Original righteousness Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled (Matthew 5.6). Righteousness is a spiritual hunger when the soul realizes the need of it: ‘My soul has desired thee’ (Isaiah 26.11). It needs [...]
Margaret Laird on Renaissance, Resurrection and the celebration of Life The Great Forty Days of Easter provide us with ample opportunity to ponder upon what is meant by 'Life' in this context. The Prayer Book Collect for Easter Day explains [...]
Nick Turner on civil partnership, gay sex and tax avoidance Lord Alfred Douglas’s memorable phrase, ‘the love that dare not speak its name’, referred to a silence imposed by the prejudice meted out against gays. It was assumed that tolerance [...]
ONE of the functions of a spiritual director is to help an individual develop, review and maintain a rule of prayer. ‘Rule’ is perhaps too legalistic a term; it is sometimes more helpful to think in terms of patterns. It [...]
George Austin on the good, the bad and the difference Forget the virtual church of the Diocese of Oxford, removing the need to attend Sunday worship; forget the Canterbury parishes’ free tickets for Mel Gibson’s The Passion, encouraging atheists to [...]
Geoffrey Kirk asks whether church First Schools still serve a useful purpose Church schools are in demand. Every Chair of Governors knows the extent to which parents are prepared to perjure themselves to see their children admitted. He also probably [...]
Andy Hawes on broken laws and broken promises ‘Where God is dead, anything is possible’ is a cynical summary of ethics without a Christian conscience, or a religious basis. For over a hundred and fifty years generations of English and [...]
It is official. Your grandchildren can be murdered by men whose identity you will never know. Their fate will be determined by the careful planning of people who pretended to care for your children. All this will be done with [...]