Recently I drew attention to Goodbye meaning 'God be with you'. This is one in a series of evangelistic one-liners that Christians should practice. Christians need to learn how to use one-liners. The role of one-liners There was a time when people read books. As advertising became more prominent, leaflets were used, not so much …
Why we need Christian voices in public life
A Christian voice is a Christian articulating a Christian perspective on issues. It is not enough to have a Christian perspective, but one needs to articulate it. The Scottish National Party measures everything in terms of Scotland, the feminists in terms of gender, the homosexuals in terms of sexuality, the Greens in terms of the …
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When did BBC Question Time last change your mind?
Does the BBC flagship programme Question Time change anyone's mind? The standard of debate on BBC Question Time is poor and getting worse. We were told years ago that we needed female politicians who would bring civilised debate to male-dominated politics. I never believed it and I have seen no evidence that it has done …
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Sport is for all – except active Christians
In Australia, the boss of New South Wales Rugby Union said that "we must ... ensure that our game remains a game for all, no matter people's background or beliefs" – inexplicably while explaining why an overt Christian was sacked for expressing Christian beliefs. It seems that Christian beliefs don't count. The Eurovision Song Contest …
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Fear of the Far Right
BBC The Nine carried a report tonight on the rise of the ‘far right’ in Europe and their entry into the coalition Government of Estonia. It was diagnosed as resentment by those who have been left behind and who wanted someone to speak up for them. If the result of elections is to be feared, …
Bullying report uses subjective definitions
The Report into Cultural Issues related to allegations of Bullying and Harassment in NHS Highland has been published and confirms that the whistleblowers have publicised legitimate concerns about bullying in NHS Highland. The Scottish Secretary for Health Jeane Freeman MSP apologised to those affected and said that the other health boards should learn lessons from …
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Picasso politics
The fragmented Cubism of Pablo Picasso's pictures is a parable of the fragmented politics in the UK and possibly western politics in general. Russia's Putin and China's Xi are watching western politics fall apart. Russia is flexing its muscles militarily and China economically. The west has lost the necessary leadership because of its fragmented morality …
What constitutes a ‘good’ sermon?
The answer to this question is subjective, although it ought to be objective. The difficulty in making it objective is that everyone has a different idea of 'good'. The preacher will have a different assessment from his hearers, and the hearers will differ according to their readiness to receive instruction from the preacher. Even Jesus …
Living in fear in the UK
Many people in the UK are living in fear – workers are afraid of losing their job, politicians are afraid saying the wrong thing, top footballers are in fear of racial abuse, and Jews are in fear of antisemitism. Even children are in fear of being abused on social media. Parents fear social workers removing …
Parliamentary failure
Brexit has exposed the failure of Parliamentary democracy. Does sovereignty reside in the people, the Parliament or the sovereign? Neither. Whatever sovereignty Parliament has, it was handed over to the European Union, or at least partially so because the European Parliament's representative in the Brexit negotiations Guy Verhofstat wants even more. Another aspect of parliamentary …
Hate crime is selective secular morality
Hate is not a crime – it is a sin – a sin of thought, which may manifest itself in speech and behaviour. Christian societies do not criminalise hate but teach and encourage self-policing by naming and shaming sin. Secularism has no such ability so it calls in the help of criminal sanctions to force …
Who will hold the No Deal option?
Following Theresa May's second failure to secure her negotiated Withdrawal Agreement through the House of Commons, by another massive vote, the question arises who will hold the No Deal option, feared both by a majority in the House of Commons and by the European Union. In spite of Theresa May asserting initially that No Deal …
