Last week when talking with Ryan Burton King about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we discussed the response in Russia. Over the past few week’s we’ve seen a lot of examples of bravery from Russians willing to protest, most notably a young Russian TV editor who interrupted a news broadcast holding up a protest sign. At… Continue reading Anatomy of an abusive relationship
Tag: Russia
Having to walk to church would not be persecution!
I can’t believe that I’ve found myself writing that headline – but you’d be surprised at the number of times that the obvious needs spelling out. For context, the IEA have been setting out some recommendations about how to tackle the current energy crisis which is expected to get worse as a result of the… Continue reading Having to walk to church would not be persecution!
What can we do for Ukraine?
As we watch on the situation in Ukraine, no doubt like me you feel completely helpless. There seems to be nothing we can do. We can use hashtags to say that we #StandWithUkraine and we can change our profile pictures to incorporate the Ukrainian flag on our social media but what good does that do? … Continue reading What can we do for Ukraine?
#PrayForUkraine
If you’ve not caught up with the latest #FaithrootsPodcast, here are the links to watch on YouTube or listen via Anchor and Spotify. In the conversation we discuss: Should pastors take sides and speak on political issues? 2. To what extent is the current situation about Spiritual conflict? 3. What is God doing in the… Continue reading #PrayForUkraine
What if Putin really believes his own propaganda?
Over the past few days, western leaders have expressed concern that Vladimir Putin’s regime are making false claims about biological and chemical warfare labs in Ukraine which are allegedly being funded/supported by the US. The fear is that this is paving the way for Putin to launch his own chemical weapons attack possibly as a… Continue reading What if Putin really believes his own propaganda?
Why we don’t want a nuclear conflict
I’m rather concerned at the number of people who seem rather gung-ho at the prospect of military intervention by NATO countries into Ukraine. As I’ve mentioned before, it seems that those who are pushing the prospect seem either to assume that the gamble is worth it because either it would not lead to the use… Continue reading Why we don’t want a nuclear conflict
Don’t forget who the real enemy is
Back after 911, there was a particularly intense period when anyone of Asian or middle eastern appearance was at risk from backlash. Not only did people conflate the attack by Islamist extremists with an attack from all Muslims but also people who were not even Muslims but rather Sikhs and Hindus were conflated with the… Continue reading Don’t forget who the real enemy is
Signs of the Times (Mark 13) – Preaching in a crisis
Over the past couple of weeks as we’ve seen Russian tanks and troops role into Ukraine and the awful spectre of nuclear conflict has been threatened against the West, I’ve written a bit about how we handled apocalyptic literature and questions about the end times. I thought it might be helpful to share an example… Continue reading Signs of the Times (Mark 13) – Preaching in a crisis
Why predicting the future is a risky business
A friend of my was teasing me the other day that my predictions about Ukraine not turning out to be very good. He was referring to my argument here that if Russia’s aim was to strengthen its position on the international stage, become the primary regional player in Eastern Europe/Central Asia and push back western/NATO… Continue reading Why predicting the future is a risky business
The risk of not thinking through a confrontation
I’ve seen some interesting suggestions for how the West should respond to Putin’s aggression into Ukraine and threats against NATO allies and unaligned countries such as Sweden and Finland. The primary response so far has been through Economic sanctions against Putin’s regime and his oligarch financiers Providing arms to the Ukrainians continuing to defend their… Continue reading The risk of not thinking through a confrontation