Category: Politics
-
You Shall Know the Truth… And the Truth Shall Keep You Bound
Been quiet here with end of term busyness and stuff, but as we come to the first Sunday in… well, around 150 years, where there’s not been a News of the World to buy, I wanted to offer some reflections on the phone-hacking scandal. It’s pretty much dominated the UK news for weeks now, and…
-
Lament at Pentecost, the Benefits of Drink and the Scourge of Technology
Was invited to debate with Steve Chalke last night on the topic of ‘the Politics of Pentecost’ – which was designed to think about issues of multiculturalism and inclusion over the Pentecost festival. Steve gave a very interesting opening talk about this, which we then argued over afterwards, drawing in questions from the floor too.…
-
Date Rape, The Slut Walk, and the Problem of Evolution (Plus Dolphin Sex)
Tricky ground here, so I hope you’ll bear with me. I’ve never wanted to shy away from what I feel needs thinking about, and I feel that a few stories have come together recently that warrant some comment. Firstly, the ‘Slut Walks’ began after uproar broke out following a Canadian policeman’s advice to a personal…
-
Happy New Year you fools! | Dirt and Regeneration
Happy new year? Well, only if you’re from the Middle Ages, when the traditional time to celebrate new year was from around 25th March for a week. It’s thought that this might be the background to April Fool’s Day: when ‘modern’ types started celebrating new year according to the Julian calendar, they made fun of…
-
Emerging Faith Must Be Combined with an Emerging Politics
The political shake-up in the Middle East is going to have serious repercussions across the West too. A democratic system does not prevent those with extremist views coming to power by the will of the people, and there are many in the US and Israel who are concerned that releasing Mubarak’s stranglehold in Egypt will…