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General Synod is planning to have a debate about the Kairos II Palestine document on Sunday night. In theory, it is claimed to be a listening to the voice of our Palestinian Christian brethren. But in reality, it proposes a selective and distorted account which is potential going to do irreparable harm to Jewish-Christian relations … Continue Reading
What we wear sends a particular message. But, ironically, the message that conventional clergy attire (clerical collar, cassock, and so on) sends is actually the opposite of what it was designed to communicate. And what message do we actually want to convey? I was interested to read, two weeks ago, Angela Tilby’s column in the … Continue Reading
Mark Bratton writes: The long-awaited draft Bill on conversion practices (‘the draft’), recently released for pre-legislative parliamentary review, is fundamentally flawed. According to the Preamble, the draft aims, among other goals, to establish new offences related to abusive conversion practices on individuals. However, rather than preventing abuse, the draft risks reinforcing harmful conversion practices, particularly … Continue Reading
This week, the Archbishop of Canterbury is visiting Israel/Palestine and meeting with Palestinian Christians there, who have made a plea for churches in the West to support them and campaign for peace in the region. For reasons I will explain below, I think this visit, like the earlier one by Rachel Treweek, Graham Usher, and … Continue Reading
It’s not uncommon in churches, when the time comes for the Bible reading, to see people reach not for a printed pew Bible, but for their phones, to read the Bible on a phone app. Since the pandemic, people have become even more nervous about picking up a printed Bible in church—despite the lack of … Continue Reading
The Government’s proposed ‘ban’ on smart phones raises some vital issues about how as Christians we think about technology. What is actually at issue here? There are questions of young people having access to unsuitable content, and what screen time does to their thinking. But there are also issues about power and influence on the … Continue Reading
Sir Paul Marshall, the owner of GB News, has apparently committed the unforgivable sin. Instead of seeking to save the planet from global warming, he has contributed money to the seemingly lesser cause of actually seeing people saved by coming to faith in Jesus. The co-owner of GB News, a British TV channel accused of … Continue Reading
The columns of our newspapers and our feeds on social media have been filled with the debate about the political issues raised by the tragic murder of Southampton student Henry Nowak. Nowak was stabbed five times by Vickrum Digwa in December 2025, and Digwa was convicted this week. The case has raised emotive issues—but before … Continue Reading
Angela Tilby, in her weekly column in the Church Times, has claimed that the Church of England is pastoral and not missional. But she can only do this by being highly selective from the ordinal, from the text of John 10, and from the Church’s own theology of mission. Angela Tilby is a retired Canon … Continue Reading
Who should read the Bible aloud in church as part of our services? Should the preacher do it, or someone else? Is it more important that it is done well, or that our readers are representative of the community? How are they perceived beyond the church, and does that matter? In an online discussion group … Continue Reading
This week, the Church of England released headline figures for church attendance in 2025. This is collated from the parish returns done in October each year, and Ken Eames and the statistics team in Church House do a great job. Before plunging into the numbers and offering some reflection, it is worth addressing the common … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Associate Senior Research Fellow, Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod and Archbishops' Council. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
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Gospel commentary index Lectionary Year A
Andrew Goddard Bible biblical interpretation Biblical literacy biblical theology Church of England culture discipleship discussion doctrine eschatology evangelism gay General Synod Grove guest Hermeneutics History hope interpretation James Blandford Baker Jesus John's gospel Justin Welby leadership lectionary Luke Luke's gospel Matthew ministry mission New Testament Paul politics power preaching Revelation same sex marriage same sex unions sexuality theology video Year A Year B Year C
