Covid

Hywel Jones: Between Resurrection and Ascension: In Lockdown

by on August 10, 2020 | 2 Comments

We look in faith to the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus as past events and saving truths but what about his disciples who were living at the time? How did they cope with what occurred? Jesus had told them on more than one occasion that he would die and rise again on the third day, e.g., Matt hew 16:21. The sobering fact is that not one of them seems to have been prepared for either. On Passover night in the upper room, he had told them he was about to leave them but that he would see them again and replace their sorrow with a joy that would remain (John 16:22). When they all left for the Mount of Olives he said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee” (Mk 14:27-28; 50; Jn 16: 32). When he was arrested “they all left him and fled.” Continue reading →

On “Safetyism”

by on December 25, 2020 | 6 Comments

But these same scenes present an affront to the organs of social control. There would seem to be an inherent tension between the spirit of play and “safetyism” (I parse this tension more fully in my book Why We Drive, which will . . . Continue reading →

New Resource Page: On Covid And Religious Liberty

by on May 7, 2021

The Covid crisis has been one of the greater challenges faced by the church in the West in recent years. In the USA and elsewhere it has divided congregations and probed weaknesses in our theology, piety, and practice. It has raised questions . . . Continue reading →

Reconsidering The Offering As An Element Of Worship After Covid

by on June 10, 2021 | 12 Comments

Introduction: The Hypothesis Tested Way back in 2008 I asked the question whether the offering is an element or a circumstance of worship or neither? I argued that the offering is neither an element nor a circumstance and thus raised the question . . . Continue reading →

In The Public Interest

by on September 27, 2021 | 6 Comments

We the physicians of the world, united and loyal to the Hippocratic Oath, recognizing the profession of medicine as we know it is at a crossroad, are compelled to declare the following; WHEREAS, it is our utmost responsibility and duty to uphold . . . Continue reading →

Federal District Court Judge Suggests That Military Personnel Denied Religious Exemption From The Covid Vaccine May Have A Case Under RFRA

by on November 22, 2021

Whether characterized as a facial challenge or as a class of precisely similar as-applied challenges, requiring only a single judicial determination, the plaintiffs’ contention is—based on current data—quite plausible that each branch’s procedure for requesting a religious exemption is a ruse that . . . Continue reading →

Did Paul Lie To The Corinthians?

Of Masks And Weaker Brothers Revisited

by on February 16, 2022 | 6 Comments

Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. However, not all possess this knowledge. Continue reading →

To Those Who Left

by on April 6, 2022 | 30 Comments

The obvious effects of Covid are easy to spot. Not only have millions died, but also many have long-term illness from the virus, and an unknown number of people are suffering from the various treatments. There are small children who do not . . . Continue reading →

What Churches Can Do To Reconcile With Those Who Left

How The Church Can Model The Covenant Of Grace

by on April 9, 2022 | 33 Comments

A few days ago I made an appeal to those who left their congregations over disagreements with church leadership about how the visible church responded to Covid. I asked for understanding and forgiveness. I also argued that, in most cases, those who . . . Continue reading →