christians who care about sexual… Continue reading Sexual ethics and consent
Creation and the environment
If this creation is made by God and we are placed in it to look after it, to rule over it, subdue it and to fill it, to keep it and till it, then what implications does this have for our approach to the environment and ecology? Care for Creation as worship Chris Wright notes… Continue reading Creation and the environment
If you don’t want to be a racist then don’t intimidate and cajole British Jews over what is happening in Israel
Journalist Nazanin Zagari-Ratcliffe remains imprisoned in Iran. I have Iranian friends. I would not dream of calling them up and demanding that they condemn the Iranian regime. Of course, I suspect that given their reason for coming to the UK was to seek asylum, I suspect that they wouldn’t hesitate to condemn Iran in far… Continue reading If you don’t want to be a racist then don’t intimidate and cajole British Jews over what is happening in Israel
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