George Floyd, justice and why the optics do matter

I woke yesterday to the news that George Floyd’s killer, Derek Chauvin has been convicted. This is good news because it means justice for Floyd’s family, but it does not deal with the issue of racism.  In fact, it is concerning that some people are still trying to separate out the race issue here and… Continue reading George Floyd, justice and why the optics do matter

Is the UK institutionally racist? Responding to THAT report

The other week, the Government published a report looking at racism in the UK in the light of last year’s #BlackLivesMatter protests (Report of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities).  The publication was accompanied by headlines[1] to the affect that There was no evidence of deliberate institutional racism The UK was in fact a… Continue reading Is the UK institutionally racist? Responding to THAT report

What you don’t do is start a witch hunt

One of the standout claims from the Oprah Winfrey interview is the claim that a member of the royal household made racist comments about the potential skin tone of baby Archie.  The accusation is hard hitting in the context of current concerns about racism’s effect on our society and to be honest has that edge… Continue reading What you don’t do is start a witch hunt

White Fragility

The death of George Floyd, the outpouring of anger, the marches, people “taking the knee” and the apology videos seem an age away now.  Few people are talking about #BlackLivesMatter and a significant proportion of those who are, do so negatively as part of counter attacks against Marxist wokeness. Yet if we genuinely are concerned… Continue reading White Fragility

Racism, social justice, crime, sin and idolatry

This is a follow up article to my most recent article on #BlackLivesMatter and specifically to some comments, questions and interaction.  One notable comment was to the affect that Justice was being done in the George Floyd case because the policeman was standing trial Christians should stick to preaching the Gospel and not spend time… Continue reading Racism, social justice, crime, sin and idolatry

My country right or wrong?

“Patriotism is the last resort of a scoundrel” This was the classic first term subject for the University debating club to get their teeth into.  Of course, each year we would make the mistake of debating whether or not patriotism was a good or bad thing. In so doing, we missed the point that the… Continue reading My country right or wrong?

Racism is a sin of omission not just comission

One of the things that has been concerning for white church pastors like me in response to some of the discussion about racism has been the level of defensiveness. We want to say that we are not racist and so we get very defensive when people talk about systemic racism going on in our churches… Continue reading Racism is a sin of omission not just comission