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Liberal Faith in a Divided Church

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This is a truly radical book, in that it looks for the roots of a liberal approach to Christianity that is principled, inclusive and undogmatic. Jonathan Clatworthy shows how liberal faith has always striven to temper the wisdom of the past

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O Books

320 pages.£14.99.

ISBN 9781846941160

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with the promptings of the Spirit in the present. This book will provide encouragement and sustenance for those who wish for an alternative to absolute certainty, in its secular and religious forms; as Jonathan says, ‘Only God is infallible’. Elaine Graham Professor of Social and Pastoral Theology, University of Manxchester .

Everything you hoped you'd never need to know about fundamentalism, and were afraid might be true. If you have ever been disturbed by the seemingly invincible advance of literalists and harsh judgementalism within Anglicanism this is the book which will give the confidence to resist. Clatworthy's arguments and evidence, if anything can, will lead to a resurgence of robust diversity and the intellectual, theological basis upon which it rests. A great deal is at stake. This book is not afraid to take sides. Are you? Richard Kirker Chief Executive, Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement

For a long time, liberals in the Church of England have been exposed to jibes that they offer a watered-down version of Christianity and have trimmed their sails according to the prevailing winds of secularism. Now there are signs of a fight-back. Jonathan Clatworthy’s book is one manifestation of this. Clearly written, with a firm grounding in the historical and intellectual background of contemporary debates, and plenty of common sense, he argues for the properly theological truth of liberalism. This work will encourage many to move from the defensive to speak out all the more strongly for the rightness as well as the humaneness of a liberal approach. George Pattison Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity, University of Oxford

What is currently dividing the Anglican Communion is not sexual ethics, but the refusal of a substantial minority to accept diversity and an insistence on getting its own way at all costs. Jonathan Clatworthy's timely book traces the development of the classic Anglican position as inclusive and open to truth wherever it is found, and argues that unless this is rediscovered the result can only be an endless series of rifts, as hardliners find ever more issues on which to hold the church to ransom. It should be read by everyone concerned with our present plight. Professor John Barton Oriel College, Oxford

This book offers a strong defence of the liberal tradition within Christianity. In particular it highlights the importance that classic Anglicanism has always given to balancing the claims of Scripture, Tradition and Reason and hence to accepting the inevitability of diversity within a single Church. Clatworthy shows very clearly what is at stake in today’s debate within the Anglican communion and how tragic it would be if a fundamentalist uniformity were to triumph over a reasoned diversity.  Professor Paul Badham Department of Theology, University of Wales, Lampeter

When we find it hard to agree with one another we must re-double our efforts to understand one another. Here Jonathan Clatworthy makes a significant and timely contribution to mutual understanding in a Church where celebrating diversity will do most to heal divisions. Rt Rev John Saxbee Bishop of Lincoln