Budget ‘24 - A Relational Alternative
The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's lacklustre 2024 Budget highlighted the drought of ideas from the UK's political class, hemmed in by high debt and stagnant growth. This blog outlines a radical relational alternative that promotes marriage, wealth dispersal, and poverty alleviation. Proposals include incentivising marriage and elderly care within the family, spreading legacies, and curbing debt reliance.
‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’
Recent archaeological and natural discoveries often align with biblical teachings. Lately, medical research highlights health benefits of Christian practices like kindness and generosity, improving mood, reducing pain, and enhancing immunity. Over 23 years, generous individuals exhibited longer life expectancy. This complements Jesus' teaching, affirming that giving brings blessings, even in physical health.
Israel and Gaza
In the aftermath of the shocking Hamas attacks on Israelis, Rvd Dr Ian Stackhouse emphasizes the setback to the peace process and the absence of a viable peace initiative. He advocates for the church's role in challenging Christian Zionism theologically, denouncing extremism, and promoting forgiveness and reconciliation at local levels. The article highlights grassroots efforts for peace, such as Musalaha, and stresses the potential impact of sincere and continuous prayer in the midst of the conflict.
Cashing Out? - Biblical Thoughts on the Future of Money
In a recent Cambridge Paper, Paul Mills delves into the transformative landscape of monetary affairs marked by the resurgence of inflation and rapid interest rate hikes in 2022. As traditional banks faced historic failures, digital payment systems evolved, prompting a global push for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). The paper explores these shifts, emphasizing the need for Christians to engage in the debate, drawing on biblical wisdom to navigate the future of money, privacy, and state influence. The author critiques the inflationary nature of the current debt-based bank-money system and advocates for alternatives like non-inflationary cryptocurrencies or commodity-backed stablecoins, aligning with biblical principles of decentralization.
Freedom of Speech: its importance and necessary constraints
This article explores the delicate balance between freedom of speech and its limitations, emphasizing the critical role it plays in maintaining a free society. It addresses recent cases where speech rights collided with societal norms, raising questions about the evolving attitudes towards free expression. The author discusses the threat to free speech from those advocating for justice and explores the influence of both governmental and corporate control on speech. The article also touches on demographic changes and the challenges posed by religious speech, urging a nuanced approach to protect individual liberties while avoiding harm or intimidation.
Help with How to 'Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem’
On October 7th, the author found himself in Jerusalem, facing unexpected danger as sirens wailed, forcing everyone into a bunker. Amid the chaos, our prayers were lost in the turmoil. We simply yearned for peace. This experience kept reshaping his perspective on Jerusalem's significance and led him to explore the conflict through a biblical lens.
Demographic Decline: The Real Population Crisis
The world faces a population crisis, but it's not the overpopulation feared for decades. Instead, many countries are experiencing a dangerous demographic decline, with birth rates plummeting below replacement levels. This aging population has profound economic and social implications, including strained resources, public debt, and increased loneliness. Conservative and progressive approaches to boost birth rates have had limited success, as cultural factors also play a significant role. Cultivating pro-family cultures and supportive communities may hold the key to reversing this decline, as seen in Israel's success. It's a challenge that requires a bottom-up approach and a shift in cultural values.
Why I Seldom Shop on a Sunday
From a theological perspective, the essence of God, a divine community, underscores the importance of relationships. This notion extends to the rest of humanity, where time, akin to currency, fuels relationships. Sundays, significant in the Lord's eyes, grant time for both worship and familial bonds. The absence of work on this day ensures that families can unite, fortifying the fabric of society. Shopping on Sundays, unwittingly, may undermine these foundations, making it vital for individuals to take a stand, emphasizing relationships over materialism. If all Christians unite on this issue, they can shape legislation to protect this sacred day.
AI, humanity and Christian ministry
The proliferation of AI dominates our daily news cycle, from groundbreaking achievements to dystopian warnings. In early 2023, ChatGPT gained immense popularity, amassing 100 million users in two months. ChatGPT-powered chatbots, trained with Christian content, now answer questions about Christianity, the Bible, and even conduct church services. This tech trend unintentionally raises profound questions about creating a digital priesthood and replacing personal interactions with unaccountable AI. The article explores the limitations of AI in replicating human capabilities, its impact on truth and relationships, and its consequences for Christian ministry, emphasizing the need for careful engagement with this technology.
Debunking the De-bankers
The article delves into the impact of "de-banking," triggered by recent events like Nigel Farage's case. It highlights concerns of banking services being withheld based on non-conformity with bank values. This issue, pertinent to Christian groups, is extending to politicians and activities not aligned with bank politics. While businesses have the right to choose clients, essential services like banking demand fairness. Banks, by potentially discriminating against beliefs, conflict with legal and taxpayer-based foundations. In light of this case, Christians are warned of transaction control, necessitating access to unbiased banking.
The Church After COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic deeply impacted global faith communities, disrupting gatherings and connections. Some defied regulations in the hope of solace. Roger Abbot's "Pastoral Care for the Common Good" highlights a different perspective. The article urges unity in exploring faith-science responses, encouraging pastoral care's universal importance.
Extended Family: Family Matters More Than Ever
God cares about families - discover a thought-provoking publication, Reactivating the Extended Family, offering timeless principles rooted in a biblical perspective. Explore its insights on nurturing family ties and fostering meaningful connections for a balanced and fulfilling way of life in a changing society.
Equity-share housing finance – a biblically-based fix for the crisis of housing affordability?
As we face a housing crisis, there’s hope in the scriptures that can guide us during these times. Paul Mills suggests in this article using biblical wisdom to address these issues, proposing an equity-share or "rent-to-buy" contract. This alternative to debt-based financing promotes shared ownership, flexibility, and responsible ownership. It also offers investment opportunities for long-term savers. However, implementing this contract faces challenges due to current practices and regulatory barriers.
How to Build Long-Term Peace Between Russia and Ukraine
Peacebuilding aims to sow seeds for peace that includes all people and communities within a just and workable framework for the future – unique to each conflict situation – by finding common ground and then setting clearly defined and realistic goals. These goals need to be determined after careful consideration of all the relevant aspects of the situation being addressed.
The Keeping of Every Sunday as Special
Weekends are a cherished time to celebrate with loved ones. However, it's disheartening to see friends working during these precious days, often at regular rates. Reflecting on the "Keep Sunday Special" campaign, I wonder what weekends truly mean. In Germany, Sundays hold immense value with closed shops and other restrictions. It's time to recognize the extraordinary nature of weekends and embrace their restorative power. Let's reclaim their essence, making every moment count for relaxation, connection, and spiritual practice.
It starts with a hug
The author, a new immigrant in England, discusses the differences in greetings between South America and Europe. He proposes a happiness formula of eight hugs a day and stresses the significance of fostering relationships with your loved ones. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the author emphasizes the importance of combating loneliness and relational poverty through hugs. He believes that love, kindness, and faith can counteract division, and hatred, and contribute to personal happiness.
The Return of Banking Crises?
Recent banking failures have raised concerns about the potential for future contagion and a systemic banking crisis. In March 2023, regulators intervened to prevent a systemic crisis at three major US banks, while Credit Suisse's issues led to a rescue merger with Union Bank of Switzerland. This article explores the similarities with the 2008 financial crisis and how biblical thinking can shed light on these woes.
