In this special episode of Irreverend, Rev'd Dr Jamie Franklin explains why he and author Dr Bijan Omrani decided to take the Church of England's Church Commissioners to court over their proposed plans to spend £100 million on slavery reparations from a fund that exists to help struggling parishes churches.

If you support Jamie and want to see the Church of England fulfilling its Christian mission in England, please like, subscribe and share!

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#ProjectSpire #CulturalChristianity #Irreverend #Slavery #Racism #Reparations

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Live from the University of Greenwich: Rev. Dr. Jamie Franklin and Rev. Daniel French on The God Solution.

For a generation the Church felt like a lost cause under new atheism and The God Delusion. Now the mood has shifted. People step toward the vicar. Interest in real Christianity is rising. But can the Church meet the moment?

Jamie lays out the thesis of his book The Great Return: Western values — human dignity, equality, liberty, the intellectual conditions for science — are Christian capital, not Enlightenment inventions. The Greco-Roman world had no such vision of humanity. Strip out Christ and the borrowed capital runs out. We already see the collision in debates over abortion and assisted dying.

Cultural Christianity is not enough. Preference for the Christian story without genuine belief has no binding authority. Real renewal means prayer, holiness, parish life, and a recovered confidence in the Church’s historic identity — not more fashionable politics.

Jamie also discusses his high-profile involvement in the legal challenge, brought with Dr Bijan Omrani, against the Church Commissioners’ £100 million Project Spire slavery-reparations fund — including the media coverage it has attracted and why the use of Section 106 is being contested.

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#TheGodSolution #TheGreatReturn #ProjectSpire #CulturalChristianity #Irreverend

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In this episode of Irreverend Faith and Current Affairs, the Rev'd. Dr. Jamie Franklin covers four major stories.

First: twenty years after The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins is still misunderstanding classical theism. Jamie explains necessary vs contingent being, why “a universe from nothing” isn’t nothing, and why new atheism has become largely irrelevant.

Second: the failed lethal injection of Krista Pike in Tennessee after 30 years on death row. Church leaders appeal for mercy. Jamie supports the death penalty in rare cases of pure malice, but finds the American system Kafkaesque and would not reintroduce something similar in Britain.

Third: a South London rector refuses to close the church doors on members of an anti-immigration group labelled “far right.” Jamie largely praises the pastor’s gospel-first stance and questions whether “Christian nationalism” is always the bogeyman it is made out to be.

Fourth: Bijan Omrani’s call not to abandon the Church of England plus listener emails on staying and fighting rather than leaving for continuing Anglicanism. Jamie argues the fight for the soul of the C of E is the fight for the soul of the nation.

Also: Live event — The God Solution with Jamie and Rev. Daniel French at the University of Greenwich, Wednesday 14 October, 7pm. Book here!

Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro
0:33 – Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion & classical theism
7:08 – “A universe from nothing” and why it isn’t nothing
11:49 – The God Solution live event, University of Greenwich (14 Oct)
13:46 – Krista Pike: failed execution & the death penalty
20:18 – When is capital punishment justified?
25:28 – “Sinners are welcome”: Danny Tomo, Patriot Platform & St Lawrence’s Morden
30:11 – What does “Christian nationalism” actually mean?
35:00 – A short digression on “rights”
37:00 – Support the show / Uncollared
39:30 – Bijan Omrani: “Don’t Abandon the Church of England”
48:30 – Listener emails (Victoria & Richard)
55:00 – Stay and fight: the soul of the Church & the nation
59:00 – Lord’s Prayer & close

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#RichardDawkins #DeathPenalty #ChristianNationalism #ChurchOfEngland #Irreverend

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