Blogging and the voice of the Church
Someone recently tweeted that this blog should close down because people mistake it for a legitimate voice of the Church, and so it conveys a spiritual falsehood by sustaining a…
Holy Spirit
The Tower of Babel
This is the sixth contribution to His Grace’s emergency team ministry during the coronavirus pestilence. It comes from the Rev'd Robert Jackson, a sector chaplain. Over 3,000 years ago, a man, who might or might not have been Moses,…
Child sexual abuse: the Blackburn Pastoral Letter is game-changer for the Church of England
When St Paul began writing his letters I doubt he expected them to become as copied, shared, dissected and analysed as they are today. He wrote to help and support…
Defections, divisions, tribalism and schisms
'What causes fights and quarrels among you?' asked James the brother of Jesus, writing to the twelve tribes scattered abroad. And then he proceeds to answer his own question: Don’t…
Scrupulous for Christ: saving the Church from the doctrine of the infallibles
Ever since Jesus cried 'Woe' to the scribes and Pharisees, his disciples have been calling out the two-faced hypocrites and judiciously discerning whitewashed tombs – those who look all meek…
When did Transgenderism supplant Anglican orthodoxy as a qualification for Holy Orders?
If you believe that women may not be priests; that Holy Orders are a male preserve; that a woman may not represent Christ at the altar; that 'woman priest' is…
Bishop Michael Curry brought with him the Spirit of Pentecost
The reaction to the Royal Wedding address/sermon delivered by Bishop Michael Curry has resulted in post-match analysis akin to that of 'Match of the Day'. Dull it wasn’t – everyone…
Marx over Pareto: why do so many Anglican bishops adopt a socialist economic and political outlook?
In the same spirit as Prof Nigel Biggar, the Oxford ethicist who has provoked hysterical opposition by claiming that the British Empire was a morally mixed phenomenon and was the…
Bishop of Liverpool slams ‘so-called Evangelicals’, and so condemns himself
The term 'Evangelical' as applied to Christians has a long and well-chronicled heritage. In 1525, William Tyndale explained in his Doctrinal Treatises (p8): "Evangelion (that which we call the gospel)…
“Late ordinand” Sarah Mullally to be next Bishop of London
The long wait is over: the person selected by the Crown Nominations Commission under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to be the next Bishop of London is the Rt…
Advent-cum-Mawlid: church holds joint birthday celebration for Mohammed and Jesus
Mawlid (or Milad) is the Islamic festival commemorating the birthday of Mohammed. The only thing it has in common with Christmas is that it isn't actually the day the celebrated…
Is the Church of England doing religion without the Holy Spirit?
Much has been written about the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Ghost, or the Paraclete; the third person (hypostasis) of the Trinity. In fact, so much has been written over…
Welby: Alastair Campbell is probably not going to heaven
"Media seem to be going for gay sex and Queen funeral angles in my @BritishGQ interview with @JustinWelby," tweet-gripes Tony Blair's former spinmeister Alastair Campbell, " - loads more in…
Catholic School removes statues of Mary and Jesus to be more inclusive
In this season of rampant anti-statue-ism, where Cecil Rhodes must fall, Edward Colston must tumble, Robert E Lee must be toppled, Captain Cook must yield, Admiral Horatio Nelson must be…
Protect the Pope? Francis is “destroying the Catholic nature of the Church”
'Protect the Pope' was a blog established in 2010 by the Rev'd Nick Donnelly, a kindly, humble and intelligent deacon in the Roman Catholic Church (and the second-nicest Catholic in…
Diocese of Truro advertises for Mission leader, but “You do not need to be a practising Christian”
"Mission goes out from God. Mission is God's way of loving and saving the world." So declared the Church of England at the 1998 Lambeth Conference. This quotation leads the…
London Bridge terror attack: they shouted “This is for Allah!”, as the Holy Spirit descended for Pentecost
Just as the nation was crowning techno-pianist Tokio Myers the winner of Britain's Got Talent, a few more Islamists decided to stage their own version of the show on London…
Philip North crisis: ‘Good Disagreement’ has become ‘bad bullying’
This is a guest post by the Rev’d Dr Gavin Ashenden, former Chaplain to the Queen. ___________________________ When the house that has been painstakingly constructed on the sand falls flat,…
Rev’d Dr Gavin Ashenden resigns as Chaplain to the Queen
After a conversation instigated by officials at Buckingham Palace, it is with regret that the Rev'd Dr Gavin Ashenden – theologian, academic, columnist and occasional contributor to this blog –…
Canon Andrew White: “My brain is so badly damaged that I am finished”
The Rev'd Canon Andrew White, widely known as the 'Vicar of Baghdad', has long suffered with multiple sclerosis. His ministry vocation involves a lot of travel and even more speaking,…