Thinking back to a conversation I had with two other Christians about the Home Office’s approach to processing asylum claims, I was struck again by how much our perception of the asylum system is shaped by our view of asylum seekers themselves. If I think that asylum seekers are very likely to be fake, just… Continue reading Refugees – Blessing or burden?
Tag: Public Theology
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 situations… Continue reading Death, sympathy and Distinguishing – Is Donald Trump equivalent to Bin Laden?
Praying for Donald Trump and Boris Johnson -when it is okay to qualify and prefix
In my article about praying for Donald Trump (and other politicians), as well as dealing with why we shouldn’t wish others dead, I also warned against the temptation to preface our prayers and best wishes with words along the lines of “although I disagree with..” Steve Kneale makes a similar point here and in an… Continue reading Praying for Donald Trump and Boris Johnson -when it is okay to qualify and prefix
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 and… Continue reading On wishing politicians dead
What is driving my views – political ideology or theology?
It became rather apparent during lockdown that once again, our country was being divided down fairly familiar lines. I’m not saying that there was an exact like for like, true in every case. However, generally speaking, it seemed possible to divide people into two camps. The first camp was those who were concerned about Global… Continue reading What is driving my views – political ideology or theology?
Matters of conscience and matters of wisdom
This is a quick response to my friend Steve’s article this morning. Today, Steve has commented on the issues with identifying something as a matter of conscience. Some people seem to treat a “matter of conscience” as a kind of subjective route into saying that they can hold to their own personal truth unchallenged. As… Continue reading Matters of conscience and matters of wisdom
Can we protect the vulnerable and open up society again?
One of the things that has been suggested during the pandemic has been that we should aim to protect the vulnerable whilst opening up society to everyone else. I have two concerns with this. The first is that this ends up sounding like we simply want to be free to go about our normal business,… Continue reading Can we protect the vulnerable and open up society again?
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 evidence… Continue reading Why attempting to control COVID is not an idolatrous attempt to conquer death
Truth must not be a casualty of our engagement in the debate about Coronavirus
I was taught many years ago that when debating someone that I should be able to present my opponents’ argument in a way that they would recognise and be able to own as their own point of view. Indeed, they should be able to say “You’ve put it better than I could myself.” From there,… Continue reading Truth must not be a casualty of our engagement in the debate about Coronavirus
The danger with playing the media game
Earlier this week, we were asked to sign a letter to the Government written by other church leaders. The letter expressed support for appropriate measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, expressed concern about the way some measures might be affecting the most needy and vulnerable, explained why churches play an essential role in our community… Continue reading The danger with playing the media game
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