Does the Church of England deserve to survive?
by Ian Paul, Psephizo:
Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, not so very long ago, a business enterprise decided to sponsor an educational establishment. The business made widgets, and at the time everyone thought that widgets were just the bees knees. People bought the widgets; they learned about how widgets were made; they visited widget shops and even widget museums, dedicated to understanding all about the history of widgets. People wrote songs about widgets, and everyone sang these songs—even those who weren’t really convinced that widgets were the thing. So when the business decided to sponsor an educational establishment, although the programme of teaching followed the same broad syllabus as other educational establishments, included in the trust statement of this one was a commitment to ‘promote the understanding and appreciation of widgets’. And to that end, a special Widget Representative was appointed to the school, with the purpose of encouraging this to happen.
But times changed. Widgets became much less popular, not least because other companies were now making wodgets. In fact, many people became quite angry with the business that made widgets, because they thought that wodgets were much better than widgets, and why hadn’t they been told? In the educational establishment, the staff decided that they should tell all the pupils that wodgets were best. The Widget Representative found this difficult; what was he to do? He knew that the business that made widgets was in decline, that they were doing all sorts of things to help people appreciate widgets just as they used to—and besides, he still believed that widgets were better than wodgets. But he was employed by the school, so needed to be careful in what he said. He decided to tell the pupils that they did not need to reject widgets out of hand, and that many people still believed that they were better than wodgets. They shouldn’t be forced only to buy wodgets, but should think for themselves and consider the choice responsibly. And as they did that, they should respect those who thought differently from himself.
But when he did that, the staff reported him to the police. He couldn’t believe it! So he wrote to the managers at the widget business, to ask for their support. But they refused to speak up for him, support him, or agree that he had done the right thing! What will happen to that widget business?
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