Irreverend: Faith and Current Affairs

A viral sermon reframes God and Christ through modern gender theory, sparking a deep dive into incarnation, embodiment, and theological accountability. The discussion then turns to St Helen’s Bishopsgate distancing itself from Church of England bishops. Finally, an interfaith award to a cleric linked to praise for Osama bin Laden raises questions about due diligence, apologies, and Lambeth Palace’s judgment.

A controversial 9/11-era interfaith award sparks fierce criticism after the recipient’s praise for Osama bin Laden comes to light. The discussion turns to accountability, church leadership, institutional failure, and the tension between Christian conviction and cultural appeasement. Also debated: Meryl Streep’s gender-bending, rainbow-accented Aslan in Greta Gerwig’s new Narnia adaptation.

A narrow Commons defeat for assisted dying sparks a fierce debate over Christian hope, human dignity, and the Church’s muted response. The discussion turns to the Lindsay Clancy trial, a juror’s dissent, and claims that identity politics is reshaping reactions to child murder. Also covered: the devil’s influence, Catholic involvement in Anglican appointments, political donation rules, and culture-war controversies.

In this episode of Irreverend Faith and Current Affairs, Rev. Dr. Jamie Franklin is joined by Rev. Thomas Pelham for a wide-ranging discussion on two major stories.First: Sadiq Khan celebrates a partnership between Fabric nightclub and St Paul’s Cathedral. Is this just another concert in a historic building, or a sign that the Church of England has lost the distinction between the sacred and the secular? Jamie and Tom examine Bishop Robert Barron’s strong critique, Gavin Ashenden’s polemics, and the wider question of what church buildings are actually for.Second: Cambridge academic and Reform UK policy chief James Orr is forced to step down after being caught in a journalistic sting discussing foreign funding. Was it illegal? Immoral? Or just politically disastrous? The pair dig into the optics, the law, Nigel Farage’s ruthless response, and what it means for Christian influence in politics.Also in this episode: the assisted dying bill, the AfD surge in Germany, Iceland rejecting the EU, and a listener question about blessing children’s backpacks.Timestamps:0:00 – Intro & banter7:04 – Lord’s Prayer & Psalm 11713:30 – Fabric nightclub at St Paul’s Cathedral25:13 – Bishop Robert Barron’s critique of sacred vs secular33:02 – Gavin Ashenden & Roman Catholic reactions36:32 – James Orr, Reform UK & the foreign funding controversy50:02 – Assisted dying, abortion & the AfD rise in Germany1:00:39 – Listener question: blessing backpacks1:06:41 – Closing prayerSupport Irreverend:🔥 Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/irreverend🔥 Substack → https://irreverendpod.substack.com📧 Email / donations → [email protected], subscribe, comment and share if you want more fearless commentary on church, culture and current affairs.#StPauls #Fabric #JamesOrr #ReformUK #ChurchOfEngland #IrreverendSupport the show

A chilling courtroom case sparks debate over moral responsibility, mental illness, identity politics, and the public’s rush to excuse violence against children. The discussion widens to abortion, infanticide, the Church’s silence, and the decline of Christian anthropology. A listener’s question explores tragedy, evil, human freedom, and divine goodness before turning to Saint Stephen of Hungary and the call for Christian cultural renewal.

Rev Jamie is back with a solo episode that starts with absurdity and ends with righteous anger.🔥 The Home Office’s jaw-dropping pamphlet telling asylum seekers that “in the UK both people must say yes to sex” – complete with unfinished sentences and cartoon illustrations. Madeleine Grant calls it Victorian moralising; Jamie calls it something far darker.👑 Prince Harry’s latest “hostage video” for the Diana Award: systemic racism, unconscious bias, and the obligatory apology for the sins of previous generations. Production values that would embarrass a parish podcast.🎓 Academia continues its descent: a very tall man in a dress receives an honorary degree for DEI activism at the University of Bradford… while Cambridge’s Education Faculty hires someone who once called for engineering degrees to produce “advanced weaponry for jihad.”And the main event: the continuing fallout from Jason Arday’s death. Nathan Cofnas speaks. The Bishop of Croydon and former Archbishop Rowan Williams turn the tragedy into a morality play about “bullying” and “basic human dignity” – while ignoring the plagiarism, the fabrications, and the DEI machine that put an unqualified man on a pedestal from which he had so far to fall.Jamie names names, refuses the victimhood narrative, and asks the forbidden question: who is actually responsible?Plus: the quiet death of the parish system under “oversight ministry” and why the Church of England’s technocrats don’t understand what a priest actually is.Support Irreverend:🔥 Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/irreverend🔥 Substack → https://irreverendpod.substack.com📧 Email / donations → [email protected], subscribe, comment and share if you want more fearless commentary on church, culture and current affairs.Support the show

Rev Jamie returns with a powerful solo episode on the tragic death of Cambridge professor Jason Arday and what it reveals about our post-truth culture.In this episode:🔥 Jason Arday’s death and the reaction The James O’Brien interview, the rejection of meritocracy, the Trafalgar Square vigil, Diane Abbott’s claims of a “vicious campaign”, and the Committee for Academic Freedom’s response.📖 Victimhood as the new sainthood How modern culture has taken the Christian idea of martyrdom and twisted it into identity politics.⛪ Church of England Project Spire Alex Scott discovers her ancestor was a slave owner — and why race-based reparations make no sense.⛪ Truro’s 21-church benefice Mass opposition ignored, and Bishop David Williams’ comments on “priest-centred” ministry.Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro & apology on sociology 3:30 – Lord’s Prayer & John 9 11:30 – Jason Arday’s death and the culture war 25:40 – The James O’Brien interview & meritocracy 42:00 – Trafalgar Square vigil & Diane Abbott 55:00 – Project Spire & Alex Scott 1:05:00 – Truro 21-church benefice 1:15:00 – Listener emailsSupport Irreverend:🔥 Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/irreverend🔥 Substack → https://irreverendpod.substack.com📧 Email / donations → [email protected], subscribe, comment and share if you want more fearless commentary on church, culture and current affairs.#JasonArday #Cambridge #DEI #ChurchOfEngland #ProjectSpire #IrreverendSupport the show

Jamie and Tom are back with another explosive episode.🔥 Jason Arday / Cambridge scandalThe “inspirational” professor whose remarkable life story is collapsing, extensive plagiarism, incoherent teaching, a $1.15 million book deal still going ahead, and the toxic DEI culture that allowed it all to happen.⛪ Madeline Grant on the Church of EnglandWhy the CofE is still doubling down on Project Spire and 2020-era racial politics long after the rest of society has moved on.⚖️ Massachusetts abortion lawA major change expanding access to later-term abortions — and what it reveals about the direction of Western culture.Sharp, unfiltered, and no sacred cows.Support the show:🔥 Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/irreverend🔥 Substack → https://www.patreon.com/c/irreverend📧 Email / donations → [email protected] subscribe, leave a 5-star rating, and share if this episode hit home.Support the show

A sharp look at a senior cleric’s filmed visits to former slave sites and the controversy around a proposed £100m reparations fund. A heated Oxford Union debate on suspicion of Islam, protests, and the challenge of separating belief from extremism. Discussion of historical claims about Aisha, cultural tensions, and what demographic and legal change might mean for Western societies.

The Church of England is sitting on an £11.6 billion endowment — yet parish churches are being closed, merged, and left without clergy or cash.In this hard-hitting episode, Jamie Franklin interviews the Rev. Marcus Walker, rector of St Bartholomew the Great in the City of London and one of the key voices behind the Save the Parish movement.They dig into:🔥 The extraordinary growth at St Bartholomew’s (from ~50 to 250+) and why young adults are flocking to traditional high-church worship💰 How historic parish money has been redirected while poorer churches struggle⛪ The controversial push for 10,000 new lay-led church plants📖 The Quiet Revival, the King James Bible, beauty, and why “relevance” often means the opposite of what people actually want⚔️ What ordinary Anglicans can do to fight backThis is one of the most important conversations about the future of the Church of England right now.Get involved:🔥 Join Save the Parish → https://www.savetheparish.com/join/🔥 Stand for General Synod → https://www.savetheparish.com/general-synod-manifesto-2026/#Support the show:🔥 Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/irreverend🔥 Substack → https://www.patreon.com/c/irreverend📧 Donate → [email protected] subscribe, leave a 5-star rating, and share if this episode hit home.Support the show