Tag: Public Theology

The A Level Results scandal – a moral issue

I have written already about some aspects of the A Level results fiasco.  So far I’ve written about the political fall out and the technical and administrative errors.  It is important when we consider things that we think through all the implications. However, central to the scandal is a moral issue. The moral issue is… Continue reading The A Level Results scandal – a moral issue

The A Level Results scandal – a political disaster

Whatever you may think of previous education secretaries, I suspect that even the most controversial (Ken Baker, Ken Clarke, David Blunkett or even Michael Gove) would not have made such a horrendous hash of exam grades during the pandemic. First of all, they would not have come out and said that exam grades based on… Continue reading The A Level Results scandal – a political disaster

Losing Sleep and a hill to die on

The other day I talked about the issues we choose to lose sleep about and not feeling compelled to lose sleep about everything that others are passionate about.  Well, I’ve just started reading a book by Gavin Ortlund called “Choosing which hill to die on.”  The imagery is about defending your position in battle and… Continue reading Losing Sleep and a hill to die on

Why I still think #EatOutToHelpOut is wrong … but what it might achieve

I have been arguing since it was announced that Rishi Sunak’s “Eat out to help out” scheme was a bad idea economically.  You see, the assumption seems to be that the measure will encourage people to start eating out in restaurants again. The problem is that the thing that has stopped people eating out over… Continue reading Why I still think #EatOutToHelpOut is wrong … but what it might achieve

Don’t lose sleep over it

Apparently I’m cold and unfair!  What has provoked this? The answer is that I choose not to lose sleep over the challenges that the private school sector face as a result of COVD-19.  The Economist has written an article explaining that schools have been hit financially and the ongoing crisis is likely to lead to… Continue reading Don’t lose sleep over it

We won’t beat COVID-19 if we don’t understand the problem

This is a fascinating report from the BBC on Coronavirus on my home city, Bradford.  I had already seen some reports of smaller towns and villages which are included within the metropolitan district complaining that they had been included in measures because the local authority did not want to make distinctions within its boundaries. Meanwhile… Continue reading We won’t beat COVID-19 if we don’t understand the problem

Fighting a pandemic, how have we done so far?

As life begins to return to normal, it is perhaps a good opportunity to look back on the past few months and reflect on how the UK has done so far in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.  I say “so far” because we are still not out of the woods yet. The virus is still… Continue reading Fighting a pandemic, how have we done so far?

When did lockdown really start (or “Is Matt Hancock re-writing history?”)

When did the lockdown really start? Does it really matter? Well, potentially yes. You see there’s been some heated discussion in the last week or two about whether or not the Government delayed entering lockdown and whether or not this cost lives? There seem to be two potential answers to this. The common answer is… Continue reading When did lockdown really start (or “Is Matt Hancock re-writing history?”)

So what was that really all about? (Further reflections on John MacArthur and defying the law)

In the light of John MacArthur’s decision to go against California state law on the Coronavirus, another prominent church leader in the States, Tom Buck posted this tweet. I don’t think we have ever really argued that everyone should risk their lives in cross cultural mission going to dangerous places. There has always been a… Continue reading So what was that really all about? (Further reflections on John MacArthur and defying the law)

Reopening and defying the law -why John McArthur has got this badly wrong

Grace Community Church, Sun Valley is a mega-church in California.  It’s pastor John MacArthur is prominent, particularly from the conservative end of the spectrum with an international teaching ministry. Last week, they decided to re-open their building for public worship in defiance of State rules during Coronavirus. Their argument was that they must obey God… Continue reading Reopening and defying the law -why John McArthur has got this badly wrong