The transgender treatment of young people

Dr Julie Maxwell writes: You may have seen the recent media coverage of the Judicial review brought by Keira Bell and Susan Evans against the Tavistock and perhaps you wonder what on earth this is all about. This was a landmark judgement that will have world wide repercussions as well as implications for churches and …

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Is there a positive case for the ‘traditional’ sexual ethic?

This morning the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) have released a video entitled ‘The Beautiful Story’ which seeks to set out the case, in accessible terms, for the ‘traditional’ sexual ethic that sex belongs in marriage between one man and one woman, as currently taught in the doctrine of the Church of England. I …

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(How) should we engage with Living in Love and Faith?

This week saw the publication of the material in the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) project of the Church of England. The result of nearly three years’s work by a series of working groups under a coordinating group led by Chris Cocksworth, bishop of Coventry, it arose from the refusal by General Synod to ‘take …

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Bill Love, TEC and same-sex marriage: implications

Andrew Goddard writes: Following my previous post which explored the Hearing Panel ruling on Bishop Bill Love and the background to it, this article seeks to begin exploring some of its implications and possible consequences. Bishop Love has already written to his diocese and initially appears unlikely to appeal despite noting the significance of the …

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Bishop Bill Love, TEC, and same-sex marriage in the church

Andrew Goddard writes: The recent negative judgment by The Episcopal Church’s Hearing Panel on Bishop Bill Love’s pastoral direction nearly two years ago to the clergy of his diocese (Albany) is justifiably leading to widespread comment and concern. But what has happened and what is really at stake? This article explains the background and some of …

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How do we handle the complexities of the Bible, sexual ethics, and contemporary culture?

Sam Evans writes: Earlier this year I had the opportunity to study a module in Christian Ethics.  I was both daunted and excited. Once I’d vaguely orientated myself in the worlds of Plato, Aristotle, Kant and others, I thought I was ready to explore some contemporary issues.  Little did I realise that I would actually find …

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Understanding emerging gender identities

Mark Yarhouse is well known as a psychologist offering a Christian perspective on the complex questions around transgenderism and gender dysphoria, and I have previously reviewed his book Understanding Gender Dysphoria. He has teamed up with Julia Sadusky, a clinical psychologist and youth and ministry educator, and an advisor to Preston Sprinkle’s Center for Faith, Sexuality and …

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What is the biblical case for equality between men and women?

I publish here a review by Prof Dorothy Lee of a recent book by Kevin Giles, What the Bible Actually Teaches on Women. It is reproduced with permission from The Melbourne Anglican, February 2020.  This book by Kevin Giles is a biblically based and systematically argued exposure of the theological inadequacies of the so-called “complementarian” position on …

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Learning from the case of Jean Vanier

Jean Vanier was a French-Canadian Roman Catholic lay philosopher and theologian, until recently best known for his establishment of the network of L’Arche communities that aimed to integrate the lives of the able-bodied with the disabled, so that each learned from and supported the other. He was originally an academic, completing a PhD on Aristotle …

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