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
Tag: Public Theology
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
Authoritarian?
Over the past few weeks, I’ve increasingly seen Christians complaining about Government measures relating to coronavirus as “authoritarian”. Now, I want to be clear at this stage that I’m not a big fan of the Boris Johnson administration, I didn’t vote for them and I, like many have serious reservations about the characters, policies and… Continue reading Authoritarian?
How did we end up in this testing mess?
The UK appear to be having significant problems getting an effective Test and Trace system up and running. Problems have included Our initial ability to provide mass testing Failure to get an effective tracking/contact system up and running The current problems with test availability leading to queues, delays and potential rationing. To me, this looks… Continue reading How did we end up in this testing mess?
The end of community? – The risk with The Rule of Six
The UK Government has introduced new rules this week in the fight against coronavirus COVID-19. For the foreseeable future, it will be illegal to socialise in groups larger than six or to “mingle” outside of such a group. Several people have observed that this seems to go beyond the concept of social distancing and is… Continue reading The end of community? – The risk with The Rule of Six
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