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Christianity: the true humanism
Jon Thompson, January 2013 1 comment
Price: £0.99 (free online)
This paper argues that Christianity is the most coherent form of humanism. By contrast, secular humanism is historically and philosophically dependent upon Christianity's view of the human person. In a survey of the origins, emergence and development of secular humanism, this paper explores that historical connection before examining some of the implications which flow from a divorce of human values from Christian belief.
Keywords: Christianity & Religion, Worldviews & Culture
Redefining Marriage: the case for caution
Julian Rivers, October 2012 6 comments
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The Government's proposal to introduce same-sex marriage seems to rest on reasons of equality, stability and convenience. But on closer inspection, these are respectively incomplete, speculative and negligible. As currently defined, marriage secures the equal value of men and women. It also promotes the welfare of children. By contrast, the new definition of marriage will unavoidably call into question its exclusivity, its permanence and even its sexual nature. Such an unravelling of marriage is too high a price to pay for a proposal which fulfils no practical legal need.
Keywords: Sex & Families
The Bible and Politics
Nick Spencer, July 2012 No comments
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This paper contends that the Bible has been the single most influential document in British political history. It takes six major political ideas, each with contemporary relevance, and shows how the Bible has shaped our attitude to each, highlighting particular hermeneutical principles critical in explaining this influence. It is suggested that a continued, strong commitment to such political virtues may be difficult to sustain if Christianity is further eroded from British public life.
Keywords: Government & Foreign Affairs
Life without certainty: Margaret Atwood's ambiguous worlds
Rachel Thorpe, March 2012 1 comment
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Margaret Atwood is one of the most important and influential writers alive
today. Her fiction explores and reflects the current cultural move away from
metanarrative and towards fragmented notions of truth. She celebrates this
new intellectual trend, whilst also revealing the damage done by its more
confused, frustrated and narcissistic elements. This paper will argue that
Atwood's 'speculative fiction' in particular uncovers our deep human need
for stable knowledge, language and sense of self. Furthermore, her novels
point to society's insatiable longing for the God that it has turned away from,
showing all substitutes to be inadequate and dangerous.
Keywords: Christianity & Religion
Free sex: Who pays?
Guy Brandon, January 2012 6 comments
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Rather than addressing fundamental moral issues around sexual freedom, this paper starts with our culture’s premise by taking a utilitarian approach and exploring the financial impacts. This is in line with the common assumption that what truly matters for public policy can be quantified. It argues that significant costs of sexual freedom are imposed on society as a whole, rather than borne solely by the individuals most directly involved. This represents an enormous moral hazard and, as a result, unsustainable and unjust public expenditure. The paper then explores ways to address this, the most compelling of which is the Bible’s emphasis on rootedness and group responsibility.
Keywords: Sex & Families
Uniformity or mutuality? The new equality law in Christian perspective
Julian Rivers, September 2011 1 comment
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The Equality Act 2010 was the last major piece of legislation to be passed under the British ‘New Labour’ Government. This paper explains briefly what equality law does as well as two groups of related problem cases. It sets out a biblical foundation for equality as well as a distinctive conception characterised more by mutuality than uniformity. Against this background, the paper argues that we need to combat an equality culture which trivialises religious and ethical disagreement, to reform the law to protect the pluralism of civil society and accommodate individuals, and to rediscover the real issue of equality, which is material, relational and spiritual poverty.
Keywords: Crime & Justice, Government & Foreign Affairs
Outside the frame: Postmodern art
Anne Roberts, July 2011 3 comments
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This paper focuses on the scope and characteristics of recent conceptual and installation art, looking first at the early development of this genre, and then examining four major aspects: the exploration of visual language and appropriation of images; art based on autobiography; work which deals with social and environmental issues; and finally art which appropriates religious imagery. The paper concludes with reflections on finding a Christian voice in response.
Keywords: Worldviews & Culture
The Great Financial Crisis: A biblical diagnosis
Paul Mills, March 2011 13 comments
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The self-destructive tendency of a debt-based financial system is being retaught with a vengeance by the current financial crisis. To diagnose our current plight, this paper expounds the biblical teaching on debt, interest, and finance; explains what is really going on from a relational perspective; and draws applications for the Christian, the church, and society.
Keywords: Christianity & Religion, Finance & the Economy
Covert Power: Unmasking the world of witchcraft
Jonathan Burnside, December 2010 11 comments
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Is witchcraft real? What do witches think they are doing when they engage in witchcraft? Why does the Bible have so much to say about witchcraft, and how does it apply to the typical Western materialist who doesn’t believe in witchcraft anyway? Witchcraft is often present in society because it expresses something deep-seated in our broken humanity, namely, our desire to carve out a space where we can make things happen apart from God. The seriousness of witchcraft tends to be overlooked both in materialist societies, such as the UK, that pretend spiritual activity doesn’t exist and in societies that actively collude with supernatural powers, such as South Africa. The Bible presents a challenge to both sorts of worldview because it recognises there is a spiritual world – but one which is subject to Jesus Christ’s authority. Also available in French.
Keywords: Christianity & Religion
Eschatology and Politics: the last things we want to talk about?
Geoffrey Penn, September 2010 7 comments
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Christians fail to do justice to ‘politics’ when they seek to withdraw from the political arena or to use political power to dominate society. Similarly, Christians misunderstand ‘eschatology’ when they obsessively focus on debates about end-times chronology and when they effectively ignore it altogether. In each case, the purpose of biblical eschatology – critique, hope and a re-ordering of everyday priorities and relationships – and hence the political implications of God’s coming and present kingdom, are neglected. A broader understanding of politics and eschatology contends that everything we do is significant in the sight of God and in the light of the future.
Keywords: Christianity & Religion, Government & Foreign Affairs