Modern Churchpeople's Union: Wright and Williams "authoritarian"

[...] Both Williams and Wright show themselves to be dogmatic authoritarians. Their appeal to consensus is really an appeal to an unreflective dogma which refuses to take any account of current beliefs. Their denials of a centralising agenda are only there to make their centralising proposals sound acceptable.

Williams' hierarchical, hieratic and dogmatic doctrine of the church, with no interest in what the laity think and no real place for change, is Anglican to the extent that it has its roots in the Oxford Movement, but has never characterised Anglicanism as a whole. Wright's equally dogmatic, but Puritan and schismatic, doctrine of the church is Anglican to the extent that it represents the Church of England in its sixteenth-century Calvinist phase and the minority of Anglicans who wish to reaffirm it today. The Calvinist threats to split the church mean little to them as they are forever splitting; but it means a great deal to Catholics, who are driven to submit despite the huge number of gay Anglo-Catholic clergy. The current alliance between these two theologies cannot be stable: they disagree with each other about too much.

Neither position is characteristic of Anglicanism. Other Anglicans, calling themselves open evangelicals, or liberal catholics, or broad church, or radicals, or liberals, have not been part of this programme to condemn the Americans and introduce an Anglican Covenant. Some believe there is nothing wrong with homosexuality. Others disapprove of homosexuality, but see no more reason for splitting the church over it than for splitting the church over anything else. Read more
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Anger at [Chelmsford] vicar's anti-gay preaching

Ed: Slightly old, but Chelmsford-related. I also note that Alan Comfort has now left Great Baddow, though he only arrived in March.

A VICAR is dividing the congregation with anti-gay preaching churchgoers claim.

But former footballer Alan Comfort, who took over at St Mary's in Great Baddow in March, insists he is simply preaching the views of the Bible, although he admits the Church of England's official stance isn't clear.

People have even plastered pro-gay stickers on the church fence reading "God loves Gay Christians."

One churchgoer, who did not want to be named, said: "It's not Christian to go around slagging people off.

"The church is supposed to be preaching love, not hate. At least that's my understanding.

"The minister is there to unite a congregation, not divide it.

"There is plenty to discuss, and no need to bring that subject up. He is entitled to his views, but the church is not the place for them." Read more
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