Steve Kneale has argued here that we need a different type of blue-skies thinking to get to grips with the issue of asylum. He helpfully identifies a number of problems with the current situation and some of the suggested solutions. He then goes on to make some of his own recommendations. The challenge with responding… Continue reading How we respond to asylum policies is likely to depend on our presuppositions
Category: ethics
What is driving my views – political ideology or theology?
It became rather apparent during lockdown that once again, our country was being divided down fairly familiar lines. I’m not saying that there was an exact like for like, true in every case. However, generally speaking, it seemed possible to divide people into two camps. The first camp was those who were concerned about Global… Continue reading What is driving my views – political ideology or theology?
Matters of conscience and matters of wisdom
This is a quick response to my friend Steve’s article this morning. Today, Steve has commented on the issues with identifying something as a matter of conscience. Some people seem to treat a “matter of conscience” as a kind of subjective route into saying that they can hold to their own personal truth unchallenged. As… Continue reading Matters of conscience and matters of wisdom
When you want to prevent others from receiving forgiveness
It only really struck me with force when I was actually preaching on Sunday. I guess it was because I was preaching specifically on this incident for the first time from Matthew’s Gospel, I’ve spoken on it many times from Luke’s Gospel but not from here. Matthew really brings out the hard hearted merciless ways… Continue reading When you want to prevent others from receiving forgiveness
Can we protect the vulnerable and open up society again?
One of the things that has been suggested during the pandemic has been that we should aim to protect the vulnerable whilst opening up society to everyone else. I have two concerns with this. The first is that this ends up sounding like we simply want to be free to go about our normal business,… Continue reading Can we protect the vulnerable and open up society again?
The risk of idolatry when it comes to death
I wrote here, that seeking to subdue COVID-19 did not amount to idolatry but was in fact a legitimate following of the Creation mandate. This attracted a lot of debate. Surprisingly, so far I’ve not had anyone interact with my exposition of Scripture. Rather, people have focused on seeking to argue that the Government are… Continue reading The risk of idolatry when it comes to death
Why attempting to control COVID is not an idolatrous attempt to conquer death
A narrative is emerging from some quarters of the church that measures to deal with the pandemic represent state and societal hubris, a humanistic confidence in our ability to defeat death. If this was the case, then we would be dealing with idolatry. Of course, as Christians we should not be surprised to see evidence… Continue reading Why attempting to control COVID is not an idolatrous attempt to conquer death
Truth must not be a casualty of our engagement in the debate about Coronavirus
I was taught many years ago that when debating someone that I should be able to present my opponents’ argument in a way that they would recognise and be able to own as their own point of view. Indeed, they should be able to say “You’ve put it better than I could myself.” From there,… Continue reading Truth must not be a casualty of our engagement in the debate about Coronavirus
The danger with playing the media game
Earlier this week, we were asked to sign a letter to the Government written by other church leaders. The letter expressed support for appropriate measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, expressed concern about the way some measures might be affecting the most needy and vulnerable, explained why churches play an essential role in our community… Continue reading The danger with playing the media game
What does it mean to “just focus on protecting the vulnerable”?
Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen a point of view gaining momentum in certain quarters which is that we should never have had a full national lockdown and that we should be lifting all restrictions now so that the young and healthy can be free to live their lives without interference. Instead we should… Continue reading What does it mean to “just focus on protecting the vulnerable”?
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