Religion

Church of England to consider reinstituting heresy trials to curb unorthodox clergy. In principle a good idea, but only if the judges of ecclesiastical courts were orthodox, something which certainly cannot be depended upon. In the middle of the story the Guardian journalist editorializes: "Heresy trials would be a fertile ground for showing the Church of England at its most arcane. There is a long history of clergy contesting matters of doctrine, most recently in the mid-1980s when the then bishop of Durham, David Jenkins, raised doubts about the virgin birth and the resurrection of Christ." Only a liberal or an ignoramus would think that the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection are "arcane" points of Christian theology.

Update: The council rejected the proposal. Oh well, back to business as usual--making the Anglican church a fancy-dress branch of Unitarian Universalism.