Lord Carey has complained that Christians are being bullied in the UK; see for example this Church Times report.
In response Riazat Butt in The Guardian asks Who’s bullying who? Lord Carey thinks Christians are being bullied by the political establishment. In reality, they enjoy many privileges.
And Frank Skinner in the Times writes Persecute me – I’m after the Brownie points. We Christians thrive as a minority. A bit of strict us-and-them keeps up the quality.
Theo Hobson writes in The Guardian about The whited sepulchres of Anglicanism
Bishops praising religious liberty are as phony as Thatcherites praising compassion
Giles Fraser writes in the Church Times that Gormley leaves a note at St Paul’s.
Richard Harries writes in the Times How could I be a Catholic, stuck in the past?
and Dwight Longenecker responds with Is there any such thing as a “Catholic-minded Anglican?”
Edward King, bishop of Lincoln, died on 8 March 1910. To mark the centenary, the archbishop of Canterbury had spoken to Crosslincs, the Lincoln diocesan magazine: Bishop of the Poor: Edward King reinvented the role of diocesan bishop.
Christopher Howse in the Telegraph asks How can God be inside us?
Peter Townley in a Times Credo column writes For human endeavour, we should read divine initiative. The key theme is power and how we use it as we journey with the Lord into the desert this Lent.
James Jones, bishop of Liverpool, gave an address to his diocesan synod today about allowing a variety of ethical conviction in the church.
Just as Christian pacifists and Christian soldiers profoundly disagree with one another yet in their disagreement continue to drink from the same cup because they share in the one body so too I believe the day is coming when Christians who equally profoundly disagree about the consonancy of same gender love with the discipleship of Christ will in spite of their disagreement drink openly from the same cup of salvation.
I don’t know if anybody caught +Liverpool’s very thoughtful and well balanced and helpful response to the Jon Venables case on Today. It was impressive. It is good to know there are people of his calibre in the church.
I really enjoyed Riazatt Butt’s and Theo Hobson’s pieces. Here in the USA we hear whining all the time that Christians are being persecuted here. This often comes after some election or policy outcome the whiners disagree with. To them I want to say “Grow up!” Western society is becoming more diversified, more plural. Just because others now have the privileges you do doesn’t mean you’re being persecuted. And if you are going to play in the field of hardball politics, don’t be surprised when you get knocked down. As far as bullying, from my perspective, it’s the “MY way… Read more »
Theo Hobson is a little unkind to Richard Harries. Given that he cannot single-handedly remove the Church of England from the establishment he might still be able to progress religious liberties from where he sits. As for his use of John Henry Newman, he might instead use his brother Francis William Newman, a progressive figure who went in the opposite direction. Mind, only John Henry managed a miracle of emptying his grave and vanishing – apparently this might have happened once before.
+James Jones’s reflections give me heart. He has a clear, nuanced, informed understanding of the Anglican debates over sexuality, and he offers all of us a clear way forward. I’ll take it.
Dwight Longenecker follows the generous and whimsical Harries with bitterness and spleen. There are just so many of us who made the journey from Rome to Anglicanism because it was the only vehicle for faith that had a forward gear!
Dear Lord Carey, I am gay, black and Anglican. I can be more assertive and stand up for my faith in the public square but your views about my sexuality haves empowered the opposition to write me off and claim that people like me have no place in Christianity.
+James Jones seems to have made a real journey of discovery. I much appreciate his mature reflections.If only some other Bishops were as mature and thoughtful.
“As Bishop called to “maintain the spirit of unity in the bond of peace” in the Diocese of Liverpool where we have the full spectrum of moral opinion on human sexuality I believe that to have “diversity without enmity”, as the Dean put it at the Bishop’s Council, provides a safe and a spiritually and emotionally healthy place for Christians of differing convictions to discern the will of God for our lives. To know and to do God’s will is our calling” – Bishop James Jones – Now here we have a Bishop/theologian whom I can really respect. His address… Read more »
Where have ALL the real BULLIES gone?
Off to GAFCON, every one!
As I recall this pacifist analogy bishop Jones makes was presented to the Lambeth Commission, they did not make much of it.
Bishop Jones thinks those gays who have obeyed the Church teaching have had a poor deal, I guess Jeffrey John would agree with that!
But perhaps he means that group who after healing etc are “ex-gay”, are now married and living a heterosexual lifestyle although acknowledging they still have and are fighting “same-sex attraction” – Yes, indeed I think these people have had the very poorest of deals from the Church.
Like others here, I very much liked the Bishop of Liverpool’s plea for unity in charitable tolerance. However, there is a corollary less congenial to most here: give FiF people what they need to stay in the C of E (which – when the chips are down – is what most of them seem to want to do).
Here is a plea of one of them (whom I believe to be one of the most honourable of them – hope ‘my endorsement’ doesn’t dish his chances!):
http://peterite.blogspot.com/2010/03/of-third-and-first-order-issues.html.
Bp Jones was the guest of the Diocese of Virginia and came to our annual clergy/lay profesionals and spouses conference. This was when Carey was ABC. Liverpool and Virgnia were two of the three ports involved in the Triangular Trade, and one of the results of this visit was establishing a relayionship with his diocese and the African port involved – a Triangle of Reconciliation. Martyn Mins, not yet then departed, sucked up to him unmercifully. Maybe it bomeranged! Anyway, I was most impressed with the good bishop. He invited our diocesan committee on race relations to come to his… Read more »
Having read Peter Ould’s piece on ‘virtueonline’ and his response to Bishop James Jones’ address to Synod, I am more convinced than ever that Bp. Jones is right – in what he has said about the equivalence of homosexuality, just war, biblical inerrancy, global warning; as being acceptable, non-core issues on which Anglicans can agree to disagree. Whatever each of us feels about any of these issues, none of them directly calls into question the divinity of Christ, or the sovereignty of God, so why should we not be able to co-exist in our diversity in the Church? When people… Read more »
James Jones comments have been met with a great deal of dismay and vitriol from certain quarters. It really is telling that some conservatives and evangelicals would feel bereft if they had to let go of their hatred and condemnation of people in same sex relationships and their straight allies. What is so difficult about saying, there is a range of views, we differ on this issue, but we can respect your convictions and your right to hold them?