The UK government has come in for a lot of criticism for its response to COVID-19. Some of it has been spot on, some of it less so and some of it I would suggest completely unfairly. The reality is that a Global pandemic hitting on the back of a decade of austerity was always… Continue reading In defence of the government’s Christmas COVID measures
Tag: Public Theology
We are literally broken by our hyperbole
Every year, my wife and I have a kind of traditional conversation. I ask her what she is working on and she tells me that she is preparing the “persuasive writing” class for her students where they will learn about a number of rhetorical devises. I then respond with a grumble about how that is… Continue reading We are literally broken by our hyperbole
It’s great that the Government are asking questions about faith and religion -but are they asking the right ones?
The Government have appointed Colin Bloom as an independent faith advisor. As part of his work, a survey has been commissioned to gather perspectives on faith, belief and religion in the UK today. It asks a whole range of questions including some about whether we think religion has a positive impact on society or not… Continue reading It’s great that the Government are asking questions about faith and religion -but are they asking the right ones?
Politician sacked … for being competent at her job!
So, another politicians has had to resign (i.e. they were told to) and apologise. This week, the shadow minister for faith, Janet Daly resigned and apologised. What was her misdemeanour? Had she been caught in an affair, had she been accused of bullying, had she broken COVID-19 rules even? Not, it was none of those… Continue reading Politician sacked … for being competent at her job!
The vaccine and abortion (3) Doing ethics from three perspectives
There are three general approaches to how we make ethical decisions. Sometimes in history they have functioned as competing schools of thought but some contemporary thinkers (particularly John Frame) suggest that in fact we need all three perspectives to make decisions. I’m going to outline them here – probably a little (a lot?) simplified for… Continue reading The vaccine and abortion (3) Doing ethics from three perspectives
Learning to See – Navigating the scientific experiments and studies during COVID-19
This is a guest post from a medical perspective from Mark Surg. In recent weeks and months we seen a flurry of research to do with the COVID-19 pandemic shared and commented on. It seems at times that people tend to choose the research that suits their own narrative. I thought it would be helpful… Continue reading Learning to See – Navigating the scientific experiments and studies during COVID-19
Resisting Tyranny – Two case studies
In response to my articles on obeying Government and civil disobedience, I saw this comment on twitter. So, I thought it might be worth working through the two case studies. First of all Daniel. I want you to notice a few things about Daniel’s account because it is in fact important to our thinking. First… Continue reading Resisting Tyranny – Two case studies
Can we just choose to disregard unreasonable laws?
One of the discussion points throughout COVID-19 is whether the Government guidance requires Christians to choose between human laws and God’s Law. The question is about whether or not we are being prevented from obeying the call to gather together and if so whether or not the command to love your neighbour trumps that Biblical… Continue reading Can we just choose to disregard unreasonable laws?
When should we consider civil disobedience?
I want to return to the question about Churches breaking lockdown rules and meeting for worship. You will notice that people like me (see also the position of FIEC National Director, John Stevens) has not been that Churches should never go against the law on matters of gathering for worship. That would be an untenable… Continue reading When should we consider civil disobedience?
Opening churches against lockdown rules
There have been further reports of churches defying the current lockdown regulations in England, including one in the Observer. Now, as I understand it, we have three possible options in terms of how we view the current regulations. We can accept that the regulations must be obeyed on the basis that this is the Law… Continue reading Opening churches against lockdown rules
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