Gavin Ashenden

Is the Church of England's church-planting vision realistic?

Civil war, of the politest kind, has been declared in the Church of England over its parish system.
The Church of England's historic parishes deserve better

Having a vision for a new way of doing church would be more impressive had it included a way of renewing, as well as funding the old way of doing Church; and had a coherent ecclesiology that linked them.
Why the fuss about Latin Mass?

Everyone knows that faith in general and Christianity in particular faces the most serious of crises at the beginning of the 21st century. The argument about the Latin Mass also represents two very different diagnoses of what the problem is, and what the solution might or ought to be.
Has the Church of England become just as afraid of speaking about death as everyone else?

There was a time when the role of the Church was to help people prepare for the good death. But now the Church appears to be as afraid of talking about the taboo as anyone else.
The problem with the 'born gay' theory

Was Christianity always wrong? Or has progressive Protestantism lost its moorings and slipped inexorably away from the astute spiritual analysis of the Christian tradition to become indistinguishable from secular liberalism?
The pandemic has been a missed opportunity for the Church

If the churches were seriously committed to the welfare of our neighbours in general, why did they not speak up on behalf of those being killed by lockdown?
On the Joe Biden question, the US bishops are right

Gavin Ashenden on why he thinks US Catholic bishops would be right to prevent access to communion for Joe Biden because of his stance on abortion.
The cruel age of group think leaves no room for forgiveness

There must surely be a creeping anxiety spreading thoughout the English cricket team - what tweets from their teenage years lie like time bombs waiting to be discovered? What adolescent thought crimes may slip out of the long forgotten murky past to destroy their career?
Were we too quick to close our doors during the pandemic?

The government has committed itself to an inquiry examining if it got its priorities right in locking the nation down. Perhaps the churches should do the same, writes Dr Gavin Ashenden.
Prince Philip: a most loyal husband and consort

He exemplified patience, long-suffering, humility and kindness, when the cost of all of these virtues was demandingly high.
The State, freedom of conscience and civil disobedience

It is a legal and moral duty for the Church to challenge the jurisprudential and ethical authority of the state to have set a precedent in the authoritarian closing of churches and prohibition of worship.
The circle of royal duty that Harry and Meghan are finding difficult to square

The announcement from Harry and Meghan will cause a variety of responses from the public. One of them will be sadness.