Disqus - Latest Comments for alshaw

Re: Thankful for the UK government

alshaw — Sun, 26 Apr 2020 06:20:30 -0000

Thank you this Adrian. Just a few thoughts.

First, I agree that we need hope and faith more than ever during this challenging season. I do however think you may have partly confused two separate but related issues. One is the desire to nurture hope and faith; the other is to participate in the work of democracy, a privilege of all citizens.

It is especially important during a time of unique political challenge and the rapid expansion of state powers for active citizens to question, challenge and at times even oppose certain measures put forward by the government. The pursuit of the Common Good cannot only be achieved by quiescence; a more robust level of participation is needed, undergirded in the case of Christian believers, by prayer for those in authority.

Moving from the general to the specific, I am more than a little concerned by the method presented in this post of comparing country X with country Y as a means of illustrating the effectiveness of policies being implemented by country X.

I therefore found the statement that, “Whilst we in the UK have had many deaths, we have fewer per head of population than several of our neighbours” to be unhelpful. Such an approach can easily be used selectively and thus in a distorted manner. I notice for instance that there is no mention in the blog post of those nations whose rate of deaths per population is significantly lower than that of the UK. Taiwan, South Korea and New Zealand come immediately to mind. Closer to home, Austria, Greece and Germany are also all doing better in the awful “fatality league tables” than the UK. At a factual level, the total number of deaths in the UK on Saturday 25 April was a grim 813.

In raising these concerns, I am not disagreeing with what I understand to be your core point - that we have much to be thankful for. Let us therefore express thanks, without needing to conflate that act with support for a particular party of government, nor with an attempt by some to silence the legitimate role of the media in a participatory democracy.

Re: DAVIS-MARKS: Evil is banal

alshaw — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 11:04:46 -0000

Do Americans really want people's suitability for high public office defined not only by their abilities but also their moral perfection when they were 21?
It's a genuine question.

Re: Gosnell 2: The Exoneration

alshaw — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 03:55:53 -0000

I totally agree that the recent New York legislation is horrendous and allows for true crimes against humanity to become normalised.
I do however think that analysing the origin of such laws in terms of Socialism / Communism is a mistake and risks alienating those of us on the political left who are also strongly pro-life along with others who could be persuaded of the pro-life case.
The reality is that the United States has never had a meaningful Communist movement. Even the use of the term Socialist in America in recent years describes a very mild form of social democracy which is mainstream in many European democracies.
Comparing such developments as the recent New York legislation to the USSR risks making the pro-life cause appear irrational, in my opinion. Better to try and build a broad consensus across party-political divides around this issue than to unintentionally drive away possible colleagues simply because they would never vote Republican.
Here in the UK, pro-life views are not party-political and MPs have a free vote whenever such issues are brought before Parliament.

Re: The Surprise Wedding of the Lamb

alshaw — Thu, 03 May 2018 19:08:41 -0000

The Lord Jesus will of course not marry any individual men or women. He will marry one woman - his church. Thinking of ourselves as belonging to each other and as "one" in Christ is a liberating alternative to the radical individualism of western Christianity.

Re: Why Voting for Donald Trump Is a Morally Good Choice

alshaw — Sun, 31 Jul 2016 18:18:43 -0000

The article is too long for a point-by-point refutation here, but I will make one general response. This is without a doubt the most appalling piece of writing I have ever read by Dr Grudem, an author and Christian leader who I have greatly benefited from over the years. I am deeply troubled by his line of reasoning, as well as by numerous specific elements within the article.

Re: Immigration: Ten observations

alshaw — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 03:59:27 -0000

I agree with this.

My number 11 would be, engage in active and sustained political pressure to prohibit our western governments from engaging in any further military interventions in the Middle East/North Africa. These interventions have broken several nation states already, created a political vacuum for ISIS, and directly created the conditions which have lead to the exodus of people from the region.

Re: My Muslim Problem

alshaw — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 06:10:27 -0000

Thank you so much for sharing this story. It's like a breath of fresh air.

Re: David Cameron's historic opportunity to reform the NHS

alshaw — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 08:17:56 -0000

Amazing.

Not a word in this opinion piece about the government's disastrous reforms of the NHS under former Health Secretary Andrew Lansley - reforms which were described this time last year by senior Conservative ministers as the government's "worst mistake" and as "unintelligible gobbledygook." (Ian Johnson, The Independent 13/10/15).

Describing the current financial state of the NHS without reference to this costly reform is like describing the sinking of the Titanic without referring to icebergs.

Re: #EverydaySexualSegregation

alshaw — Sat, 02 May 2015 20:31:53 -0000

I'm not claiming that the seating arrangements were necessarily to everyone's liking. I don't know. I'm just doubting that the practice broke any laws, and that being the case, I would think that those organising the meeting and paying for the room hire should be free to arrange the chairs as they see fit, within the law.

Re: #EverydaySexualSegregation

alshaw — Sat, 02 May 2015 20:27:51 -0000

Quite right. Nor an individual on a blog.
The law has to be interpreted in the courts. I'm happy to be corrected, but I am not aware of any legal ruling which has stated that parallel seating arrangements break current anti-discrimination laws.

Re: #EverydaySexualSegregation

alshaw — Sat, 02 May 2015 20:20:21 -0000

Ah, that one. Well tastes vary considerably in a pluralistic society.

Re: #EverydaySexualSegregation

alshaw — Sat, 02 May 2015 20:19:41 -0000

Are you sure? A report on the subject by Universities UK, whose member organisations face this issue all the time concluded that, "Assuming the side-by-side segregated seating arrangement is adopted, there does not appear to be any discrimination on gender grounds merely by imposing segregated seating. Both men and women are being treated equally, as they are both being segregated in the same way."

Re: #EverydaySexualSegregation

alshaw — Sat, 02 May 2015 20:15:32 -0000

What does that mean?

Re: #EverydaySexualSegregation

alshaw — Sat, 02 May 2015 19:51:48 -0000

It's not against the law for men and women to sit separately is it?

Re: Green Party: Christians welcome, but only if you ignore your faith

alshaw — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 06:56:05 -0000

Perhaps Christians should also be aware when voting in May which party it was that introduced the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill in 2013. Caveat Suffragator.

Re: Why Cops Are Killing Unarmed People: Understanding The Big Picture

alshaw — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 08:50:30 -0000

I agree with this analysis. One additional more recent factor related to the War on Terror has added an extra layer to the picture. Successive Presidents since 9/11 have systematically broken the law in pursuit of "counter-terrorism". Phone tapping, illegal surveillance, extraordinary renditions, Guantanamo Bay, torture, invasions, drone wars and targeted assassinations (including of American citizens) have all contributed to a culture of lawlessness which, in my opinion, has filtered down to rank and file law enforcement officers. The law has come to be seen not as a safeguard but a restriction in some quarters.

Re: Post-Driscollusionment | Blog | Think Theology

alshaw — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 04:09:15 -0000

A specific question: Does the multi-site model of necessity produce 2 (a) and 2(d), however much we may protest about them?

Re: The Sunday meeting

alshaw — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 04:07:03 -0000

It's such a vital subject! So glad you're addressing it. My own conviction after having lead and planted some churches over the years is that, in the new testament, local churches met essentially for fellowship and mutual edification in Christ.

Re:

alshaw — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 16:02:38 -0000

There are lots of Biblically valid answers to the question, "why church?" I just wondered why evangelism is the one that is cited as the determining factor when thinking about "the right size of church."

Re:

alshaw — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 04:13:13 -0000

Why do you think that evangelizing is the determining factor?

Re: Women, Sermons and Sydney Anglicans | Blog | Think Theology

alshaw — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 06:22:45 -0000

Thank you.

Do you regard it as desirable (necessary even?) for a local church to receive Teaching every time it gathers for its weekly meeting?

Re: Women, Sermons and Sydney Anglicans | Blog | Think Theology

alshaw — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 04:49:15 -0000

I've long believed in such a distinction. However, it raises a number of questions. One practical one is, What is your assessment of the average Sunday sermon in the kind of churches you are most familiar with? In practice (rather than in theory) is it a teaching or a Teaching, in your opinion?

Re:

alshaw — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 04:04:32 -0000

So glad you are addressing this issue, which I agree is a "live" one at the moment. Just one observation. While I agree that much of the "tension" described does indeed centre on the issue of what happens when the church gathers for corporate worship, I wonder whether we are going far enough in our analysis. The idea that "the church gathers for worship" is such a widely-held view among us, that it is rarely questioned. But is it correct? Is that in fact the reason that the early church gathered?

Re:

alshaw — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 18:41:56 -0000

Is Phil Moore's paper available publicly?

Re: Facebook's 50 gender options come to UK users

alshaw — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 19:08:09 -0000

"Gender identities are complex and for many people, describing themselves as just a man or just a woman has always been inadequate." Really? Many?