In Depth:  Neil Robbie

Neil Robbie

Protests have been in the news a lot recently. From January's murderous putdown of protesters in Iran to simmering turmoil over student protests in France. Violence has erupted in Belgium and Albania. There are clampdowns against protests in Mumbai and, in these green and pleasant lands, there are regular local protests against immigration, accompanied by counter-protests.

Protests are a symptom indicating that something is wrong. When enough people become sufficiently angry to make a fuss by gathering on the streets, with banners and slogans, trouble can spill over. Protests tell those who cause the problem that change is needed, demanded and expected. Protests are often a response to sin and evil, speaking truth to power. Protests can also be a sinful and evil response to truth, resisting what is good and right.

Neil Robbie

I have served as the pastor of the same church since 2009. In 2018, our church council made a controversial decision. We asked the Punjabi church which had rented space in our church buildings for nearly 20 years to find somewhere else to meet.

The separation did not go well, but the gospel fruit of that decision is clearly evident today – and the fruit continues to grow.

Neil Robbie

The General Synod of the Church of England has engaged over decades in a cycle of groundhog-day debates about human sexuality. Members employ the same stories and arguments over and over again.

Living in Love and Faith (LLF), the eight-year-long project of listening to one another, learning from the Scriptures and looking at current practice, ended in February this year. LLF was declared to be dead, to the relief of nearly half of those on General Synod. Others believe LLF is just resting. A new private member’s motion, brought by Helen King, stirred up yet another debate this July.

Neil Robbie

Four young exiled Hebrew men, Daniel, Hanniah, Mishael and Azariah, had been transported from their homeland of Israel into exile in Babylon, where they were prepared by the powerful ruler to serve the Government of the empire.

King Nebuchadnezzar wanted to fully acculturate the four young Hebrews. So he imposed Babylonian names on them: Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He educated them with Babylonian literature and told them they would now eat from his table.

Neil Robbie

This article is a "part two" to the piece of the same title (en online, 13 Sept. 2025) and has been written after comments on the initial article led its writer, Neil, to do some more thinking about Adam and Eve. Read that first article here.

"Misunderstand not sickness, as if it were a greater evil than it is; but observe how great a mercy it is…Our sickness and death are sent by the same love that sent us a Saviour, and sent us the powerful preachers of his word, and sent us his Spirit, and secretly and sweetly changed our hearts, and knit them to himself in love; which gave us a life of precious mercies for our souls and bodies, and has promised to give us life eternal; and shall we think, that he now intends us any harm? Cannot he turn this also to our good, as he has done many an affliction which we have complained about?"

migration & the Bible

Neil Robbie

The mass, inward, multinational migration experienced in the UK today is not a novel phenomenon.

Four hundred years ago, the Reformation caused large-scale, trans-European migration. The Calvinist Dutch Republic became an ark for refugees from all over the continent.

migration & the Bible

Neil Robbie

In my last article of this series (which you can read here), I considered how migration and exile are experienced by Christians in the UK in a variety of ways.

Whilst exile is usually associated with geographical displacement, exile can be experienced in various ways without ever leaving home. Cultural, economic, political and/or ecclesiastical exile can occur to any group of Christians, migrant or not. British evangelicals may be experiencing all kinds of exile, whether or not we have moved. When we find ourselves living in exile, how should we live?

Neil Robbie

Iranian people have lived in fear for many years under a regime which has mismanaged the country and brutalised its people. It’s obvious that Iran needs freedom from such evil oppression.

The democratically elected leaders of the US and Israel have decided to go to war with Iran.

migration & the Bible

Neil Robbie

"By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion."

The words of Psalm 137 are familiar to most Christians around the world. The sentiment, however, was largely unfamiliar to conservative evangelical Christians in Britain - mostly, though not exclusively, white - who until recently felt at home both in the church and in the nation.

migration & the Bible

Neil Robbie

Migration to and from the UK is never far from today’s headlines.

Unprecedented levels of net inward migration have created a wide range of social and political responses. The novelty and excitement around multicultural festivities have faded. Social weariness and wariness have taken root. Protests have arisen. UK residents - mostly under 35 years old - are leaving the country to find greener, safer pastures; many are returning to family homelands.

Neil Robbie

The untidiness of life - the mess, chaos, accident or whatever label we choose to describe the lack of order which leads to pain - naturally inclines some to conclude that the universe is cold, heartless and random.

Christians believe in the God who is a maximally alive Person, full of goodness, love and power. But suffering gives rise to various questions for believers... Can I really trust God? Is God angry with me? Does God love me? Is God really good? Is God able to stop this? If the universe and life are not random, how can I understand the purpose behind it?