Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

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   […] last time I had had occasion to write about Rowan County clerk Kim Davis, above, was three years ago…

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   Whatever is presented on the BBC, and I must admit I do not watch the TV, the fact is that…

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   “The curriculum had already drawn tensions among the county’s religious parents, with some worrying about appropriateness and arguing the material…

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   As someone who produced dozens of nativity plays as a teacher and a Sunday School leader, that title ‘A Gay…

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   The defence of a Christian view never seems to be settled by debate: exchange of facts, reference to historical events.…

IN the latest twist in the investigation of evangelical sadist John Smyth, it’s been revealed that the reverend Sue Colman, above, High Sheriff of Hampshire and wife of Colman’s mustard heir Sir Jamie, knew that Smyth was a serial abuser of boys in his care but continued to fund his Christian camps.

According to this report, Sue Colman, associate minister at St Leonard’s Church in Oakley, near Basingstoke in Hampshire, and her husband were both aware of John Smyth’s abuse before Colman was ordained.

The Makin review says:

It is likely, on the balance of probabilities, that both Jamie and Sue Colman had significant knowledge of the abuses in the UK and Africa, given their positions as trustees.

Sir Jamie was chairman of the UK Zambesi Trust, while his wife was also a trustee.

In a statement today (Thursday), the Diocese of Winchester said it has asked Colman:

To step back from all ministerial duties while we reflect on the review’s findings and work with the National Safeguarding Team to take steps to manage any associated risk.

It added:

Mr Colman has no official ministerial position in our diocese but has also been asked to step back from volunteering.

Who will be the next Archbishop of Canterbury, and who the hell cares?

Meanwhile speculation is rife that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who was forced to resign this week over the scandal — one of the worst in the Church of England’s history — might be replaced by Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, above. But there are other contenders.

Cottrell is expected to temporarily assume the top position in the Church of England until a new Archbishop of Canterbury is appointed, a process that will take several months.

But Martin Snow, above, is known to be one of the top contenders for the role, and has served as the Bishop of Leicester since 2016. He has a deep commitment to addressing poverty issues and currently chairs the College of Archbishops’ Evangelists, an initiative focused on developing the ministry of evangelists across the Church of England.

Reportedly, many people within the Church and beyond, have been hoping that the next leader could be a woman, or a person of colour, or someone who is in favour of LGBT+ rights.

Frankly, I don’t care who takes over Welby’s role. I’m far more interested in who will be the next James Bond.

What I want to see is the Church of England’s connection with matters of state completely severed through a process of disestablishment.

Since its founding in 1866, one of the primary objectives of the National Secular Society been disestablishment of the Church of England.

It says on its website:

More than 150 years later, census figures show most people in England and Wales are not Christian. Surveys consistently reveal a similar picture in Scotland. The case for disestablishment has never been stronger.

Disestablishment means the Church would no longer have privileged input into government – but also that government could not involve itself in the running of the Church. Both sides would gain autonomy. This is why support for Church-state separation can be found within the CofE itself.

There have been many proponents, religious and non-religious, for church-state separation, and there are a wide variety of motivations for supporting this reform.

The existence of a legally-enshrined national religion privileges one part of the population, one institution and one set of beliefs. Removing all symbolic and institutional ties between government and religion is the only way to ensure equal treatment to citizens of all religions and none.

The Church of England has enjoyed significant privileges relating its established status for many centuries. These privileges have remained largely unchanged despite the massive and continuing reduction in support for the Church in the UK. It is highly likely that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future, making the Church of England’s continuation as the established church unsustainable.

It adds:

The Church of England is also out of step with the UK public on several key issues: it remains opposed to same-sex relationships and allows parishes to reject women as bishops and priests. These discriminatory positions cannot be reconciled with the Church’s status as part of the UK state.

And no institution with the shameful historical record of the Church of England safeguarding and abuse should retain its privileged role in the British establishment.

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