Welcome to this replay of Ask NT Write Anything, where we go back into the archives to bring you the best of the thought and theology of Tom Wright.

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And now for today's replay of Ask NT Write Anything.

Well today on the show, we're going to be tackling some of your pastoral questions, and we do this every so often.

We sort of did it a little bit last time actually Tom looking at some specific marriage issues, but today it's a whole range of different questions that have come in.

And right at the top, we're going to make our usual caveat. We discuss these kinds of questions that you're not here to be anyone's pastor online.

We always recommend people have someone they can speak to go to.

And this is essentially part of the duty of a parish priest, isn't it, in the Anglican tradition.

They are certainly there, at least if not to personally be that they can give you put you on to someone.

Which one somebody who can yes, yes, and seems to be part of the pastor's job is to know when to say this is above my pay grade.

Absolutely.

And certainly in terms of sitting here with a microphone, this is not how to do pastoral work.

But so we can nudge in the right direction, but the local person who can pray with you and follow you in your journey is what you need.

But nevertheless, people do often write in with pastoral issues of one sort or another.

We've got some quite, you know, tough ones coming up, but I'll start with something that may be a little bit a little bit more general.

This was an interesting question from Victor in Switzerland, which I can see why this question comes from Switzerland, actually, as I read it.

It says in the prosperous Western world, much of our time and energy involves innocent worldly pleasures, a good meal with friends hiking in the mountains.

That was my Switzerland reference, a seaside holiday cultivating the garden, watching an entertaining film.

But how does this square up with do not love the world or anything in the world?

First John 2, 15, and Jesus' admonitions to hate our lives even.

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