The abusive toxic culture produced by the evangelical doctrine of penal substitution

The abusive toxic culture produced by the evangelical doctrine of penal substitution

The Iwerne Trust produced many of the most prominent Evangelical Christian leaders, people associated with Reformed theology in the Church of England over the past 40 years. At the heart of the Iwerne philosophy was a brand of wholehearted, sacrificial, masculine Christianity maintained by a detailed programme of supervision. Its origins lie in the toxic culture created by the founder of the Iwerne network, Eric Nash. John Smyth’s regime of abuse continues to affect the culture of today’s Church of England. The powerful theology and culture of the movement is being leveraged in contemporary debates on gender and sexuality. It is abusive.

Living in Love and Faith in crisis: the latest manifestation of abuse in the Church

Living in Love and Faith in crisis: the latest manifestation of abuse in the Church

Changing Attitude England believes a moment of crisis has been reached in the sixty year period in which the Church of England has been addressing homosexuality, lesbian and gay sexuality, trans issues and LGBTIQ+ issues. The Church is confronted with a moment when it is either able to engage fully with the presence of LGBTIQ+ people and create a healthy environment in which we are treated as adults and equals or it is unable to do so and continues to abuse us.

Living in Love and Faith: A Guide for Members of General Synod

Living in Love and Faith: A Guide for Members of General Synod

The Living in Love and Faith process has evolved from the 1998 Lambeth Conference resolution 1.10 that committed the church “to listen to the experience of homosexual persons”, via, in July 2011, the House of Bishops review of its 2005 Pastoral Statement on civil partnerships. From this they set up a Working Group on Human Sexuality chaired by Sir Joseph Pilling resulting in the ‘Pilling Report’ that proposed the Shared Conversations. The outcome of 23 years of an evolving process is a report to General Synod that is no longer focused on listening to us, or on civil partnerships, or even on a radical new Christian inclusion for LGBTIQ+ people, but listening to our lament, fear and pain. Changing Attitude is determined to ensure they hear our anger, frustration, and determination to achieve justice and equality for LGBTIQ+ people within God’s unconditional love manifest in Jesus the Christ.

The inability to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy Christianity

The inability to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy Christianity

We are all implicated in the systemic abuse of people within the Church of England because we, the Church, have become infected to a greater or lesser degree by our inability to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy ideas about God, healthy and unhealthy theologies, healthy and unhealthy readings of the Bible, healthy and unhealthy practices and teachings. The Church will not begin to overcome the effects of this unhealthy, abusive culture until it is able to examine with clarity exactly what is healthy and unhealthy in today’s Christian teaching and practice.

Purposeful Sexuality – naive, dangerous ideas about LGBTIQ+ and straight identities

Purposeful Sexuality – naive, dangerous ideas about LGBTIQ+ and straight identities

Ed Shaw, a church pastor in Bristol, part of the team of the Living Out group, and a member of Living in Love and Faith Pastoral Advisory Group has recently published Purposeful Sexuality. Ed’s ideas about LGBTIQ+ people as revealed in his book demonstrate the theology and experience of people who have internalised a punitive version of God found in salvation theology. Ed is just one among thousands of people in the Church of England who either share his theology or are intimidated into accepting this false, dangerous theology by powerful conservative networks in the Church. The LLF book and course would not be necessary but for their deep influence within the Church of England, in the hierarchy and in every diocese.

Radical New Christian Inclusion - Changing Attitude England writes to the Bishop of London

Radical New Christian Inclusion - Changing Attitude England writes to the Bishop of London

Changing Attitude England has written to the Bishop of London, chair of the LLF Next Steps Group, copied to the Archbishops and each member of the Next Steps Group, replying to a letter received from her on 26 August. We pose three questions at the end of our letter. Firstly, exactly how will the final discernment and decision making process be made totally “transparent”, a commitment made to the House and College of Bishops? Secondly, given that bishop Sarah says that “Transformation ... requires a more dialogical, inclusive approach that enables people to assimilate, process and articulate ideas and convictions for themselves,” referencing Alex Clare-Young’s paper and blog about the importance of dialogical and not monological process, how will the Archbishops, the Next Steps Group and Dr Eeva John achieve this? Thirdly, we ask again the Archbishops and every member of the Next Steps Group to set out their understanding of what radical Christian inclusion is for LGBTIQ+ people.

Whither the Church of England – London diocese an exemplar?

Whither the Church of England – London diocese an exemplar?

David Goodhew’s blog Whither the Church of England? charted the Church of England’s declining trajectory in terms of numbers. Goodhew reported that most C of E dioceses have seen a deep decline in attendance in recent decades but only one diocese, London, has grown. He argues that the C of E learn from the Diocese of London, respecting rather than criticising the elements (largely the HTB model) that have created this success. Thanks to Changing Attitude England’s strong links with the Diocese of London, we are learning from a variety of sources that it is the diocese with the highest reported level of systemic homophobia, abuse and prejudice against LGBTIQ+ people. Is this the kind of model diocese those who wish to arrest the decline in numbers in the Church of England wish to replicate elsewhere?

Living in Love and Faith course material – key failings

Living in Love and Faith course material – key failings

Tim Guymer, a gay lay member of the Church of England has emailed the Bishop of Norwich having completed the Living in Love and Faith course identifying some of the key failings of the course. His email letter is a powerful testimony to the effect the LLF course material has on LGBTIQ+ people and allies who are increasingly alienated by the Church’s systemic prejudice towards us. Tim says the films made it abundantly clear that the Church believes that it is its institutional privilege to perpetuate spiritual abuse indefinitely, especially in and through those who attempt to serve the Kingdom of God through it. The violence done to people’s lives was evident, clear and vibrant, and in massive contrast to the weak and feeble teaching offered from the chair of authority. If the Church cannot change this it will die.

Finding the voice of LGBTIQ+ people and allies in the LLF conversations

Finding the voice of LGBTIQ+ people and allies in the LLF conversations

People are reporting on Facebook groups that their parish has already held a meeting or series of meetings to engage with the Living in Love and Faith course material. Many more report that parishes will be holding meetings to work through the course in the Autumn. It will be all too easy for us to engage with the material without raising a basic question. The LLF process and the material which has been published assume an equal validity between those who argue for a transformation of teaching and practice leading to full equality for LGBTIQ+ people and those who argue from the Bible and the clobber texts against equal marriage and sexual intimacy for clergy. I propose that we find the courage to challenge the material at a basic level.

Radical Christian Inclusion – a definition

Radical Christian Inclusion – a definition

The steering group for Changing Attitude England has written a definition of what we understand to be the essence of Radical Christian Inclusion. We offer this definition to the Church of England as a basis for discussion within the Living in Love and Faith process.