Category: ethics

Refugees – Blessing or burden?

Thinking back to a conversation I had with two other Christians about the Home Office’s approach to processing asylum claims, I was struck again by how much our perception of the asylum system is shaped by our view of asylum seekers themselves. If I think that asylum seekers are very likely to be fake, just… Continue reading Refugees – Blessing or burden?

Death, sympathy and Distinguishing – Is Donald Trump equivalent to Bin Laden?

Have a watch of this video clip.  I wonder if you can spot the mistakes that Ash Sarker makes in her response. Sarkar’s argument is that she sympathises with those who have been celebrating Donald Trump’s illness and wishing for his death for three reasons. That we use black humour to cope with tragic situations… Continue reading Death, sympathy and Distinguishing – Is Donald Trump equivalent to Bin Laden?

We can’t have “British Values” if we want to be truly democratic, tolerant and pluralistic

What does it mean to be British? If we think about it carefully, there are only two things that make you British. You were either born here or you have been given British citizenship. Now, there may be some things that at a certain level unite us together.  There is a common language and a… Continue reading We can’t have “British Values” if we want to be truly democratic, tolerant and pluralistic

How we respond to asylum policies is likely to depend on our presuppositions

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

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