The New Statesman carries a major article by Sholto Byrnes which has been given this title: ”Jesus will appear again as judge of the world and the dead will be raised”. The magazine introduces the article this way:
Tom Wright’s literal belief in the Resurrection makes him a hero to conservative Christians worldwide. Here he declares war on militant atheists and liberals, and explains why heaven is not the end of the world.
Accompanying this is a background article on Christianity in Britain by Stephen Bates and published under the title Fundamental change:
Both politically and theologically, conservative Christianity is now a militant and rapidly growing force, in Britain and globally.
Oh geez. That article is so uninformed it’s actually painful to read…
“Here he declares war on militant atheists and liberals”
Can’t wait to hear from the usual gang of thugs about how non-violent conservatives are.
Well dear Anglican neighbors, take from we who managed to be found by another Jesus who surprisingly existed outside of the going vigorous conservative frames in the USA, the witness that phenoms like the USA Bible Belt and the Religious Right are all too real. Many USA conservative evangelical believers love you so much they are quite willing to tilt any number of discussions in favor of their own closed presuppositions, not to mention tilting any number of laws or policies or institutional regulations in favor of their exclusive truths, let alone force you in subtle and not so subtle… Read more »
Of course you have to remember that for many conservative evangelicals Tom Wright is a liberal because he supports the ordination of women, including as bishops, and is deemed ‘unsound’ on justification by faith.
All thrust and aggression, purposeful, attacking, enemies, tough guy, sort them out, heavyweight. It’s like how they used to parody Thatcher and build her image at the same time. His Easter sermon was, in places, little less than stupid, embarrassing, ignorant, foolish…
“Of course you have to remember that for many conservative evangelicals Tom Wright is a liberal because he supports the ordination of women, including as bishops, and is deemed ‘unsound’ on justification by faith.” – Frozenchristian, 10 April 2008, 4:38pm.
Spot on. Remember also that +Tom Wright opposed George W.’s preemptive war against Iraq. After all, in the view of the U.S. Christian Right, the U.S. President was the 21st cent. crusader to share, with Muslims, America’s gift of democracy (and Christianity).
Ick. In +Tom Wright, I’m actually reminded of (his Iraq War opponent) George W. Bush.
Both of them make a *virtue of certainty*—instead of seeing it as the calling-card of that chief of the Mortal Sins, PRIDE.
Lord have mercy!
“Remember also that +Tom Wright opposed George W.’s preemptive war against Iraq” I don’t know why you all call it “against Iraq”? when it is a war IN Iraq and doesn’t seem to be “against” anything… The Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein was a friendly one, one of the few you had; a long time collaborator and henchman. The bombings of The New York World Trade Centre was not done by mainstream Muslim Iraqis, but Saudis and other sectarians. It had nothing to do with Taliban Afghanistan, the nebulous Al Qaida wasn’t even present… The meaning of the word “preemptive”… Read more »
What the article on Bp Wright refers to as “kindly muddle” may have been something subtler — a sense of the changing texture of adult Christian faith.
Stephen Bates’s resurrection of the loaded term ‘nonconformist’ is a pity – since this term has 2 internal defects: (1) it doesn’t answer the question ‘conforming to *what*, exactly?’ – presumably to the position of those in power or in the ‘establishment’, as though that criterion were relevant to truth; (2) it is perfectly possible that those who don’t simply go with the established position thereby show -on average- a greater capacity to think for themselves.
First Tom “NT” Wright recommends Dr Cameron’s flawed labours to the English House of Bishops (“Issues”) as a “Scholar”, now he is a “Statesman”???
Hilarious – it shows so clearly why the Church has nothing left to offer me.
I’m off to see Richard Dawkins speak in the near future.