Salvation

Archbishops call on Queen to repent of being Supreme Governor of the Church of England

January 18, 2017
Archbishop Cranmer
500 Comments

In this 500th anniversary year of an obscure monk called Martin Luther banging his 95 Theses onto the door of Castle Church in Wittenburg, the event which history marks as the beginning of the Reformation, the archbishops of Canterbury and…

Qur’an in the Eucharist? The Provost of Glasgow Cathedral subverts Christian revelation

January 12, 2017
722 Comments

This is a guest post by the Rev’d Dr Gavin Ashenden, Chaplain to the Queen. __________________________ I have just returned from Paris where I was invited to be part of…

Church of England funerals plummet 30% in a decade

November 2, 2016
99 Comments

Are people living longer? Are fewer dying? In the decade 2005-2015, the general population increased from 60,210,000 to 64,716,000, so why has the number of Church of England funerals plummeted…

Is our worship really “diminished” by the lack of Christian unity?

September 27, 2016
459 Comments

"I was dismayed, but not surprised, to hear so many calls for 'unity' after Jeremy Corbyn’s re-election," writes political historian Dr Robert Crowcroft of Edinburgh University. He expounds: ..."unity" is…

Don’t bash the Archbishop of Canterbury – pray for him

September 18, 2016
105 Comments

Funny. Defend Nigel Farage against Justin Welby, you're "racist" or a "bigot"; defend Justin Welby against Nigel Farage, you're a "feminist-humanist-pro-Marxist" (amongst other things). There is no apparent via media…

Do we really need a faith minister for “fairies, goblins and imaginary friends”?

September 15, 2016
132 Comments

We live in an age of ever-increasing secularity, in which religious practice must be half-hidden and religious conviction often-denied. You have to excavate quite deep to discover the moral sources…

Thy Kingdom Come: “prayer must always be the first action of evangelism and witness”

September 14, 2016
142 Comments

When the archbishops of Canterbury and York inaugurated a week of prayer last year under the banner 'Thy Kingdom Come', they could have had no idea that the Holy Spirit…

Good Disagreement: report fellow Christians to the police for daring to disagree

September 11, 2016
228 Comments

It isn't entirely clear what happened to 1 Corinthians 6 in the Christian pursuit of Good Disagreement. It appears that if certain liberal/progressive Christians disagree with conservative/traditionalist ones, they think…

Spiritual influence: bullying voters with threats of hell is no different from threats of physical violence

August 23, 2016
233 Comments

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…

Forget the Holy Spirit: the key to Church revival is Pokemon Go

August 2, 2016
230 Comments

According to the Daily Mail (please don't stop reading at that), something called Pokemon Go (or Pokémon GO for the accentually pedantic and orthographically precise) is set to bring…

Mark Rylands mocked by fellow clergy for coming out as a Brexit Bishop

July 5, 2016
532 Comments

"It was beginning to seem like there would never be a Brexit bishop," began the blog post on 1st April this year, a date which was lost on the…

Welby: witness gently for Jesus, and wait until you're asked (most of the time)

May 22, 2016
116 Comments

There's always a danger when you pick up a comment piece from a newspaper that you glance at a headline and form an opinion from a crass summary of…

Thy Kingdom Come: a week of prayer for confidence to make Jesus known

May 8, 2016
139 Comments

"Jesus Christ calls every person to follow him. As Christians it’s our duty and joy to share that invitation. That’s why the Archbishops of Canterbury and York are inviting…

Wise unto salvation: the Christ in Shakespeare

April 23, 2016
100 Comments

William Shakespeare died 400 years ago today, on St George's Day, at the age of 52, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. His was the greatest English mind ever to have existed.…

The Queen's 90th: Happy Birthday, Ma'am

April 21, 2016
161 Comments

God has saved her and she has lived long. The first two invocations of the National Anthem have been and are still being fulfilled. Her Majesty The Queen's 90th…

Cameron's Christian values are devoid of liberty, spirit and truth

March 29, 2016
400 Comments

At least No10 bothered to issue an Easter greeting this year. Last year they omitted to do so, and then refused to reply to a number of the politest…

Easter Day: He is risen! Hallelujah!

March 27, 2016
43 Comments

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is…

Holy Saturday: marginalisation, persecution, martyrdom

March 26, 2016
50 Comments

Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus…

Good Friday: love so amazing, so divine

March 25, 2016
91 Comments

Good Friday The Collects Almighty God, we beseech thee graciously to behold this thy family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed, and given up…

Palm Sunday: the Kingdom of God and a new social order

March 20, 2016
20 Comments

The Kingdom of God was heralded by the Messiah riding a donkey. By reason and provocation, He urged anyone who would fully accept that Kingdom to enter into its…