In this week’s episode of Cross Section, the team discuss the stopped assisted suicide bill. How has this happened? Could a similar bill come into the next parliamentary system? The team discuss the likelihood of assisted suicide returning and the fact that even if it doesn’t return as a political conversation, it is still a cultural one. They also reflect on the church’s role in talking about the value of life.
The conversation then widens to political polarisation, governance and social cohesion. How can Christians engage and speak into our fractured political climate?
This leads into a chat about street preaching and two cases that have hit the headlines – an abortion buffer zone case in Northern Ireland and the Bread of Life Church in Essex.
The episode ends with a news roundup including Russell Brand’s viral interview with Piers Morgan in which he struggled to find Isaiah and reflections on political violence considering the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
Further reading
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:12 Why the assisted suicide bill ran out of time
03:12 Democracy and drafting legislation
09:00 Will it return?
13:17 Church response and cultural impact
17:10 Polarisation and political health
21:00 Street preaching legal cases
28:48 Gospel freedom and wise witness
31:19 News roundup
35:42 Closing encouragement
