Irreverend: Faith and Current Affairs

A simple and yet hopefully entertaining episode this week, as Revs TJ and JA catch up with the latest news and events. We have a good chat about media messaging around COVID, review some of the themes from last week, including a challenging letter in The Times from a former Dean of Wells advocating for the opening of cathedrals for worship. And after many months, Jamie's MP replies to his let...

Dear listener. Just a regular week with the home team Tom and Jamie. We review the latest pronouncements by the government to the effects that lockdown is going to last a very long time. We review the status of and growing hostility toward so-called lockdown sceptics. Jamie reveals why he prefers to use the term "anti-lockdown". We review the latest Lord Sumption controversy as he is acc...

As a special treat for our listeners, Tom and Jamie sat down for an extra conversation this week on the topic of the Real Presence in the Eucharist.  We settle the age-old question of whether or not the bread and wine really turn into Christ's body and blood...well, sort of. As always please follow us on Twitter @irreverendpod and email the show at irreverendpod@gmail.com! Support the show

Rev Daniel French, vicar of Salcombe and occasional Spectator columnist invites us to revive the habit of regular Bible reading.   In world of swamped by trivia, false and fake news,  and wild conspiracies on Left and Right, we can be pleasantly surprised to find that the Bible holds a balanced view of life, a deep realism.  Using some personal anecdotes and pastoral experience Daniel invites us t...

We had the privilege of a return visit to Irreverend Land from US commentator Esther O'Reilly, sharing some in-depth perspective on the crazy events in Washington D.C. on January 6th, the legacy of Trump, the possibility of ever-greater levels of censorship and ostracisation for conservatives and maybe Christians in the US, the breakdown of the social fabric of Western Civilization, and wheth...

Rev J shares a brief meditation upon passages Psalm 46 and Isaiah 64.  In the midst of the shaking of the nations and the weariness of the peoples, we must nevertheless bestir ourselves to take hold of God, praying for renewal in our hearts and in the Church. Do be in touch at irrevendpod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter for updates! Support the show

We are back with a bang this week. TJ Pelham returns from his well-earned parental leave to spread abroad his fatherly wisdom. And we are joined by educator, journalist, political activist and now Church of England ordinand Calvin Robinson! We talk about the madness of yet another damaging and ineffective lockdown and sceptical case made by Alistair Hames for a grudging acceptance. Along the way J...

Happy New Year to all our listeners! This is a special episode in lieu of the normal podcast. Rev. J looks back at the crazy year we’ve just had and forward to the future, stressing the need for repentance for our folly and faith that the Lord has purposes for whatever might be coming next.  As always please do be in touch with comments, suggestions and criticisms at irreverendpod@gmail.com and fo...

A special episode, Rev'd Dr J.A. Franklin's Midnight Mass sermon. The readings are taken from Isaiah 9:1-7 and Luke 2:1-14.  A very happy Christmastide to all our listeners! As always, please get in touch: irreverendpod@gmail.com Support the show

Daniel French is back as co-host with J.A. Franklin this week as Tom is away on parental leave following the successful reception of his new child. Congratulations to him! On the show, we review all of the week's doom-mongering warnings about the Christmas period. We talk about Daniel's recent and popular Spectator piece on the Vicar of Dibley taking the knee in fealty to BLM. And we con...

This is the audio of a recent conversation that I, Rev. Jamie, had with Carbon Mike. Carbon Mike is a software engineer, conservative, social critic and the host of the Dangerous Space podcast . He describes himself as a "pilgrim" when it comes to faith, meaning that he's not quite there but he is very sympathetic. He also has a very cool voice. We spoke at length about many subject...

In this episode, we are joined once again by priest and  Spectator  journalist Daniel French. We begin by reviewing an apparent disagreement between the Prime Minister and one of his scientific advisors at to whether or not we will carry on forever the various "behaviours" we have learned during 2020 . We move on from that to review an article released by Premier Christianity magazine ca...

We begin today with Jamie's reflection upon visiting a hospital in London to be with his family as his grandmother passed away. We reflect the importance of communicating the hope of the Gospel at this time and ask whether the Church has failed to do this. We also discuss the state of policing in this country as another shocking video of police brutality is released showing the aggressive man...

We begin our new episode with some correspondence concerning difficulties faced by doctors and nurses working in the NHS in the current circumstances. And we discuss a message from a listener who raises the issue of an altruistic comparison between abortion and lockdowns. Our main theme this week is an analysis of the nations' behaviour with regard to Covid as a religious response to an ultim...

A lucky dip this week as we desperately try and keep up with the mad goings on in the world. In our weekly look at science, we review the suppressed Danish mask study , which shows that wearing masks in the community made no difference to viral transmission - why does this sort of scientific evidence not affect government policy and what is the true significance of being forced to wear a mask in p...

Back to the home team this week as T.J. and J.A. consider an article written by Bishop of Liverpool Paul Bayes, in which it is asserted, amongst other things, that lockdown sceptics are looking for an easy way out. We discuss the nature of lockdown scepticism and whether the bishop's claim is justified. Is the lockdown sceptic position really an "easy" position to take? Are lockdown...

In this momentous week, we had the great privilege of sitting down for a virtual cup of tea with freelance writer,  cultural critic and American Anglophile Esther O'Reilly. Plenty to talk about this week including the new UK shutdown and the Church's response to the Covid restrictions in general with Esther sharing her perspective from the other side of the pond. With the US election sti...

In this very special episode, we sit down with the Venerable Doctor Edward Dowler, Archdeacon of Hastings in the Church of England. We discuss four articles that Edward has written over the lockdown period. We begin with a discussion of the Church's early reaction to the pandemic, including the controversial decision to prevent clergy from praying in their own churches. We talk about face cov...

In a first for our podcast, we are joined by a very special guest, priest and columnist for The Spectator , the Reverend Daniel French. We discuss Daniel's experiences over the last eight months and talk about the opportunities the Church might have as a result of the change brought about in the world due to Covid. Could this be the end of the age of reason and the beginning of a new age of f...

We begin this episode with a comprehensive review of a recent audit published by the Daily Mail in which many of the catastrophic effects of the lockdown are laid bare. We then review a recent article written by a Christian surgeon, which is an exhortation for fellow Christians to stop dabbling in 'pseudoscientific claptrap'. We ask if the arguments presented in this article are persuasi...

As restrictions tighten once again in England, Jamie and Thomas critique the ostensible communitarian basis of lockdowns, arguing that they hurt the poor and marginalized the most. They suggest, following Matthew 25:31-46, that lockdowns are not the best way of recognizing the presence of Christ in all of the world's people. Mentioned in this episode: World Bank - Covid-19 to add as many as 1...

The Reverend T.J. Pelham and The Reverend Doctor J.A. Franklin discuss the status and uses of science in our society. Is there a distinctively Christian or theological response to “the science” in the context of the Coronavirus crisis? How should Christians respond to the way that science has been wielded by politicians and the media? Should we accept these things at face value or should we look f...

Revs Jamie and Thomas discuss how the fear of death has affected our society since the beginning of the Coronavirus crisis. What is the Christian hope beyond death and how can it affect our response to this widespread fear? Is this fear rational, and what can the Christian faith say about it? Mentioned in this episode: Tom Wright - Surprised by Hope C.S. Lewis - Out of the Silent Planet Out of pro...