sexuality

Good disagreement?

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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

Can the ‘traditional’ view of sexuality ever be plausible?

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I’m often intrigued by those who argue that the church’s stance on sexuality—which usually means the church’s traditional opposition to seeing same-sex sexual unions as equivalent to male-female marriage—as an obstacle to mission. They are quite right that most people beyond the church look at this aspect of its teaching with more or less blank … Continue Reading

Bible, Gender, Sexuality

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This guest post by Andrew Goddard assesses an important contribution to the debate about same-sex unions. James V. Brownson, Bible, Gender, Sexuality: Reframing the Church’s Debate on Same-Sex Relationships (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2013). ISBN 978-0-8028-6863-3. The General Synod’s decision to approve women bishops was immediately followed by questions as to whether the church would now change its … Continue Reading

In dialogue with Steve Chalke?

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Last week I was invited, with a small group of other bloggers and online journalists, to a discussion with Steve Chalke about the Open Church event being planned by Oasis next April. I was impressed with the idea of discussion on this, and appreciated the invitation and the opportunity to talk with Steve in person. … Continue Reading

More Perfect Union?

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I’ve had quite a few interactions with Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham, mostly on line and (once) in person. On some occasions he has been reasonable, thoughtful and well-informed; on others, belligerent and polemical. So when I received this book for review, I was intrigued to know which way it would go. Unfortunately, it is … Continue Reading

Law suits and same-sex marriage

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It has been announced that Jeremy Pemberton, the first clergyman in the Church of England to enter a same-sex marriage, is taking legal action against his bishop and the Archbishop of York. Canon Jeremy Pemberton, the first British clergyman to enter a same sex marriage, has confirmed that he has filed an Equality Act claim … Continue Reading

End Times and Jesus’ return

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There is going to be a flurry of interest in the whole question of ‘End Times’ in the autumn, as two films are released on the subject. The first is a remake of the ‘Left Behind’ film, based on the idea of the ‘rapture’ which forms part of J N Darby‘s dispensationalism, interpreted through the … Continue Reading

Same-sex marriage and moral debate

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In the C of E, and more widely in the UK, the church discussion about the moral status of same-sex unions tends to take place in isolation from other moral issues. (Perhaps the one exception to that is the recent debate about women in leadership—but I argue here that these two questions are quite distinct.) … Continue Reading

The Rolf Harris affair

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With the conviction of Rolf Harris on 12 counts of sexual abuse, it is difficult to know what aspect of the whole affair is most shocking. Is it the length of time that Harris was active as an abuser? Or the age of his victims—one as young as seven? Or the devastating impact of his actions … Continue Reading