Trump dismay
Date posted: 4 Nov 2024
Dear Editor,
What a helpful set of articles you gave us for the UK general election earlier this year – thank you!
Trump, the US & the cross
Date posted: 1 Oct 2023
Dear Editor,
The States were untied long before Donald Trump appeared (editorial September 23 en).
news in brief
Lebanon: Churches shelter refugees
Thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing their homes in southern Lebanon are finding shelter and safety thanks to churches and Christian organisations opening their doors.
True Vine Baptist Church in Zahlé has provided refuge to 150 people and at least 30 families fleeing south Lebanon, both in the church building and in the homes of members. The church also has a school that serves 600 refugee children, although classes are currently suspended for security reasons.
‘Evangelicals for Harris’ in late push for votes - but face struggle as vote looms
Iain Taylor
Date posted: 28 Oct 2024
Although many US evangelicals are backing Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has supporters among them too.
‘Evangelicals for Biden’ has rebranded as ‘Evangelicals for Harris’ in an effort to mobilise Christian voters for her campaign. The group argues that her faith ‘shines through in her clear Christian values displayed in her unwavering support for American families.’
Keller Centre dis-ease
Date posted: 1 Apr 2023
Dear Editor,
When I first caught sight of the launch of The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics, after a few moments of ‘surely that isn’t what I think it is?’, I realised it actually was what I thought it was (named after Tim Keller), and I felt deeply uneasy.
Evangelicals and Trump
Date posted: 1 Apr 2024
Dear Editor,
I was saddened by Martyn Whittock’s exceedingly long and blistering attack upon Donald Trump and those US evangelicals that choose to support him (‘How US evangelicals could affect the entire world’). I am far from being any fan of Trump – his vast ego, thin skin, and graceless speech, make for a toxic combination. It is no wonder that so many are offended by him.
Immigration & Scripture
Date posted: 1 Mar 2024
Dear Editor,
I was surprised by the tone and content of Ian Cooper’s letter on immigration in the January en.
news in brief
Cuba: Evangelicals press government
The Alliance of Christians of Cuba (ACC), which brings together around 50 religious leaders from several Christian denominations, issued a joint statement after its recent national gathering in Santiago.
It made three requests to the Cuban government. Firstly, to free all those imprisoned for exercising their inherent rights. Secondly, to allow every religious movement on the island to associate and obtain legal status and protection under the law. Thirdly, to respect the right of each Cuban citizen to exercise all their inherent rights, and that they do not persecute them for this.
The value of older people
Date posted: 1 Dec 2023
Dear Editor,
Thank you for the delightful article by Milla Ling-Davies in the November issue of en. Her comments on the value of older people and the nonsense of judging people on how they look are heart-warming, as is the declaration of the Paris Fashion week 2023 that ‘ageing is now cool.’ But only if you are beautiful, it seems. Because ageism is based on more than how a person looks: it’s based on a ‘declinist’ view that perpetuates a whole raft of myths about older people.
letter from South
Africa: Called to the nations
Jordan Brown
Date posted: 1 Oct 2023
This letter marks the last one I will write while still actually in South Africa. Our stay is coming to a close and my final letter in November will serve as a reflection on our time here.
This month, I will provide a few thoughts on how we have found our winding-down time – and on a recent trip.
politics & policy
Countdown to killer robots?
James Mildred
Date posted: 1 Jul 2023
In December last year, OpenAI launched Chat GPT-4. It’s the most advanced chatbot yet, employing cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI).
You can ask it any question and it will come up with an answer, because it has access to a colossal amount of data. This extends even to the finer points of Baptist covenant theology, as I discovered recently.
‘The car careered out of control’
Kicked out of college and hooked on drink and drugs, Pauline Hamilton drove recklessly towards a cliff near her home to end it all. At the last moment, her tyre blew out, leaving her stunned in the stationary car.
Pauline’s life changed forever. She turned at once to the God who had rescued her and, in grateful amazement, offered her whole life to Him. This dedication would eventually take her to China, where she would serve for over 30 adventure-packed years as a missionary. Through many trials Pauline never lost sight of the God who had promised never to let her go.
earth watch
Feather-brained folly?
Simon Marsh
Date posted: 1 May 2023
If you look round a typical Sunday congregation, I suspect you won’t see many women wearing hats.
Although you would never have seen my granny in church without a hat, with changing fashions, and perhaps a more relaxed interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11: 13, it’s a rare sight other than at weddings. But in the 1880s hats were de rigeur for women, and the latest millinery fashion that was storming polite society was hats with feathers. Feathers of birds like grebes and egrets, and in more extreme cases even whole birds, adorned voluminous headgear in late Victorian and Edwardian society.
history
Are evangelicals utterly ignorant of the Middle Ages?
Michael Haykin
Date posted: 1 Mar 2023
A number of years ago I was invited to give two talks at a major Reformed conference in America.
I was thrilled by the invitation as I had enormous respect – and still do, I need to add – for the ministry behind the conference.
Visionary dreaming
Date posted: 1 Oct 2022
Dear Editor,
Your September edition was outstanding. The editorial on Christ’s return certainly spoke to my heart. Matt Paterson wrote a thoughtful piece on how we gauge success. America has been in the forefront of this movement. While not all bad it has toxic tendencies. I shared this article with my leadership. Bless you, en, for the kingdom work you do.
ten questions: dismantling our tribalism
Jonathan Lamb
1. How did you become a Christian?
Roe v Wade and the UK
Date posted: 1 Jul 2022
Dear Editor,
William Wilberforce (1759-1833) brought the hidden plight of slaves into public view, thus helping to fix their release from servile bondage.
‘Hundreds of millions will be severely affected as… the climate changes’
John Emyr & John Houghton
Date posted: 1 Apr 2022
Back in 2014, Sir John Houghton (1931 – 2020) agreed to be interviewed by John Emyr. That interview was translated into Welsh and appeared in the Welsh-language magazine Cristion. It now appears for the first time in English.
JE: Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed. When, and under what circumstances, did you first acquire a personal faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord?
history
Evangelical weaknesses?
Michael Haykin
Date posted: 1 Mar 2022
When did Evangelicalism as a movement emerge?
Is it a relative newbie, as some would assert, a creation of the 1940s out of the ruins of Fundamentalism or is it even more recent, a product of the Sixties? Or does it have much older roots?
‘Mid toil and tribulation…’
In CS Lewis’ novel, The Magician’s Nephew, there is a description of a dying world towards the start of the book.
It is a land – Charn – which was once a great civilisation, but now is dead. As events unfold for the two children in the story, Polly and Digory, a terrible, tolling bell starts to chime, sounding over and over again, until ‘the air… was throbbing with it and they could feel the stone floor trembling under their feet…’ and the building around them begins to collapse.