This article first appeared on the Christian Today Website I don’t think I have ever met an Iranian who was not highly intelligent, good looking and sophisticated. That’s probably because most of the Iranians I meet are students. Be that as it may, Iran is a fascinating culture dating back to the days of the Persian Empire and right up to the modern Islamic Republic. … Continue reading Why the great silence from our politicians over Iran?
This is the first of a two part series published here in Christian Today – looking at some predictions for the year that lies ahead. ————————————————————————————————— It’s always dangerous to claim to be a prophet. Make a prophecy too specific and it is easy to be proved wrong, make it too general and it is impossible to be proved wrong. I don’t claim the mantle … Continue reading War, poverty, the rise of the machines? 10 ‘prophecies’ for society in 2018
Welcome to the final Light Engaging Darkness for this year… Refugees Welcome in Scotland Amidst all the bad news stories I am glad to see this one – it makes me proud of my country. Scotland agreed to take 2,000 of the 20,000 Syrian refugees coming to the UK within five years. Todays came news that we did it in two and are preparing to … Continue reading LED 20 – Refugees in Scotland; Saving the Jews; Anti-Nazis in Dundee; Banning Franklin Graham; Another Brexit Bus; Feminism; Bermuda and SSM; A Christmas Carol
The Saturday Review – 2nd December 2017 Each Saturday I hope to publish a ‘review’ page – looking at films, books and TV shows that I’ve read or seen. Anything that needs a more in depth analysis will get individual reviews. The purpose of these is to provide recommendations or as I always do, look at what these windows to our culture, tell us about … Continue reading The Saturday Review 1 – Murder on the Orient Express; BBC Vietnam War; From Reform to Renewal
How Social Media and the Press Distort the Truth – When Barack Obama made good use of the Internet and social media to get elected it was lauded. When Donald Trump did the same, it was condemned as Russian interference, post-truth, fake news. We are living in an increasingly polarized culture, facilitated by social media and the politicians and journalists who use it for … Continue reading LED 17 – How the Media Distorts the Truth; Transmania; Religious Freedom; Canadian Free Speech; Ban Beauty and the Beast; The EU and Dundee City of Culture; Euthansia; Carl Trueman
My biggest problem with this weeks Light Engaging Darkness is what to leave out….there is so much going on…..but I hope the following selection is helpful to you…. Lets begin with the biggest story of the week (at least on the BBC where five days in a row it was the headline story. 1) Harvey Weinstein The fall of the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is … Continue reading LED 13 – Harvey Weinstein – Juncker in a bar – Bertrand Cantat – Freedom to Steal in London – Flu and Sexual Orientation – The 50th Anniversary of the Abortion Act – Thomas the Tank Engine – The Threat to Freedom of Speech – Juan Mata
Last week 200 people from many different parts of the land gathered in St Peters to celebrate the life of an extraordinary woman. I know that funerals are nowadays often styled as celebrations and the phrase can become somewhat cliched. But this one was. And here is the interesting thing – it was not primarily a celebration of the life of Adele Ann Ellis, but … Continue reading The Woman of the Book – Adele Ann Ellis
As noted in our Solas Newsbrief the president of Ghana visited Scotland last week. And several of our politicians managed to embarrass our beloved Scotland. Partick Harvie leader of the Greens complained about the President coming and wrote to the presiding officer ” “We believe that the Scottish Parliament should be a place where everyone can feel safe”. I have come across some dumb statements … Continue reading Scotland’s Shame as Political Leaders Embarrass Ghana
So there I was, waiting for the phone call from Reformation 21. You know the “Thanks for your critique of Rick Phillip’s post but you got it wrong. However, in the interests of balance, we wondered if you could write an article for Ref 21 explaining why pastors should preach against the evils of Capitalism.” But they never called. Instead I got this – http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2016/03/capitalism-is-not-the-gospel.php … Continue reading Help! I’ve been Rickrolled – Responses to my Socialist/Capitalist Articles
I write a regular column for Christian Today – which is a British based Christian news website, with a large number of American followers. Today when the British parliament is about to vote on yet another war/bombing campaign I find it interesting and depressing that the following are the top (ie. most popular) items on the website Why Brad Pitt’s an atheist and why the … Continue reading The Theology of Bombing ISIS in Syria
