In Depth:  sexuality & gender

All topics
Is purity back in fashion?

Is purity back in fashion?
John-Edward Funnell John-Edward Funnell

Each summer, I have the opportunity to serve the next generation of leaders, missionaries and committed church members at youth camps in Wales and Romania. What I have observed recently is a growth in an almost puritanical movement within our youth.

As I teach the Bible and engage with Gen Z and Gen Alpha*, I am encouraged by their deep commitment to Jesus and their desire to live authentic holy lives. They have all grown up in a post-Christian secular society, saturated with sexual ideology and they are seeking refuge. I see a counter-culture that is being refined by secularism, calling a new generation back to holy living.

Three’s a crowd?

Three’s a crowd?
John Woods John Woods

Book Review THREE OR MORE: Reflections on Polyamory and Consensual Non-monogamy

Read review
Letter

Polyamory & euthanasia
Date posted: 11 Sep 2024

Dear Editor,

Thanks to Andrew Bunt for alerting us in the August issue of en to the rise and acceptance of polyamorous relationships.

Letter

Justin Welby: blind leading the blind
Date posted: 5 Sep 2024

Dear Editor,

In response to Robert Grieve’s letter in the August issue of en concerning Justin Welby, somebody recently asked Justin if gay sex was a sin. He could not give a straight answer. This is the blind leading the blind.

Christian theology lecturer appeals ruling

Christian theology lecturer appeals ruling
Nicola Laver Nicola Laver

Theology lecturer Dr Aaron Edwards, who was dismissed from Cliff College, Derbyshire after tweeting his Christian views on sexuality, is to appeal a ruling refusing his unfair dismissal, harassment and discrimination claims.

An employment tribunal found the college had been ‘reasonable’ and ‘justified’ in its actions and that Edwards’ rights to freedom of religion had not been engaged. Andrea Williams of the Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting Edwards, said the judge ‘has simply not engaged with the substance of this case. Aaron was sacked because he challenged the church to uphold God’s teaching on human sexuality.’

Sutcliffe appeal lost

Sutcliffe appeal lost
Nicola Laver Nicola Laver

Maths teacher Joshua Sutcliffe has lost his appeal against a ruling banning him indefinitely from teaching.

Sutcliffe was dismissed after deliberately failing to use a pupil’s preferred pronouns in the classroom and on TV. He had also shared with pupils his views about gay marriage and homosexuality.

Growing fears around sex and health education guidance

Growing fears around sex and health education guidance
Nicola Laver Nicola Laver

As the Autumn term across England and Wales begins, the Association of Christian Teachers (ACT) has expressed concern about uncertainty around the draft relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) guidance.

The draft guidance, published in May, includes clear age limits for teaching the most sensitive content, and states that the ‘broader concept of gender identity’ should not be taught. If published, the final guidance would be statutory.

Vaughan Roberts: evangelicals in 'unsustainable position’

Vaughan Roberts: evangelicals in 'unsustain­able position’
en staff

Evangelicals in the Church of England are currently in an ‘unsustainable’ position following an ‘unprincipled’ process to liberalise teaching on same-sex relationships, leading evangelical minister Vaughan Roberts is warning.

Speaking to en, Roberts, who is rector of St Ebbe’s Church, Oxford, called on more bishops to engage in face-to-face discussions with leaders of the Alliance, the umbrella group bringing together a spectrum of orthodox Christians in the denomination.

What should we make of the St Helen's Bishopsgate 'commissioning'?

What should we make of the St Helen's Bishopsgate 'commissioning'?
Editorial Editorial

The recent ‘commissioning service’ at St Helen’s Bishopsgate has attracted predictable criticism.

In that bastion of Church of England liberal thinking, the Church Times, Angela Tilby decried ‘the voice of the angry Puritanism that has been channelled down from the Reformation,’ before adding (oddly): ‘Today’s Puritans find it as hard as their ancestors to live with the creative ambiguity that, many would claim, is the lifeblood of the Church of England and defended by canon law.’ Er, come again? Many would argue that the ‘lifeblood of the Church of England’ is the 39 Articles with their insistence that ‘it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God’s Word written’ etc.

Registered Charity No. 296794. All content Evangelicals Now