The Possibility of Difference

Oxford Diocese has launched a new diocesan magazine, Pathways , and asked me to contribute a 500-word piece for it on being gay and evangelical. My piece is paired with another by a chap who takes a more conservative view on life. At his age so did I... more conservative than him, I expect. Anyway - click here to read both on the diocesan website - or simply read on for mine... I can remember exactly where I was the day I realised I needed a new theology.  A friend in Memphis does work in civil rights theology. He teaches me that when you are an oppressed minority and become aware of it, Jesus is dynamite. Every word Jesus speaks is explosive because it’s about you. It doesn’t matter if it’s about lepers or tax collectors or Canaanite women - it’s about you. You hear a Gospel of life and hope and freedom, and it is God’s promise for you.  This became real for me on a miserable Tuesday afternoon one February in my early 40s. I suddenly understood I had spent 30 years a

Months ago, the bishops in the Diocese of Oxford sent out a letter  to 1,500 ministers, setting out their thinking on LGBTI+ people in the diocese. I posted  my response to it on this site. Today, the diocesan eNews has informed us that some have replied, expressing grave concerns. The Church Times says 104 serving clerics have signed this letter - mostly evangelical. Fairly inevitably. The original letter, the evangelical response and Bishop Steven's reply to that are all available via those links. As I read these various writings, I find myself musing on Galatians. Especially as I got towards the end of the new letter and read this: We would love our bishops to  articulate clearly God’s lo ve for us in helping us see both the attractiveness of deep friendships, but also the appropriate setting for sexual intimacy  –  namely in marriage between a man and a woman. However, if they are unwilling to do this, we would ask them to recognise the seriousness of the differe