Rapid reading summary with links, including – Tory voters oppose gay marriage says survey; 80% of women don’t report rape or sexual assault; The proposed Covenant and the Gadarene swine; Diamond Jubilee Grace
Tory voters oppose gay marriage says survey
Independent – David Cameron’s call for the introduction of same-sex marriage is out of step with Tory voters, according to a new poll.
Half of the party’s supporters are against the move in principle, with just 35% in favour.
However, research by ICM for The Sunday Telegraph found the wider public backed it by a margin of 45% to 36%.
Tensions have been rising over the controversial issue since Britain’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, branded the proposal a “grotesque subversion of a universally acknowledged human right”.
The Government will launch a consultation next week, with the Prime Minister signalling he wants new laws in place by the 2015 general election.
According to the poll, nearly four-fifths of people think it is wrong to fast-track legislation, while only 14% say it is right to do so.
Among Tory supporters, the number against prioritising the change rose to 88%.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-voters-oppose-gay-marriage-says-survey-7559099.html
Law on same-sex marriages mean churches ‘will be forced to conduct gay weddings’
Daily Mail – A law to allow same-sex marriages will force Christians to conduct gay weddings in church, it was claimed yesterday.
An analysis of equality law by Church of England lawyers suggests assurances from David Cameron and his ministers that no church will be compelled to provide such ceremonies are worthless.
Lawyers for the Church of England argue that the Equality Act will force the Church to conduct gay weddings
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2113677/Church-forced-conduct-gay-weddings-say-lawyers-studying-Equality-Act-voted-Coalition.html#ixzz1otZdMZWF
For more reports in this area see Blog on this site
80% of women don’t report rape or sexual assault, survey claims
Telegraph – The vast majority of women who are raped or sexually assaulted do not report the crime to police, a Mumsnet survey suggests, in many cases because they have little confidence that their attacker would be brought to justice. The poll carried out by the parenting website Mumsnet found that 10 per cent of women had been raped, and 35 per cent sexually assaulted.
Almost of a quarter of victims had been attacked repeatedly, and two-thirds knew the person responsible.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9134799/80-of-women-dont-report-rape-of-sexual-assault-survey-claims.html
The proposed Covenant and the Gadarene swine
Episcopal Cafe – After last week’s votes, there are now 17 dioceses voting against taking the next step towards an Anglican Covenant in the Church of England. That’s seven more than those in the “for” category. How it fares in England, of course, is at least notionally important in light of Communion structures and personalities. Listeners to the BBC’s “Sunday” program(me) heard professor Diarmaid MacCulloch’s current take as he debated Bishop of Sherborne Graham Kings. What swings the argument against is that people realize that this is a sort of centralization proposed for the Anglican Communion which has never been Anglican, which is against Anglicanism. The Anglican Communion is not an Anglican church; it’s a family of churches. Responding to the idea that “[n]obody’s forced to do anything; these are recommended courses of actions,” MacCulloch not-too-subtly noted:
This lunatic proposal has gone down a path [where] once you start, you don’t see the alternatives; and watching [the Covenant process] happen has been like a rather slow-motion version of the Gadarene swine.
http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/anglican_covenant/the_proposed_covenant_and_the.html
Anglican Covenant: today’s Sunday programme interview
On BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme, there was a short item about the Anglican Covenant. Edward Stourton interviewed Diarmaid MacCulloch and Graham Kings. The Diocese of Salisbury website carries a complete transcript of it: Transcript BBC Radio 4 Sunday at:
http://www.salisbury.anglican.org/whos-who/bishops/the-bishop-of-sherborne/sermons-and-press-articles/transcript-of-bbc-radio-4-sunday-programme-11-mar-12.-discussion-on-the-anglican-communion
CoE worried about rise of evangelicalism?
The Economist believes the Church of England is worried about evangelicalism’s growth in England: Ever since the 18th century, England’s established church has harboured a suspicion of religious enthusiasm. Anglicanism’s cosy ubiquity as a reassuring, if vestigial, presence in every English suburb and village is regarded as a defence against the sort of fanaticism that leads to social or ethnic conflict. But every so often in English church history, compromise and emollience have triggered a countervailing reaction: an upsurge in faith of a more passionate kind. Such a change may be under way now.
As the number of people who are actively committed to the Church of England falls, the proportion of churchgoers who are serious about their faith—and its implications for private and public life—is growing. Peter Brierley, a collector of statistics on faith in Britain, reckons that 40% of Anglicans attend evangelical parishes these days, up from 26% in 1989. That is against a background of overall decline; he thinks the number of regular worshippers in the Church of England will have fallen to 680,000 by 2020, down from about 800,000 now and just under 1m a decade ago. The lukewarm are falling away, leaving the pews to the more fervent.
http://www.episcopalcafe.com/
New Dean of St Paul’s critcised over comments on Occupy
Ekklesia – The newly appointed Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral in London has defended the forced removal of the Occupy London Stock Exchange camp. The eviction of the protesters, who were camped near the cathedral, involved Christians being dragged from the cathedral’s steps by police as they knelt in prayer. The new Dean, David Ison, is currently the Dean of Bradford. His appointment was announced last week and he will formally take on his new role in May. Questioned about the Occupy movement by the Church Times, he said that the cathedral is “not just here to be a mouthpiece for Occupy”.
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16385
Archbishop of Canterbury in fresh push to stop Anglicans from converting
Telegraph – The Archbishop of Canterbury signalled a fresh push to dissuade traditionalist Anglicans from defecting to the Roman Catholic Church as he joined the Pope in stressing moves to bring the two churches together.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9136147/Archbishop-of-Canterbury-in-fresh-push-to-stop-Anglicans-from-converting.html
E-petition defends collective worship in Welsh schools
Christian Today – An e-petition in support of collective worship in schools in Wales has clocked up three times as many signatures as a rival one to abolish the tradition
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/epetition.defends.collective.worship.in.welsh.schools/29455.htm
Wales enjoys a wonderful Christian heritage but does it have much of a future
Christian Today – Opinion – Wales enjoys a wonderful Christian heritage but does it have much of a future There is clearly still a lot of work to be done not least in clearing away the rubble of our religious heritage.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/wales.enjoys.a.wonderful.christian.heritage.but.does.it.have.much.of.a.future/29453.htm
The church should abandon its opposition to gay marriage
Guardian – Giles Fraser writes – One of the interesting things about the Bible is how, on the subject of eunuchs at least, it fundamentally changes its mind. In Deuteronomy, eunuchs are explicitly banned from the congregation of God. But this prohibition is later explicitly overturned in Isaiah chapter 56.
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters.”
In other words, doing what is right is more important than bearing children. Obvious to us. But in the context, this was radical stuff. And thus the Bible changes its mind. And it does so in the direction of greater inclusion. The current pressure for gay people to participate fully within the walls of the church – as priests and bishops, as gay married couples – is the extension of this same logic. Inclusion is the ever-widening gyre of the Biblical narrative. What a pity the church of today still cannot find it within itself to be as bold as the prophet Isaiah.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/audio/2012/mar/12/giles-fraser-thinking-aloud-podcast?CMP=twt_fd
The public don’t think gay marriage should be a priority for the Coalition
The Tory Diary – There’s a poll in the Sunday Telegraph showing attitudes towards gay marriage. The population at large favours gay marriage “in principle” by 45% to 36%. More relevant to the Government is the question of whether people think the Coalition should prioritise it over issues like the economy. The Telegraph reports that 78% of voters think it wrong to prioritise gay marriage legislation, and only 14% say it would be right to do so.
http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/2012/03/public-dont-think-gay-marriage-priority-for-coalition-will-it-fall-by-wayside.html
Grace for Diamond Jubilee lunches released on Commonwealth Day
C of E media – A specially composed grace thanking God for the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen – and the food to be shared at Jubilee celebrations – was published on Commonwealth Day. Seen by Her Majesty, it will be prayed by millions of people throughout the Commonwealth on Sunday, June 3rd, before they share a Big Jubilee Lunch in their communities. The Big Jubilee Lunch is part of the celebrations for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, as announced by Buckingham Palace, and encourages people to come together to share lunch with neighbours, friends and family.
The grace reads:
Grace for Diamond Jubilee Lunches
O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, we give you thanks for the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth; for her steadfast faith and for her royal service to this nation and all the peoples of the Commonwealth.
Bless the food before us and the people beside us; may the sharing of this meal strengthen our communities, and nurture the bonds between us of friendship, hope and trust.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ who reigns as servant of all.
Amen.
http://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2012/03/grace-for-diamond-jubilee-lunches-released-on-commonwealth-day.aspx