I wonder if you’ve been asked that question. “Why did Mary have to be a virgin?” I wonder how you would answer it? The liberal and sceptical answer is that he didn’t and he wasn’t. There was no literal virgin birth. The argument is that Jesus was just an ordinary child born out of wedlock,… Continue reading Why did Jesus have to be born of a virgin?
Posts
Why we should focus on NHS surge capacity not new restrictions
When we became alert to the new Omicron variant, I argued that our immediate focus should not be on attempting to impose new restrictions. This was not because I didn’t think that the new variant definitely wouldn’t be a significant problem for us. At that time, we had little data to go on at all.… Continue reading Why we should focus on NHS surge capacity not new restrictions
In the bleak midwinter
What does it mean to “give my heart”?
Did Jesus come to give us a holiday?
I saw this message the other day. It’s typical of the type of witty one liner that we Christians think makes a fantastic point, putting a bullet in licentious secularism and making the case for the Gospel. However, I fear that it has a different affect. A lot of people will see this as an… Continue reading Did Jesus come to give us a holiday?
Is fear a sin?
Sometimes we say that we should only fear God and that we shouldn’t fear other people. I have often talked about how the things we fear are the things that become our idols. Jesus tells us: “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy… Continue reading Is fear a sin?
Omicron -scenarios and planning for worst case/best case
I wanted to try and visualise the challenge facing decision makers over the next few days/weeks as the Government attempts to decide what to do about the Omicron variant if anything. I thought the best way to do it might be to give you a simplified model. This isn’t as high powered as the types… Continue reading Omicron -scenarios and planning for worst case/best case
Grace for COVID weary leaders
Over the past 6 or 7 months I’ve been sharing regular posts to try and help church leaders think through the risk management implications of the return to in person church and what we hoped would be a gradual move to normality in the United Kingdom. I wanted to say a little bit more in… Continue reading Grace for COVID weary leaders
Cradled in a manger meanly
For those who have winter but no Christmas!
Just in from Nineveh …
Reading this article by Fraser Nelson about his conversation with a SAGE advisor and seeing responses like the one below reminded me of a recent discovery. Archaeologists in Nineveh came across a stone tablet reporting events following Jonah’s visit to the City. The text says: One sceptical wise man went out of the city to… Continue reading Just in from Nineveh …
COVID update -Omicron optimist or pessimist?
I’ve been following the cases in South Africa and the headlines are that it does look like cases may have at least begun to peak there, although there is always the risk of a false dawn. Before we get too excited, it is worth remembering two things. First that South Africa may not offer a… Continue reading COVID update -Omicron optimist or pessimist?
