Tag: theology

Jesus loves Tories too

Byartsyhonker April 10, 2014 1 Comment
So, it transpires that David Cameron has been going on about how much he loves Christianity (or what he thinks of as Christianity) and saying ill-thought-out, embarrassing things. From what I can gather online he's claiming that Jesus invented the Big Society and David Cameron is, er, trying to follow in his footsteps. It doesn't take a lot to dismantle the first claim. Care for the widow, the...

Liturgical Hair: Advent I

Byartsyhonker December 1, 2013 2 Comments
The liturgical hair thing has not started all that well, though it could have been worse, I suppose. I started by cutting the very ends of my hair off. These bits would have too much henna in them, I thought, to bleach well. Then came bleaching: well, I missed a bit, but also it became apparent that the henna goes rather further up my hair than I had thought. When I went to put purple in my hair...

Recession and Evangelism

Byartsyhonker February 1, 2013 1 Comment
This morning a Twitter friend linked to a Telegraph article about the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, on a visit to Trent Vineyard church. I haven't watched the video of the interview with Caroline and Justin Welby, as it's private at the moment. I'm aware that the Telegraph may have presented a certain viewpoint, which may lead readers to a slightly different impression of what...

More on the same Measure

Byartsyhonker July 10, 2012 0 Comments
Background update: voting on the amended Measure for the consecration of women as bishops was adjourned until November in light of opposition to Clause 5.1.c (the second amendment by the House of Bishops, which I discussed in a previous post). The House of Bishops will meet in September to discuss what to do next. Rev Peter Ould, who I follow on Twitter, said this: The main objection to Clause...

A Provisional Note

Byartsyhonker July 4, 2012 5 Comments
The dear old Church of England has been tying itself into knots of late over the Bishops' amendments to the Measure on Women in the Episcopate. The good bishops made two amendments. One has been welcomed as providing some clarity about exactly from where episcopal power is derived in the case of an alternative bishop being assigned to a parish (essentially it's the inherent bishoppy-ness, not the...

On great works of great faith

Byartsyhonker January 6, 2012 1 Comment
He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there”, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’This isn't an easy verse.Why, why is our faith so small? I've never moved a mountain; certainly even things I find rather more realistic are sometimes very...

Stuck in the middle with You

Byartsyhonker November 16, 2011 7 Comments
Various folks have blogged on David Cameron's favourite Bible passage, and the comments that this is the "central message" of the Bible. I did enjoy Archdruid Eileen's viewpoint. I suppose it isn't a definitive answer, but apparently someone asked Jesus what the central message of the Bible is. Or at least, the greatest commandment.I shouldn't like to argue.

Who do you say that I am?

Byartsyhonker September 21, 2011 2 Comments
Who is considered "Christian"? Why do any of us care? Edward Green wrote an interesting post about the UCCF's Doctrinal Basis, a sort of pseudo-creed which it seems is sometimes used as a litmus test of who is "in" and who is not at university Christian Unions. Revd Green rightly points out that even the Catechism of the Catholic Church has a broader remit than that, stating that “All who have...

Obligatory Rapture Post

Byartsyhonker May 21, 2011 1 Comment
First of all, I don't really believe in this rapture stuff. I've mostly been ignoring it.But, just for the record: if the "righteous" or the elect or whatever are taken up into Heaven and everyone else (atheists, heretics, sinners, quarrelers, people who like "Jerusalem" and so on and so forth) is left on earth to await some final judgement day, I'd rather stay here.There'll be a lot of work to...

A Response to that “CCM praise songs we can’t stand” meme:

Byartsyhonker February 5, 2011 3 Comments
"There are two musical situations on which I think we can be confident that a blessing rests. One is where a priest or an organist, himself a man of trained and delicate taste, humbly and charitably sacrifices his own (aesthetically right) desires and gives the people humbler and coarser fare than he would wish, in a belief (even, as it may be, the erroneous belief) that he can thus bring them to...