Why I Can't Be A Fundamentalist

A Non-Violent God

The worst congregation?

The Cab Horse Charter: Making Moral Choices
William Booth’s Cab Horse Charter was both a vivid rebuke and challenge to the society of his time and unfortunately this remains equally valid today. Drawing a sharp comparison between the way working animals are treated and the plight of the poorest humans, Booth made two salient points:When the horse is down, he is helped up, andwhile he lives he has food, shelter and work.These simple illustrations continue to function as important prompts to the nature of social work in The Salvation Army. However, I particularly want to focus here on the Cab Horse Charter as a framework for examining the moral nature of choices that people make.Let

Spirit of Life
For those who are not regular viewers of Channel 31's 'Spirit of Life', you may have missed a couple of interviews that I did earlier this year. Here are the links:Spirit of Life - Part 1Spirit of Life - Part 2And yes, I did let slip a couple of factual errors but it was all done in one take with no prior notice on the questions!

Resurrection and Hope
The road to despair is wide and runs downhill for many of those who find themselves on the doorstep of The Salvation Army. The ‘Our Homeless Children’ report included this short quote that is unfortunately indicative of the thoughts of too many people: “What do I most hope for? That I die pretty quick”.One might rightly wonder why anyone would want to work against such dire circumstances on a daily basis? For me, the answer is that, despite so many contrary indications, not only is there real hope, but to be a bearer of hope is a deeply meaningful role. There is something almost counter-cultural about spreading hope today. In a review of the Oasis movie, Captain Paul Mou

Pure Religion
I sometimes hear people exhorting our return to a version of Christianity less tainted by modern culture and influences, as if there were a moment when the undefiled faith was easily discernible as directly revealed by God. An understanding of history (or even a broad reading of the Bible) will quickly unravel the supposition that this might ever be possible. The history of both Christianity and Judaism repeatedly demonstrates how religions are influenced by and adapt to surrounding cultures - sometimes in acquiescence to those cultures, sometimes in rebellion against them.There is no single moment in time, to which we might long to return, when Christianity has been perfect.