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Andrew Goddard writes: The Church of England is waiting for the bishops to decide (likely on Monday October 9th) the next steps in their discernment concerning Living in Love and Faith (LLF). These will be published shortly after the House of Bishops meets and brought in some form to General Synod (Nov 13th–15th). It is, however, … Continue Reading
This seems to be a very good time to republish this article which I last posted three years ago in 2020, for at least two reasons. The first is that last weekend was the time for many to be ordained, so my social media feed was full of pictures of people being ordained, and so … Continue Reading
I was invited yesterday to take part in a discussion this morning on ITV’s Good Morning Britain—but they wanted someone in the studio rather than on Zoom. The question to discuss was: does the Christian faith say something about politics, and should church leaders ‘interfere’ in politics. Introducing the item (at 7.20 am), the presenter … Continue Reading
Andrew Goddard writes: Shortly before General Synod, in the light of what I had earlier written at the start of the discernment process concerning what was needed from the bishops and possible ways forward, I argued for a pause rather than a rush to judgment in the form of a vote. This did not happen … Continue Reading
‘Sioux Grey Wolf’ writes: The UK Government is conducting a review of how it handled the Covid-19 pandemic. We already know some of the successes (chiefly the roll-out of the vaccine) and some of the scandals (PPE deals, parties). More will be revealed. But how did the Church of England respond the biggest crisis since the … Continue Reading
Summary: By setting out what the bishops (and their legal advisors) are now claiming about marriage in our society, this article argues that there are significant changes in their account which have not been clearly explained or defended. It traces how the church has viewed marriage in society generally through history and summarises how the … Continue Reading
Jon Kuhrt writes: Last week saw yet another Church of England report into safeguarding and institutional failings in the handling of abuse allegations. Almost 400 new cases involving actions by clergy, officials and volunteers against children and vulnerable adults were uncovered. In a foreword to the report, Justin Welby and Stephen Cottrell, the archbishops of Canterbury and York, … Continue Reading
The bishops of the Church of England have hit the headlines by writing to The Times in protest at the Government’s plan to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda for treatment. Whether or not the first deportation flight leaves Britain today for Rwanda, this policy should shame us as a nation. Rwanda is a brave country … Continue Reading
As I write the title for this piece, I feel rather hesitant. Why is it worth talking about discontent? Isn’t it best left, so that we can focus on things that are positive? Sometimes that is true—but the difficulty with ignoring the discontent, or other negative feelings, is that they then fester, and become worse. … Continue Reading
On 6th January, it was announced that Stephen Knott, who has been working as part of the Lambeth Palace team, was appointed to be Archbishops’ Secretary for Appointments in succession to Caroline Boddington. The role has attracted attention in the past, since Caroline developed the role so that it had significant control over the process … Continue Reading
Last week, the Diocese of Oxford posted a video, the first in a planned series of four, in which Olivia Graham, the recently-appointed bishop of Reading, gave a short theological introduction to the reasons why Christians should be concerned about the environment. In it, I think she said some unusual and (it turned out controversial) … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Adjunct Professor, Fuller Theological Seminary; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
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