Category Archives: Churches

The definition of marriage

I was caught out. On Thursday I was giving a talk on homosexuality to a church deanery readers’ group. I expected differences of opinion, but the big sticking-point was not what I expected. Nobody argued that intimate same-sex partnerships were … Continue reading

Posted in Churches, Ethics, Religion, Sexuality | 1 Comment

Does the Church still need parishes?

For churchgoers, yet another fascinating YouGov survey by Linda Woodhead for the Westminster Faith Debates. This one is about the views of Anglican clergy. Anthony Woollard comments here. In this post I focus on the finding that 83% want to … Continue reading

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Smug Christians and Jewish sacrifices

There is a version of Christianity, still sadly all too common, that claims to accept everything in the Bible literally as divine revelation and is not interested in information from any other source. Quite often such Christians positively disapprove of … Continue reading

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Demons are bad news: can we do without them?

A short while ago I received this message from a correspondent: I do not believe in a devil, or demons. This difference in belief has lead to various familial arguments I’d rather avoided, but could not. My mother is quite … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Churches, God, Jesus, Science | Tagged | 5 Comments

Food banks and economic myths

The rapid rise in the number of people depending on food banks is the most significant social development in the UK over the last few years. Hope+ Food Bank in Liverpool has published statistics showing why people are driven there … Continue reading

Posted in Churches, Economics, Inequality, Religion | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Rev’s priesthood

This is about the sense of having a distinctive role. It is inspired by the television series Rev, with its vicar Adam Smallbone. I rarely watch television, but to me Rev was special. At last the BBC has produced a … Continue reading

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Why go to church anyway?

It’s a good sign. The Church Times is publishing a four-part series of articles on the state of the Church of England. The news is mostly discouraging, but never mind. The series began last week with an article by Linda … Continue reading

Posted in Churches, Religion, Worship | Tagged | 6 Comments

Why Christians shouldn’t believe in the devil

The debate continues about the devil in the Church of England Baptism service, with two articles in today’s Church Times. Angela Tilby finds all the talk of ‘the deceit and corruption of evil’ to be ‘overloaded and even intrusive’. Instead … Continue reading

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Two directions for liberal theology

Now that recent controversies have revealed the downside of hardline dogmatic Christianity, there is increasing interest in liberal theology. What is it, and who are the liberals? I have been involved with Modern Church for 30 years and have just … Continue reading

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Why pray for the poor at Christmas?

And because this of all things would rejoice his heart, let us at this time remember in his name the poor and the helpless, the cold, the hungry and the oppressed… So prayed the congregation at King’s College Cambridge as … Continue reading

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