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What is the future of the Anglican Communion?

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The Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) has recently published the Nairobi-Cairo proposals for reimagining the Anglican Communion. Here Andrew Atherstone, one of the contributors to the proposals, explains why they deserve a fair hearing and how they might bear good fruit. I have a dream for the Anglican Communion. It is … Continue Reading

Where is the Church of England going on race and ethnicity?

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John Root offers his analysis of the recent report: ‘Behind the Stained Glass: A Report on the participation of UK Minoritised Ethnic People in the Ministry and Leadership of the Church of England’, written for the Racial Justice Commission of the Church of England by Professor Paul Miller and associates of the Institute for Educational … Continue Reading

Why does God allow natural disasters?

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Mark Broadway writes: Does suffering matter? This is a question that many will have tried to answer, scouring philosophy textbooks from the safety of the library. Perhaps more importantly, in times of distress and pain, a more poignant question arises from the depths of a heart: does my suffering matter? As a society, we can … Continue Reading

Does God’s widening mercy contradict biblical sexual ethics?

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Andrew Goddard writes: After much pre-publicity, which I reflected on at the time, The Widening of God’s Mercy: Sexuality within the Biblical Story (Yale University Press) has finally appeared. This enables an end to speculation as to why New Testament scholar, Richard B Hays (writing here with his son, Old Testament scholar, Christopher) has changed … Continue Reading

Does Jesus ‘declare all foods clean’ in Mark 7.19?

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In September, Dr Logan Williams (University of Aberdeen) published a truly fascinating open-access academic article ‘The Stomach Purifies All Foods: Jesus’ Anatomical Argument in Mark 7.18–19‘ in the prestigious journal New Testament Studies. The essay won the Paul J. Achtemeier Award for New Testament Scholarship from the Society of Biblical Literature (the main global Anglophone … Continue Reading

The Archbishop of Canterbury, PLF, Truth and Trust

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Andrew Goddard writes: The full interview of Archbishop Justin by Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart for their The Rest is Politics: Leading podcast was released on Monday including the Archbishop’s answer on “gay sex” which was released (in a very slightly different edit) on TikTok over a week in advance and which I have argued … Continue Reading

Is the Archbishop of Canterbury misleading everyone about the Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF)?

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Andrew Goddard writes: What follows demonstrates a recent statement about PLF by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is significantly misleading in relation to what the bishops have decided, what the church teaches on sexual ethics, who PLF is for, and what PLF offers. This development, contradicting and undermining past theological and legal advice as … Continue Reading

Why does eschatology matter?

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Mark Bonnington writes: Faith hope and love are the three cardinal (or primary) virtues in the Christian faith. As Paul the Apostle wrote: ‘Faith; hope; love; these three endure’ ‘but the least understood is hope.’ Actually, that last bit is a quote from the late, great, Baptist preacher David Pawson—a gloss on 1 Corinthians 13 … Continue Reading

What’s the problem? What’s the Solution? The problem with ‘racial justice’ appointments

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John Root writes: The diocese of London is advertising for the post of the newly-created ‘Head of Racial Justice Priority’. Other dioceses (such as Leeds) are considering or have made similar appointments. Why? In this blog, with London as the example, I want to spotlight the potential of such appointments, but especially explore the ways … Continue Reading