Revealed, reclaimed, restored
This is the fifth contribution to His Grace’s emergency team ministry during the coronavirus pestilence. The author has a 30-year itinerant preaching and teaching ministry. He leads a large public…
Wisdom
Should you need a Covid vaccination certificate to attend church?
It was a question posed by the Rt Rev'd Peter Carrell, Bishop of Christchurch in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. Seeking the corporate wisdom and discernment of Twitter (which isn't advised), he asked: "Is there any…
Coronavirus: finding meaning in a global pandemic
In disasters, people lose loved ones, relatives and property. Above all, they lose faith – not so much religious faith, but faith in the belief that life has a certain…
Politics is too important to leave to politicians
"The Archbishop's platitudes do far more to divide the country than unite it" wrote the Telegraph's Charlotte Gill in a piece headed: 'Justin Welby has no business using his sacred…
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…
Rev’d Jonathan Aitken calls the nation to pray for Parliament
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
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?
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
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
'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
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
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
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
"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
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
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
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
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
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
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…