Jan 103 minReview: Neither Poverty Nor Riches, Part 1This morning I started reading the book Neither Poverty Nor Riches by the American Craig L Blomberg. I can’t tell you how refreshing I fo...
Jan 34 minTypes of undeserving poorThis is the third of three blog posts triggered by the book, The Myth of Undeserving Poor, which I recently finished reading. If you read...
Jan 34 minGrace to the undeserving poorIn my last blog post I discussed the myth of the undeserving poor, referencing a number of articles which prove the tenacity of the UK wo...
Dec 20, 20206 minThe Myth of the Undeserving PoorI recently finished reading The Myth of the Undeserving Poor: a Christian response to poverty in Britain today by Martin Charlesworth and...
Nov 22, 20203 minNot Just (or even?) For the PoorII recently picked up the Church of England’s (CofE) 1986 report on the welfare state, Not Just For the Poor. It’s only 138 pages, so it ...
Nov 15, 20205 minA challenge to rethink what the Old Testament laws mean for Christians todayRecently I have started listening to the back catalogue of podcasts from the Messiah Matters (previously, I think, the Rob and Caleb Show...
Nov 8, 20204 minCharity is not enoughOne argument that I sometimes hear from those who are perhaps more right-wing politically, including Christians, is that our response to ...
Nov 1, 20203 minOn All Saints' Day, where are the saints?My heart would have been full this week if my body weren’t so weary. My heart would be full because the outpouring of community spirit th...
Oct 25, 20203 minIs Philanthropy Christian?I have been thinking recently about what Christian lending and borrowing would look like if we tried to incorporate Biblical principles, ...
Jul 5, 20203 minSome thoughts on pro-active helpMy church has an evening meeting on Sundays, either a bible study and discussion or a prayer session. Every Sunday evening it makes me de...
Jun 3, 20203 minPrayer, repentance and common humanityWe prayed today for the aftermath of the death of George Floyd at the knee of a white police officer. We prayed for his family, for the u...
May 17, 20204 minSpiritual prayers in physical sufferingThis evening we had a Bible study on Ephesians 1:15-23 and the prayer it contains. Paul was writing to a church he had spent two years te...
Apr 13, 20203 minWhere is the church? The role of the church in coronavirusThere is a major issue around where I live that the churches lack credibility in the community. This is a longstanding issue stemming fro...
Apr 12, 20202 minPracticing what you preach. The role of the church in coronavirusBible study: Luke 5:17-26 The story of the paralysed man is familiar to many Christians. Four men bring their paralysed friend to Jesus f...
Apr 10, 20202 minAnything you can do, we don't need to? The role of the church in coronavirusI am terribly afraid that what the coronavirus crisis is teaching us is that politics is the answer to people’s problems. That what we ne...
Apr 29, 20194 minInterpreting disability in light of Scripture – part twoThis is the second of two posts based on an article by the BBC entitled “The Disabled Christians reinterpreting the Bible”. The gist of t...
Apr 29, 20194 minInterpreting disability in light of Scripture – part oneOn Sunday 28th April 2019 the BBC published an article about ‘Disabled Christians reinterpreting the Bible”. The gist of the article is t...
Mar 5, 20183 minThe meaning of rest: part twoA while ago I wrote about rest. I wasn’t sure how it could be fitted in with the necessarily busy lives that many, particularly those wit...
Jul 19, 20175 minSelf-help ChristianityRecently I had a conversation with a church leader. We had a good conversation ranging over several topics, some at a bit of a tangent. O...
Jul 2, 20173 minConservatives, Christianity and the Benefits SystemWe might be responsible for getting ourselves into a mess, but does that make us ‘responsible’ for getting ourselves out of it? I use quo...