Once again we hear of kids being massacred at a school by a man with a gun. Most people I know who live in Britain rather than America are horrified and puzzled by the American obsession with gun ownership. The statistics clearly point to drastically reduced gun related deaths when there is strong gun ownership control. But strong government control is anathema to many citizens in the ‘land of the free”.
Viewed the situation from the outside, I and many others, can be judgemental of our American cousins. We are actually in danger of being hypocritical, bearing in mind how much money Britain makes by selling weapons around the world. Continue reading “Guns, Kids and the Arms Trade”
The Bible is not a rule book. It says very little about lots of issues which affect us today. If we look hard we may find ‘proof texts’ to support a particular moral stance but they might be reliant on the Old Testament and maybe contradicted elsewhere. Even Jesus contradicted or brought new light on an old saying. (For example ‘eye for an eye’ in Matthew 5.) Here are some examples of current issues in a somewhat random order.
This just has to be one of my favourite Christmas songs. Although it consists of rhetorical questions addressed to Jesus’ mother, Mary, it is really addressed to us, today. It is more about Jesus than Mary. Although it is related to Christmas, it is timeless and speaks to all the generations of Mankind. For me, it is, “George, did you know?” 
This week we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and we must ask ourselves, “Why is this so important, and what is the relevance to us?” Why is a reported event that took place nearly 2000 years ago so earth shattering? If we believe that Jesus was who he said he was, nothing could bring more hope to the human race than God himself dying as a human being but defeating death and promising the same for us.
As we live in an imperfect society we need some rules and laws to combat the worst forms of evil. Religion has its own sets of rules, but Jesus showed us that if we follow his way, love transcends rules. He was born into a Jewish society which had built up a complex set of rules to moderate and control how people lived their everyday lives. We will see in this article how Jesus broke many of the rules and traditions that religion imposed. 
If you have read any of my blog posts then you will know that I care deeply about justice for the powerless and for the voiceless of this world. The principal of justice is very important, but we need to be very careful about how we apply justice. How often have we heard people effected by crime cry out, “We want justice” when they really mean that they want revenge and to see perpetrators suffer. This may be a natural response but as followers of Jesus we should not seek revenge and retaliation. 
What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus in the 21st century? Is there a difference between being a Christian and a follower of Jesus? Do we have to reach a particular standard before we can be a disciple? How can we literally follow him when we can’t actually see him? 
Compassion and Justice 