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Final submissions were made last week in the case of Jeremy Pemberton who has taken the former acting Bishop of my diocese to an employment tribunal. It was initially thought that a judgement would be forthcoming around now, but it appears as though the submissions from both sides were so detailed that the ruling will … Continue Reading
The short answer is: no. The slightly longer answer is: there is absolutely no reliable evidence that this was the case, and if Jesus was married, then we would see at least some indication of that in the New Testament documents—just as we know that Paul was not married, and Peter was, from a throw-away … Continue Reading
This guest post by Peter Ould explains what is at stake in the Jeremy Pemberton Employment Tribunal Case. What is happening? The Revd Jeremy Pemberton is taking the Archbishop of York and Bishop Richard Inwood (who was the acting Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham) to an Employment Tribunal over the refusal of Bishop Richard to grant … Continue Reading
I wrote this piece for Christianity Magazine blog last week. I have added some other perspectives below. It was with some sadness that I read of Tony Campolo’s change of heart on the question of same-sex relationships. But was with even greater sadness that I read his reasoning. I was sad because Tony has been a … Continue Reading
Following Tim Keller’s broad-brush review of Matthew Vines and Ken Wilson, it is probably no surprise that both have responded to his comments, Vines here and Wilson here. I hadn’t planned on continuing this discussion—except that I think the responses illustrate some important things about the nature of the debate that is going on. At first … Continue Reading
Tim Keller is well-known as a church leader, preacher and writer, particularly in Reformed circles, as leader of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York—though he is read more widely on both sides of the Atlantic. He has just posted a lengthy review (around 2,800 words) of two significant books in the debate about same-sex relationships, Matthew Vines’ God … Continue Reading
Thanks to Peter Ould for this guest post on the judgement in the Ashers Bakers case: The judgement on the private case in Northern Ireland between Gareth Lee (from Queerspace) and Ashers Bakers has been delivered and it’s an absolute corker. Some background first. This private case (not a criminal case so any talk of the … Continue Reading
Last Friday I very reluctantly tuned in to watch Oxford church historian Diarmaid MacCulloch talk about Sex and the Church. I was reluctant for several reasons. First, don’t we talk about this enough already—aren’t there more important things to focus on at the moment? (Tonight’s ‘Kill the Christians’, for example, highlighting how the US/UK invasion of … Continue Reading
In the first part of his book, Song has explored some of the dynamics of marriage and sex in scripture and theology, and along the way has dismissed the most popular arguments for accepting same-sex unions as on a par with marriage. He then turns to the question of ‘covenant partnership’, and appears to hit another … Continue Reading
Robert Song’s Covenant and Calling: towards a theology of same-sex relationships is a book I have wanted to be persuaded by more than anything else I have recently read, for two main reasons. First, I was privileged to be in a small discussion group with Robert at a recent CEEC consultation on the issue of same-sex … Continue Reading
I spent last Saturday in London at a consultation organised by the Church of England Evangelical Council on (guess what?) the current debate on sexuality. The focus was a new book by Martin Davie, commissioned by CEEC, looking at all the major publications on the Bible and same-sex unions that have come out since the … 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
