Will Hutton in The Observer Rebel bishops threaten the very heart of our liberal traditions
Anglicanism is a liberal tradition central to the very conception of Englishness, but it finds itself under mounting threat. Last Sunday around 300 Anglican bishops, largely from Nigeria, Uganda and Australia, but including at least one from England, issued the Jerusalem Declaration. They no longer accepted that the Archbishop of Canterbury led the Anglican Church.
Giles Fraser in The Independent on Sunday Enough is enough. The extremists must be confronted
Rowan Williams has been too compliant in the face of the Church’s conservatives and homophobes
Jane Hedges in the Telegraph Women bishops shouldn’t scare the Synod
“Church in crisis over women priests.” This is the kind of headline that was appearing in the press 30 years ago when the general synod of the Church of England began to debate the ordination of women.
Damian Thompson in the Telegraph Bishops plan conversion to Rome
0 CommentsThe Sunday Telegraph carries the news that senior Church of England bishops have met the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to discuss the apocalyptic crisis in Anglicanism and the prospect of converting to Roman Catholicism.
I’m glad that Jonathan Wynne-Jones has respected the anonymity of the bishops in question. We at the Catholic Herald have known for some time about these historic negotiations. I pray that they succeed.
Melanie McDonagh in The Times The Anglican wars are bad for all of us subtitled “If the pews of the Church of England empty, we’ll lose an army of public-spirited volunteers”
Giles Fraser in the Church Times When slaves turn on their oppressors
Damian Thompson in the Telegraph Women bishops? Just get on with it.
Robin Harris in the Times The disaster for Christians in Iraq subtitled “They used to live peaceably with other faiths but now they have been driven out and become refugees”
Andrew Brown in The Guardian Pennies for heaven subtitled “The Church of England relies heavily on its collection plate to fund each diocese – but a threat to solvency is threatening tolerance”
6 CommentsWe recommend this essay by the Rt Revd Pierre Whalon, the Bishop in Charge of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe. He writes on ‘what lies past Lambeth 2008. And Lambeth 2018. And 2028…’
6 CommentsGiles Fraser in the Church Times Family love is a model of injustice
Robert O’Neill asks in The Guardian Do we need a global Anglican communion?. His answer is a resounding and heartfelt “yes”.
Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah in a Face to faith article in The Guardian Judaism has had to evolve to survive, and Anglicanism must too. She asks “Is Anglicanism a form of progressive Christianity – and if so, what are its progressive credentials?”
Roderick Strange in the credo column at the Times Genuine conversion unveils our hidden depths
Christopher Howse writes in the Telegraph that the bees are back at Lambeth Palace. The riddle of the golden syrup tin
Stephen Bates in The Guardian Barack Obama and the Jesus Machine – “Televangelist James Dobson has come out against Obama. But the Democrat might just carry religious voters with him anyway.”
16 CommentsJohn Bryson Chane (Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington DC) writes in The Guardian The framing of mutual joy where he argues that “Our church’s evolving attitude has led us to the point where we must consider gay marriage”.
5 CommentsGeoffrey Rowell writes in The Times that Christians read the handwritten word differently.
Christopher Howse writes in the Telegraph about The bare and desolate SPCK bookshops.
Chris Hardwick writes in the Guardian that It’s healthy for Christians to disagree, but we really must learn to ‘quarrel peacefully’.
Also in the Guardian this week:
Rowan Williams wrote about Henry Chadwick.
Riazat Butt wrote about The ‘pope’ of hope.
Giles Fraser wrote about Me and the secular police.
And over in the Church Times he wrote about Saying ‘no’ to distant government.
16 CommentsTo win influence, the Church must first win arguments, writes Stephen Plant in The Times.
Wake up to how people really see the C of E, said Mark Hope-Urwin in last week’s Church Times.
Finding a crucifix on a rubbish heap was a timely reminder of God’s enduring love, says Andrew Clitherow in the Guardian.
Earlier in the week, Giles Fraser wrote in the Guardian: Religion thrives in Africa and the Middle East. So is the argument that clever people don’t believe in God racist? See Intelligent, divine.
His Church Times column this week is titled When mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.
Riazat Butt wrote at Comment is free about a conference in Saudi Arabia, see Between a rock and jihad place?
Christopher Howse wrote about Wittgenstein in Jeeves and the idea of human sacrifice.
1 CommentZaki Cooper writes in the Guardian about the relationship between faith and food.
In The Times Jonathan Sacks says that Religion can help in the desert of the lonely crowd.
Christopher Howse writes in the Telegraph about being Blisterless on the road to Santiago.
Giles Fraser in the Church Times has When mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.
Andrea Useem has written an article asking Is Obama’s Real “Faith Asset” His Ability to Speak the Language of American Civil Religion?
Simon Barrow writes on Ekklesia about Moving religion from harm to healing.
0 CommentsIn an earlier article, I linked to an article in the Church Times by Jonathan Clark explaining why The C of E is losing its own history.
More recently, Brian Crowe wrote in the Church of Ireland Gazette in response to that, the article was titled The embarrassment of history? Restoring proper confidence in our Anglican past.
That article can be read in full here.
1 CommentJoanna Collicutt asks in the Guardian Are we “hard-wired” to believe in God?
Christopher Howse writes in the Telegraph about John Wesley’s polygamous brother-in-law.
In The Times Anil Bhanot presents A Hindu view on the challenge to the sanctity of life.
Simon Barrow writes about Globalisation for Ekklesia see Hearing hope through the babble.
Nick Spencer writes for Fulcrum about Neither Private nor Privileged:
the role of Christianity in Britain today.
Giles Fraser writes in the Church Times about Penalties of chaos in Chelsea.
The Church Times leader is about the Festival of the Visitation. See The song from the silence.
1 CommentIn The Times Roderick Strange writes about Corpus Christi in A simple supper in an upper room that feeds us still.
In the Guardian Stephen Heap discusses A truly secular approach can resolve conflicts between religious law and the law of the land.
Christians have no monopoly on morality, says Lisa Jardine, who is interviewed in in the New Statesman.
Also Julian Baggini writes that we need new ways to decide ethical issues in Now let the real battle begin.
Giles Fraser writes in the Church Times about Levelling with odd bedfellows.
Christopher Howse writes in the Telegraph about The voices that Joan of Arc heard.
1 CommentChristopher Howse writes in the Telegraph about the City Churches in After the fires of London.
Simon Barrow writes for Wardman Wire on The Struggle to be Truthful: Thinking Aloud.
In the Church Times Rebecca Paveley interviewed Gordon Brown, see Not strangers but neighbours.
Giles Fraser wrote that Doctor Who proves the success of the gospel.
The Times has The value of mercy as a means of overcoming anger by Usama Hasan.
The Guardian has Andrew Copson writing about humanism and the school curriculum in Face to faith.
10 CommentsGeoffrey Rowell writes in The Times about The celestial fire that brings us new life and inspiration.
Chris Duggan writes in the Guardian about our ecological sins. See Face to faith.
Christopher Howse writes in the Daily Telegraph about Boris Johnson and the Holy Trinity.
Giles Fraser writes in the Church Times about Maude Royden in Do people need saving from this?
At Ekklesia there are several items. First, and rather belatedly, a link to a paper published some weeks ago by Savi Hensman under the heading Listening and learning in the sexuality debate.
Jonathan Bartley asks Are Christians facing discrimination?
Simon Barrow writes a column titled Land of hope and glory?
And, finally, over in the Spectator there is an article by Theo Hobson ‘It’s Harder For Straights To Feel Christian Charity Than Gays’
9 CommentsJonathan Sacks writes in The Times Teach your children well the power of Passover.
Steve Parish writes about zeal for the social Gospel in the Guardian’s Face to faith column.
Christopher Howse writes about Furnishings that cost Laud’s life in the Daily Telegraph.
In the Church Times Giles Fraser writes about how The battle of good and bad religion hots up.
Over on Comment is free Riazat Butt writes about Our dirty little secret.
9 CommentsThe Church Times has a leader about human rights: So, how safe are human rights? This refers to the recent address by Pope Benedict to the UN General Assembly, which is here.
And at Ekklesia Savi Hensman writes about Developing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Giles Fraser in the Church Times focuses more narrowly in Take these Nigerian taunts more seriously.
Christopher Howse writes in the Daily Telegraph about suicide bombers in A human bomb does not distinguish.
David Lunan Moderator-designate of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland writes in The Times about The words and the beliefs that determine our lives.
Jonathan Romain writes about faith schools in Face to Faith in the Guardian.
And Andrew Brown wrote last week in the Church Times about what happened at the Daily Telegraph, in Victim of the Telegraph cull.
6 CommentsAbraham Pinter writes that Passover is a good time to think about freedom of religious education in the Guardian’s Face to Faith column.
In The Times Roderick Strange writes that The resurrection of Jesus was real and physical.
In the Daily Telegraph Christopher Howse reports on Doing God in the land of Mammon.
The Church Times has an article by Jonathan Clark explaining why The C of E is losing its own history.
And last week in the Church Times Elaine Storkey wrote about Taking on the moral high ground.
Simon Barrow writes for Ekklesia about an issue in British parliamentary democracy, see Power to which people, exactly?
2 CommentsGeoffrey Rowell writes in The Times that We need faith, and reality points us to a belief in God.
Christopher Howse writes in the Daily Telegraph about The burial of the heart.
Sunny Hundal writes about meaningless rituals in the Guardian’s Face to Faith column.
Giles Fraser writes in the Church Times about Why faith always asks questions.
The TLS carried this review of Rowan Williams’s Wrestling with Angels recently: Inside the mind of the Archbishop of Canterbury by David Bentley Hart. (h/t KH)
5 CommentsSimon Barrow wrote this article for the Wardman Wire: Flexing the Faith Muscle: Thinking Aloud. In it he looks at the style and tenor of church engagement with public life and the realm of politics – arguing that flexing the faith muscle in an overbearing way ends up being profoundly counter-productive.
Mary Warnock who among other things is a member of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s advisory group on medical ethics, wrote an article for the New Statesman which has been titled The politics of religion. In this she argues that religious belief is no basis for law-making.
7 CommentsAre religions becoming more extreme? Riazat Butt comments in the Guardian. A transcript of the lecture by Tony Blair to which she refers can be found here (pdf).
Earlier in the week, Riazat wrote about the issue of whether the British educational system is failing Muslim pupils, see Wanted: faith in the future.
Face to Faith this week is by John Newbury and is about religious broadcasting.
Christopher Howse writes in the Daily Telegraph about Thomas Tallis and The Spectator.
Jonathan Sacks writes in The Times that Genesis tells us we have a duty to protect the planet.
In the Church Times Giles Fraser writes about Earth Hour in Let there be dark.
3 CommentsJames Mawdsley writes in The Times about The proper place of the Church in debates of state.
Michael Horan writes about the Resurrection in the Guardian’s Face to Faith column.
Christopher Howse writes about Pictures from a lost village in the Daily Telegraph.
Simon Barrow writes at Ekklesia about The God elusion.
Giles Fraser writes in the Church Times that After the fire comes the resurrection.
And in last week’s Church Times Paul Oestreicher wrote This is not a religion of the book.
Also Una Kroll wrote Abandon establishment, and gain autonomy.
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