10th May 2024

How disappointing to read that Hugh Dawes’ attempt in his 1992 book Freeing the Faith, to find a new story of God which did not rely on supernatural assumptions,found little support from his bishop. (Obituary 3rd May 2024). But has anything changed? 

It is now over sixty years since Bishop John Robinson came clean and declared that he no longer found it possible to believe in an almighty God “out there” who intervened in human affairs and exactly forty years since Don Cupitt charted the gradual erosion of this belief in The Sea of Faith broadcast on the BBC. 

While both of them met with the same unsupportive attitude at the time, the evidence now is that all bishops and archbishops in the Church of England agree with John Robinson.

Prayers in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (still authorised for use) ask God to ‘send us rain and showers’, ‘confound [our enemies’] devices’, and ‘withdraw from us this plague and grievous sickness’. Yet during the recent droughts, no bishop or archbishop beseeched God to send rain, nor have they asked God to confound Russian tanks or withdraw the COVID-19 plague from us. While they called for a cease-fire in the Middle East, they did not ask God to bring it.

Until our bishops acknowledge that they do not believe in a God who will send rain, confound war-makers and take away plagues the church will never be the open, liberal and inclusive community which Hugh so desired.

Such an admission by the bishops would help to liberate faith and free us from an image of God which many find oppressive and abusive. It would help us to take responsibility for our talk of God, encourage us to make our theology true to experience and explore the rich diversity of ways that God has been spoken of in the bible and in history.

Revd Canon Stephen Mitchell

Trustee, Sea of Faith Network

93 Bantocks Road 

Great Waldingfield 

Sudbury 

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