A practical response to global warming
Paul Helm
Date posted: 1 Nov 2008
It has been suggested that, in a situation of great uncertainty over a vital issue, we should adopt Blaise Pascal’s strategy. Pascal famously argued that, in a situation in which it could not be proved either that God exists or that he does not exist, with the evidence for and against the question broadly speaking balanced, the rational thing to do is to gamble on his existence. If we win we shall escape judgment, and if we lose there won’t be a judgment to escape. Whereas if we gamble on his non-existence, we shall suffer punishment if we are wrong and be obliterated if we are correct, and we have a 50-50 chance of being wrong.
So, perhaps, in Pascalian fashion, in a situation of radical uncertainty, coupled with the possibly dangerous consequences of inaction, we should gamble on the global warming ‘scientific consensus’ being correct.
The Church of England in crisis
Iain Murray
Date posted: 1 Sep 2008
The above heading should give no satisfaction to any evangelical Christian. Some of the finest literature in the evangelical heritage comes from gospel ministers of the Church of England, and many evangelicals continue to belong to that denomination today.
The crisis has arisen from more than one direction; one major cause has been that no discipline has been exercised within the Anglican communion (led by the Archbishop of Canterbury) on the Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church USA for their allowance of practising homosexual clergy. This has prompted the withdrawal of some evangelicals and their realignment with the Province of South Cone (which covers six South American countries), whose Primate, Archbishop Gregory Venables, remains in communion with Canterbury. By this means, the disaffected — of whom Dr. Jim Packer is the best known — support their claim to remain Anglican.
Beastly TV
Philip Sampson
Date posted: 1 Mar 2008
Chicken is on the menu. And not just chicken, but baby animals as well: piglets, lamb, kid goats and veal.
The celebrity chefs, Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, have both presented recent Channel 4 programmes on the cruelties of the intensive chicken industry.
Where are the men?
Chris Street
Date posted: 1 Oct 2008
The 600 men who attended the fifth Cardiff Men’s Convention in 2008 are still telling us that it was ‘the best convention yet’. Once more the All Nations Centre in Cardiff was filled with men who brought a compassion to worship, a real hunger for truth in the teaching and, maybe most important of all, the encouragement of being with other Christian men.
The title of this year’s convention was ‘Leaving a Legacy’, the central idea being that Christian men have a significant responsibility to create a positive legacy in their churches, their family, their workplace and in the wider community. The teaching was designed to challenge and inspire, but also to equip men to take on that responsibility.
Drifting away from church?
Camerin Courtney
Date posted: 1 Jun 2008
One day last summer I lost my church. Or rather, it lost me.
I’d been out of the country a couple weeks, and, therefore, hadn’t been to church in a while. My first Sunday back, I showed up at the usual time and place ready to reconnect with friends through a communal experience of faith.
Are we fundamentalists?
Barry Seagren
Date posted: 1 Mar 2008
Barry Seagren finds that the parallels between Islamic extremists and evangelical Christians are too close for comfort.
The term fundamentalist has always had negative connotations, and especially so since 9/11.