Hate speech? LGBT+ intolerance or ‘good disagreement’?

Since the launch of the Church of England's Living in Love and Faith (LLF) 'resources' last month, we have seen yet more 'love and faith' emerging from the LGBT+ community. Instead of greeting the materials with any degree of positivity, we have seen outrage (surprise, surprise) and referrals to the police (yes, really). Jayne Ozanne, …

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Laurence Fox is right….the NHS is not a religion

With wearying predictability and the usual deliberate failure to respond to what was actually said, the wokerati have piled onto Laurence Fox again. His crime? To refer to the NHS as not being a church and its staff not being his saviours. Well said, Laurence, mate. I totally agree. Shame that Piers Morgan can't address …

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Avoiding ‘the blame game’ – disposable marriage in 6 months or less

I have a guilty secret to divulge....I quite enjoy watching 'Say Yes To The Dress'. There, I've said it. This is a TV programme originating in the US (where else?) in which we see brides-to-be going to a wedding dress shop with their 'entourage' - family and friends, in plain English - to try on …

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Living In Love And Faith: the roadmap to the extinction of the C of E

So - we finally have the Church of England's Living In Love And Faith report/book/resources available to us. Does any of this help us to see a clear way forward?  Or does it simply muddy the waters further, while advertising itself as a remedy for confusion? Or is it in fact the beginning of the …

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Forgiveness: a new transactional theology 

Photo:  https://www.thedolectures.com/ The Archbishop of Canterbury appears, in his recent stint on the BBC’s Today programme, to have come up with a new theology of forgiveness.  Interestingly, this seems to have passed most clergy by.  Or perhaps they have simply given up trying to balance what the Archbishop says with actual life in the pews. …

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Nadia Bolz-Weber: Livin’ On A Prayer?

Pic: bereeanresearch.org  Searching the web recently for what other churches are doing during the lockdown, I came across quite a number of parishes and Christian organisations that were promoting a 'prayer' from Nadia Bolz-Weber.  For those readers not familiar with Bolz-Weber, she is a Lutheran pastor in the US who is now viewed as a …

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Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm: or ‘Commission for Approved Thinking’?

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a new 'commission to review and improve diversity' across London’s public realm to 'ensure the capital’s landmarks suitably reflect London’s achievements and diversity'. Would anyone outside current activist circles like to hazard a guess at what this actually means? The Mayor of London's London Assembly website states: …

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An unwelcome precedent for the Church of England: lessons from the Mayflower celebrations

https://www.mayflower400uk.org/education/the-mayflower-story/ Can we see any connection between the 400th anniversary celebrations of the Mayflower’s voyage to the Americas and the line that has been drawn in the sand by the Church of England’s leadership during the virus lockdown? I suggest that we can. Both illustrate a picture of western culture’s views about the place in …

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