Vicar Faces Official Rebuke From Church of England For Saying Trans Archdeacon is “Biologically a Bloke”
A vicar faces an official rebuke from the Church of England (CofE) for saying the institution’s first transgender archdeacon is “biologically a bloke”. The Telegraph has the story.
The Revd Brett Murphy faces an official rebuke from the CofE over “intentionally derogatory and disrespectful” remarks he made about the Revd Canon Dr. Rachel Mann shortly after his appointment in June.
LGBT+ campaigners had hailed his appointment as a “beacon of light and hope”.
The Revd Murphy, in a 32-minute-long YouTube video, criticised the CofE for putting “a radical rainbow activist” in a “position of high authority in a diocese”.
The Revd Murphy, who quit the CofE a month after the broadcast, had said in reaction to the appointment: “Now you may wonder ‘is that really newsworthy, Brett?’
“You may roll your eyes, if you are a complementarian, that another feminist is getting a prominent high-ranking position in the CofE, but this is worse than that.
“The Revd Rachel Mann is in fact, biologically, a bloke, who identifies and lives as a woman.”
He goes on to question whether the appointment is “positioning” the Revd Mann to become the CofE’s first transsexual bishop and questions how she would deal with a member of her congregation who sees her lifestyle as in “complete rebellion against God’s word”.
“So what you are seeing here is someone who is a radical rainbow activist being put in a position of high authority in a diocese.”
The Revd Mann declined to comment.
He previously told the Telegraph: “I’m self-evidently a woman, but I’m glad I was once a man.”
The Revd Murphy, now a member of the Free Church of England, faces being formally disciplined by the CofE over his comments.
An earlier complaint about his comments was dismissed by the Bishop of Loughborough, the Rt Revd Saju Muthalaly, who said no further disciplinary action needed to be taken.
However, following a review of the complaint by the tribunal arm of the CofE, the investigation has been reopened.
The Revd Murphy said he risks being barred from any future employment in the CofE and of having a permanent mark on his ‘blue file’, a clergy member’s personal record.
Bishop Muthalaly, in a strongly worded letter to the Revd Murphy, called his language “intentionally derogatory and disrespectful” and “not appropriate as a Clerk in Holy Orders, irrespective of the right you have to hold and express views”.
He added: “You clearly recorded your vlog wearing clerical attire aware that this would give you both status and make it clear you were a Church of England priest (further reinforced at the time by your description of yourself on your YouTube page).”
He accused the vicar of trying to spread his views to “as wide an audience as possible”.
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: Louise Perry in the Telegraph warns that “woke Christianity will kill the Church of England stone dead” and “the churches still thriving are those that refuse to pander to the Left”.
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Well yes but isn’t “bloke” a purely biological term? How can you be biologically a bloke and not a bloke in other ways?
“Called his language “intentionally derogatory and disrespectful” and “not appropriate as a Clerk in Holy Orders”.
Maker’s Handbook, page 1, Genesis 1.27 ‘So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.’.
These words repeated by Jesus too.
The bishop is on dodgy ground. Roll on the Judgment.
To play devil’s advocate, no-one (in the Church of England at least) believes that bit any more though, do they?
““I’m self-evidently a woman, but I’m glad I was once a man.”
——–
No, you’re self-evidently a man who has no understanding of basic biological facts.
I went to the psychiatrist and said “I identify as a dog. I bark and wag my tail” —–He replied “Lay on the couch for me”——–I said “Oh I am not allowed on the couch”
It’s the way you tell ’em.
Please do not mis-species me. ——–ruff ruff ruff
Honestly, the fact this fellow has made the news shows us all in a poor light. A couple of hundred years ago, one can imagine there might have been some eccentric parson in a remote area, Devon perhaps, who sometimes styled himself “Lady Amelia” and rode side-saddle to hounds, and you can imagine he might have found his way into a small locally printed pamphlet on “Curious Devon Characters”.
But he wouldn’t even have made the local press. That would have been full of important news, like stock prices at auction.
The main reason I left the C of E (many years ago) was that it seemed to behave like a big corporation (and one that had lost touch of its core ‘mission’). This is just more of the same. If Murphy worked for (say) BP and made the vlog in some way that clearly identified him as a BP employee, I’m sure the outcome would be the same. It’s just another UK institution that has failed, but it’s been failing for 30 years or more.
There are many ways of pursuing a fulfilling spiritual life.
I don’t think the C of E is much help with that these days.
“There are many ways of pursuing a fulfilling spiritual life”
Hear, hear!
Taking a long, hard look in the mirror is the best place to start. I haven’t yet progressed past that stage 🤣
The light comes from self-awareness and humility.
But we are still right and they’re all still wrong about ThePandemic™, though!
A person identifying themselves in some way or other these days trumps how other people may identify them. But ofcourse is that such a big surprise in wokeworld when ideology trumps common sense on just about everything? ——-You cannot say who stole your mobile phone. It looked like a woman but who can tell these days, when women may have a 6 o’clock shadow.
We’re building a society around the promotion of the destruction of the traditional family unit. It started with feminism and it ends with the acceptance of mental illness, which is what transgenderism is, as normal. Pit women against men, pit men and women against their own biology, pit children against their parents; destroy, destroy, destroy. What we are left with is no sense of belonging. No sense of belonging to any group other that the state. Rehashed communism has been on its way for a long time. It always hid as a bloke in a dress.
Boom
Yes, if I remember correctly Jesus said something about the importance of having an impeccable “blue file” to enter the kingdom of heaven.
I think it was in the gospel according to Matthew. Or maybe it was Luke.
Help and support the Heritage Party which champions traditional values. And because of this it is targeted by Antifa which puts them in a good light doesn’t it?
According to the linked Telegraph article, he calls himself a woman and a lesbian. So he still fancies women and also wants to dress like one. Isn’t that a transvestite? Confused – we are supposed to be.
‘He added: “You clearly recorded your vlog wearing clerical attire aware that this would give you both status and make it clear you were a Church of England priest”’
So he’s being accused of honesty.
I’m unclear which particular Canon Law can be used against a clergyman who’s already left the CofE and calls out a transgender lesbian serving as an archdeacon. But then I’m a Baptist now.
Transgender lesbian is a nonsense term. That’s bloke who – for some reason only known to him – tries to appear like a woman in public but doesn’t want to extend to his private life, where he prefers to remain a bloke, ie, someone with a habit of putting his penis into real women. That’s self-evidently his own business. But he has no right to try to force others to partake in his cosplaying show.
This is my archdeaconry. I declined to go to the visitation for church wardens and lay sidespersons for the same reason – i’m not engaging with clown world.
I’d say, with all due respect, learn to juggle, or leave!
Welby is clearly Satan’s acolyte. I attend church every week. The Church of England will undoubtedly die but Christianity will NEVER die.
Jesus said “I tell you the truth”. Rev Murphy was telling the truth.
Revd Mann’s a man, he probably should have changed his name as well as his pronouns!!