We are thankful to God for the recovery of Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister, from what was, evidently, a bad case of Covid-19. We are thankful, too, that tomorrow (27th April 2020) he expects to be able to return to 10 Downing Street and pick up the reigns of national leadership again.
His comments, upon leaving hospital, were heartfelt, and appreciative of the efforts made by NHS staff not only on his own behalf, but also on behalf of their many other patients.…
John Lennox, Where is God in a Coronavirus World? The Good Book Company, 2020.
I’d like to offer a brief resume of this book by an Oxford mathematician, philosopher of science, and Christian apologist.
I think that I have faithfully reflected – albeit mostly in my own words – the main lines of thought.
1. Feeling vulnerable
Lennox writes in April, 2020, just a few short months into the world-wide emergency that has been precipitated by the rapid spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. …
The number of people, globally, who are known to have been infected by the Coronavirus has just passed the 1 million mark. Deaths associated with the virus are spiralling. Expressions such as ‘self isolation’, ‘social distancing’, ‘ramping up’, and ‘shutting down’, have taken on a new meaning and significance. The race is on to provide more diagnostic tests, discover a suitable treatment, offer enough protective gear to those working on the front line.
But what lessons can we learn, even while we are in the midst of the crisis?…
In the light of the current viral pandemic, Brian Tabb remarks that disease is iconoclastic: it challenges and destroys our most treasured cultural idols.
What follows is based on (and quotes from) Brian Tabb’s article.
First, ‘disease smashes the idol of security’. People long for security: physical security, economic security, emotional security, online security. But the most determined government, the most formidable military force, the most sophisticated surveillance system, cannot protect us against the invisible threat of the Covid-19 virus.…
1 Peter 4
The letter begins: Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.
Peter deals with the very practical tension between the dignity of being God’s chosen people and the struggle of living as Christians in an alien and often hostile world.
4:19 provides a summary of what has gone before:- So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.…
Mark 14:32-42
It took place in Gethsemane, an olive grove at the foot of the Mount of Olives.
It happened after supper, and before Judas identified Jesus with a kiss and the soldiers arrested him.
Jesus had a few short hours in which to pour out his soul to his heavenly Father.
‘The shadow of Calvary’. A place of
1. Anguish
V33 – ‘He began to be deeply distressed and troubled.’ To the point of death, v34.…
God had made a promise to Abraham, and part of that promise was the Abraham would have a son who would carry on the family line. He and Sarah waited a long time, but the promised son didn’t arrive, and they were getting old. So Sarah said to Abraham: “Why don’t we take my maid-servant Hagar, and try for a baby with her?” So Abraham did, and along came Ishmael. So it seemed that Ishmael would be the promised son. …
With regard to the problem of evil, three things can be asserted with confidence:-
1. The evil reality of evil, Isa 5:20.
2. The all-embracing sovereignty of the Lord, Eph 1:11.
3. The perfect goodness of God and of his work, Gen 1:31.
There is, no doubt, great difficulty in reconciling these three, yet we hold them all to be true. Indeed, we find them intertwined on the cross, ‘an evil than which no greater can be conceived’ (Hick), which, nevertheless, was predestined by God, (Acts 4:28) and which was the ultimate expression of the goodness of God.…
My heart goes out to Dr Muhammad Taufiq Al Sattar, whose wife and three teenage children were killed when their Leicester home was set alight two weeks ago. As a father myself, I can only begin to imagine the grief he must be experiencing at the moment.
I also admire Dr Taufiq’s attitude at this most difficult time. He has paid tribute to the Leicestershire Police, for their thorough investigation of the tragedy, and has expressed his ‘delight’ that community relations in Leicester have remained peaceful.…
