Russell Brand has reportedly been baptising people in a penguin enclosure. In one case at least, the person had only professed faith that day. Objections have been two-fold. First there are concerns about whether or not Brand should be baptising given that he is currently waiting for court proceedings to be heard about serious criminal… Continue reading Should Russell Brand be baptising people?
Posts
What about marriage and eternity?
When Jesus responds to the Sadducees conundrum and the Levirate marriage, he insists that in “the age to come”, there is no more giving and receiving in marriage (Luke 20:27-40). This may leave us with a few pastoral questions and implications. First of all, there was the immediate pastoral implication for people in that context. … Continue reading What about marriage and eternity?
Immigrants and asylum seekers are neighbours to be loved and welcomed not invaders to fear
I recently observed to a friend that when it comes to antisemitism we seem to find ourselves compelled to defend and reason rather than simply call out the racism for what it is. However, I’ve realised that actually that isn’t so unique to antisemitism within Evsngelical Christian circles. Rather, the same pressures are there as… Continue reading Immigrants and asylum seekers are neighbours to be loved and welcomed not invaders to fear
Christian Nationalism -origins of the term
Where and when was the term Christian Nationalism first coined? Well, some of the ideas, underpinning theology and ideology seem to have been around for a long time with or without the term. Indeed, it is worth observing that there are both people who are happy to overtly identify as Christian Nationalists, there are others… Continue reading Christian Nationalism -origins of the term
Is the Quran antisemitic? Evaluating Tim Dieppe’s (Christian Concern) argument
Tim Dieppe of Christian Concern argues that Islam is inherently antisemitic because the Quran is. He sets out his argument in a series of articles for Christian Concern. In this article, I’m going to focus specifically on his article that claims the Quran is antisemitic.[1] He first cites Surah Q2:61 “And [recall] when you said,… Continue reading Is the Quran antisemitic? Evaluating Tim Dieppe’s (Christian Concern) argument
Is it an answer to prayer that Donald Trump says he will sue the BBC?
A few people have responded to Donald Trump’s announcement that he will sue the BBC for up to £5 billion as a wonderful answer to prayer. I want to suggest that it isn’t and here is why. First of all, let me emphasise that I have consistently argued that the BBC is in the wrong,… Continue reading Is it an answer to prayer that Donald Trump says he will sue the BBC?
Christian Nationalism and its deeply grievous implications for church
The late Philip Hacking once said that he was an Evangelical Anglican with the emphasis on the Adjective. In other words, the important bit of that was that he was first and foremost an Evangelical and secondly an Anglican, that’s where his loyalties lay. I do wish that many Evangelical Anglicans now would get that… Continue reading Christian Nationalism and its deeply grievous implications for church
What kind of story?
This video is part of my “Big Story” series. I hope you get to watch all of the series but I thought I’d share this specific one which helps us think about the type of story that the Bible tells. Is it comedy or is it tragedy?
What exactly is Christian Nationalism?
One of the challenges with attempts at conversation and debate with Christian Nationalists is that in my experience, it doesn’t tend to follow the conventions of traditional debate, Instead of the usual back and forth that you might expect where one person sets out a proposition and another challenges it with questions before offering a… Continue reading What exactly is Christian Nationalism?
What does it mean to be Right wing? Part 1: A personal story
I thought there might be benefit in fleshing out a bit more on my other article today. You see, since I wrote it, a little while back, I’ve seen lots of commentary suggesting that an understanding of what it means to be right wing as opposed to far right might help. I also thought that a… Continue reading What does it mean to be Right wing? Part 1: A personal story