Evangelicalism

Iwerne David Conner Dean Windsor John Smyth

Iwerne: what did David Conner (now Dean of Windsor) and others know about John Smyth’s regime of abuse?

November 6, 2018
Martin Sewell
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Many years ago, I worked as a duty solicitor, undertaking day and night visits to the local police stations. There were not many on the rota and it was a busy time. One night I learned something about the limits…

Church of England Evangelical Council warns against redefining marriage

October 16, 2018
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The Church of England Evangelical Council describes itself as "a network of networks, bringing evangelicals in the Church of England together for the sake of the gospel". It was created…

John Smyth dies – just as the CPS gives police go-ahead for his extradition and prosecution

August 12, 2018
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John Smyth, who was accused of the sadistic beatings of young men under the guise of Christian discipleship, has died at his home in Cape Town. This brings to an…

John Smyth tortured Christian boys at Iwerne – where’s the CofE inquiry?

August 6, 2018
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The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) hearings into the crimes and cover-up relating to Peter Ball have rightly shocked many in the Church of England, yet what may…

RIP Billy Graham – evangelical fundamentalist and ecumenical universalist

February 22, 2018
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The Rev'd Dr Billy Graham is dead. The evangelist to the world is now more alive to God then he has ever been, and tributes are pouring forth from the…

Bishop of Liverpool slams ‘so-called Evangelicals’, and so condemns himself

January 8, 2018
479 Comments

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)…

jo johnson freedom of speech universities

Jo Johnson’s muddled and aimless thinking about freedom of speech in universities

December 28, 2017
130 Comments

Universities Minister Jo Johnson delivered a much-trailed (..and here, here, here...) speech about the imperative of academic freedom of speech, which he says must be guaranteed on pain of universities…

Iwerne Trust abuse: leading public school gives victims immediate help, while the Church of England leaves them hanging

December 5, 2017
128 Comments

There are many stories of abuse within the Church of England, and for years they have remained hidden, either undisclosed or covered up. It is hard to think of there…

Why didn’t the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum speak up for Tim Farron?

November 29, 2017
209 Comments

Former LibDem leader Tim Farron delivered the Theos Annual Lecture last night, entitled: 'What Kind of Liberal Society Do We Want?' The whole speech is worth reading, because it is…

One in Christ? Why do liberal Christians abuse conservative Christians?

September 15, 2017
168 Comments

The Most Rev'd Nicholas Okoh is the Archbishop of Abuja Province and Primate of the Church of Nigeria in the Anglican Communion. A glance at his biography establishes his fraught…

Shared conversations: some came to seek truth; others to conquer. Why can’t we just be kind?

February 5, 2017
584 Comments

Commenting on the Bishops' statement Marriage and Same Sex Relationships after the Shared Conversations ("a gamma minus piece of drafting if ever there was one"), Canon Professor Mark Chapman prophesies…

Martyn Percy: Justin Welby “is preparing the ground for a complete volte-face on human sexuality”

November 15, 2016
141 Comments

Here follows Martyn Percy's response to Adrian Hilton's second letter on 'Renewal & Reform' and the ministry and leadership of Justin Welby. It was a simultaneous exchange with Hilton's third…

“Is Justin Welby not showing the world Jesus?”

November 10, 2016
116 Comments

Here follows Adrian Hilton's response to Martyn Percy's first letter: Dear Martyn, Thank you for your letter. I appreciated the account of your conversation with the “senior commentator on religious…

Adrian Hilton on Justin Welby: “he is challenging the ‘principalities and powers’ of institutional existence”

November 8, 2016
141 Comments

Here follows Adrian Hilton's (yes, Ed.) first letter to Martyn Percy, reflecting on the mission of the Church of England and the character and leadership of Justin Welby, Archbishop of…

Martyn Percy on Justin Welby: “there is a marked absence of salient and resonant ‘God-talk’, or any persuasive public theology”

November 7, 2016
148 Comments

Here follows the first of a six-letter exchange between the Very Rev'd Professor Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and Dr Adrian Hilton, Editor of this blog, on the…

The great canon doctor Martyn Percy implicates Justin Welby in "secular sorcery"

August 17, 2016
172 Comments

"Everything you need to know about the Bible can be summed up by the great canon doctor Martyn Percy: 'The Bible did not arrive by fax from heaven.'," writes…

Chartres' Lambeth Lecture: the Church must be "vision-led and not problem-led"

October 5, 2015
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While the Archbishop of Canterbury pored over the Blogosphere on his iPad (to which he is apparently rather attached), the Bishop of London psyched himself up for the latest…

Tim Farron's Christian faith becomes an object of media scorn

July 19, 2015
334 Comments

There are plenty of people who think that you shouldn’t mix faith and politics. For some, such as the National Secular Society, they have made it a mission to…

Tim Farron 'clarifies' his Christian convictions in pursuit of LibDem leadership

May 23, 2015
530 Comments

There is no doubt that Christian representation in Parliament came out well in this General Election. A handful of prominent Christians including Simon Hughes, Douglas Alexander and Jim Murphy…

Christians are the new lepers

May 13, 2015
308 Comments

Speaking at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University in Virginia last week, the next Republican nominee (if they have any sense) for President of the United States spoke of the increasing…