Wisdom

Pessimism, realism and confusion: Ecclesiastes shines a light on Brexit

Theresa May has said that a vote for her Withdrawal Agreement (aka 'deal') would be an act of patriotism. Writing in the Telegraph she exhorts all MPs, whether they voted to leave the EU or to remain in the EU,…

jonathan aitken times credo pray for parliament

Rev’d Jonathan Aitken calls the nation to pray for Parliament

December 9, 2018
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From The Times' 'Credo' column yesterday, by the Rev'd Jonathan Aitken, reproduced here with permission: After a seismic week of political and constitutional upheavals at Westminster, might this be a…

‘Sorry’ seems to be the hardest word: apologetics and apologies in the Bishop Bell case

February 16, 2018
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This is a guest post by the Very Rev'd Professor Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. _________ An apology is a written or spoken expression of regret and remorse;…

Wrestling with Scripture? Is it time to transgender our macho theology?

October 2, 2017
224 Comments

The Rt Rev'd Paul Bayes, Bishop of Liverpool, posed the question of whether the phrases we use to describe biblical exposition are "too macho". The Rt Rev'd Pete Wilcox, Bishop…

If only the Trump Twitter feed had more soft words and gentle answers

August 20, 2017
310 Comments

There is a time to keep silence, and a time to speak, observes Qoheleth, the voice of the Book of Ecclesiastes (3:7). Proverbs talks about the wise man using words with…

You cannot “draw the poison from Brexit” without extracting deception from the human heart

June 25, 2017
282 Comments

'Where there is no vision, the people perish', the Archbishop of Canterbury writes in the Mail on Sunday, reminding is that the Authorised Version still resonates down the ages, and…

London Bridge terror attack: they shouted “This is for Allah!”, as the Holy Spirit descended for Pentecost

June 4, 2017
251 Comments

Just as the nation was crowning techno-pianist Tokio Myers the winner of Britain's Got Talent, a few more Islamists decided to stage their own version of the show on London…

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…

Tom Daley, gay diving and the ‘Christian Voice’ judgment of God

August 21, 2016
758 Comments

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…

Brexit may have spurred a few racists, but the heartbeat of the nation is unity and tolerance

June 28, 2016
249 Comments

"How can you side with bigots and racists?" "How can you support the vile BNP agenda?" "You're a Christian, for God's sake, and here you are sowing division and…

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…

Political spin and media din: the importance of silence

April 1, 2016
85 Comments

There's an awful lot of noise around at the moment. Perhaps there was always a din in the Agora and a racket in the Forum, but they were concerned…

Rain, floods and the judgment of God

December 27, 2015
536 Comments

Storms, rain, deluge, the worst floods in decades. 'Why does it always rain on me?', sang the Scottish band Travis in 1999. "Is it because I lied when I…

Third Sunday of Advent: rejoice in the recognition of Jesus

December 13, 2015
121 Comments

Today is Gaudete Sunday: into the season of waiting, preparing and expecting, we inject a note of delight and good cheer: 'Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I…

Corbyn and charisma: where there is no vision, the people get no credit

October 2, 2015
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There’s no denying that Jeremy Corbyn has a curiously charismatic air about him. If he had not scraped into the Labour leadership contest, would we have seen those tens…

This government ignores the advice of churches at its peril

May 15, 2015
59 Comments

Anyone with any sense who wants to achieve anything in life will know that accountability is crucial. Having some form of moderation to prevent us going off the rails…

Competence over chaos: Britain votes for a new moral vision

May 8, 2015
377 Comments

The choice was between "competence or chaos", as David Cameron kept on saying. All the predictions talked about a knife-edge vote, and all the personalities sank into morass of…

Voting is a moral obligation, but praying for those in authority is a divine command

May 7, 2015
91 Comments

On Saturday in The Times, Graham Tomlin, the widely respected principal of St Mellitus Theological College, wrote a profound article on the relationship between the authority of our political…

"How can a Christian vote Tory?"

May 3, 2015
347 Comments

It has been the most frequent question posed over the past month or so – sometimes emailed or DM'd; most often tweeted, and frequently interrogated in the chat threads.…

Blukip: why doesn't the Right show a bit more love?

April 21, 2015
150 Comments

Can you imagine Norman Tebbit, Simon Heffer, Nigel Farage and Peter Hitchens indulging in a group hug? No? Too macho? Okay, let's feminise it. How about Margaret Thatcher, Ann…