The problem with ‘The Muslim Problem’
Trevor Kavanagh, political editor of The Sun, wrote an article yesterday gracefully entitled: 'Now Philip Hammond is finally Out he must shut the door behind him and take control over…
Secularism
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 pulled down and even poor Mahatma Gandhi must hit the…
The two opposed expressions of Anglicanism
There is a letter published in today's Telegraph signed by 23 conservative (/traditionalists/orthodox) Anglicans concerning the tensions in the Church over England (and wider Anglicanism) over same-sex marriage and other…
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…
Michael Gove sugar-coats Jesus and preaches fake good news
This is a guest post by the Rev’d Dr Gavin Ashenden, former Chaplain to the Queen, who is presently in the (complicated) process of leaving the Church of England. ___________________________…
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,…
If Philip North can’t be Bishop of Sheffield, the Church of England ceases to be catholic
The Dean of Christ Church, Professor Martyn Percy, has issued an ultimatum circumspectly entitled 'Questions of Ambiguity and Integrity'. It's quite long, but essentially it boils down to a choice:…
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…
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…
The establishment of the Church of England and the Christian Monarchy flourish together or fall together
This is a guest post by the Rev’d Dr Gavin Ashenden, Chaplain to the Queen. __________________________ One of the many reasons I like twitter is for the jokes. “Why should…
Nurse sacked for offering to pray with patients? Draconian, but not persecution
To read that Sister Sarah Kuteh has been sacked by Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, Kent, for the crime of offering to pray with her patients, is a cause of…
Will Theresa May restore religious liberty by adopting reasonable accommodation?
Theresa May is an Anglican, and her faith appears to be sound and secure (ie, it doesn't fade in and out like Magic FM in the Chilterns). A few articles…
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…
There's nothing British about banning the burqa
Not content with a "total ban" on Muslim schools, Ukip leadership candidate Lisa Duffy now wants to ban Muslims from wearing burqas; those Darth Vader-like cloaks which some Muslims…
Turkey purge: is military coup a lesser evil than Erdoğan's Islamism?
Following last week's military coup – which is never the answer to anything – President Erdoğan is purging Turkey's civic institutions of every whiff of opposition, dissent, criticism and…
The destruction of Andrea Leadsom: is it no longer permissible to be proud of motherhood?
"I absolutely am a Christian and I am very proud of it," Conservative leadership candidate Andrea Leadsom told Channel 4 News. "And it absolutely acts in the background in…
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…
What British Muslims Really Think, or what Christians need to rethink?
Channel 4's documentary What British Muslims Really Think informed us that 52% of them want homosexuality to be outlawed; 39% believe that a woman should always obey her husband;…
Nazir-Ali: 'Faith, Freedom and the Future: Challenges for the 21st Century'
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali offers analysis of current challenges and gives urgently needed advice for Christians and policy-makers in a timely new book: Faith, Freedom and the Future: Challenges for…
EU Referendum: Welby asks the fairest questions of all
The froth masks the urgency of the substance; the heat deflects from the dominant paradigms of light. The EU Referendum debate is being reduced to a Tory pantomime of…