In his dogmatic moralising of 1577, the puritanical preacher Thomas White was convinced that the plague was God’s judgment on the depravities of theatre: “The cause of plague is sin,” he thundered, “..and the cause of sin are plays: therefore the cause of plagues are plays.” Continue reading
I was interviewed by Mike Graham on Talk TV about an autistic schoolboy in Wakefield who was suspended by his headteacher for accidentally scuffing a copy of the Quran, which was his own property. Continue reading
Published by The Spectator
The Church of England, like all churches, has always struggled with the tension between the affirmation or assimilation of culture, and the call of the gospel to confront and transform it. Its raison d’etre – its social vocation – is to mediate between the extremes. Continue reading
Published by The Spectator
Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, has again preached to the faithful of the Russian world. He told them that if they heed their president’s call to arms, they shall be absolved of their sins and avoid any possibility of Hades. Continue reading
The Guinness Book of Records was designed as authoritative compendium of extraordinary human achievements and superlative natural facts, from the grotesque (“Fattest Person Ever”) and downright wacky – like the man who balanced a 10 stone refrigerator on his teeth – to the truly breathtaking Continue reading
“British court deciding British stuff. Good.” So tweeted the Rev’d Giles Fraser, following the ruling of the Supreme Court that Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty may only be triggered by Act of Parliament and not by the Government under prerogative powers. Continue reading
My first letter to the Very Rev’d Dr Martyn Percy, reflecting on the mission of the Church of England and the character and leadership of Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury. Continue reading
There is Theology – the immutable laws; the inviolable principles; the absolute articles of faith and doctrines of morality by which we discern the nature of God and his purposes in creation. And then there is Praxis Continue reading
There are many complex moral considerations and nuanced Christian perspectives to consider in the matter of the UK’s continuing membership of the European Union. Christian political theology is broad, and secular political truth is many-sided. Continue reading
Published by Spectator Life
As a teacher and lecturer, I’ve had a fair amount of indirect contact with SOAS — the School of Oriental and African Studies at London University. I first met one of its doctoral students in 2001, Continue reading
