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Men and women in Ephesians 5
I am in the process of writing a Grove Biblical booklet with the title ‘Women and authority: key biblical texts’ which aims to explore all the key texts in 28 pages! Due out later this month. I am...
View ArticleWhat is wrong with gay ‘marriage’?
There continues to be very active debate about whether the historic term ‘marriage’ should be redefined to include covenanted relationships between two people of the same sex, and not just ‘a lifelong...
View ArticleWhat can we learn from the ‘Viral Vicar’?
Kate Bottley, who trained at St John’s five years or so ago, has been getting her fifteen (or more) minutes of fame as a video of her leading a ‘flash mob’ dance routine at a wedding she was...
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“Equal marriage”: Is There A New Christian Ethic for Sex and Marriage?
In a guest post, Andrew Goddard reflects on the issues for a possible Christian ethic of same-sex marriage. Last week’s Supreme Court judgment in the US, following swiftly after the Irish referendum,...
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Transgender parenting
Question : When a human with XY chromosomes contributes sperm towards the conception of a child, are they are the father or mother of the consequential child? Answer : It’s a bit complicated… Peter...
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Tyndale NT Study Group 2016: call for papers
The Tyndale New Testament Study Group is part of the Tyndale Fellowship for biblical and theological research, based at Tyndale House in Cambridge, and including evangelical scholars from all over the...
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Can you be an effective leader without destroying your family?
It is a poignant week to consider this question—which quite separately a friend raised with me yesterday by email. I’m leading a workshop on ‘Living in the love of God at home and with family’. As...
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Will we be male and female in the new creation?
In recent debates about the meaning of marriage, one area of speculation has been whether our differentiated sex identity as male and female (this is biological sex identity, not ‘gender’ as it is...
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Can the Church change its practice on marriage without changing its doctrine?
Andrew Goddard writes: Motions come for consideration before the General Synod of the Church of England by various means. One such is a Private Member’s Motion (PMM) being proposed by a member of...
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Is the Bishops’ Policy on Civil Partnerships Sustainable?
The House of Bishops’ position on civil partnerships and same-sex sexual relationships is defined by three statements. The first is Issues in Human Sexuality, published in 1991 as a ‘discussion...
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Does marriage make people (un)happy?
Last month, behavioural scientist Paul Dolan from the London School of Economics claimed that unmarried women were notably happier than married women, suggesting that, if women wanted to live the most...
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Is there no hope without children?
Will Jones, who has contributed to this blog in guest posts as well as comments, wrote an interesting and challenging piece on the political website Conservative Woman. The website describes its values...
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Will we be male and female in the resurrection?
In recent debates about the meaning of marriage, one area of speculation has been whether our differentiated sex identity as male and female (this is biological sex identity, not ‘gender’ as it is...
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What does it mean to ‘be like the angels’ in Luke 20?
This Sunday’s lectionary reading, Third before Advent in Year C, is Luke 20.27-38. Once more, the lectionary makes an odd choice; it would be more natural to read on to verse 40 and complete the...
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What is going on in the Bishops’ comments on Civil Partnerships?
On Wednesday last week, the House of Bishops issued a ‘pastoral statement’ on the status of Civil Partnerships, and it caused something of a stir. What was it about? Why was it needed? And why did it...
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Is there a positive case for the ‘traditional’ sexual ethic?
This morning the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) have released a video entitled ‘The Beautiful Story’ which seeks to set out the case, in accessible terms, for the ‘traditional’ sexual...
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Does the Bible prohibit sex before marriage?
In my experience, there is a very broad range of answers to this question. It has generally been assumed by moral ‘conservatives’ that the answer is self-evidently ‘yes’; by contrast, it has generally...
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Debating the Church and same-sex marriage
On Friday 3rd September, at 2.10 pm, I had a phone call from a number I did not recognise. When I answered, it turned out to be from a BBC researcher asking if I would appear on BBC1 on Sunday morning...
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Dear Richard Coles, w(h)ither the Church of England?
Dear Richard I really enjoyed your honest reflections in The Times on Sunday April 17th in the light of your retirement this week. I felt as though I ought to respond in the second person, writing to...
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What kind of love will change our world?
I recently preached at a wedding celebration on the classic wedding text, 1 Cor 13.1–8a. The celebration was international, and as a result had been delayed for two years because of Covid. The couple...
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