One morning, forty-five years ago, kneeling in silence, I decided to take a risk – to live more fully “as if” my understanding of God was true, to live into a faith that I knew about experientially but that my cognitive self wasn’t convinced by. I decided to live “as if” the vision of God and the teachings and practice of Jesus that I had been ordained to teach and proclaim really were true and effective in people’s lives.
We need to get this toxic theology out of the Church
The theology and behaviour of the Anglican Church is intolerable
Clinging to faith is increasingly problematic
The Church is making the faith less and less attractive with a theology that messes people up
Bad theology is in the bloodstream of the Church
Passionless sex is very problematic
The events of the past two weeks, the meeting of General Synod in November 2023, the conduct of the entire LLF process and the incompetence of the Church to respond the victims of abuse and implement an effective Safeguarding system all demonstrate to me a Church that has none of the characteristics that communicated to me 60 years ago by practice and example what Christianity looks and feels like. Words were not needed.
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have been bullied by conservatives into abandoning their commitment to create a radical new Christian inclusion. This information was given yesterday to one of the meetings held in the Lambeth Palace Library as part of the new phase of the Living in Love and Faith process.
My latest blog dwells of John narrative of the crucifixion. It is John alone who adds the detail of the seamless tunic (or undergarment) woven in one piece to his narrative. It is the symbol of what God is revealing and doing. Jesus, in John’s understanding, is saying, “In the new order there shall be no schism, but you shall be one and you shall love one another and be woven together from above.
What are the elements of a Christian community, cell, gathering or congregation needed to create a seamless, healthy, spiritual, deeply relational, visionary, Christ-like movement? What does life in all its fullness look like and how do we assemble a model of Christian life and theology based on this, working to achieve this?
Foundational Anglican Christian theology with its reliance on scripture, tradition and reason is responsible for creating and justifying a core theology, an edifice on which and within which abuse has been built. The edifice supports conservative Christian homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, racism, prejudice against other religions and cultures and particular categories of people.gy and culture that underpins abuse in the Church. Abuse has become systemic.
Fifty years ago I found Harry Williams in Heffers bookshop in Cambridge. In Harry’s books I found wisdom and truth, honesty and humanity, integrity and playfulness, that reinforced my courage to believe and the freedom to trust my own intuition. Among others. Harry gave me courage to believe disbelievingly.
