(2019)
By Hannah Eves, Katherine Martin, Andrew Phillips, and Peter Redmayne
Eating is never a solitary act; each meal connects us profoundly to food chains, precious resources, human effort, a global ecology and graced provision. How does the food we eat affect the planet? What is a biblical response to environmental degradation, and how can we eat in a way that honours God? This book addresses the high environmental and social costs of modern food systems and provides theological reflections on the interconnected relationships between God, humanity and the non-human creation.

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(2016)
By Guy Brandon
The reality of communications technologies is that either we will master them or they will master us. In this incredibly helpful book, Guy Brandon unpacks the practical and spiritual significance of our technological choices and encourages us to use communications technologies in a way that aligns with our faith and calling, and makes us more faithful, more human and better at relating to one another.

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(2012)
By Paul Mills and Michael Schluter
The fall of Communism left Capitalism as the only show in town; as it grows increasingly unfit for purpose, where do we go next? This book (which is a collection of previously-published Cambridge Papers) seeks to rethink the foundations of a market economy and argues that the Bible’s central theme of relationships is the key to rebuilding a system that promotes economic well-being, financial stability and social cohesion.

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(2010)
By Jonathan Burnside
What is the real meaning of 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth'? Where did the idea for the 'Jubilee 2000' campaign come from? And what, really, are the 'Ten Commandments'? In God, Justice, and Society, Jonathan Burnside looks at aspects of law and legality in the Bible, from the patriarchal narratives in the Hebrew Bible through to the trials of Jesus in the New Testament. He explores the nature of biblical law, legal thinking, and legal institutions by setting the biblical texts in their literary, social, and theological context.

(2007)
By Nick Spencer and Robert White
With regard to action to combat climate change, Christians have a particular contribution to make. Of all the world’s reli- gions, Christianity emphasizes most strongly the connections between the material and the spiritual. Caring for creation was the first task given to Adam and Eve in the Genesis creation story. God could not have demonstrated more forcibly his commit- ment to his creation than to send his son, Jesus, to become part of it. In our stewardship of creation, we are called to follow Jesus especially in his concern for the poor and disadvantaged who will be the most adversely affected by climate change.

(2005)
By Michael Schluter and John Ashcroft
Jubilee Manifesto arises out of over two decades of serious reflection, biblical debate and practical concern about how Christians can affect social change in our world today. For those wanting to examine the biblical basis of social reform there is no better place to begin than with Jubilee Manifesto.

Based on the work of the highly influential Cambridge based Jubilee Centre, this book presents a biblically-based alternative to capitalism, socialism and Marxism and seeks to effect change in public policy accordingly. From the outset Jubilee Manifesto identifies relationships as the most precious resource of any society. Ultimately it is the quality of those relationships, in families and communities, in organizations and between institutions, that holds society together.

(1991)
By John Ashcroft and Nicola Baker
This report has been produced by the Jubilee Policy Group, and reissued by the Jubilee Trust (March 1996), for the Movement for Christian Democracy. The views expressed in the report are therefore not necessarily those of the Movement for Christian Democracy but are intended to provide a starting point for members of the Movement to debate the issue of participation of elderly people in Britain today. It is hoped that the report’s conclusions will assist the Movement in formulating relevant policy initiatives at national and local government level. It is also hoped that the report will in particular, challenge Christians of all denominations to consider carefully attitudes and practices within their own churches relating to the needs of elderly people.

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(2011)

By Guy Brandon

Immigration is a live and perennial issue. Opinion polls for the last 50 years have shown that the British public favours a reduction in immigration, with MORI recently finding that around seven out of ten people believe there are too many immigrants in the UK. It is consistently seen as one of the most important issues going into elections – in 2010, race relations/immigration was second only to the economy.

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(2019)

By Jonathan Tame

Part of the problem is that Christians are too bound up with single-issue politics - abortion or euthanasia or Sunday trading. There are two reasons why we must go beyond single-issue politics. First, if we focus on a few single issues it leaves much of public policy debate without a Christian influence. And, second, it’s very difficult to win an argument on a single issue without putting those issues into a wider context and showing how they are part of a wider social vision. Now, where is that wider social vision to be found? - Michael Schluter

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(2013)

By Nick Spencer

“The blunt truth is that people increasingly see politics and Parliament as remote from their lives.” So spoke William Hague to a packed House of Commons shortly after the 2001 General Election. He was not exaggerating. Tony Blair was re-elected Prime Minister with the lowest share of the eligible electorate for more than a century. Labour received fewer votes than any winning party since universal suffrage was introduced in 1928 and fewer than Neil Kinnock had received in the process of losing the 1992 general election. Despite wining a 167-seat majority, New Labour did not receive a very convincing mandate to govern.

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(2019)

By Calum Samuelson

This booklet dispels some of the sensationalism around Artificial Intelligence, asking instead how a fresh understanding of humanity can shape the trajectory of AI development. It draws on research interviews from ten leading AI practitioners and thinkers, and provides a distinctly biblical framework for understanding AI. Addressing all levels of expertise, the insights and guidelines provided will enable Christian leaders in church, business and public service to make informed responses to AI that are rooted in their faith.

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(2022)

By Jubilee Centre

The UK remains one of the richest countries on earth. Having led the world with the industrial revolution in the 18th Century and the first wave of globalisation in the 19th Century, we continue to play a leading role in the ongoing digital revolutions of the 21st Century. Enterprise has played a huge role in our national story. Today, some three out of four jobs in the UK are in the private sector. It is clear that what happens in our nation’s businesses – big or small - shapes our lives and the world around us.

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(2021)

By Matt Ceaser

Christians in different circumstances around the world are facing up to a familiar question: what is the proper relationship between Church and State? Following an age of anxiousness in the West over the idea of ‘doing God’ in politics, religion has been re-injected into the public realm, often in forceful ways. The defeat of Donald Trump in the 2020 US Presidential election and the subsequent storming of the Capitol building by protestors in what has been described as ‘a Christian insurrection’1 has opened up a discussion about ‘Christian nationalism’, and the ways in which the cross and the flag have become intertwined. ‘Strong man’ leaders across Europe – both in government and on the fringes of it – have projected a kind of muscular Christianity as the basis of populist, far-right, anti-democratic, anti-EU, anti-immigrant or anti-minority politics, as others have done with other faiths in other parts of the world. Where Christians are in the minority, such as in many parts of the Middle East, they may find themselves as the victims of exclusionary religious nationalism.

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(2010)

By John Hayward & Dr. Guy Brandon

Increasing numbers of couples are choosing to live together rather than to get married. Although marriage is the preferred form of first relationship, cohabitation is increasingly seen as a prelude to marriage or an alternative to it. Many cohabitees view their situation as ‘common-law marriage’ and believe they have the same rights as a married couple on separation. However, few rights actually exist – something that cohabiting couples often find out too late.

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(2006)

By J.P. Burnside

This Part considers the current landscape of sexual offences in England and Wales at the start of the twenty-first century. This landscape is dominated by the reforms introduced by the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and amending legislation such as the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000. I will first explore the reasons for reform, as well as the principles and ideology underlying the new legislation (see 1 below). I will then turn to consider the Act in more detail, identifying specific offences (see 2 below). This will provide the necessary legislative background against which to consider the particular prohibitions of biblical law in Parts II–IV. I will next consider the social context which has made radical change in our approach to sexual offences appear both necessary and desirable (see 3 below), and identify a number of points which require further reflection (see 4 below). Finally in this Part, I shall offer some brief conclusions that can reasonably be derived from this account.

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(2016)

By Guy Brandon

Money can’t buy what it used to. In 1971, the average house in the UK cost around £6,000. Inflation means that £1 in 1971 would purchase the same as £14 today – a fall of 93 percent in value. Meanwhile, annual wages have risen by over 16 times, from £1,600 in 1971 to £26,000 in 2015. Yet by 2015, the average house cost £285,000, almost 50 times higher. Wealth inequality, which fell substantially over most of the 20th century, is now rising fast. Britain’s richest 1 percent own more wealth than the bottom 50 percent of the population, and the top 10 percent own almost half the country’s wealth. Debt is rising too. In 2005 the national debt was 38 percent of GDP, but the financial crisis meant that by September 2016 it was estimated to have reached over 83 percent of GDP – around £1.6 trillion. The interest bill is expected to top £1 billion every week (peaking at £57.3 billion annually by 2019-20) despite historically low-interest rates. Personal debt follows the same pattern, with UK households now owing a total of £1.45 trillion.

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(1993)

By Paul Mills

"Greed is good...Greed is what made America great and greed will make America great again."

These words, uttered by Gordon Gekko in the film 'Wall Street', epitomise in a blatant way the view that moral behaviour is unnecessary for economic prosperity. Competition and self-interest have yielded economic benefits in the past and will do so again if only allowed free rein. Attitudes that curb the competitive spirit, such as the restraint of acquisitiveness, are naively short-sighted. This nation has been opposed by most religious and philosophical opinion. It causes unease by contradicting our usual moral suppositions by arguing that greed, ruthlessness and pride are virtues and not vices after all. This understandable reaction has prompted the search for alternative systems more reliant upon benevolence and altruism, usually involving greater government intervention and collective ownership.

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(1987)

By Michael Schluter

There is growing concern about the family in the United Kingdom. The high rate of divorce - over 175,000 a year - has consequences not just for the partners caught up in the severance of their relationship, but also for the children who are the innocent victims of its trauma. The implications of each divorce spread far and wide through the wider family like the ripples from a pebble thrown into a pond. At the same time the number of the elderly, the mentally ill and other vulnerable groups are growing in proportion to the number of people available to help them. Millions of people, many of whom live alone, are now caught in a web of loneliness and despair. The long term stability of our society depends on our ability to resolve the crisis within the family. The consequences of family disintegration for the next generation can be seen already in the bitterness and alienation of those brought up with little care from parents and relatives. Violence and human misery escalate.

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(2011)

By Jubilee Centre

A collection of short papers from the International Conference held in Hong Kong, May 2011.

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(2012)

By Jubilee Centre

A culture’s deepest values become quickly evident when we look at the lives of its elderly citizens. Those who have moved through active, productive life into old age and vulnerability now need special consideration, for these are precious human beings who have simply grown old and will not return to their former youthful, energetic state. There is no ‘recovery’ from old age. So their care, whether statutory, voluntary or private, has to be properly resourced. As older people move into different levels of dependence on others, the stories that rise to the surface are all too often of loneliness, neglect, social exclusion and financial hardship. Elderly people become exposed in many areas where the rest of us ensure we are well protected. Abuse of the elderly is not uncommon, whether physical or emotional. Even theft and fraud takes on a new dimension when the victims are people with memory loss, or limited vision and mobility. In a BBC report in March 2012 on the rise of financial abuse of the elderly, a particularly worrying factor was the way that theft and fraud had been carried out by people in positions of trust, who had crossed the boundary from care into exploitation.

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(2008)

By Marika Rose and Caroline Harmon

Human-induced climate change is happening right now. According to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group report released in April 2007, it is at least 90% likely that human activities are principally responsible for warming observed since 1950. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution more than 150 years ago our actions have been contributing to make the earth warm faster than at any other time in the past 10,000 years.

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(2016)

By Jubilee Centre

Asked by one journalist whether he would prefer to run as a Somali during the 2012 Olympics, Mo Farah answered, ‘Look mate, this is my country. This is where I grew up; this is where I started life. This is my country and when I put on my Great Britain vest I’m proud. I’m very proud.’ Many British-born UK citizens are less positive in their thinking about immigration. Alternatively, they are simply confused. Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party, commented, ‘Less than two in ten people in Britain think that immigration is a problem in their local area, but about three quarters are in favour of reducing immigration.’

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(1990)

By Michael Schluter and Roy Clements

Christians are divided into two main camps on goals for social policy. Those who follow 'creation ethics' base their ethics on the norms laid down by God for all men, in the early chapters of Genesis. In practice, they tend to be right of centre and Capitalist in their political orientation. Those who follow 'kingdom ethics' find their authority and ethics from teaching about the Kingdom of God in the New Testament. This group tends to be left of centre and Socialist (or even Marxist) in political orientation. Both sides claim to base their views on scripture. Such diverse interpretation undermines the credibility of using the Bible as 'the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct'. Some now argue that Christians should give up hope of defining an agreed approach to social action and adopt an entirely pragmatic stance. What works is right.

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(2019)

By Calum Samuelson

A CEO is paid hundreds of times more than the ‘everyday workers’ in their own company. The market seems to allow it, but is it morally right? This report proposes a biblical framework for exploring remuneration, which has three major components – justice, dignity and reward. Justice is concerned with the fair amount of pay, to ensure families are protected from destitution. Dignity is concerned with the right kind of work and protects the agency of workers. Finally, reward is about working for the right reasons, and leads to the common good. Together, they provide new insight into the ethics of remuneration.

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(2021)

By Jacob Dunn

George Hunsberger writes of a time in his life when, pastoring a church which was facing division, he was encouraged by the knowledge that Lesslie Newbigin had had a similar experience. ‘Here biography touches biography…The encouragement I had drawn from Newbigin’s vision was deepened by discovering the companionship of his own experience with mine.’ Such is the power of Christian biography. In times of struggle and doubt, we can look to the lives of those who have gone before us and take courage from the fact that their experiences can mirror our own. Their lives can encourage us, inspire us, and may even teach us lessons about how to live out our faith in the world today. This is particularly true for those involved in Christian social reform, who can draw on a rich heritage of ‘men and women who have been seized by the life and teaching of Jesus and, in the power of the spirit, have challenged… the inhumanity of unjust social orders.

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(2020)

By Matt N. Williams

If you look at the manifestos of political parties on both the left and the right, you’ll see a pattern emerge; in many cases, tackling poverty is seen as a left-wing concern, whilst strengthening family is the sole province of the politically right. This separation of key social and economic issues along political lines is all too common. But what if, after taking a holistic look at the ugly wound of poverty, we find that it’s not just unhelpful, but impossible to talk about poverty without the family?

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(2005)

By Dr. Michael Schluter

Where I’m coming from…I feel honoured to have been invited to give the 2005 Smith Lecture here tonight. Although this is only my sixth visit to this great continent, one of my grandparents came from Sydney, before she moved to Kenya in 1918. So Australian ancestry is part of my identity and I have been grateful for the opportunity over the last 10 years to refresh that connection. However, in case it crosses your mind to ask, I still support England when watching cricket and rugby, painful though that experience so often turns out to be in matches against Australia!

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(2010)

By Dr. Guy Brandon & Dr. John Hayward

This paper was written in response to the Conservatives’ draft education policy in January 20101 and a speech given by the Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Michael Gove, in November 2009, which built on the Conservatives’ Green Paper, Raising the bar, closing the gap: An action plan for schools to raise standards, create more good school places and make opportunity more equal. It follows and draws from a response to the same issues, on behalf of the Evangelical Alliance’s Forum for Change.

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(2010)

By Daniel Fisher

This paper seeks to establish that Christians have a rich heritage in establishing financial institutions during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries which brought about many economic and social benefits to the nation. Christians today can take encouragement from such institutional entrepreneurship as a means of tackling growing economic and social tensions in twenty-first-century society. The economy and related social problems of today can seem massive, ingrained and ultimately unchangeable. But this paper argues that local financial institutions can be relationally enriching and an especially practical means of demonstrating the gospel. For example. Christians of the nineteenth century in particular, were able to bring liberty from oppressive lenders, security in times of uncertainty and multi-faceted behavioural and relational improvements to those who used the institutions by engaging with institutional entrepreneurship.

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(1994)

By Jubilee Centre

This document has been produced by CARE (Christian Action Research Education) and the Jubilee Policy Group (reissued by the Jubilee Trust, April 1996) as the foundation paper to their joint project on family policy 'Planning for Survival: a Family Policy for the 21st Century'. The aim of the project has been to assess the opportunities for closer cooperation between agencies and organisations concerned for the impact of public policy on families today. In particular, its intention has been to examine on what basis Christian and secular organisations can work more closely together in presenting the case for sustaining family life and commitment in family relationships.

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(1994)

By Jubilee Centre

For ten years the Jubilee Centre has engaged as a Christian organization in research, debate and political involvement on a range of public issues. Best known for its coordination of the Keep Sunday Special Campaign, its initiatives have also addressed family policy, penal reform, the national lottery and the contours of a post-apartheid South Africa. During this period, the Jubilee Centre has sought to combine faithfulness to the biblical text and relevance to the modern world. The questions this report addresses arise, in considerable measure, from this experience. We assume for the purposes of this report that there will be Christians who wish individually or collectively to participate in public debate on government policy as an expression of their Christian discipleship and responsibility to the world in which God has placed them. We also believe that the Bible has a significant role to play in any authentically Christian contribution to such debate. We are aware that these are not wholly uncontroversial views. While we offer some remarks in support of these beliefs, we do not provide a full justification for them. We treat them for the purposes of this project essentially as given.

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(1986)

By Michael Schluter and Roy Clement

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the importance and feasibility of applying Old Testament teaching on socio-economic issues to contemporary western societies. The paper falls into three parts. The first looks at Old Testament Israel's social structure and in particular the structure and role of the family. The second examines whether and how to apply Israel's institutions and values to society in the twentieth century. In the third we illustrate the way this can be done for several areas of British economic and social policy in the 1980s.

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(2017)

By Rob Evans

Five hundred years ago this October, the German monk, Martin Luther, (probably) nailed his famous 95 theses to Wittenberg’s cathedral door. Even the most cautious historian would agree that his outspoken criticism of contemporary Christian practice and thought had an enormous impact on the religious, cultural, social, and political landscape of Europe. As this anniversary approaches, we have an opportunity to consider Luther’s legacy and how it continues even in the twenty-first century. It has often been noted that Luther (and those self-styled reformers who followed him) did not consider themselves innovative or revolutionary. Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the emerging Protestant Churches emphasised their continuity with earlier Christian thought and practices. It is easy to be so caught up with what changed with Luther that we risk overlooking similar stories of protest and reform from earlier in Christian history. In this essay, I should like to compare the Protestant Reformation with one of these earlier and less well known theological protests.

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(2017)

By Jonathan Tame and Josh Hemmings

At the heart of Jubilee Centre’s mission is equipping Christians in public life with the theology, strategy and confidence to have a transforming influence on the world around them.We were delighted therefore to accept an invitation from Movement Day UK to prepare some materials to help participants think through a long term (25-30 year) biblical strategy and vision for the transformation of their cities. This booklet is the result, and it considers how individual Christians, local churches and Christian organisations can be guided by and grounded in a biblical vision for city transformation.

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(2009)

By Philip J Sampson

In a recent cartoon in the Metro, two men of middleeastern appearance are shown walking past a newspaper placard which reads: ‘Immigrants must learn British citizenship’. One is saying to the other: ‘I’m trying – I’ve stopped looking for work but I’m struggling with the binge drinking’. This cartoon would have been incomprehensible 30 years ago, and for two reasons. Firstly, because vaguely middle-eastern looking people would not have immediately spelt ‘Muslim’; but secondly because the cartoon’s premise of uncertainty about good citizenship would have seemed absurd. In those days, a cartoonist might have played with the once controversial question of whether Britain was any longer a Christian country, but no one doubted what Britain stood for. Nowadays, no one in mainstream politics seriously asks whether Britain is a Christian country, but the nature of citizenship has become widely controversial.

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(2011)

By Dr. Guy Brandon

The ‘Big Society’ is a new political initiative intended to decrease the size and scope of government with the effect of enabling local communities, families and individuals by passing power and responsibility to them. Thus, speaking in 2009, David Cameron promised ‘We will take power from the central state and give it to individuals where possible… Where it doesn’t make sense to give power directly to individuals, for example where there is a function that is collective in nature, then we will transfer power to neighbourhoods… Where neighbourhood empowerment is not practical we will redistribute power to the lowest possible tier of government…’

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(1993)

By Jubilee Centre

Raising extra monies for good causes is clearly a laudable goal. However, enthusiastic claims of large amounts of money painlessly raised have too often overestimated the benefits and under-estimated the costs. This report draws on a range of secondary sources to provide a summary of the arguments surrounding the introduction of a national lottery and highlights their ethical implications. The experience of lotteries in other countries, and research into the likely impact of a national lottery here, all indicate the possibility, or even probability, of severe social and economic costs. Differences between countries in the structure of their lotteries, other opportunities for gambling and social attitudes mean that the experience of one country will not necessarily be replicated in another. Nevertheless, these arguments illustrate the potential dangers of a lottery and should not be ignored. Otherwise a policy which seeks to benefit 'good causes' could prove to be to their detriment.

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(1997)

By Andrew Crook

Whilst Biblical cities were smaller and in many ways different from current cities, there are many similarities between the two, and the issues and problems that they throw up are similar. They were characterised by the same sort of relationship contact that characterise current cities, with contact with many more people than in the countryside, but in a more superficial, and transitory way. Cities, like human beings, do not get a very good press in the Bible. Their origins were in sin, rebellion and violence, and they continued in this vein. They were concentrations of oppression, corruption and bloodshed, as well as paganism and immorality.

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(2019)

By Guy Brandon

This booklet summarises the Jubilee Centre’s response to the challenge of applying the Christian faith to society. It addresses key economic, social and political issues from a biblical perspective and through the lens of relationships. We need to shift from an individualistic mentality towards one based on good and just relationships. This booklet offers a concise introduction to 30 years of theological reflection by the Centre.

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(2003)

By Nick Spencer

We have an odd relationship with money. On the one hand, it is our liberator, freeing us from the limitations imposed by birth, locality, class, and even ability; promising us food, fun, fame, and fulfilment. On the other, it is our jailor, who, having freed us from the prison of circumstance, incarcerates us in a far subtler jail of anxiety and stress. The tension is reflected in our consumer society. We like to denounce our 24/7 retail culture, and yet still shop ‘out of hours’ in our millions. We lament the estimated £800 billion consumer debt we have accrued but then wait nervously for the next consumer spending figures. We are torn between wanting more and needing less.

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(2013)

By Gai Ferdon

The European continental Reformation (1400s-1500s) is known for producing an array of theological scholars whose writings attempted to either reform Roman Catholic institutions or replace them. Protestant Reformers, armed with vernacular translations of the Scriptures and a new approach to biblical interpretation, strategically attacked significant doctrinal assumptions critical to the Church’s authority as well as the ecclesiastical and civil institutions developed from them. The Roman Catholic Church, for all intents and purposes, dominated the flow of information relative to the Scriptures. Most European laity were unschooled in Latin, without direct access to the Bible, and therefore, dependent upon the Priesthood to interpret its divine doctrines, which included its political and governmental truths. It was not until the Scriptures were made available in the language of the common man that individuals were able to infer a political theology with its corresponding civil/institutional emphasis. Protestant readings of the Scriptures resulted in new relational paradigms between individuals, communities and ecclesiastical and civil authorities.

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(2008)

By Michael Schluter

The writer of the book of Hebrews makes an extraordinary statement, ‘without faith it is impossible to please God’ (Hebrews 11: 6). So what is faith? In the same chapter, the writer to the Hebrews defines it as ‘being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we cannot see’ (v1).In relational terms, faith develops as we get to know a person. As we interact with a person over a period of time, watch what they do and say, watch their consistency of behaviour (or lack of it), we learn to trust or distrust them – or in biblical language, we learn to ‘have faith’ in them. Usually, building trust or faith is a slow process, because it involves the deepening of a relationship with that person. And relationships take time to develop.

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(2016)

By Peter Webster with Shirley Jenner

How do we move from individually living out Christian values at work to embedding a Christian ethos at the heart of our organisations? And how do we make sure that ethos really sticks, especially in times of change and challenge, to create resilient companies? This report is the fruit of a research project by the Jubilee Centre, together with Faith in Business and LICC (London Institute for Contemporary Christianity). Senior executives from eight companies were interviewed to explore how over time the Christian faith has influenced the companies’ goals, values and working practices. The research looks particularly at the role and significance of relationships, in both theory and practice, to the development of resilient companies. This booklet is written to encourage, inspire and challenge Christian managers and directors. The authors hope to convince readers that the quality of relationships among the diverse stakeholders of a business is crucial to its economic success as well as to achieving its wider purpose or mission.

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(2017)

By Josh Parikh

This discussion paper examines some current trends in robotics and artificial intelligence and the social implications of these trends. The increasing prevalence of news stories on these topics is bringing many of the issues surrounding AI and robotics to the forefront of the public imagination. From the ethics of military drones, to the moral obligations of robots, to AI as a global catastrophic risk (threatening human extinction), there are a number of important questions arising which require the attention of Christian researchers. This briefing focuses on two issues; key trends in AI development and the implications of these trends for work, inequality and social isolation.

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(2000)

By Dr. J.P. Burnside

This research paper comes at a time when the issues of race, immigration and asylum seeking have become major political issues. Much recent debate has been characterised by hesitant uncertainty. This is not just the caution of seeking to chart a politically correct path through complex issues. We may, sometimes justifiably, suspect ourselves guilty of prejudice. The spectre of ‘institutional racism’ now looms over much of the debate. Labour shortages in IT and nursing have reminded people about the positive side of immigration, while at the same time forecasts of some British cities having majority non-white populations have raised fears in some quarters about the impact of immigration on national identity and culture. The concepts of British-ness or English-ness have become increasingly uncertain in the face of multiculturalism and the impact of political devolution on national identity.

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(2017)

By Calum Samuelson

There is an ever-growing sense across Europe and North America that the economic, social, and political systems which form the modern world are in serious need of reform. Although reforming tendencies can be found in any society, recent unprecedented events have contributed to widespread cultural malaise and raised questions about the very bedrock of Western society itself. Increasingly, populations are not merely upset with banks or politicians, but with the major ideologies which undergird them.

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(2017)

By Calum Samuelson

This article acts as a second installment in our ongoing thinking about AI and robotics. It seeks primarily to provide clarity and encouragement in the midst of dialogue that seems increasingly confused contradictory, inaccessible and provocative. It also aims to generate dialogue and inspire critical thinking. It is neither comprehensive nor exhaustive.

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(2007)

By Christopher Pain

Relationships are fundamental to being human. In fact, our relationships define us far more than we, as individualistic Westerners like to admit. We declare, with admiration, someone to be ‘Very much his/her own man/woman,’ but it would be impossible to understand why they are the person they are without at least mentioning their parents, friends, teachers, colleagues and others who impacted their life. The same is true for each of us.

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(2017)

By Jubilee Centre

In October 2014 a group of 30 senior Christian leaders from business, politics, the Church and civil society met in Caux, Switzerland, to explore the decline of personal and corporate responsibility across Europe and the intellectual and spiritual causes of this trend. They went on to consider how an alternative culture of relational responsibility might be promoted, drawing on the emerging perspective of ‘Relational Thinking’.Participants came from Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox backgrounds, and during discussions several references were made to similarities between Relational Thinking and aspects of Catholic Social Teaching and the common good. Consequently, two of the organising partners (Jubilee Centre and Sallux) decided to undertake further research, and to explore ways the two perspectives might complement each other in helping Christians to engage in the social, political and economic challenges which Europe currently faces.

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(2003)

By Nick Spencer

Post-war Britain witnessed a revolution in mobility. In 50 years our average daily mileage increased four-fold and our car ownership from 2 to 25 million.Today we travel further to work, to learn and to shop than ever before, and move house with ever greater frequency. Yet our mobility has its costs. Directly or indirectly, it has led to weakened communities, rising crime rates, social polarisation, and cultural dilution. The Biblical concept of mobility was very different to the frequent, individualised journeys that we enjoy today. However, the tension between being rooted and mobile was central to the life of Israel and both testaments reveal an acute awareness of the importance of location on relationships and society.

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(1985)

By Christopher Townsend and Michael Schluter

Keep Sunday Special is a British campaign group set up in 1985 by Dr. Michael Schluter CBE to oppose plans to introduce Sunday trading in England and Wales (there are different arrangements in Scotland and Northern Ireland). The Keep Sunday Special campaign was set up and is run as a conventional secular civil society organisation with support from trade unions, churches, political parties, private businesses, and members of all faiths and of none.

Why Keep Sunday Special (1985)

(1993)

By Jubilee Centre

It is estimated that 13% of current wills include legacies, and that legacies provide some £700 million for charities annually.2 They remain, however, an underused form of giving. The growth in personal wealth in Britain (£2,350 billion in 1989) means that congregations today may command considerable financial resources although much of it is tied up in housing and pension funds. Death can provide an opportunity to release these assets and give from wealth which was previously inaccessible. Attitudes to any form of giving will be influenced by our understanding of the ownership and use of money. Christian teaching can prove uncomfortably challenging here and it will be important to appreciate the difficulties that both churches and individuals have in changing their attitudes and practices. A comprehensive discussion of these issues is beyond the scope of this brief, but some of the key aspects are surveyed to provide a context for considering the case for legacies.

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(2007)

By James Williams

It’s not ‘intellectual’ to want to have a discussion! This is what I sometimes feel like shouting during conversations when my interlocutor turns down the chance to deeply investigate a topic or strand of thought by carelessly applying a label to the direction of the dialogue. But maybe it is ‘intellectual’ to want to have a discussion, and maybe that’s no bad thing. At issue is the syllogism (if one can call it that) underlying the carelessness.

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(2023)

By John Ashcroft and Michael Schluter

Relational Thinking emphasizes relationships, whether as a perspective prioritizing relational dimensions or as a Christian social ethic rooted in faith, shaping identity, well-being, and societal progress.

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(1996)

By Peter Walker

It is particularly in helping us to think objectively and dispassionately about how Christians should view Jerusalem today that I welcome Peter Walker’s book. He is not afraid to bring his scholarly mind to apply Scriptural truth to the present dispute between Christians over the present sovereignty and future relevance of Jerusalem in the purposes of God. With the controversy surrounding the arbitrary celebrations of Jerusalem 3000 in mind, Walker’s treatment of the Galatian passages is particularly useful. He shows how Paul compares the present Jerusalem not with Sarah but Hagar still in slavery and bondage. He points out how Paul refuses to allow Christians to link the earthly Jerusalem to the Jerusalem above since she is still spiritually in Arabia. Theologically nothing has changed since that assessment. Jewish people need to hear of the Gospel of grace and freedom from the law found in Jesus, not affirmed by Christians, in their nationalistic legalism.

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