Search results for David Smyth
Be reconciled
Imagine a violent guerrilla war breaks out in the UK from city tower blocks to quaint country villages. Your ‘enemies’ are indistinguishable in a crowd, trust fades and communities polarise. Neighbours and work colleagues are mentally re-categorised by their perceived allegiances. The conflict…
David Smyth
There is no planet B
Today, I have seemingly endless personal choices. I can wake up in Ireland and be in London or New York by lunchtime. I can work from my dining table and ‘meet’ people from across the globe on Zoom or on social media. I can’t buy milk directly from the farm across the road, but I can buy bananas…
David Smyth
A right royal birth
Congratulations came in from Hollywood A-listers, the Obamas and people adorning Union Jack jumpsuits as they lined the streets in a show of support. The birth also prompted Prince William to welcome Harry and Meghan to the 'sleep deprivation society’. As a fellow member of this esteemed society,…
David Smyth
Enemies no more
This was just a few days before traditional republican commemorations which take place every year to commemorate the Easter Rising. Public outcry following her death was swift and sincere, contrasting with the hollowness of the ‘apology’ from the IRA which “claimed responsibility” for the killing.…
David Smyth
Public leadership: Seeking God’s kingdom first
A foodbank, a new business venture, mums and tots in the portacabin at church, recycling your plastic bottles. A teacher bringing knowledge to her students, a lawyer fighting for justice, a nurse compassionately binding up wounds. Kingdom seems to be used as a neat shorthand for everything we used…
David Smyth
International initiative to equip the church in Northern Ireland on issues of human dignity - Stand for Life: Belfast coming in June copy
Both Lives Matter, Evangelical Alliance, and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission are joining together in a unique partnership responding to far-reaching changes to the law on abortion in Northern Ireland. The partnership will host an international conference in Belfast on 19 & 20 June…
Both Lives Matter: Church leaders gather in Washington
How it all began About 6 years ago, a number of us from different Christian charities in Northern Ireland were growing increasingly frustrated and grieved about the debate around abortion. Talking publicly (and privately) about abortion has always been difficult. And it should be, because we’re…
David Smyth
Changes to RSE in Northern Ireland
Disturbing stories have emerged about teaching on issues such as gender identities or graphic and sometimes dangerous sexual practices. As a result, many parents, of different faiths and none, have expressed concerns about the methods and content of some lessons. So, the teaching of RSE is being…
David Smyth
Northern Ireland: Who are the good news people?
The 2021 census data for England and Wales shows that 46% of the population identify as Christian, significantly less that the 59% reported just ten years previously. The results for Northern Ireland are, however, very different, with 80% of people here still identifying as Christian. Global…
David Smyth
How might we approach the conversation on Assisted Dying?
The last parliamentary vote on Assisted Dying was in September 2015, with 118 MPs voting in favour and 330 against. Previous polling has suggested the public may support some form of assisted suicide, but this support declines when people consider the arguments against introducing it. So with the…
David Smyth
Thresholds and tables
Hospitality is central in almost every culture. I’ve sat in near strangers' homes, sharing food around their tables in India, Ukraine, Africa and many other parts of the world and I’m sure you have similar stories. Something essential happens when we cross into each other’s homes and share food…
David Smyth
The pursuit of justice?
Following the Saville inquiry into Bloody Sunday in 2010, then Prime Minister David Cameron said, “what happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable. It was wrong.” and that he was “deeply sorry”. This latest case was a complicated and long-running criminal trial into the…
David Smyth
Risk and relationship: partnering up with the Human Rights Commission in Northern Ireland
Protecting the right to freedom of conscience, thought and religion goes right to the heart of the kind of society that we all want to live in. That is the message from the launch of a joint project by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland. The…
David Smyth
Brexit and 'the Irish question'
After March 2019, the invisible international border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland becomes the land border between the EU and the UK. The issue cannot simply be resolved between the Irish and British governments – the border no longer divides one country from another, but one…
David Smyth
Ford and Kavanaugh hearing: a Supreme Court injustice?
In the last 24 hours university professor Dr Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh have both appeared before a US Senate Committee. Dr Ford alleges that Judge Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party in 1982. Judge Kavanaugh rejects the allegations and claims no such encounter ever…
David Smyth
