Category: Opinion

Does the UK need The Gospel Coalition?

Affinity have announced in a press release plans to set up a UK version of The Gospel Coalition.   TGC describes itself as “ a fellowship of evangelical churches in the Reformed tradition deeply committed to renewing our faith in the gospel of Christ and to reforming our ministry practices to conform fully to the Scriptures. “… Continue reading Does the UK need The Gospel Coalition?

Gaza -six months after the 7th October

It’s now six months since that horrific morning when Hamas terrorists entered Israel and carried out a brutal atrocity, a violent spree of kidnap, rape, mutilation and murder.  Israel’’s response was to launch an extensive military operation into the Gaza strip with two stated aims, the return of the hostages and the complete and permanent… Continue reading Gaza -six months after the 7th October

Lessons from libraries

In Birmingham, 25 out of 35 public libraries are threatened with closure.  I was thinking about this recently whilst reading this article by Steve Kneale on what Christians can learn from the death of the High Street.  Steve mentions the challenge that libraries face too. I think there are some even more specific lessons to… Continue reading Lessons from libraries

Is the royal soap opera about certainty rather than drama?

In response to my article about speculation concerning the Royal Family and the Princess of Wales, one question that came back was whether I was sure that the motivation was to create drama and soap opera.   Isn’t it the case that people need certainty in life and without God, they desperately need something to fill… Continue reading Is the royal soap opera about certainty rather than drama?

The Princess of Wales, conspiracy theories and the need for drama

What would you do if someone let you know that they were about to have major surgery and would need a significant amount of time off to recuperate?  You see, this is exactly what has happened with the Princess of Wales.  There was an announcement that she was going to have planned but serious abdominal… Continue reading The Princess of Wales, conspiracy theories and the need for drama

Why the marches need to stop

It has been strongly argued that allowing demonstrations concerning Israel and Palestine to go ahead was important because this is about free speech and because the protests were essentially peaceful.  Whether or not that was the case in October  2024, and even then I thought it peculiar that the focus of the demonstrator’s anger seemed… Continue reading Why the marches need to stop

What can we really learn from Rochdale?

Last week, firebrand politician George Galloway was  elected  back to parliament in the Rochdale by-election.  The election campaign had been marred by controversy with the Labour Party withdrawing support for their own candidate after he made antisemitic comments. My friend Steve Kneale has written here about the result and lessons that the church might want… Continue reading What can we really learn from Rochdale?

Criminals, converts and asylum

Some high profile cases of asylum seekers who have processed Christian faith and then gone on to commit serious offences have been used by politicians to question the genuiness of claims and to accuse the Church of complicity. In the light if this Tim Dieppe of Christian concern has written and suggested that a high… Continue reading Criminals, converts and asylum

Did we miss a revival during COVID?

In a recent article, I picked up on the disappointment expressed by a number of people that they had longed and hoped for a revival to happen as a result of the COVID pandemic.  The hoped that the existential threat of plague would move people to trust in God leading to spiritual growth among believers,… Continue reading Did we miss a revival during COVID?