It looks unlikely at the moment that Keir Starmer’s proposal to put British troops into Ukraine to facilitate a Trump/Putin peace deal. However, it is still a possibility. The other day I threw in the question about whether or not it would be right to refuse to serve in such a context. It is worth… Continue reading Should Christians serve in a Ukraine “peacekeeping force” to support the Trump/Putin plan
Posts
Means of Grace
You may have picked up on the peculiar debate within the Church of England over gluten free bread and non-alcoholic wine over the past few days. I’ve written a couple of articles linked to the topic. Stephen Kneale has also written, picking up helpfully on the missional aspect to our decisions about communion. We need… Continue reading Means of Grace
Where Starmer has got his response to Trump and Putin badly wrong on Ukraine
Yesterday I started to share my thoughts about Ukraine and President Trump’s actions. I also mentioned how Keir Starmer had responded. As a British citizen, I am more concerned about what our Prime Minister is doing and so I wanted to flesh that out more. There has been one small positive. President Trump has been… Continue reading Where Starmer has got his response to Trump and Putin badly wrong on Ukraine
What do we value more, the theologian or the pastor? …and is it possible to be a great pastor but a poor theologian
There have been a few recent articles examining the relationship between two significant puritan figures, John Owen and Richard Baxter. John Steven’s recently commented on Facebook about their falling out and described them as “puritan greats”. This led to one person challenging whether or not we could describe Baxter as “a great”, his assessment was… Continue reading What do we value more, the theologian or the pastor? …and is it possible to be a great pastor but a poor theologian
Can anyone tell me now where we were wrong about Trump (reflections on what is now happening in Ukraine)
Both in 2016 and again in 2024, some Evangelical Christians, including me, expressed serious concerns both about the election of President Trump and the support he was receiving from Evangelical thought leaders. Whilst such concerns are strongly shared by many, there has also been a dismissiveness from others. For example, Evangelicals Now published two articles,… Continue reading Can anyone tell me now where we were wrong about Trump (reflections on what is now happening in Ukraine)
External or internal temptation … and does it really matter?
One of the issues raised in the concupiscence debate is about the extent to which we can distinguish between external and internal temptation. In fact, in some respects the whole debate is about what we distinguish. So, first of all, there is the question about whether we need to distinguish temptation, desire and sin from… Continue reading External or internal temptation … and does it really matter?
Temptation, desire and self-deception
In recent social media discussion relating to my article on Calvin’s view of sin, temptation and desire, one person suggested that the question posed when John Stevens shared my article should be modified from: ““Are we sinning when we experience sinful desires that are unwanted, unsought and that we resist/rejected.“ To: “are we sinning when… Continue reading Temptation, desire and self-deception
Mustard
The image of someone with only a small amount of faith, comparable to the size of a tiny seed being able accomplish great things whether the casting of a tree as in Luke 17, mountain (Mark 11:22) or both (Matthew 17:20), is an evocative one. It is central to Jesus’ teaching about faith in Luke… Continue reading Mustard
The root of the “Shepherds for sale” myth
This is the last in our Faithroots Podcast series “Are the Shepherds for sale?”
How do you know? Second edition
I’ve been recently updating the first book in out Faithroots Theology series: How do you know? The second edition includes new chapters covering preaching, prophecy and pastoral care. You can download the e-book for free here: All materials and resources are made available for free here on Faithroot.com. This is to enable those who may… Continue reading How do you know? Second edition
Faithroots 