Moral language: dialogue needed
From the Revd Professor Simon Robinson
Madam, — Thanks for the interesting article (Analysis, 30 May) by Lord Harries about the demise of moral language. I am not, however, quite as sure as he about rumours of its demise. In fact, I find it hard to escape it
On university campuses and even in the high street, moral language is everywhere, not least in the Gaza protests. In professions, questions of integrity continue to be raised and discussed. One of the best examples is UK Police, who revised their ethical code recently. Terms such as moral courage and integrity infuse the dialogue as the code is rolled out. Even reflection on procedural justice and the police (focused in community relations) is based in moral language, including respect, justice, non-judgemental attitude, and so on. Public inquiries continue to use such language as they invite witnesses to reflect on their behaviour. Celebrity slip-ups on social media raise questions about the rights and wrongs of free speech. The list is endless.
In addition, far from being afraid of being seen as self-righteous, many people and groups in the public square today want to assert their righteousness, to stand up for or against people and conduct, in medicine, politics, governance, and so on. Far from being moral relativism, this is moral contestation, involving different perceptions of the good and of moral identity. Much of the populist political language feeds into a claim to “righteousness”. And this contestation is right there at the heart of the Church of England, in which very different moral language is being used by different groups about a wide range of issues including sexuality, safeguarding, governance, and leadership.
The issue, I would argue, then, is not about revivifying moral language, but, rather, knowing how to use such language in the context of different, often conflicting, perceptions of morality. This suggests that morality is kept alive through dialogue, discovering moral meaning in context, and in relation to the other who might see themselves and their moral world very differently from us.
Inevitably, this includes mutual self-discovery. It is really not that much different from the Gospels, in which moral rules are contested, in the light of religious, political, and cultural questions, and Jesus holds himself to account through dialogue, through which we discover ourselves and God.
SIMON ROBINSON
Leeds Business School
The Rose Bowl
Leeds LS1 3HB
Episcopal voting record and vicarious liability
From Mr Charles Wide KC
Madam, — The Church Commissioners’ recent response to critiques of Project Spire (News, 6 June) concludes with the assertion that “the Bishops in the House of Lords voted uniformly against the Emancipation Bill in 1833.” Hansard reveals that, at Second and Third Readings, there was no opposition to the Bill in the House of Lords, let alone from any bishops.
In any event, the vote in Parliament of any particular bishop 200 years ago no more fixes the Church of England with vicarious liability than the controversial voting record of contemporary bishops does now.
CHARLES WIDE
Church Cottage, Main Street
Glapthorn, Peterborough PE8 5BE
Same-sex relationships in the ancient world
From the Revd Dr Jonathan Tallon
Madam, — I write to correct the utterly misleading impression that Canon Andrew Cornes gives about same-sex relationships in the ancient world. His letter (30 May) omits the most salient point about such relationships: that they were nearly universally pederastic.
This is true of some of the works that he cites as support. For example, he mentions Lucian’s Affairs of the Heart, but does not reveal that the work compares the love of women with the love of boys. Hubbard collected 447 primary texts about same-sex activity in the Roman Empire in his source book Homosexuality in Greece and Rome (University of California Press, 2003); the vast majority refer to pederasty.
Additionally, the Roman world did not value love, mutual devotion, and so forth in such encounters; it was shameful for free-born boys to be in such an encounter, and they wore amulets around their neck (bullae) to indicate that they were “off limits”. The passive partners in such encounters were seen as humiliated. Martial, the Roman poet, refers to them as being “cut to pieces”.
To give some idea of how widespread pederasty was, there was a specific Latin term — deliciae — for enslaved boys used for the sexual gratification of the master of the household.
In summary, the everyday experience of someone in the time of St Paul would be that same-sex encounters were abusive, exploitative, and not part of a loving and lifelong relationship. To fail to acknowledge this reality is to misread the New Testament.
JONATHAN TALLON
31 Brighton Grove
Manchester M14 5JG
Considerations concerning the see of Canterbury
From Revd Dr Martin Henig
Madam, — Looking at the picture of the members of the Crown Nominations Commission who will select the next Archbishop of Canterbury (News, 6 June), I was struck by two thoughts. First, the vast preponderance of men over women. I wonder whether we should be surprised, as this is a continuing bias in the upper echelons of society?
Second, most, perhaps all, are middle-aged. Is this a way to take our beloved Anglican Communion into the future?
I am struck by the maturity, sound judgement, and inspiration of so many of the young people, undergraduates, and post-graduates with whom I have shared morning prayer at St Mary Magdalen’s, Oxford, over the past years, some of whom have gone on to take the path to ordination. It would be reassuring if there were a few women and men on the Commission born around the year 2000, or even later, as it is with them that the future of the Church depends. This, though, seems especially apt in the light of Pentecost, the Feast of the Holy Spirit.
MARTIN HENIG
16 Alexandra Road
Oxford OX2 0DB
From the Revd Ulric Gerry
Madam, — The Revd Professor James Walters (Comment, 23 May) identifies the problem of religious cohesion in the UK as being strained in three areas: Muslim-Jewish relations over Gaza; Muslim-secular relations strained over Muslims’ asserting influence in the UK; Muslim-Hindu/Sikh relations over Kashmir.
Professor Walters’s solution is for the next Archbishop of Canterbury to promote pluralism and “good interfaith dialogue”. This assumes that all parties believe in secular liberal pluralist society, which may not necessarily be so. An alternative would be for the new Archbishop of Canterbury to assert the Christian gospel as public truth for our national life, including the value of tolerance.
ULRIC GERRY
The Vicarage, Ryefield Avenue
Uxbridge UB10 9BT
Church of England welcome for Farsi-speakers
From Fr Kevin Crinks AG
Madam, — I was most interested to read of the number of Farsi-speakers (Feature, 6 June) coming to faith, as it reminded me of the experience of my former parish in Wigan.
We had just finished evensong on Low Sunday in 2001, when the church door opened and in walked two recently arrived Iranian asylum-seekers. They told us their respective stories of discrimination, torture, imprisonment, and escape. After several months, we discussed the possibility of baptism, which was celebrated in a public baptism service. The following year, they were both confirmed, having given powerful testimony about their faith.
Their asylum cases were heard and not challenged by the Home Office, and they both settled into life in Britain, married, and have families. They continue to support and encourage Farsi-speaking Christians in their settling into life in the UK. I thank God for the faithful ministry undertaken by those two men and many others who have committed themselves to risk-taking in evangelism.
KEVIN CRINKS
The Vicarage, Church Fields
High Street, Neston
Cheshire CH64 9TZ
TB and American aid
From Peter Davies
Madam, — In his otherwise excellent article on deaths as a result of cuts to USAID, Paul Vallely (Comment, 6 June) omits to mention the world’s biggest infectious killer: tuberculosis (TB), which now kills more humans than HIV and malaria combined.
One study estimated 10.7 million additional TB cases and 2.2 million additional deaths in 26 high-burden countries by 2030 if US TB programmes were cut.
Because of the way TB is transmitted, by airborne infection, this disease poses a much more universal threat than HIV or malaria.
PETER DAVIES
Trustee, TB Alert
7 Heath Close, West Kirby
Wirral CH48 3JL
Hymn tunes — folk, Victorian, and modern
From Mr Frederic Goodwin
Madam, — In questioning the suggestion that many of the best hymn tunes have a folk origin, the Revd Professor Ian Bradley (Letters, 6 June) undermines his case by preferring Vox Dilecti (J. B. Dykes) to Kingsfold (folk tune) for “I heard the voice of Jesus say”.
In fact, far from being “light and bouncy”, Kingsfold has a strong, expansive melody, ideal for unison singing, and, if sung at a suitable speed, complements the message of Horatius Bonar’s text and brings it to life.
In contrast, Vox Dilecti is a mediocre piece of sentimentality, by no means Dykes’s best work, with a perfunctory change from minor to major which, in fact, has little justification in the words: for a much better use by Dykes of the same plan, see St Andrew of Crete, his tune to “Christian, dost thou see them”, where the contrast in mood between halves of verses is more marked and the key change is exhilarating.
Since Vaughan Williams introduced folk songs as hymn tunes, subsequent generations have restored some good Victorian tunes that he discarded, and Professor Bradley seems to be an heir to that necessary movement of re-adjustment. But each hymn tune must be judged on its merits.
FREDERIC GOODWIN
124 Upgate, Louth
Lincolnshire LN11 9HG
From Mr Howard Smith
Madam, — The Revd Professor Ian Bradley’s contributions on hymnody are always instructive to read, and I particularly appreciated his recent comments on this subject. While I share his appreciation of some Victorian hymn tunes, such as Dykes’s Vox Dilecti, it is surely also worth acknowledging the contribution that more recent composers have made in providing fine new tunes to familiar words. I cite just two examples: Maurice Bevan’s Corvedale for Frederick William Faber’s “There’s a wideness in God’s mercy” and Kenneth Naylor’s Coe Fen for John Mason’s “How shall I sing that majesty”.
HOWARD SMITH
3 Tynedale Close, Oadby
Leicester LE2 4TS
Reasons to fly the flag
From the Revd Timothy Duff
Madam, — Canon Malcolm Guite’s Poet’s Corner is always interesting, and varied; I share his enthusiasm for flags. He may be glad to learn that the Norfolk flag (30 May) flies regularly in Northumberland, some 300 miles away. This comes from our family having sailed on the Broads for many years, and our affection for the county and its people. The flag of St George is flown on most Sundays, and at other times, too.
Flags can be used to good effect in sermons and school assemblies. Have some national flags held up by young folk, ask for the flags to be identified, end with flags having a cross on them and, finally, St George. Explain its symbolism: the blood-red Cross of Christ.
Further, the wind, which flags need to fly, is a good analogy for God: wind can be felt, but never seen. So it is with God.
Keep the flags flying!
TIMOTHY DUFF
24A Percy Gardens, Tynemouth
North Shields NE30 4HQ
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