Monthly Archive: June 2016

One of the most glorious truths is the real hope that God offers his people. It's a real, substantial hope of a future on a renewed earth, with renewed bodies, free of suffering, with God himself living among us.

But many Christians are brought up to believe that when we die we "go to heaven".

Sometimes, the language of "heaven" is a short-hand for this earth-bound future that God promises. But other times, people picture something far more ethereal, and the language is "heaven" is actually quite unhelpful - it sells us short.

Yesterday, the citizens of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.

In no particular order, here are a few thoughts on where we go from here.

1. Rebuilding Trust

I was appalled at the campaigns run by both the "Remain" and the "Leave" camps. Both were largely ad-hominem attacks on proponents of the opposing viewpoint, saying whatever would be likely to swing a vote rather than encouraging us to engage intelligently with the real issues.

A few weeks ago (Trinity Sunday as it happened - this was the lectionary gospel reading this year), I preached on John 16:12-15. That passage includes this sentence concerning the Spirit:

"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth."

Just bookmarking this page for future reference: Are Christian converts seeking asylum getting a raw deal?

In summary, if someone arrives in Britain, and they are claiming assylum because they are Muslim who has converted to Christianity, how would an immigration official go about testing whether that claim is genuine?

From BBC News

The Independent reported on Thursday, with a piece entitled: “Humanists threaten further legal action over ‘unlawful’ Religious Studies GCSE syllabus”. You can also read about it in the TES.