Last time we thought about how it feels like we’re in an abusive relationship with the government. So what should the government be like instead? Let’s take it back to first principles. Romans 13:1-5 is one of the few Bible passages which deal directly with the government. Let’s see which principles we can draw out.
Category: Christian
Anything I write about the Christian faith.
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Is our relationship with the government healthy?
The government have become such a part of our lives over the last few months, it’s almost like we’ve all entered into another relationship with them. But is that relationship healthy, or is it abusive? And how did we even get here?
The article I refer to from Psychology Today is here: 20 signs your partner is controlling.
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The Legalism of Lockdown
There’s a concept from Christianity called “legalism” which I think has become evident in our society’s response to covid. So what is legalism, and why is it a bad thing?
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We need a new reformation
I’ve been thinking for a long time now that we need a new reformation. The last year or so has convinced me that this is critically important for the health of our society. But I am convinced that God is at work.
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Is the Church of England institutionally racist?
Everyone has been talking about institutional racism recently – even the Church of England. A recent government report caused controversy by finding no evidence of widespread institutional racism in the UK. In this video I take a deeper look at the Church of England to see where problems might like.
I should point out there’s a huge amount more that I could (and maybe should) have said. For example, a few years ago, orthodox Anglican provinces came together to form GAFCON because they were unhappy with the direction of the Church of England (and many Western Anglican churches) on sexuality, as well as other ethical issues.
These days, Western liberal Anglican churches are in the minority compared to the majority of Anglican churches around the world who tend to be more firmly orthodox.
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Are vaccine passports the Mark of the Beast?
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve heard a few times people making the comparison between vaccine passports and the Mark of the Beast. Is it appropriate to draw that comparison? In this video I look at the mark of the beast from the book of Revelation and how it relates to what’s happening with covid.
I quoted from Ian Paul’s commentary on Revelation, which is very helpful if you want to study Revelation (which is not the easiest of books to understand!).
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Are dark forces behind current events?
“I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but…” I’ve heard this more than once over the last few months. It’s really hard to explain what is going on without it. The Bible has a lot to say which can help us explain about the dark forces going on behind the scenes.
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Why did we lock down?
In March 2020 the UK ditched its pandemic preparedness strategy and switched to lockdowns. Why? I suggest that, although there are many reasons, the roots go to a problem which has been around for a long time.
If you’d like to read the 2011 Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Strategy, you can see it here.
Dominion by Tom Holland is available on lots of places e.g. Waterstones.
My other website is Understand the Bible.
A few quotes from the 2011 Pandemic Preparedness Strategy
Just for fun, here are a few quotes from the plan which we were operating under up until February 2020.
Face masks:
Although there is a perception that the wearing of facemasks by the public in the community and household setting may be beneficial, there is in fact very little evidence of widespread benefit from their use in this setting. Facemasks must be worn correctly, changed frequently, removed properly, disposed of safely and used in combination with good respiratory, hand, and home hygiene behaviour in order for them to achieve the intended benefit. Research also shows that compliance with these recommended behaviours when wearing facemasks for prolonged periods reduces over time.
Border restrictions:
There are no plans to attempt to close borders in the event of an influenza pandemic.
Closing events:
For these reasons, the working presumption will be that Government will not impose any such restrictions. The emphasis will instead be on encouraging all those who have symptoms to follow the advice to stay at home and avoid spreading their illness. However, local organisers may decide to cancel or postpone events in a pandemic fearing economic loss through poor attendances, and the public themselves may decide not to mix in crowds, or use public transport if other options are available.
School closures:
The impact of closure of schools and similar settings on all sectors would have substantial economic and social consequences, and have a disproportionately large effect on health and social care because of the demographic profile of those employed in these sectors. Such a step would therefore only be taken in an influenza pandemic with a very high impact and so, although school closures cannot be ruled out, it should not be the primary focus of schools’ planning.
Communication:
All communication should be high quality and cost effective, using the most efficient and reliable ways of delivering information in a range of scenarios to a variety of audiences so to maximise understanding and encourage appropriate behaviour without causing panic or appearing disproportionate.
To be fair, this is all based on an influenza pandemic, which is not the same as a coronavirus pandemic. But I think there would be a lot of common ground there, and I see no reason why this strategy would not have worked for covid-19. But I think the key points are the ethical considerations rather than the blunt fact of what works and what doesn’t.
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Why did the church embrace lockdown?
One of the most striking things about the last 12 months is the way that churches have gone above and beyond what they have been required to do in lockdown restrictions. Why is it that churches have been so keen to proclaim the message of “hands, face, space”?
You could write a book about that (and one day someone probably will). But in this video I just focus on two reasons why I think the church has been so taken with lockdown.
As I mentioned before, this is a new foray into vlogging… if you’re into YouTube, pop on over and subscribe to my channel to get videos there.
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The religion of lockdown & climate change
Have you noticed that the way the government and media often talk about climate change and lockdowns is almost religious? Here I look at the similarities between Christianity, lockdowns, and climate change.
As I discussed in my previous post, this is a new foray into vlogging… if you’re into YouTube, pop on over and subscribe to my channel to get videos there.