The Sign Of The Cross

There's a silver lining to every cloud. Authored by Chris Hall

English: Logo of the Church of England (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) It seems that the democratic vote by the Church of England Synod on the creation of women Bishops in the Church of England didn't go the right way. At least it seems to read like that when looking at the frenzy of activity following the unexpected vote. Gnashing of teeth anyone? I mean, we have the Prime Minister David Cameron warning the Church of England to think again about its ‘very sad’ rejection of women bishops. In a strongly worded rebuke, the Prime Minister said it was time for the Church to ‘ get with the programme ’ or risk looking dangerously out of touch with modern society. He said: ‘I’m very clear, the time is right for women bishops, it was right many years ago, they need to get on with it as it were and get with the programme, but you do have to respect the individual institutions and the way they work, while giving them a sharp prod. In the Commons the MPs couldn't wait to flex their mus...

Tolerance is not acceptance. Sums it up for me! Authored by Chris Hall

Just adding Disqus to the blog as the Blogger Comments feed seems to have broken. Recent comments on articles should show soon. Thank you for your patience! Authored by Chris Hall

Listening to LBC radio this morning on the way into work and also scanning the news websites I'm struck by the outpouring of bitterness and anger by some of the supporters of the vote for women bishops. Very little of what I hear has centred around theology or church tradition. Most of it seems to be related to very secular terms such as equality, diversity, empowerment, misogyny, dinosaurs, evolution, going forward and others. Together with the apparent inability of those who find the vote impossible to accept to display humbleness and good grace I fear for the future of the Church of England.  As someone who was once baptised into the Church of England I'm oft glad I've jumped ship. Authored by Chris Hall

There's just something about this image and text purloined from Locusts and Wild Honey that is profoundly unsettling yet hilarious. The link may help to understand something about the state of the Episcopal Church in the USA. Authored by Chris Hall

The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople by Jonathan Phillips My rating: 5 of 5 stars Jonathan Phillips has authored a fantastic book in The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople. It's been immensely enjoyable to read and extremely informative. Phillips' book tries to be non-partisan and objective in delving into the political, commercial and theological roots for the Fourth Crusade and the story around why it went astray. He brings comment from both the Western nations and the Roman Catholic church as well as from the Byzantine Empire side, although I would have wanted to read more from the point of view of the Orthodox church. I'd put this almost on the same level as Herrin's magnificent book Byzantium: The Surprising Life Of A Medieval Empire. If you have any interest in the Crusades or this era then this book is a must read. View all my reviews Authored by Chris Hall

One of my favourite songs is Foreigner Suite by Cat Stevens / Yusuf Islam from his 1973 album Foreigner. There's just something about it that reaches deep inside me. It was lovely to see him release a section of the tune again albeit with different lyrics under a the title Heaven from his 2006 album An Other Cup. Here's both songs.

Not noticed this mention of usury or monetary interest before in Psalm 15, verse 5 but this post by The Ugley Vicar highlighted it. Excellent! Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill? 1 O  Lord ,  who shall sojourn in your  tent? Who shall dwell on your  holy hill? 2 He who  walks blamelessly and  does what is right and  speaks truth in his heart; 3 who  does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor  takes up a reproach against his friend; 4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the  Lord ; who  swears to his own hurt and does not change; 5 who  does not put out his money at interest and  does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be  moved.