Response to Sandi Toksvig's Secular Sermon to Archbishop Justin Welby || Glen Scrivener Reacts 

Excellent response Glen. I'm convinced this will be the flagship of the upcoming persecution, we need to prepare to stand our ground whatever the outcome. Thanks for this.

Thanks Glen. Good and helpful video. Sandy's problem was revealed when she said "the society the church purports to represent". The church should never "represent" culture, even with a state church that was never the point. Her whole assumption is that culture comes first.

"He's not embracing and celebrating a novel western elite view of sex and sexuality." Wow. 🤯 Well said!

Thank you for reminding us of the revolutionary, countercultural nature of our faith!

This is utterly superb. Thank you. The hubris of Sandi is actually hard to watch

This is VERY good, especially the Buddist monk analogy and on loving while disagreeing. More on the latter please. So hard to get right.

Thanks Glen. Really clear & helpful & being widely shared.

Great to hear Glen. Thank you.

Brilliant...thanks Glen for your great response.

Brilliant Glen! So wonderfully communicated.

That was the clearest and most powerful bit of preaching I've heard from you Glen. Thank you. Solid stuff. Keep up the good work

Such plainly spoken wisdom is much appreciated. The true church, made up of believers in Christ, must by necessity be different from the culture in which they live. Otherwise, they cease to be representative of the true church of Jesus Christ, which is his body on earth. ❤

Two thoughts: first, why is she so desperate for the CofE to change its doctrine? As far as I'm aware she's not a believer, and western secular culture broadly endorses her beliefs. So what's the purpose of pressuring the church? Second, I'm more cautious about the apology. For the times when the church has mistreated or hurt LGBTQ people at all, yes, we must truly repent of that. But we mustn't apologize for upholding orthodox Christian doctrine, which is what the Bishops appeared to do.

Hold Fast. Thanks Glen. Just started ‘air we breathe’🙌🙏🏿💯 well done

So true Glen. You were spot on.

Thanks Glen, this is extremely helpful.

I was always told that love is tolerance, acceptance and respect . It seems to me that all three words actually mean "think the same way as me, conform to my wishes and agree to my wants or else". Well I am getting rather weary of this stance.... tolerance goes both ways....

Thank you for speaking TRUTH

Superb response thanks Glen

The heart of it. Can we love and disagree - I hope so!

Totally spot on mate👍 Keep up the good work.

Thanks Glen

Very well said Glen

You do an excellent job of explaining what should be clear issue for Christians and the true harder teachings of what is a holy and higher Love

Brilliant Glen!!!

I have watched the interview with the Monty Python contributors and find it fascinating because I think they are right. In fact, they are only saying a similar message that Jesus preached, that the religious don't always act as His would desire. The way that Sandi speaks is like a Pharisee; do what we say but not as we do.

Superlative. Thanks Glen.

Well played sir.

Well said Glen.

A brilliant response to some vacuous and ill-informed comments from Sandi Toksvig. Thank you.

Thank you for articulating my frustration and incredulity at how secular fundamentalism now sets the agenda for the church. This will be widely circulated.

How is it that eternal wisdom is flowing from the church membership and not its leadership? Sad state of affairs.

Brilliant

These people think they're "well-educated". It's ridiculous. I agree with the position you take in the video.

Thanks Glen. Would be interested to hear your thoughts on Channel 4's "Everyone Else Burns".

It looks that the gay community was able to bring Welbi on their side. Look at what the 15% of Anglicans where able to decide that it is alright for their pastors to give the same sex blessing on their on feeling. Bravo, you loving Curch of no trouble.😅

I think one of the issues Toksvig didn't mention but which underlied her argument was the relationship between the CoE and the State. I think this is a legitimate issue that needs to be dealt with, namely the issue of disestablishment. If the church is so out of step with society, then is there a place for the church to be a state church? I'm a former Anglican, now Presbyterian, and I'm happy that many of my Presbyterian forebears stood up against the establishment of the CoS and became "Free". I'm certain that a disestablishment of the CoE will bring untold benefits to the church and make it more independent of the power and influence of the state which, as we know, is more influenced by the opinions of the population than by the Word of God.

Watching her video, I knew something immediately rubbed me the wrong way about that "better things to talk about" comment. Thank you for addressing that so thoroughly.

A very helpful video. It makes sense to call it the "novel view" of a first world minority. The comedians from Monty Python had a different point to make but perhaps the interview was an unhelpful precedent. Clergy generally have been for multiple decades at pains to "get with the times" and this has been an error. Dr D. Martyn Lloyd Jones in "Preachers and Preaching" makes solid biblical points on this issue. Videos like this are really worthwhile. Thanks Glen.

Be holy. Set apart. Not for the world For Jesus🙏

When can we expect an apology from all these professed 'celebrity' atheists for Hitler, Stalin, Mao and all other secular leaders and movements that tortured and murdered millions in the name of a non or anti - religious ideology.

Thank you. I been once to interreligious forum and the only one who could define what they actually mean was the secularist. She rather said that she thinks their is more than one truth than to disagree with the others. While a Muslim and a jew are very happy to accept that they have different fews.

There is an irony to Totsvig complaining about the church being out of step with the culture when she didn't know what Bake Off was prior to being asked to host it.

Sandi has guilt and wants it appeased by the CofE church 🤷‍♀️. The Christian church's message is the Good News of salvation, to love God, to love each other, and our eternal hope. Unfortunately for Sandi the church won't change it's teachings or scriptures after a cup of tea with the top bishop.

History is repeating itself. Henry the 8th went against Christian teaching and set up his own church. Could a King or Queen of England who wanted a same sex marriage in the church not just set up a new CofE?

It is one of the sins that “cries out to heaven for vengeance”. We have a rule book. And that’s that.

I think a big issue for the Church is they accept the word setting of the person complaining. Marriage is about procreation and creating a stable society for any future children. In modern society people take subjects out of context, or single one issue out and act like it alone is an oddity. But when put back in to context we see it fits the rest of the narrative.

Pray for Church of England Justin Welby is under immense pressure

The Church has nothing to offer this world if we merely reflect the culture of our time. Yes, we need to have the courage to be weird.

Just watched thankyou. If the church should not be step why Rev. Bingo Allison who is transgender non binary queer an ordained minister in the CoE? I have stopped going to church for the time being as I do not trust who or what is serving holy communion. Its painful and very sad at the state the west is in. Lord have mercy on us.

If part of Glen’s argument is that the church can often be counter cultural, it also needs to be noted that for the last one and half thousand years until the last few decades the church’s views in western society on social mores sex and marriage were mainstream.

Let us come out for fear of the Lord.. Let's get back to holiness, without which no one will see the Lord, as the New Testament book of Hebrews 12.14 promises

I want to know how you can serve a world without listening to it. Like it's really interesting to think about and I do think that going along with popularity is not the road to truth. But typically in marriage, in work, in friendship, in restaurants, in hospital we serve and are served by listening to what is needed and wanted. When do you cross a line and decide that to serve is to do differently and not listen? I'm genuinely interested, I'm not just being a troll. I find it so hard to find the right way to be a compassionate follower of Jesus and I don't want to win an argument, I want to find that honest, humble compassionate place of love grace and truth.

To be fair to allow a balanced discussion on this issue, I Transcribed from a youtube video by Emily Wanjiru I found today: Archbishop ‘made horrible mistake’ on same-sex marriage, says Sandi Toksvig Below is a more complete summary of Sandi Toksvig’s appeal to Mr. Welby, also including his message. I make a line break for each text frame of the video The resolution states that marriage is “between a man and a woman”, and that same-sex relationships are “incompatible with scripture”. Ms Toksvig said that Mr Welby has made a “mistake”, and offered to talk to him over coffee. She wrote: “So, you and your other religious pals got together at the Lambeth Conference and the main takeaway seems to be that Gay sex is a sin. It was a sin in 1998 and you just wanted to make clear in 2022 [2023?] that no one in your finely frocked gang has moved on from that.” “Seriously, with the state the world is in, that is what you wanted to focus on? You didn’t have other more pressing matters like, I don’t know, war, or poverty?” The former QI host, who refers to herself as a humanist, added: “This is a serious matter. The lives of LGBTQ+ people are at stake here. “I have had several credible death threats over the years, sometimes requiring the very kind assistance of the police hate crime squad. “Each and every one of those threats has come from an evangelical Christian. Inevitably they have wanted to kill me on God’s behalf.” Ms Toksvig also questioned the Church of England’s interpretation of Jesu’s views on homosexuality. She said: “There are seven texts in the Bible which are often pointed to as proof that God hates a homosexual, but everyone who has ever studied the matter knows that the ‘proof’ lies only in extremely fallible interpretation. None of it is clear cut.” She added: “Jesus doesn’t mention sexuality at all. It clearly wasn’t a big thing for him.” In a letter to Anglican bishops written on Tuesday, Mr Welby said: “I write therefore to affirm that the validity of the resolution passed at the Lambeth Conference 1998, 1.10, is not in doubt and that the whole resolution is still in existence. “Indeed, the Call on Human Dignity made clear this is the case, as the resolution is quoted from three times In the paragraph 2.3 of the Call on Human Dignity.” “The Call states that many Provinces - and I think we need to acknowledge it is the majority - continue to affirm that same-gender marriage is not permissible. “The Call also states that other Provinces have blessed and welcomed same sex union/marriage, after careful theological reflection and a process of reception.” Speaking at the conference on Tuesday, the Archbishop added that he could not and would not punish churches for conducting gay marriages. He said: “I neither have, nor do I seek, the authority to discipline or exclude a church of the Anglican Communion. I will not do so.”

What an excellent observation! You must be very clever. So it’s come to the point where peak Englishness is 50% Danish? I can’t keep up.

Would have been great if the church were counter cultural around the time of slavery and the dangerous extension of destructive capitalism. Divine love is something we are still learning.Jesus did say in John that we would grow into a fuller truth. Love is a relationship of seeing the core value of the othet

Spot on, Christians were told to have the mind of Christ. Not to conform to the world. Jesus spoke about marriage and divorce, but always in the context of male and female. He only had the OT and abided by that teaching. Why do the Homosexuals want to be married in a Christian church when they are not prepared to obey its precepts? They can legally marry in a civil court. They tell us to be loving when they are so unloving toward anyone who has a different point of view. Stop trying to change what God proclaims to be his order for marriage in the church.

It is possible that being counter-cultural and following a narrow view of scripture is not following God and that God might be, for some at sometimes, an excuse to avoid a reckoning with justice. It is also possible that the real counter cultural Christianity involving radical sharing and humility is just not as attractive or fun to talk about for conservatives or liberals as sexual morality.

So I watched this straight after watching your response: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_ka8F8sOm7o.html (GAFCON's analysis) and realised that, in respect to the response of the UK bishops, Sandy Toksvig had won the day, so the question is, where does the C of E here go now? It would appear that Rico Tyce's prediction of four years ago is about to be played out, because, will there really be an alternative?

Brilliant!! I don't get it, why is this "old aunt" is so eager to support the sexual rights for all "combinations". I wonder - is it really vital for herself to have more sexual rights, or should I say, approvals? I suspect it's not for herself - it's on behalf on someone else. Which is the absolute moral highground. There is no need to discuss this issue anymore. It has been settled. If the Anglican church will have a future it must resist this.

why halt ye between two opinions, if the Lord be God then serve him... The Cof E is at crisis point and it will have to choose, the Lord or Baal.

I think we should be weird we should call for celibacy outside marriage and the tough call of lifelong monogamy in marriage. We should call for love which is faithful, kind etc. But we should recognise that it can be expressed by people of a variety of gender and sexual identities. And then get on with explaining and living a gospel which is good news to everyone in our nation.

Careful you might end up on her "untenable" list... ...

Isn’t the point that this isn’t about “gay” sexual activity at all; it’s about fornication. Sex outside of marriage.And that is most clearly a sin…back then…and now.

Who the hell does Sandi Toksvig think she is.

Thank you for this video. I think your analysis omits a crucial adjective which Sandi used - 'the state Church of England." I agree that the church should be out of step with society but the CofE also wants to continue to be of the establishment with various privileges such as joining the Islamic Republic of Iran as the only countries in the world with unelected religious leaders sitting in legislative houses. Sandi's heterosexual friends who hold views and experiences of divorce that are in step with UK legislation but out of step with Jesus and the Bible can get married in a CofE church and do every week. You are placing Sandi's views outside the frame in which the church wishes to express them (that's legitimate) while asking her to remain a citizen of a country where only one denomination of one religion gets the privileges of state (that's hypocrisy). Your analysis comes across as almost Anabaptist (and there is nothing wrong with that) while operating in a context where England is first among equals - a concept that has much more to do with Empire and colonialism than with Jesus and the Bible.

Mathew Chapter 7 comes to mind when trying to discern positions of conflict between peoples ideals and beliefs. Great response Glen, to this challenging dillema.

Welby needs to keep out of politics and concentrate on the rapidly declining numbers of C of E

Your views make sense in your world view and you communicate them clearly but also quite patronisingly. It's interesting but hard to listen to someone who's not being humble

Come out for love? Unloving is not to warn people that the sinful path they are on ends up in hell. Love is saying stop your sinful homosexual behavior.

It does not matter what the C of E or RCC think of Gay marriage or LBGT, "We come to do thy will", not our will. They cannot be saved, we can, unless we go against Psalms 1. I have a Ytube video series called 'Myths in so-called Christianity', and show the truth over errors.

Good manners can also be an excuse for being gutless. Let's face it most C of E Archbishops and Bishops haven't got sufficient faith in their own religion to summon the energy to fight their own corner. I say this as an agnostic and observer of many years.

The word 'matrimony' means the office of motherhood; same sex couples will never be able to produce children. The nuptial union of man and woman and the potential for their union to procreate therein, reflects the creative union of the three persons of the Holy Trinity. This is an unchanging teaching of the Church. Of equal import, is the four types of love. Christianity recognises the value of all four while professing that same sex couples focus only on eros, the love of the flesh and are given over to themselves (Rm 1-24). In hoc signo vinces +.

people like Sandy say this stuff for one reason and one reason only, its because they are in same sex relationships, and we all know what the Bible says about that, and it secretly makes them uncomfortable, because we all have right and wrong written on our hearts, and same sex relationships are a sin, a sign of a depraved mind, says the Bible. So they need to go on the attack to make themselves feel justified.. not fooling me.. its unfortunate that Welby and his stance on this, and is now causing a massive schism in the Anglican church and leaders are telling him to repent. welby is destroying the Church of England, well trying to anyway, but it wont work, we will just look to Archbishop Foley beach for leadership.

Sandi Who ? Oh Yes i am sure we must listen and take advise from her ? I would like to ask Sandi to define " Love " ( I am sure she is not aware of the 3 different biblical translations of LOVE ) . Am affraid Sandi's views are flimsy , weak and poor . GOD IS SUPREME , NOT Sandi Toksvig !

Really good video Glen, but I guess that you are constrained not to call out (Mr) Welby on his total lack of leadership in this issue amongst others! If the church has had this wrong through the past 200 decades then he must come out verbally in support of the LGBTQ+ community, to do otherwise would be an appalling act of self serving cowardice. If the church has been right in it’s understanding of the Bible’s teaching on this issue then HE MUST STAND UP FOR TRUTH AND RIGHTEOUSNESS while preaching love and tolerance for those who disagree. To stay silent is not an option for someone claiming to lead a large body of Christian believers. Does he not realise that taking the path he has chosen makes him guilty in everyone’s eyes and will lead to his and his churches demise (Christians will go where there is true biblical leadership).

Look if you don’t like what Christians think then stay away from the club. That goes for any members of any religious club. If you want to change the ideology go and start your own religious club. There’s nothing wrong with basic Christian beliefs. I’m not a believer just find all religions interesting.

Sandi is right is pointing out the absurdity of the CoE being a state church. It is time to bring Henry VIII's petulant and personal rebellion to an end.

Erm, it's a Danish woman talking to an Englishman?

This is utter rubbish. In Matthew 19 Jesus was asked a question about divorcing a wife. We've gone way beyond what he replied, in this video. Sandy Toksvig is right, he just didn't address the issue

Glen: you are confusing issues from the very start, because you are using the word 'gender', where you should be using 'sex'. It is SEX which is non-negotiable (until science is able to achieve the end of changing the chromosomes in every single cell of a human being): whilst 'gender' may be chosen. I'm an ordinary homosexual Christian MALE: who has no wish to change my 'gender'. I am content for my 'gender' to be reflective of my sex. BUT, "Here we go 'round the Mulberry Bush", Glen; because the issue which ought to be discussed by the Church (before human sexuality) is how we treat, read, interpret and apply our SCRIPTURES. Somehow, and at some time, in the history of the Church (or possibly Israel) some readers of our scriptures came to 'believe' (it is only a 'belief': not attested in any of our ancient Christian Creeds) that they were the physical manifestation of the "word(s) of God, himself". This is how the devout Muslim views his Koran: but it should not be the way the Christian views our scriptures. Not least because the end-product is a tendency to worship and adore our SCRIPTURES, rather than the God they help to reveal. That God came to be recognised by the Jews who comprised the Primitive Church as particularly active in the young male Jew, Jesus of Nazareth. His resurrection from the dead, manifest in all those appearances and dialogues with his followers 'clinched' the deal. As Paul says, without the resurrection, we may as well pack up and go home: for we would have simply been following "another enlightened Jew who taught and preached the faith of his forebears. It was the resurrection which caused it to SLOWLY dawn on those followers, in whome company they had been during the short period of Jesus' adult ministry. It was that event which brought forth all the great Christological Titles, which were seen as applicable to Jesus; including 'Son of God', and which turned the mission of a 'human being' into the 'activity of the God of Israel'. Christians treat our scriptures in a variety of ways: but - as long as they reveal "Jesus is Lord" - they are performing the task for which they were intended.