This is a conversation I had with Alastair McIntosh, a Quaker activist, broadcaster and writer. He is the author of a superb book – Poachers Pilgrimage. We discussed many things in front of a good audience in St Peters. It may not sound the most riveting of evenings – over an hour discussing theology, history, the Highlands,church etc – but the most common reaction afterwards from those … Continue reading In Conversation – with Alastair McIntosh
Can we use economics to preach the Gospel? Can the Bible be applied to economics….as someone who is not an economist or an expert – here is an attempt I made at FOCL in 2013 to answer those questions… (and not a mention of Brexit!)…includes an early mention of the Christianity (or not!) of Donald Trump! This reminded me of a popular poster that Al … Continue reading Persuasive Economics
Last night I had the privilege of speaking at this debate in St Andrews – I believe it was the first of this kind that the CU have organised. I loved it. The place was relatively full, the chairman was excellent and my opponent, Dr Manfredi La Manna, reader of Economics at University of St Andrews, was pleasant, affable and spoke well. However I found his … Continue reading Debating Delusions in St Andrews
It seemed a strange request. Can you come through to Glasgow to record a documentary with us on gender? There was nothing more specific…who would I be recording it with? Is it about male/female or transgender? What was the format? The answers were,to say the least, vague. I was told that we would be there for four hours, that my ‘opposite’ would not be … Continue reading ‘Shake On It’ – An Interesting Day Recording for the BBC
In much of the Western World it is assumed that debating with people is somehow impolite, a refusal to respect their beliefs and an attempt to coerce people into faith. This session looks at how public debates in different formats can be excellent vehicles for communicating the Gospel and can bring people into contact with Jesus Christ for the first time. This is a … Continue reading Persuasive Debating
It’s illegal to cycle in the UK without a bell on your bike. The reason for this is to warn the ambling pedestrians that you are about to hit. I thought of this when I wasted 47 minutes of my life listening to one of the worst interviews in terms of the responses of the interviewee, I have ever heard – Premiers§ Christianty magazines interview … Continue reading Sound the Alarm – Bell (a review of Rob Bell’s Premier Interview)
It’s been an intense but revealing 24 hours. I have learned to an even greater extent just how deep the rot is in the contemporary church, and just how easy it is for us to be intimidated and bullied into silence. Let me set the background, then explain what happened yesterday, and then offer some analysis of what precisely is going on. Vicky Beeching brought … Continue reading The Soft and Hard Intimidation of the Church – A revealing 24 Hours….
Yesterday we saw how politicians who pass laws which go against Christian social teaching and then promise that of course we will still be free to express disagreement are not to be trusted. They are incapable of keeping that promise. Today I want to show further where this is leading. I have been suggesting for some time that the acceptance of different social teachings to … Continue reading Revelation TV fined for Homophobia
People have always been cynical and somewhat dismissive about the promises of politicians – sometimes with good reason. Such cynicism however creates real problems in a democracy and opens the door to the kind of disillusionment that feeds more extreme forces. But there is one area where politicians in the UK government and the Scottish government (and also the US and Australian governments). Whenever a … Continue reading Beware the Promises of Politicians
The Matt Dillahunty debates on Premier Unbelievable continue to reverberate. For some reason those two debates (see links below) seem to have really touched a nerve. For example a couple of weeks ago another angry atheist posted a blog explaining in great detail why I ‘lost’ the debate. I havn’t read it – mainly because life is too short – and I don’t really care. … Continue reading Gods Word Returns Full – More Fruit from Matt Dillahunty!
