Grier’s Grief

As I checked a social media account the other day, I was greeted by a strange video of an Anglican bishop telling everyone how pleased and excited he was that a new pope has been selected. At that stage, he did not even know who the new pope was, but just having one seemed to be electrifying enough to thrill his episcopal heart.

James Grier is the current Bishop of Plymouth. He seems to have been raised in a conservative evangelical Anglican church and attended Wycliffe Hall, a well regarded, evangelical Oxford College. Yet the good bishop appears to have forgotten the Reformation and can barely contain his pleasure at the thought of Jesus Christ having a new claimant to being His substitute on earth. Cursory research shows that he also welcomed "the proposed prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and God's blessing for same sex couples", which seems odd for one who claims to be a Bible believer.

Ironically, the new Bishop of Rome, whose appointment the Bishop of Plymouth bethinks so wonderful, entertains more biblical views of marriage. If Bishop Grier is the rising star of Evangelical Anglicanism, many will be disappointed to discover that he is just another Black Hole. The current Church of England needs men like Ryle, Latimer and Cranmer. Instead, it is lumbered with Stephen Cottrell, Sarah Mullally and, sadly, the bishop of Plymouth.