If empathy is a sin, most of those saying so don’t seem to have been tempted beyond their ability to bear it.
That’s one reason I’m not too worried about the latest rhetoric of empathy as the great danger to the church and the world, mostly from those who previously told us that danger was yoga, or yoga pants, or Harry Potter, or hip-hop.
There is a neuroscientist called Eliezer Masliah. He researched dementia and other similar diseases for reputable bodies in the United States, and produced many studies published in prestigious journals.
However the journal Science came to have concerns about some of his research, and set up an investigation. Work that Masliah had published between 1997 and 2023 was scrutinised - in particular, images used to provide evidence for research findings were analysed.
“Never, ever give up on your dreams.” That was Rory McIlroy’s message after his career-defining triumph at the Masters, completing the Grand Slam and achieving every professional golfer’s dream.
From a young age, he had imagined a version of this moment. And for the last 11 years — since his last major win — he had dreamed of slipping on that iconic Green Jacket and becoming a champion at Augusta.
I wear bright clothes, wacky glasses and glam up my wheelchair. I also receive a lot of comments about being smiley and bright, and living my life ‘out there’. I love life!
The recent death of Pope Francis has shone a spotlight upon the Roman Catholic Church, including the rituals surrounding the death, mourning and burial of its leader.
Some of these traditions are unique to the Pope’s office: the sealing of the papal quarters; the destruction of the papal ring; the lying in state; the attendance of worldwide leaders at the funeral; and so on.
How did the church win over so many ancient civilisations, and how could that be done again?
The Libyan Christian martyrs on the beach in 2015 made an immensely powerful witness to the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ. If He offered any of us the opportunity to do the same, would we accept that?
With the death of Pope Francis, my thoughts went in many different directions, but one of them was the memory of my humiliation at the front door of his house.
Invited by the Pope to speak at the Vatican on an evangelical view of marriage and fidelity, I arrived in Rome jetlagged and exhausted, having just finished teaching at a Southern Baptist seminary on Martin Luther’s view of conscience.
It’s said that during the filming of the 1975 movie Jaws, the director Stephen Spielberg thought the giant rubber shark from his props department so “unscary” that he decided to shoot the film with the shark supposedly hidden underwater for almost the whole time; suggesting its fearsomeness and size with clever acting and suspenseful music.
Later he credited this with the film’s success; a plastic fake you never quite see is far more frightening than it would be in full view.
A leading evangelical in Rome, Leonardo De Chirico, offers his personal reflections on the direction of the Roman Catholic Church globally under Francis over the last 12 years.
It is a fact of life that every major human invention is just a tool – which has the potential to be used for either good or evil.
The inventing of the printing press ensured the mass distribution of the Scriptures, and enabled the perversity of porn to spread throughout the whole of society. The internet enables me to share Christian teaching throughout the world; it also facilitates abuse and hate mail. It is little wonder that we view each new technological development with both a sense of anticipation and a sense of dread.
What are your views on the economic situation facing the nation and the world? What have you made of discussions in recent weeks around tariffs and globalisation? Such issues can often seem somewhat divorced from our Christian faith. And yet these are matters which affect all of us, every day, in many different ways.
At Evangelicals Now, one of the things we are interested in is “joined-up thinking” in relation to our faith and our world. In other words, if Christ is Lord of all, how does that Lordship affect every area of human life and thought? And that includes economics.
We greatly appreciate the blessing of being brought up in a Christian home, but does this guarantee children from Christian families will all be converted?
A recent study by Pew Research Center conducted across the world showed that Christianity and Buddhism don’t have a very high success rate of passing on faith through the generations.
“I don’t feel any different - I can’t believe I’m 90!”
That comment - with varying changes to the number - is not uncommon. I have heard it repeatedly from those whom others would describe as old. Currently, my mother-in-law is slowly coming to terms with her increasing frailty at 93, although she seems to be constantly surprised by it.
Do you ever feel like switching off the news? I know I do. Another alert flashes up on your phone, another crisis, and you sigh, “again,” before setting it aside.
And then come the questions: is that wrong? Am I tuning out when the world needs more compassion? Maybe, like me, you’ve seen so much bad news that your heart feels a bit worn out. You scroll past a tragic story not because you don’t care, but because, honestly, constantly caring can feel exhausting.
One of the things that all communicators need, if we're serious about getting better, is good feedback. We need the help of others to sharpen our gift and improve our craft. Often others are better placed to be able to spot things we do well and the things that need work.
But receiving feedback can be painful. Sitting down in a room with others, often when we’re feeling vulnerable, isn’t always something we’re keen to embrace.
I was at a talk recently given by former Labour MP Jon Cruddas about the importance of Christianity in the Labour Party and socialism and found myself agreeing with almost everything!
Now I am not about to tear up my Conservative Party membership card. However it reminded me how for Christians in politics there is much more which unites us than divides us, and amid polarising political winds it is worth spending a little time exploring these Christian unifying forces.
There has lately been a big push back in youth and children's ministry against leaving the job of discipling young people just to the "professional", the church youth and children's worker.
Instead there has been more of a return to the Biblical idea that God has given the responsibility of bringing children up to love the Lord primarily to their parents. This shift has encouraged churches to work with families and help them to do this discipling work, rather than just employing a youth and children's worker to do it instead.
To what extent has Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolutionised so many areas of life, not least medicine?
Reading the second chapter of Professor John Lennox’s book 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity was a veritable tour de force — an eye-opening experience for me, at any rate.
There is something undeniably powerful about a personal testimony. It’s real, it’s living, and it carries the undeniable mark of God’s hand at work.
Recently, I had lunch with some Jewish friends who do not recognise Jesus as the Messiah. Instead of debating theology or trying to construct the perfect argument, I simply shared a testimony — Oli’s story. I didn’t have to persuade, argue, or convince. The testimony did the work for me, and it can for you too.
Comment
About that 'empathy is a sin' idea...
If empathy is a sin, most of those saying so don’t seem to have been tempted beyond their ability to bear it.
That’s one reason I’m not too worried about the latest rhetoric of empathy as the great danger to the church and the world, mostly from those who previously told us that danger was yoga, or yoga pants, or Harry Potter, or hip-hop.
Is this what happens when science rejects faith?
There is a neuroscientist called Eliezer Masliah. He researched dementia and other similar diseases for reputable bodies in the United States, and produced many studies published in prestigious journals.
However the journal Science came to have concerns about some of his research, and set up an investigation. Work that Masliah had published between 1997 and 2023 was scrutinised - in particular, images used to provide evidence for research findings were analysed.
Rory McIlroy and the Masters: Is ambition a good thing?
“Never, ever give up on your dreams.” That was Rory McIlroy’s message after his career-defining triumph at the Masters, completing the Grand Slam and achieving every professional golfer’s dream.
From a young age, he had imagined a version of this moment. And for the last 11 years — since his last major win — he had dreamed of slipping on that iconic Green Jacket and becoming a champion at Augusta.
Smiling, serving, and disabled: Why that shouldn’t be surprising
I smile a lot. I’m known for it.
I wear bright clothes, wacky glasses and glam up my wheelchair. I also receive a lot of comments about being smiley and bright, and living my life ‘out there’. I love life!
After Pope Francis' death: Let's bury 'Rest In Peace'
The recent death of Pope Francis has shone a spotlight upon the Roman Catholic Church, including the rituals surrounding the death, mourning and burial of its leader.
Some of these traditions are unique to the Pope’s office: the sealing of the papal quarters; the destruction of the papal ring; the lying in state; the attendance of worldwide leaders at the funeral; and so on.
The intense danger of a ‘comfortable life’
How did the church win over so many ancient civilisations, and how could that be done again?
The Libyan Christian martyrs on the beach in 2015 made an immensely powerful witness to the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ. If He offered any of us the opportunity to do the same, would we accept that?
Pope Francis: Exasperation - and admiration?
With the death of Pope Francis, my thoughts went in many different directions, but one of them was the memory of my humiliation at the front door of his house.
Invited by the Pope to speak at the Vatican on an evangelical view of marriage and fidelity, I arrived in Rome jetlagged and exhausted, having just finished teaching at a Southern Baptist seminary on Martin Luther’s view of conscience.
Autonomy: The rubber shark of our age?
It’s said that during the filming of the 1975 movie Jaws, the director Stephen Spielberg thought the giant rubber shark from his props department so “unscary” that he decided to shoot the film with the shark supposedly hidden underwater for almost the whole time; suggesting its fearsomeness and size with clever acting and suspenseful music.
Later he credited this with the film’s success; a plastic fake you never quite see is far more frightening than it would be in full view.
Francis (1936-2025) – the Pope so close, yet so far away?
A leading evangelical in Rome, Leonardo De Chirico, offers his personal reflections on the direction of the Roman Catholic Church globally under Francis over the last 12 years.
AI: Is it a gift of God or a tool of the Devil?
It is a fact of life that every major human invention is just a tool – which has the potential to be used for either good or evil.
The inventing of the printing press ensured the mass distribution of the Scriptures, and enabled the perversity of porn to spread throughout the whole of society. The internet enables me to share Christian teaching throughout the world; it also facilitates abuse and hate mail. It is little wonder that we view each new technological development with both a sense of anticipation and a sense of dread.
God, mammon & economics
What are your views on the economic situation facing the nation and the world? What have you made of discussions in recent weeks around tariffs and globalisation? Such issues can often seem somewhat divorced from our Christian faith. And yet these are matters which affect all of us, every day, in many different ways.
At Evangelicals Now, one of the things we are interested in is “joined-up thinking” in relation to our faith and our world. In other words, if Christ is Lord of all, how does that Lordship affect every area of human life and thought? And that includes economics.
The Supreme Court, transgender ideology - and women
Is the steady but rapid descent into the insanity that is transgender ideology starting to unravel?
Today (16 April) the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled that "woman" under the Equality Act 2010 means a biological woman.
Can you inherit faith?
We greatly appreciate the blessing of being brought up in a Christian home, but does this guarantee children from Christian families will all be converted?
A recent study by Pew Research Center conducted across the world showed that Christianity and Buddhism don’t have a very high success rate of passing on faith through the generations.
What the aged know that the young must learn
“I don’t feel any different - I can’t believe I’m 90!”
That comment - with varying changes to the number - is not uncommon. I have heard it repeatedly from those whom others would describe as old. Currently, my mother-in-law is slowly coming to terms with her increasing frailty at 93, although she seems to be constantly surprised by it.
Should you feel guilty for scrolling past the bad news?
Do you ever feel like switching off the news? I know I do. Another alert flashes up on your phone, another crisis, and you sigh, “again,” before setting it aside.
And then come the questions: is that wrong? Am I tuning out when the world needs more compassion? Maybe, like me, you’ve seen so much bad news that your heart feels a bit worn out. You scroll past a tragic story not because you don’t care, but because, honestly, constantly caring can feel exhausting.
Christians, how good is your communication?
One of the things that all communicators need, if we're serious about getting better, is good feedback. We need the help of others to sharpen our gift and improve our craft. Often others are better placed to be able to spot things we do well and the things that need work.
But receiving feedback can be painful. Sitting down in a room with others, often when we’re feeling vulnerable, isn’t always something we’re keen to embrace.
Looking for national renewal in politics? Look here
I was at a talk recently given by former Labour MP Jon Cruddas about the importance of Christianity in the Labour Party and socialism and found myself agreeing with almost everything!
Now I am not about to tear up my Conservative Party membership card. However it reminded me how for Christians in politics there is much more which unites us than divides us, and amid polarising political winds it is worth spending a little time exploring these Christian unifying forces.
Defending the Youth and Children's Worker: it's not just the parents' job!
There has lately been a big push back in youth and children's ministry against leaving the job of discipling young people just to the "professional", the church youth and children's worker.
Instead there has been more of a return to the Biblical idea that God has given the responsibility of bringing children up to love the Lord primarily to their parents. This shift has encouraged churches to work with families and help them to do this discipling work, rather than just employing a youth and children's worker to do it instead.
Reflections on John Lennox: 2084 and the AI Revolution
To what extent has Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolutionised so many areas of life, not least medicine?
Reading the second chapter of Professor John Lennox’s book 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity was a veritable tour de force — an eye-opening experience for me, at any rate.
Jewish people still come to Jesus
There is something undeniably powerful about a personal testimony. It’s real, it’s living, and it carries the undeniable mark of God’s hand at work.
Recently, I had lunch with some Jewish friends who do not recognise Jesus as the Messiah. Instead of debating theology or trying to construct the perfect argument, I simply shared a testimony — Oli’s story. I didn’t have to persuade, argue, or convince. The testimony did the work for me, and it can for you too.