Justin Welby is not a heretic, he’s a very faithful Anglican
In the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Westminster there is a list of Archbishops of Canterbury which chronicles the centuries of communion between the popes of Rome and the chief pastors…
Homosexuality
It’s not that Christians can’t lead political parties; it’s that Evangelical Christians can’t lead the Liberal Democrats
"To be a political leader...and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bible's teaching, has felt impossible for me," said Tim Farron as he resigned as leader of the Liberal Democrats. He certainly had a tough…
Church of England schism: a timely new reformation or tit-for-tat boundary pushing?
On 31st October 1517, an obscure Catholic monk called Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of All Saints', the Castle Church in Wittenberg, protesting at the sale…
Hounding Tim Farron about gay sex deflects from LibDem vote to abolish faith schools
While the Christian leader of the Liberal Democrats was being harassed and hounded day after day by liberal metropolitan journalists to pronounce on whether he believed homosexual acts were sin…
Church in Wales being hounded to appoint Jeffrey John the next Bishop of Llandaff
The Church in Wales is the Anglican Church in Wales, and it is disestablished. It's appointments procedure is therefore an entirely internal matter, at some arms' length from the kingdom…
Synod vote on same-sex relations: it was female clergy wot won it (or lost it)
The electronic voting results for the Synod motion on 'Marriage and Same-Sex Relations after the Shared Conversations' have been released. As we know, in an exercise of pure democracy, Synod…
Is cohabitation still a sin, or is it an embryonic marriage with proof of love?
There are many who will guffaw at this very question: how absurdly old fashioned, not to say narrow-minded and bigoted of Christians to shame/alienate/offend lovely couples whose commitment to one…
Sex and the Church: how does a “radical new Christian inclusion” differ from the world’s?
You know that church that's seemingly in crisis and turmoil? Well, today it'll carry on praying, worshipping, visiting the ill and bereaved, loving one another... (and re-stocking food-banks). And it'll…
The Church of England should not tear itself apart over homosexuality and same-sex marriage
The General Synod of the Church of England is due to 'take note' (or not) of the Bishops' report ‘Marriage and Same Sex Relationships after the Shared Conversations.’ In the…
Shared conversations: some came to seek truth; others to conquer. Why can’t we just be kind?
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…
Same-sex marriage: what does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?
This is a guest post by the Rev'd Dr Gavin Ashenden, sometime Chaplain to the Queen. ___________________________ ‘Archbishop Cranmer’ has written a balanced and generous analysis of the House of…
House of Bishops upholds canon law: marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman
After a seemingly interminable period of 'shared conversations' on the nature of marriage and the relational experiences of some LGBT Christians, the House of Bishops of the Church of England…
Integration tsar Dame Louise Casey has a problem with ‘religious conservatism’
In 2013 Dame Louise Casey was named by BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour as one of the Top 100 most powerful women in the UK. She was duly appointed by…
Gay marriage: Bishops can’t be bullied with demands for “greater clarity and consistency”
As the College of Bishops gathers in Oxford today, the world might be forgiven for thinking there was just one item on the agenda: the liturgical blessing of same-sex unions…
Vicky Beeching, vocation, and the church that exists to serve our selfish ends
There was a piece in the Guardian (where else) this week by Vicky Beeching, entitled: 'The first openly gay bishop is a huge step forward – but it’s not enough'.…
Why does no one care that Keith Vaz’s rent boys might be trapped in sexual slavery?
That the married MP Keith Vaz pays male prostitutes for sex is a "private matter", according to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. That he engages in unsafe sex, uses legal…
The Bishop of Grantham is gay and celibate – so bloody what?
It will come as a surprise to many to hear that there is a Bishop of Grantham; moreso that he is no relation of the Dowager Countess. But to…
Same-sex marriage/blessing confronts Church of England with "a structural flaw of fatal proportions"
We have reached Chapter 5 in the great Anglican sexuality saga: 'Church of England parishes consider first step to break away over sexuality'. It isn't clear what the dénouement…
Tom Daley, gay diving and the ‘Christian Voice’ judgment of God
Tom Daley had already won a bronze medal for his synchronised 10m platform routine with Daniel Goodfellow. He then took first place in the Men's 10m platform preliminaries, and…
EU Court moves toward a ban on Christians wearing crosses in the workplace
This isn't the headline in most of the UK media, for some reason, which appears to prefer singling out Muslims and hijabs. There's nothing quite like a bit of…