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…
Leadership
Nigel Farage says Archbishop of Canterbury “should go”
"It's a great shame that the head of our established church is not actually prepared to stand up and fight for our Christian culture in this country," Nigel Farage told Sky News. "He's somebody else who should go, too." Justin…
Spiritual influence: bullying voters with threats of hell is no different from threats of physical violence
Following the 2015 Tower Hamlets election court judgment which saw the disqualification of the elected mayor Lutfur Rahman for a number of corrupt and illegal practices, Sir Eric Pickles…
The great canon doctor Martyn Percy implicates Justin Welby in "secular sorcery"
"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…
There is neither Leaver nor Remainer; for you are all one in Christ Jesus
Leavers are xenophobic, insular, narrow-minded, self-regarding, racist, confused, brainless, extremist, hateful, economically-illiterate, un-Christian little-Englanders and swivel-eyed conspiracy theorists. Remainers are sneering, aloof, arrogant, vicious, supercilious, evil, unhinged, hypocritical, ageist,…
Salt & Light: the gospel, the EU, and the misappropriation of God's word
Steve Thomas is the International Team Leader of Salt & Light - "an international family of churches together on mission". Their core commitments are impeccably orthodox and undeniably evangelical,…
Faiths Forum for London conspires for EU Remain vote
Faiths Forum for London "empowers religious communities to work together for a better London". At least that's what their website says. And they seem to do an awful lot…
Does God still raise up prophets?
Prophecy is the most frequently-mentioned charism in the whole Pauline corpus: the role of the prophets is preeminent (eg 1Thess 5:20; 1Cor 11:4f; Rom 12:6; Eph 2:20; 1Tim 1:18).…
Anglican Primates pronounce, but the Holy Spirit prevails
The media bulletins are full of 'Episcopal Church suspended from the Anglican Communion', with a list of prohibitions and fulminations about 'second class Anglicans', with Giles Fraser reminding us…
Church of England continues its decline – but is revival stirring?
The Church of England has published its attendance stats ('Statistics for Mission') for 2014. Don't yawn. Yes, the interesting Anglican stuff is leavening this week in a Canterbury crypt,…
Primates' Meeting 2016: separating the Eloi from the Morlocks
Primates’ Meeting, Canterbury: stardate 2016. These are the continuing prophetic voyages of Justin Welby. His continuing mission: to explore strange new reconciliations; to seek out new wine and new…
Chartres' Lambeth Lecture: the Church must be "vision-led and not problem-led"
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…
Bishop of Chelmsford repudiates episcopal "talent pool"
It was a glorious sermon, with an audacious, if not subversive (which some may call prophetic) intervention on the Church of England's emerging "talent pool" approach to recognising bishops.…
A National Register of Faith Leaders? Government plans to vet all ministers of religion
There was an odd article in the Telegraph last week. Odd because the headline, photograph and content didn't quite cohere. Andrew Gilligan has apparently got hold of a leaked…
Archbishops clash over crushing ISIS and right-to-die compassion
The Church of England is all over the place today. Indeed, one headline seems almost purposely designed to degrade the other. In the red corner we have Archbishop Justin…
Peter Mandelson plots to subvert democracy: the arrogance of the political elite
When the Italian social scientist Vilfredo Pareto observed the political revolutions and machinations by which presidents are overthrown and regimes fall and rise, he coined a phrase which has…
Canon Rosie Harper on the "good girl guides" who have been consecrated bishop
"We haven't had anyone from left field," said the left-field Canon Rosie Harper to the left-field BBC, as two wonderful, gifted women were consecrated bishop by the Archbishop of Canterbury…
Justin Welby's "spiritual magpie" plan to save the Church of England (DV)
There’s a fantastic article this weeks' Spectator entitled 'God’s management consultants: the Church of England turns to bankers for salvation'. It’s the sort of piece that is bound to…
Evangelical Alliance spins its own research to attack Government over poverty
The recent report from the Evangelical Alliance on attitudes to poverty has caused something of a storm in a teacup. The press release accompanying the launch stated: Evangelicals have…
The undue political interference of 'undue spiritual influence'
Giles Fraser (pictured centre) has written a perfectly-pitched (yes, indeed) piece, 'Is it one rule for the Hindus and another for the Muslims?', which relates to the judgment in…