For whom the Bell tolls

This term’s theme has been that of faith and money – whether, indeed, having both is possible, and if so, how we might form a way of life that allows us to both be faithful Christians and yet live in a world which from year to year seems to become ever more a world of greed and lust after individual wealth. The old adage of ‘give unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s’ – so often overused and misunderstood by generations of greedy and unholy clergy-folk to justify slavish obedience to law, either of the state or of mammon - is, of course, not what it is claimed to be. Absolutely nothing, nothing whatsoever, belongs to Caesar – the Earth is The Lord’s and all that is in it – so no easy fixes there, no greedy and self-absorbed capitalism Monday to Saturday and God on Sunday. It doesn’t work that way, and any clergy person, indeed any preacher, who tells you that it does, is not only a liar,  but a false prophet and a thief. If we’re going to take the Gospel seriously then it’s a Gospel ...

Mercy and truth are met together: righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall flourish out of the earth: and righteousness hath looked down from heaven. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Mercy is, perhaps, something that the church has begun to think about more clearly and with more focus in the past few years. That is in no small part, of course, due to the Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis a year or so ago, in which the Roman Catholic Church began to take more seriously the idea that God, in his infinite goodness, and indeed in his infinite wonder and glory, truly does offer total, merciful loving-kindness to His people here on earth. For through the eyes of mercy, we see the nature of God. What, then, is mercy? This must be one of the key questions facing those of us who call ourselves Christian, yet it does seem to be one we willingly ignore in order to focus on other things. Whether we are...

The impact of exiting the European Union on Higher Education House of Commons Education Select Committee Pembroke College, Oxford (11.i.17) Evidence panel: Senior Tutor, Trinity College, Cambridge VC Coventry University VC Oxford Brooke’s University Pro-VC (Brexit) Oxford University The discussion took the form of questions from the MPs present (three Lab, one SNP, one Con (chair)) to the evidence panel. The second evidence panel was more subject-specific but I’ve covered the majority of the points in this briefing. The discussion focused on what the challenges and possible advantages would be for the university sector in exiting the European Union (some might suggest this conversation might have been more helpful prior to a decision being made!). In general, the feeling was quite clear – Brexit poses a significant risk to HE, and any benefits that might arise are more coincidental and would indeed be possible if the UK remained within the ...