The Church of England held its press briefing for this month’s General Synod yesterday. Synod will be meeting in the newly refurbished Assembly Hall, at Church House, Westminster, from February 26 to March 1. There are a few press reports this morning.
Stephen Bates in The Guardian Church of England to debate tighter controls on pornographic material
Ruth Gledhill in The Times Send for missionaries to halt church decline, bishops told
Manchester Evening News Church may debate BB racist bullying claims
The CofE’s own news item on the Synod agenda is here and is headlined “Key debates on Trident, criminal justice, schools, the media, issues in human sexuality, clergy pensions, clergy terms of service, marriage law and other legislative proposals on Synod”.
Our list of online papers is here and the CofE’s is here.
Tuesday afternoon update
Ekklesia Prisons and opposition to Trident replacement on C of E agenda
What people don’t realize about Big Brother is that the entire scenario is Sade-ian, predicated on the objectification and dehumanization of the bodies served up for voyeuristic entertainment. The logical climax of this perversion is that not content with getting the participants to abuse one another verbally the organizers will cater to the latent taste for bloodshed. The behaviour of abusive and torturing troops in Iraq shows that a society acclimatized to sadistic voyeurism is a breeding-ground for real-life horror. I hope the C of E bishops will go to the root of this and not come across as predictable… Read more »
I’m very sympathetic to criticisms of big brother – their manipulation of human beings’ psyche in the name of entertainment, proving points, financial gain, career advancement and peer approval is appalling. Not worth debating by the chancellor or the general synod considering what other ancient injustices are in need of readdressing, though.
But I do question the link to ‘abusive and torturing troops in Iraq’. The broader cultural/historical/psychological background to that
particular thing is really a thing which needs no supplementary dynamic such as reality tv.
MH observed
their manipulation of human beings’ psyche in the name of entertainment, proving points, financial gain, career advancement and peer approval is appalling.
Are we talking about BB or GS?
From the looks of the contrasting resolutions, the push to polarize continues inside the CoE. We can pretty much tell you just where that will get you. Instead of pitching different views against one another, the Synod would do well to debate multiple, clear reaffirms of the negelcted fundamental CoE parameters of historic Anglican leeway which they discern necessary to maintain the church and buffer it against just the going rightwing polarizations so necessary as prelude to exclusive rightwing institutional realignment. Now that would be a Synod, no? That reaffirmation of the Elizabethan Settlement need not ask very conservative believers… Read more »
Here is a good missionary offer: Let’s make the UK more like Nigeria. Voting starts now.