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 …
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: …
Whose body? Legal issues and religious beliefs in England
Are you aware that if you die tomorrow, as an adult in England, your organs and any other bits someone in the NHS takes a fancy to, can be 'harvested' for the use of others? Whether you want this or not? Wales enacted similar legislation in 2015 and Scotland is planning to do so in …
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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 …
BBC broadcasts Muslim call to prayer: some religions more equal than others?
The BBC has started broadcasting the Muslim call to prayer as part of its services to Muslims during the coronavirus epidemic. Apparently, Muslims need this in order to feel a sense of community while they are in isolation: Chris Burns, head of BBC Local Radio, said: “Many Muslims will feel a void in their lives where prayers …
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A disingenuous response: another lesson in integrity and doublethink from our bishops
Following on from my previous post about clergy being banned from the bedsides of patients in the current crisis, things continue to develop. Various clergy around the country have been expressing their frustration with the ongoing ban on them entering their own churches; news of the bedside-ban on voluntary chaplains seems to have heaped even …
English Archbishops: Zeitgeist or Holy Geist?
Zeitgeist = 'Spirit of the age' or 'Spirit of the times'. Holy Geist = don't bother asking an archbishop (or archbishop-designate) as they probably won't know. Talking via email last week to the admirable Ian Paul, I happened to comment that criticizing the Church of England at the moment is as easy as shooting fish …
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Keep calm and buy loo rolls
Ah, the great British blitz spirit. Long gone, apparently, in certain sections of our population. The TV-drivel-fed, media-influenced hordes nowadays seem to have no will to engage their brains before acting like lemmings in supermarkets and pharmacies. Who knew that the go-to items to buy in the face of the Black Death would be …
Welby and Sentamu: a masterclass in moral relativism
Photo by banphote kamolsanei from Pexels Well, folks - especially we Anglicans - isn’t it great to know that in a time of national crisis, we can rely on the leaders of our Church to speak out the truth? To point people in the direction of faith in Jesus? To tell people how to get …
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Same-sex marriage survey: another comedy of interpretive errors
Dear God, here we go again. I suppose we ought to be grateful that the Ozanne Foundation (OF) has at least had the sense to commission some work from YouGov this time, rather than repeat the car crash that was its attempt at research in late 2018 (the Faith and Sexuality Survey). The new Same …
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