Throughout my Christian life, I have experienced acceptance and belonging in church by publicly identifying as (what some would call) a ‘card-carrying’ evangelical.
On reflection, I must confess that, among fellow evangelicals, the experience that I have most enjoyed has had little to do with being perceived as sacrificially loving, or exceptionally forbearing. To be brutally honest, neither of those virtues is my strong suit. Instead, as an evangelical, I’ve been choosing the far easier task of focusing on being what I call ‘confessionally sound’.
When considered in isolation, few would object to that focus. After all, for persecuted Christians, such as Martin Luther, Deitrich Bonhoeffer and even 21st century martyrs, confessional soundness has been one of the most conspicuous and admirable hallmarks of Reformed belief.
Nevertheless, there is danger in the pursuit of apparent confessional soundness at the expense of all other virtues, such love and forbearance. For example, it can result in a total lack of remorse over directing sarcastic ad hominem remarks and put-downs towards those people whom most evangelicals no longer consider to be confessionally 'sound.'
The running debate over transgenderism has revealed the obvious conflict between two ideologies that the Olympics are attempting to unite.
The controversy around boxer Imane Khelif has been one of the many at this year’s Paris Olympics. Viewers were horrified to see Italian hopeful Angelina Carini pull out of the fight in just 46 seconds to 'save her life.'
JK Rowling tweeted: 'Explain why you're OK with a man beating a woman in public for your entertainment.' However it was intended, this comment from such a public figure turned a single boxing match into a global debate about transgender issues.
This long, hot, sporty summer rolls on. Schools have been broken up for weeks, and children are everywhere - including all over my home! My three sons scrap over just about everything in the summer heat. Cries of ‘It’s not fair!’ seem to constantly ring out from one or the other; but how do I discern whose rights matter more when push comes to (literal) shove between the children?
Over in Paris, the Olympic women’s boxing has also been dominated by cries of ‘It’s not fair!’ Just 46 seconds into her bout against Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, Italian Angela Carini was punched so hard in the face that she fell to the floor weeping, ended the fight, saying to those in her corner 'Non è giusto' ('It’s not fair'). Later, she said she had feared for her life.
Be reasonable! That’s a cry I’ve not heard for some time. Maybe ‘reason’ is out of style in our modern ‘what you feel is what you are society’.
But one aspect of the controversial Scottish Government Hate Crime Act is that it is predicated on what a ‘reasonable person’ would think what has been reported is hateful, likely to stir up hatred and cause ‘fear and alarm’. But there is the rub – what is a ‘reasonable person’?
Worried about having 'unsound' opinions?
Throughout my Christian life, I have experienced acceptance and belonging in church by publicly identifying as (what some would call) a ‘card-carrying’ evangelical.
On reflection, I must confess that, among fellow evangelicals, the experience that I have most enjoyed has had little to do with being perceived as sacrificially loving, or exceptionally forbearing. To be brutally honest, neither of those virtues is my strong suit. Instead, as an evangelical, I’ve been choosing the far easier task of focusing on being what I call ‘confessionally sound’.
When considered in isolation, few would object to that focus. After all, for persecuted Christians, such as Martin Luther, Deitrich Bonhoeffer and even 21st century martyrs, confessional soundness has been one of the most conspicuous and admirable hallmarks of Reformed belief.
Nevertheless, there is danger in the pursuit of apparent confessional soundness at the expense of all other virtues, such love and forbearance. For example, it can result in a total lack of remorse over directing sarcastic ad hominem remarks and put-downs towards those people whom most evangelicals no longer consider to be confessionally 'sound.'