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An open letter to Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover and Deal
Dear Ms. Elphicke, I was shocked and alarmed to see your recent tweets and accompanying video regarding “illegal entrants” at St. Margaret’s Bay yesterday. I understand that this is a cause célèbre for you as MP of Dover and Deal, perhaps as a result of some voters in the constituency feeling that there may be…
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Reflections on Remembrance & Nationalism
Today I went to a Remembrance service at a war memorial followed by one at a church. At both, the national anthem was sung, and other nationalistic sentiments were expressed in word and song. It goes without saying that Remembrance is an incredibly important and significant time for many people and for the society we…
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Milkshaking Fascists: Why Christians Need to Rethink Violence
Christianity has a long history of often heated discussion around violence, from absolute pacifism to the just war tradition and, indeed, some positions that can only be described as ‘warmongering’. There is, however, one aspect of violence which unites many of these differing factions: physical violence committed by the individual in situations other than self-defence. Who,…
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Does the Church of England Face “Disestablishment by a Thousand Cuts”?
In 2000, the then future Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, predicted that before long the Church of England would experience “disestablishment by a thousand cuts”.1 This did not happen during his tenure as Archbishop, and as we shall see, for various reasons it seems even less likely to happen under the current Archbishop of Canterbury,…
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Joy in Enough: Economics for People and Planet
“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” So goes Henry Ford’s oft parroted quote. It is particularly popular with Donald Trump, who has tweeted it on at least three separate occasions. Of course it’s easy for someone like Donald Trump to say, starting out, as…