Let’s stop over-interpreting the Greek words for love
This is not a new insight but it is one that bears repeating because people keep regurgitating the same exegetical fallacy over and over again. It is usually applied to Jesus’ restoration of Peter but there are other such misuses. For the record, φιλέω is not a lesser form of love than ἀγαπάω.
The ‘patriotic’ thought police came for Corbyn. You are next
Peter Hitchens is on the money in the first piece in his column. I am almost certainly politically closer to Corbyn than Peter Hitchens (though we share a view of Corbyn’s Sinn Fein links, see here). Nonetheless, he rightly points out that several troubling trends have come together including the smearing of the Labour leader, an increase in ‘bans’ on extremists and other such totalitarian measures that do not augur well for any of us.
10 things you should know about Biblical Inerrancy
My Dad recently said to me, ‘a lot of Evangelicals claim to believe in inerrancy but few seem to know what it actually means’. I think he’s probably right. Thankfully, Sam Storms has done a helpful job of summing it up.
Preparing for the storm
‘One correlation of the decrease in religious belief among young people is that the cosy-acceptance of religion by the British state will begin to fade… Things are not getting any better and as the number of people with a negative view of religion increases, so the climate for churches and other religious organisations will grow more difficult. Here are a couple of predictions.’
Thrown to the wolves – what happens when you question the trans agenda
David Robertson offers some insight into an unpleasant week. He has been misquoted and misrepresented in the press and targeted by trans activists because, despite insisting on his love and care for trans people, he dares to question the philosophy of Queer Theory and its solution to helping those struggling with Gender Identity Disorder.
So Christianity is no longer the norm? Going underground will do it good
This was an interesting read. I’ve seen various Christians posting it on social media but most interestingly my brother, who lives in a closed country and works as a missionary, sent it to me too. I asked how he felt about it from his vantage point. He said, ‘if it’s truly underground, then, I’d say it’s right. When it’s too easy everyone wants in for “other reasons”, which strangely disappear when the environment becomes more oppressive’. I sense he is probably right.
From the archive: Reporting on Martin McGuinness’ death says something about modern sensibilities
‘A man who holds the right views but behaves atrociously is seen as more palatable than a man whose views do not chime with mainstream thought but who never engaged in, nor encouraged, violent activity and consistently denounced it throughout his career. As I have mentioned before (see here), it is a blindspot that is a major problem. It is a view that says I will justify unconscionable behaviour when it is in the name of a cause to which I am sympathetic. It is this same mindset that happily sees authoritarian tendencies in the government close down speech I don’t like, behaviour I find objectionable and all manner of things simply because it is a view or behaviour of which I happen to disapprove.’