Tag Archives: death

Death, sympathy and Distinguishing – Is Donald Trump equivalent to Bin Laden?

Have a watch of this video clip.  I wonder if you can spot the mistakes that Ash Sarker makes in her response. Sarkar’s argument is that she sympathises with those who have been celebrating Donald Trump’s illness and wishing for his death for three reasons. That we use black humour to cope with tragic situationsContinue reading “Death, sympathy and Distinguishing – Is Donald Trump equivalent to Bin Laden?”

On wishing politicians dead

On wishing someone else dead “We should rejoice that this dictator is dead” said the preacher, to audible gasps from the congregation.  “My daughter prayed that he would die at our family prayer time yesterday, and it has happened.”  He then went on to explain his reasoning. The dictator could either die to himself andContinue reading “On wishing politicians dead”

The risk of idolatry when it comes to death

I wrote here, that seeking to subdue COVID-19 did not amount to idolatry but was in fact a legitimate following of the Creation mandate.  This attracted a lot of debate. Surprisingly, so far I’ve not had anyone interact with my exposition of Scripture. Rather, people have focused on seeking to argue that the Government areContinue reading “The risk of idolatry when it comes to death”

Why attempting to control COVID is not an idolatrous attempt to conquer death

A narrative is emerging from some quarters of the church that measures to deal with the pandemic represent state and societal hubris, a humanistic confidence in our ability to defeat death. If this was the case, then we would be dealing with idolatry. Of course, as Christians we should not be surprised to see evidenceContinue reading “Why attempting to control COVID is not an idolatrous attempt to conquer death”

Peace (Matthew 8:23-33)

“I just wish things could get back to normal.” Have you heard other people saying that? Have you found yourself saying it too?  If I were to take you back to February and March, how did you feel then? Perhaps you were anxious but there was also the adrenalin of being in this together tooContinue reading “Peace (Matthew 8:23-33)”

The narrow gate

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy[a] that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few[1] We have been thinking about what it means to be partContinue reading “The narrow gate”

Adultery and the forbidden woman

There is nothing more devastating than adultery. The discovery that the person you trusted your life to was living a lie, the  fear, guilt and shame that it was in fact failure on your part, the destruction that comes as a dad or mum walks out refusing to heed the pitiful cry of their childrenContinue reading “Adultery and the forbidden woman”

Disinfectant for the Soul

So Donald Trump has suggested that perhaps if we try injecting disinfectant into people it will cure COVID-19. It’s one of those moments where his minders must have been thinking “Oh… no” and everyone else wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. A good part of me leans towards the latter. I remember saying toContinue reading “Disinfectant for the Soul”

The absence of mourning?

A few years ago, one of our young mums had sad news, her sister back in her home country had died. Due to her immigration circumstances, she could not return for the funeral. So, we offered the opportunity for a memorial service here.  It hopefully eased the pain but clearly was not the same asContinue reading “The absence of mourning?”