And of course that's just where the problems lie. Though people on both sides appeal to what is natural, nature unhelpfully supports both sides liking both consistency and variety in gender and sexual
There is a kind of tribalism in us all which can make us feel uneasy, even threatened at times by difference. But our prejudices often tell us more about ourselves than we would like to admit. When th
Though it may be a small incident, it does raise the issue of personal responsibility and respect towards others, what should and shouldn't be said in public. But it seems to me that it is also anothe
Last week, I was in Bruges. We were standing in front of yet another unbelievably stunning painting by the Flemish artist Hans Memling, in a 12th century hospital built specifically for the poor, when
In the front gardens, even in the rain, I notice the first signs of spring and the greyness of winter giving way to small yellow white and purple flowers. Spring is rising in all the animals which inc
To be compassionate is, if we take the word to bits, to suffer with another, to feel their suffering almost as if it is our own. So someone can work hard to relieve suffering, and be highly skilled in
The debate on gay marriage is making me uncomfortable. Columnists tell me breezily that I should welcome it because of equality. Catholic and Anglican Bishops say I should shun it because it undermine
The argument on how to get the balance right between the right to privacy in private life and the importance of having a free press working in the public interest to expose truth is still continuing.
But social security carries a risk: the risk that some will abuse the system, taking without giving. It's a risk we seem increasingly unwilling to accept. Attitudes are changing. Yet coming down hard
William Shakespeare wrote of the seven ages of man, starting with the puking infant and the whining school boy, through the lover, the soldier, the authority of the middle aged justice, then the slipp
So, as we continued walking through the city, I played a game, trying to separate what I thought was inspired by a true faith in God, and what was not. It quickly became difficult: for every almshouse
It was the late 70s and we thought him almost a god, my school friends Helen and Anne and I. An actor-director undergraduate, impossibly tall, dark and drop dead gorgeous, he co-hosted a party every s
The road to peace and reconciliation is a complex and painful process, whether in national or indeed individual conflicts. It involves the conquering of fear, the dealing with bitterness and outrage,
Over the last few days we have seen and been reminded of two massacres. Last weekend Norway remembered the first anniversary of the 77 victims of a bomb and gun shooting. During a brief television cli
For so long we have fought to be treated the same as men. And of course we have equal value in God's sight, and deserve equal pay, equal rights and opportunities. But we are not the same. That's the p
The London Olympics has given us new vocabulary: ORNs and PRNs. Or as we've been hearing, Olympic Road Network and Paralympic Road Network. And as from today London commuters travelling along the Olym
Last Friday a distinguished Anglican clergyman, the Rev Paul Oestreicher, told us that in his opinion Jesus Christ was probably gay because of his affection for his beloved apostle St John. Next day,
The spirit of the late Sir Jimmy Savile was alive and well in the Savile Hall in Leeds two days ago when personal items were sold to benefit his favourite charities. In a 12-hour sale over 350 items r
As things are, I see two dangers and they are linked. The first is that if the Church is quick to assert and slow to listen, it can give the impression to its own members that moral insight is never t
It is said that faith is both a gift and a task. By Saturday this week most Muslims around the world will have begun observing the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar known
