In the 2016 UK Referendum, whether to stay in the European Union, 17.4 million people voted "Leave". It was the largest vote in UK history. It seemed clear that Britain wanted to leave the EU and that this would happen. The tail wagging the dog However, we live in an era when the tail wags …
Category: Theology
Representative democracy
Brexit has demonstrated the importance of voting for the person whom you want to represent you in the House of Commons. The current situation of a minority Government bound by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 has highlighted the following issues: Direct and Representative democracy Should an MP honour the wishes of the country in a …
Biblical repentance
Roman Catholic doctrine continues to be seen in the presbyterian practice of repentance. Whereas presbyterians may preach biblical repentance, some presbyterian procedures involve Roman Catholic penance in practice. Whereas preaching may not be legalistic, practice can be. It reminds us of the Saviour's warning to do as authorised officialdom says, but not to do as …
Gather up the fragments that remain
Jesus said to His disciples: "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost."John 6:12 Jesus said this after feeding 5,000 people on the Galilean hillside. He was teaching His disciples about more than being tidy. In this same chapter Jesus taught "I am the Bread of Life" Jn 6:35,48,51 and gave extensive teaching …
Code exegesis
There are people who exegete Scripture as if it is code. I call it code exegesis and it is over three years since I intended to explain it more fully. As Scripture clearly has Old Testament types of Christ and symbols of various spiritual matters, this has developed into a form of allegorising that sees …
Eternity and Time
This evening the Highland Astronomical Society had its collective mind stretched as our former chairman Paul Jenkins spoke on The Passing of Time, not in the sense of its demise, although one needs to face up to the fact that Time will come to an end, but as the website announced: “As Earthlings we regard …
The political left and right
It is common to hear commentators refer to the left and right in politics and it is a sure put-down to call someone far right or far left. Such terms mean something to the politically-minded but because many people are not political it is more helpful to use other, more exact descriptions. People have different …
The argument for mature politicians
David Cameron said in today's BBC programme The Cameron Years that he never had enough time as Prime Minister to make decisions but plenty of time to think about them after his period as Prime Minister. “I do brood hugely, and the truth is, as Prime Minister you don’t have enough time, sometimes, to think, …
The father of lies
Biblical ignorance has found its way into the Supreme Court in London, U.K. Aidan O’Neill Q.C., barrister for Joanna Cherry MP, declared today to the Supreme Court justices that “the mother of parliaments has been shut down by the father of lies”. The BBC referred to "robust exchanges". If this is meant to be meaningful …
What constitutes a ‘good’ minister?
Not so long ago I discussed the subjective nature of a 'good' sermon. A good minister is not so subjective to assess as a sermon because the apostle Paul discusses it in his letters and he gives advice about a good minister 1Tim 4:6 and evangelist 2Tim 4:5 when writing to Timothy. Ministers and preachers …
