To ask for your thoughts about this Times article about C of E preparations for possible future war?

[MistressoftheDarkSide]

https://archive.ph/ULkiH

Just that really.

The article isn't loading can you explain more? C of e+
Church of England?
,

Yes, Church of England.

It's a link from the archive thing as original article is behind a pay wall.

I don’t care one jot about what the C of E think about anything tbh

As far as I can see it is saying the Church is responding to peoples rising concern that there might be a war. Not that the CofE thinks there will be a war.

Me neither to be fair 😉

I just thought it was an interesting subject, as we are as a nation culturally "Christian" and while church and state are supposed to be separate, obviously they remain somewhat intertwined for that reason.

Yes, I think that is the thrust of it.

Cynical me wonders if it could be a useful recruitment tool - as they say, there are no atheists in foxholes....

I find the article completely irrelevant to my life. I don't believe in god, have no interest the the church and have little time for the armed forces.

Church and State aren't separate in the UK. In America and France yes, but not here. The head of the State is also head of the CofE and eg all schools are required to have a daily act of worship. Bishops sit in the House of Lords, the Prime Minister has to approve the Archbishop of Canterbury appointment etc etc

Actually you're right, I suppose I was trying to get at the idea that hopefully political decisions etc are made on a rational basis rather than simply "because God" if you see what I mean.

It certainly makes sense to sort out the legal cock up re chaplains regardless of the global situation. DH (a full on, gold plated atheist) has always had excellent relationships with the chaplain of his unit and they have often been our family liaison when DH is overseas and have done a far better job than when we have had anyone else in that role.

Unfortunately the current international climate means large scale military action is more likely than it has been for a long time and it makes sense for all sorts of institutions and businesses to try and 'prepare for the worst, while hoping for the best' rather than being blindsided by events.

That was my take on it, too, along with them tidying up an admin error to enable chaplains to do their job wherever they are.

Despite being an atheist, I recognise that many churches and other religious groups do a lot of good things and they are generally a force for good imo. (Of course, I also recognise that some sections of some religions do a lot of bad things, too, but on balance I think the good outweighs the bad.)

Sounds like the church trying to stay relevant to me!

Have you got a link to the actual article

It's in the Times and came up on my Goigle feed. I'll see if I can find it but it is paywalled.

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/religion/article/church-england-go-to-war-8lmsdz9jn

There ya go.

A quick glance shows other newspapers like the Guardian have similar articles.

Church and State are NOT separate. That is in the USA.

The church and state are not separate. The Church of England is an established church and has a place in the constitution of the country.

It’s a ridiculous anachronism of course but the two are more than “somewhat intertwined”.

Constitutionally Church and State have never been separate in the U.K. In our system everything is deliberately entwined, which is why we have Lords Spiritual and High Court Judges in the House of Lords in the Palace of Westminster.

The US was founded with a constitution that involves the separation of powers.

I stand corrected, multiple times now 😁

I explained my broad thought process in a previous post.

I’ve read it. It’s wishy washy. I don’t think they have any serious plans or capacity to provide anything meaningful if there is a war. There isn’t even an Archbishop of Canterbury at the moment. The disgraced Welby is still squatting in Lambeth Palace.

The Church has been cannibalised by activists who care more about promoting trans rights than the salvation of souls. There is a massive Christian revival going on at the moment, with particular interest in high church liturgy and tradition and what you might call serious and demanding faith. It’s a once in a century opportunity, but the Church of England is ignoring it.

It is interesting that there is a "revival" of religiosity going on. Politics is a cess pit exploring division so "faith" returns to inspire "community". My only objection to this is the potential for extreme positions to create increased oppression and regressive attitudes to things like women's rights.

Strange and interesting times eh?