Soundings

Celebrating Christmas in a violent world

As Christians all over the globe celebrate Christmas this year, they do so in a world that is in turmoil, with many parts gripped by violence and scarred by unconscionable atrocities.

Stewardship of the truth

The topic of good stewardship prompts me to reflect on an important aspect of stewardship that has suffered some neglect: the stewardship of the truth that the Church has received from God through his Word.

A most respectable sin

One of the most distinctive contributions of Roman Catholic moral theology is the enumeration of what is now known as the “seven deadly sins”. The origins of the list can be traced to Pope Gregory I (540–604), although it was later developed by the great 13th century medieval theologian, Thomas Aquinas.

Wokeness and the Church

The theme that the editors of the Methodist Message have assigned for this issue, “The Sphere of the Church”, provides an opportunity to discuss a phenomenon that is becoming more pervasive in evangelical churches in the United States, and which is just beginning to influence some churches in Singapore.

Can patriotism be Christian?

What does it mean to love one’s country and one’s nation? Does it mean that we should never criticise the state?

AI and the future of work

Even a cursory glance at the plethora of articles on online news media platforms will show just how much attention artificial intelligence (AI) technology and its impact on society has been receiving of late. Enthusiasts are predictably sanguine about the advance of AI and the way in which it will change the world for the better.

Sanctity and justice

Since 2009 the United Nations has designated 20 February as World Day of Social Justice. The purpose of this observance is to “commemorate and urge all efforts to combat unemployment, social exclusion, and poverty”.

Welcoming children as gifts

The past few decades have witnessed tremendous advances in the field of prenatal genetic screening. The new technologies that are being introduced promise to be game changers in the whole area of prenatal care.

Seeing the disabled in God’s image

In the past few decades, a number of churches across the different denominations have issued official statements calling their congregations to be places of inclusion and belonging, especially for people with disabilities. For example, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, in a statement published in 2011, reminds its member churches that:

Saints in the marketplace

In the past few decades, there has been an avalanche of excellent books on marketplace ministry such as Every Good Endeavour: Connecting Your Work to God’s Plan for the World (2012) by the late Timothy J. Keller, and The Kingdom of God in Working Clothes: The Marketplace and the Reign of God (2022) by R. Paul Stevens.

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