Theo Hobson is the author of seven books, including God Created Humanism: the Christian Basis of Secular Values
A new survey finds that a quarter of British people who describe themselves as Christian say they do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus. Well, it won’t surprise you to hear that I think they are on theologically dodgy ground. Christians should affirm the resurrection of Jesus, however much they struggle to reconcile it with
In yesterday’s Guardian, David Shariatmadari confronts the claim that Islam is an especially violent religion. The claim, he says, is undermined by the fact that jihadi terrorism is a very recent phenomenon. Yes, there is also the violence of empire-building in its history, but you could say this of Christianity too. ‘Aspects of Islamic teaching do
Pankaj Mishra’s book Age of Anger is good in parts, but also shows the weakness of leftist thought. It is a bold history of political ideas that traces the extremism and populism of our day to nineteenth-century sources. Both Isis supporters and Trump supporters are reacting to the insecurity caused by neoliberal globalisation, he argues. ‘Cosmopolitan
Omar Saif Ghobash, who is the United Arab Emirates ambassador to Russia, has written a good Muslim-reformist tract called Letters to a Young Muslim. There is plenty of passionate rhetoric denouncing rigidity, praising open-mindedness. There are plenty of insights that give the outsider a glimpse of his difficult inheritance (as a half-Arab, half-Russian boy educated
There was a good programme last week on Channel 4 about Muslims looking for love, or at least marriage. It was called ‘Extremely British Muslims’, and it did indeed show us some young Muslims who were very much like anyone else. But it was also a reminder that many Muslims have a deep-seated assumption about religion
Let me state the obvious for a moment: the Church of England does not know what line to take on homosexuality. The traditional line, that it is contrary to God’s will, is opposed by most Anglicans. The clergy in General Synod showed their opposition last week by refusing to approve a report by the bishops that
I have mixed feelings about ‘the Reverend Richard Coles’, whose new memoir I have just read. It’s great that a vicar has such high visibility – and why shouldn’t there be one or two luvvie-priests, who mix smoothly with celebs? And I have no doubt that he combines this with being an excellent parish priest, preaching
The chief appeal of Saint Joan, which I saw last night at the Donmar, is that it is a brilliant vehicle for a young actress. Gemma Arterton is great, if a little too mature and attractive to convey teenage innocence. Otherwise, I don’t quite see the point of George Bernard Shaw’s play, and wonder why
What do we believe in, in our largely post-religious culture? The pursuit of individual happiness, obviously. A vague humanism, thankfully. But something more dramatic is needed too. Something for Hollywood to chew on. La La Land reminds us what it is – the myth of the risk of art. The myth of creativity being a
‘The Reformation was a process of both renewal and division among Christians in Europe,’ said the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in a ‘joint reflection’ statement marking 500 years of Protestantism. ‘In this Reformation anniversary year, many Christians will want to give thanks for the great blessings they have received to which the Reformation directly
Those who sneer at Obama for promising more than he could deliver have little understanding of the nature of moral idealism. They accuse him of naivety but they are themselves naive. They fail to grasp that Obama expressed the basic moral idealism that unites the vast majority of people in the West. He expressed it more
Before you read any further, be warned that this post contains some shockingly racy material. Well, not really – I just wanted to make sure you read beyond the first sentence. That’s what ‘adult content’ warnings are really for. When some mediocre TV drama begins with a warning about ‘scenes of a sexual nature’, I
One should not speak ill of the dead, but if their flaws or vices are glossed over that is also problematic. George Michael was admirable in some ways, especially for his quiet charitable donations, but less so in others. I don’t see why his penchant for anonymous sexual encounters should be politely passed over, or
Most commentators have been over-hasty in ridiculing Sajid Javid’s proposal of an oath of allegiance to British values, to be sworn by those holding public office. It’s an opportunity to go right back to basics and ask a huge and naïve-sounding question. What is our public creed? What do we as a society hold in
In yesterday’s Guardian Giles Fraser dismisses Louise Casey’s report on social division. Its desire to ‘integrate’ communities is serving liberal capitalist ‘hegemony’. And he dismisses Sajid Javid’s call for all Britons to affirm ‘the shared values that make Britain great.’ This, says Fraser, ‘is actually another way of saying that all must be obliged to pay
I like the fact that Theresa May is an Anglican, a good, solid, unashamed, unflashy Anglican, whose allegiance has not wavered since childhood. It reassures me. For the CofE is a place of pragmatic idealism, public service, profound humanism, good humour, self-criticism. Also, it’s just about the only place where class and racial divisions are
Michael Gove makes a semi-persuasive case for patriotism in The Times this week. Brexit and Trumpism are largely just assertions of the basic, healthy human impulse to love one’s homeland, and to defy the international structures, and liberal sneering, that denigrate this impulse. The reality is that the moral status of patriotism depends on which nation
It is time to bother thinking about the tricky terms ‘liberal values’ and ‘liberalism’. ‘Liberal values’ is what unites us in Western democracies; it means a broad, vague belief in equality, human rights, the rule of law. Liberalism, on the other hand, is a political and cultural agenda. It claims to express liberal values in
It’s time to consider Nietzsche’s view of liberal democracy. It couldn’t work, it couldn’t bind a nation together, he said. Why not? Because of its excessive moral idealism. The belief in equality and social justice, which he rightly saw as deriving from Judaism and Christianity, would lead to fragmentation. For politics would be dominated by
The essence of Trumpism is vitalism, the belief that energy is the key political virtue. Don’t worry about my specific plans, he says, just believe that I will shake things up, even smash things up. Hillary ‘lacks energy’ he keeps saying. This should worry us. For this approach to politics was the seed of European
