Sleepwalking together into radical revisionism?

David Shepherd  |  Comment
Date posted:  1 Jul 2023
Share Add       
Sleepwalking together into radical revisionism?

Oliver O’Donovan is a widely respected Anglican minister, ethicist and academic. In 2013, O’Donovan wrote an incisive critique of the Church of England’s Report of the House of Bishops Working Group on Human Sexuality (The Pilling Report).

The concerns expressed in that critique also hold true for the pastoral letter from the House of Bishops that accompanied the draft version of Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF) [same-sex couple blessings].

O’Donovan wrote: ‘[It] tells its readers it abides by the church’s teaching, while giving them no reasons for believing that teaching to be true. It avoids any affirmation of the marriage doctrine the bishops are currently committed to, namely, that marriage is between one man and one woman, and yet does not observe the territorial boundary set between it and the Marriage Report when there is a chance of hinting at an alternative. In other words, here is another arbitrary anthology of favourite theological thoughts without a theological structure.’

Share
< Previous article| Comment| Next article >
Read more articles on:   Church of England
Read more articles by David Shepherd >>
Features
Christ's kingdom needs pioneers like the apostle Paul

Christ's kingdom needs pioneers like the apostle Paul

Recently, on the business networking platform, LinkedIn, I read an article entitled: ‘Are you an Explorer, a Pioneer or a …

Comment
Why only hearing half the story is truly bad news

Why only hearing half the story is truly bad news

My friend Jim, a small business owner, called me in a state of complete despair. He told me that he …

Looking for a job?

Browse all our current job adverts

Search

Subscribe

Enjoy our monthly paper and full online access

Find out more