1.9.2017
The Church Society\’s Lee Gatiss reflects on the life and sudden death of his long-term friend and mentor, Oak Hill principal Mike Ovey.
Tag: church of england
The Tory Party at Prayer
All five candidates for Conservative Party leadership have some form of Christian faith.
CHR Comment: The article describes the Christian beliefs of potential candidates, noting that the openness they express about faith is a new development in recent British politics. At they same time, the Church of England is facing decline.
Lord’s Prayer May Cause Offense
The Church of England is threatening legal action over the rejection of a one-minute film featuring the Lord’s Prayer that it wanted to run before showings of the new Star Wars film that opens shortly before Christmas.
CHR Comment: The Lord’s Prayer is perhaps the most widely known text of the Bible since it is memorized and most frequently repeated among Christians. The smartly placed ad was rejected by Digital Cinema Media.
Holigost (Holy Ghost) Stuck in the Mud
Historian hopes to resurrect Henry V’s Holigost after six centuries.
CHR Comment: Henry V, or one of his subjects, oddly named a grand naval vessel after the third person of the Holy Trinity, illustrating how fully the Christian faith was integrated into medieval life. What does this say about their understanding of just war?
Peace, Reconciliation, and the Church of England. Modern Church
This article about the first reconciliation meeting between a British royal and a leader of Sinn Fein included reference to a church service that Prince Charles would attend, memorializing the death of his godfather, Lord Mountbatten, who was killed in a terrorist bomb blast. Even with liberalization and decline in the Church of England, it still has an important role in reconciliation efforts.
Prince Charles meets Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.
Theology Is the Answer. Alister McGrath. Church of England
“Resourcing Ministerial Education” receives a sharp critique from McGrath who points out that the Gospel is the heart of what the Church is about rather than social or practical programs. He also describes the indissoluble bond between doctrine and meaningful worship, which brings people to services.
Yale Profs Call “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife” a Forgery
In 2012 this purported fragment of a Coptic manuscript made headlines because in the text Jesus referred to “My wife.” Yale professors now conclude that it is a forgery. The article explains how they have reached that conclusion.
Why would a forger create this so-called Gospel? Likely motives include issues of women’s rights in the church such as the recent decision of the Church of England to ordain women bishops.
New clues cast doubt on ‘Gospel of Jesus’ Wife’ – CNN.com.
Bedlam and British Church Life
This article describes a large London cemetery that included Christians who could not afford to be buried in the church yard and Levellers who advocated for religious tolerance.
http://a.msn.com/01/en-us/AA9AMDV
State Churches in Colonial America
Peter Manseau offered this interesting editorial about Christianity and the history of the United States, noting that the nation was not a Christian nation from its founding, although that might be debated. Congregationalism and Church of England were established churches in colonial America. Rhode Island was the first state to grant freedom of Religion. Massachusetts did not disestablish the Protestant church there until 1834.
America is not a “Christian” nation
FOX NEWS | MARCH 5, 2015
http://pulse.me/s/3Bgwzp
Within the last few days, we’ve seen protestors holding crosses shout “go home!” at Muslims in front of the Oklahoma State Capitol, several Idaho stat… read more
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