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Running on empty in the PLF journey?

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The following article by Andrew Goddard provides a historical overview and critique of the Church of England’s protracted and divisive struggle to implement the Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF) for same-sex couples. It argues that despite years of debate and shifting promises, the House of Bishops has largely failed to find a consensus, ultimately … Continue Reading

Who Owns Jesus? Tommy Robinson and The Dirty Revival

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The fury over a Christmas carol event exposes the ideological gatekeeping hollowing out British Christianity. Jason Clark writes: Over the last few days, my social media feeds—shaped by the strange, selective algorithms we all live under—have been replete with progressive and left-leaning Christians condemning the upcoming “Christ in Christmas” event in London linked to Tommy … Continue Reading

The elephant in the nativity room?

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John Hudghton writes: Around this time of year my nerdy mind turns to constructing an authentic biblical nativity scene. This amuses my family, to say the least. I try to take on board the lessons of biblical scholarship that Ian Paul has usefully and consistently emphasised for years now. Sadly, this is something which is … Continue Reading

Can the BBC be re-enchanted?

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David Campanale writes: It was in a one-to-one union meeting with BBC management where I met the darkness. In the wake of the post-Jimmy Savile BBC Trust investigation into a culture of bullying, harassment and control inside the BBC, I had gone on behalf of the National Union of Journalists to read out evidence from … Continue Reading

Is the Archbishop of Canterbury head of the Church and the Communion?

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Martin Davie writes: The announcement of the choice of the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury has been accompanied by frequent references to the Archbishop of Canterbury as the ‘head of the Church of England’ or the ‘head of the Anglican Communion.’  In this post I shall explain … Continue Reading

Is ‘Christian nationalism’ a contradiction in terms?

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Martyn Whittock writes: Where should we stand on the subject of ‘Christian nationalism’? As a Christian historian (with a very eclectic set of interests, and having written about early-medieval national origins, attempts at theocracy in the 17th century, and modern European dictatorships) I am very conflicted about the combination of faith and nation. And I … Continue Reading

Do we have a ‘polyphonic’ God?

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John Root writes on: Polyphonic God: Exploring Intercultural Theology, Churches and Justice, edited by Israel Oluwole Olofinjana, David Wise, and Usha Reifsnider. This book is a goldmine. Several of the contributions are brilliant; none is without merit. Church leaders in multi-ethnic communities will find the book invaluable, despite its fairly hefty price. Contributions come from … Continue Reading

Writing out the Bible by hand

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I was fascinating to learn, on social media and in personal conversation, that my friend and General Synod colleague Kate Wharton has for several years been writing out the Bible by hand in personal notebooks. So I asked her about the project. IP: What has this project involved? How much time has it taken so … Continue Reading