The Church of England's moral drift will not stop here
Now the battle for gay blessings has been won, it will move on to gay marriage within a fairly short period.
Now the battle for gay blessings has been won, it will move on to gay marriage within a fairly short period.
Christian Concern's Benjamin John delivered a powerful speech to the Church of England's General Synod this week. Here it is in full.
The behaviour of senior bishops towards General Synod member Sam Margrave raises serious questions about the future for outspoken orthodox Christians in the Church of England.
So this is the way the Church of England ends – not with a bang, nor even a whimper, but with a somewhat tortuous and at times embarrassingly bad debate.
What use is this so-called 'belonging' if voices are only heard out of courtesy and political correctness, and not genuinely taken into consideration?
"One of the callings of a bishop is to be a pastor to the flock, spending time with them, finding out how they are but it is also about being a teacher of the faith and I've made some pretty big promises," she says.
Not everything that is planted deserves to come to fruition, and it is precisely the responsibility of bishops, and even archbishops, to do their best to ensure that the fields of the Lord produce a good crop for him.
After decades of arguing over human sexuality, the Church of England has come up with Prayers of Love and Faith to bless same-sex couples, but this is a harmful compromise.
We think nothing of investing in our skills or reaching out for support when it comes to the workplace but why, when it comes to the one thing that matters most to us all – relationships - do we fall into the trap of assuming no learning or skilled help is required?
Is there a difference in the way we should seek peace in places torn by civil war and churches torn by doctrinal disputes?
The real question is: how does a bishop convince himself that the Bible doesn't really mean what the Bible clearly says it does mean?
This Lent you can focus on saying particular prayers, which is commendable, or on skipping chocolate, abstaining from social media or alcohol. But can I encourage you to prayerfully ponder, remembering that all we are and all we have has been lent to us and that we remain accountable to God?
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