People have been saying Rob Bell is a heretic for a long time. Just Google his name and ‘heretic’ to find out what they’ve been saying. So this latest spat (here) over an upcoming book just fits into the historical context that surrounds the guy. He has consistently said things that aren’t quite in line with the dominant conservative Christian culture and because of it he’s taken a few hits by his many detractors....

On the 15^th December last year a new law was passed that gave people suffering with mental health issues important rights in regard to receiving treatment. The central plank of this law is that all those who receive hospital treatment will get a proper care plan tailored for their specific needs. It is a measure that has received widespread support among those who work in this sector – one leading mental health charity re...

More today on same sex couples and ‘Christian hotels’ and the judgement in Bristol County Court. In my last post I noted the social context in which the judge placed the case – a context that says that no longer can Christians expect the country’s laws to reflect their values and beliefs. It is because of this shift in society that we now have laws protecting the rights of people who were discriminated against in the ...

You probably thought they sold furniture whereas in actual fact they sell happiness. I’m talking about Ikea – a shop I’ve had occasion to visit recently. I enjoy shopping there – though not as much as my wife.

During our latest visit we picked up their 2011 catalogue, on the front cover of which is their catchy little phrase: ‘Live a happier life at home’.

It’s the culture we live in and I think the Old Testam...

Do Christians have the right to impose their moral views on non-Christians who do not share those views? This was the simple question a judge was asked to answer in a case heard in Bristol County Court a few weeks ago. The defendants, a Christian couple called Peter and Hazel Bull, were being sued by two men who have entered a civil partnership with each other, Martin Hall and Steven Preddy, because they had refused the men...

Being right is over rated – so said a wise man to me once as he counselled me in being a better husband. And of course he was correct – in many spheres of life the importance we attach on being ‘right’ can be an unhelpful attitude. But is the same true in matters theological?

Most of you today would undoubtedly say yes. But it was not that case back in the fifth and sixth centuries. Indeed being on the wrong side of ...

Let’s return to Sodom for a while and see what more we can learn about hell and eternal punishment from that story in Genesis 18. Abraham is very presumptive as he pleads for the city and couches his intercession in the belief that God will do what is right: ‘Shall not the judge of the whole earth deal justly?’ he asks, putting God on the spot somewhat.

Now it is obvious from the story – from Abraham’s pleading and fro...

Some statistics are shocking and disturbing. Briefly today I want to share one stat I found recently. Regular readers will have noticed a series of posts I did on the American Indians and their struggle with life under colonial power and how a disproportionate number of them deal with their pain through drink and drugs. This stat has a similar feel to it.

It comes from a report drawn by the Director of Public Health in nor...

We’re a Christian country, right? So we should have Christian laws. Where will we begin? We would obviously have to repeal civil partnerships and re-criminalise homosexuality. Any kind of research into genetics would need to be curtailed. And as for the creeping onset of euthanasia, that would surely be stopped in its tracks with the re-introduction of the death penalty. Look – it’s easy when you get going. Why not th...

Hell. How hot will it get? How loud will the screams be? Was Dante correct in suggesting there will be different levels there? Is the whole concept biblical anyway, or to put it another way is hell real? Tough questions and as yet I have few answers. But I have been doing some thinking and reading and being the clever sod that I am, I’ll get there. (Just in case you missed it, there was some irony in that last sentence.)

If fear is the reaction to Christian persecution we should most be wary of, then committing ourselves to God’s care is probably the most positive thing we can do. In this series I have looked at Christian persecution from a biblical point of view in some detail because there is so much talk about it within the conservative church in the UK. And although I can see how the church is losing influence and privilege in the West toda...

How important is certainty where theological belief is concerned? Can doubt and faith exist side by side? Is uncertainty a weakness that needs to be taught away or is it a healthy sign that faith is developing and maturing? I ask the question after reading the Evangelical Alliance’s report 21^st Century Evangelicals – a survey of over 17,000 people who consider themselves to be evangelical. It is a fascinating document –...

John Barry, who died yesterday, wrote the music that featured in films and television series that were the backdrop to my younger years. There are far too many to list but it’s worth mentioning films like From Russia with Love, The Man with the Golden Gun and many other Bond movies, also films like The Ipcress File and my all-time favourite, Zulu. Among his TV series are The Persuaders and The Corn is Green.

But the song...