Irreverend: Faith and Current Affairs

Live from the University of Greenwich: Rev. Dr. Jamie Franklin and Rev. Daniel French on The God Solution.
For a generation the Church felt like a lost cause under new atheism and The God Delusion. Now the mood has shifted. People step toward the vicar. Interest in real Christianity is rising. But can the Church meet the moment?
Jamie lays out the thesis of his book The Great Return: Western values — human dignity, equality, liberty, the intellectual conditions for science — are Christian capital, not Enlightenment inventions. The Greco-Roman world had no such vision of humanity. Strip out Christ and the borrowed capital runs out. We already see the collision in debates over abortion and assisted dying.
Cultural Christianity is not enough. Preference for the Christian story without genuine belief has no binding authority. Real renewal means prayer, holiness, parish life, and a recovered confidence in the Church’s historic identity — not more fashionable politics.
Jamie also discusses his high-profile involvement in the legal challenge, brought with Dr Bijan Omrani, against the Church Commissioners’ £100 million Project Spire slavery-reparations fund — including the media coverage it has attracted and why the use of Section 106 is being contested.
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In this episode of Irreverend Faith and Current Affairs, the Rev'd. Dr. Jamie Franklin covers four major stories.
First: twenty years after The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins is still misunderstanding classical theism. Jamie explains necessary vs contingent being, why “a universe from nothing” isn’t nothing, and why new atheism has become largely irrelevant.
Second: the failed lethal injection of Krista Pike in Tennessee after 30 years on death row. Church leaders appeal for mercy. Jamie supports the death penalty in rare cases of pure malice, but finds the American system Kafkaesque and would not reintroduce something similar in Britain.
Third: a South London rector refuses to close the church doors on members of an anti-immigration group labelled “far right.” Jamie largely praises the pastor’s gospel-first stance and questions whether “Christian nationalism” is always the bogeyman it is made out to be.
Fourth: Bijan Omrani’s call not to abandon the Church of England plus listener emails on staying and fighting rather than leaving for continuing Anglicanism. Jamie argues the fight for the soul of the C of E is the fight for the soul of the nation.
Also: Live event — The God Solution with Jamie and Rev. Daniel French at the University of Greenwich, Wednesday 14 October, 7pm. Book here!
Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro
0:33 – Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion & classical theism
7:08 – “A universe from nothing” and why it isn’t nothing
11:49 – The God Solution live event, University of Greenwich (14 Oct)
13:46 – Krista Pike: failed execution & the death penalty
20:18 – When is capital punishment justified?
25:28 – “Sinners are welcome”: Danny Tomo, Patriot Platform & St Lawrence’s Morden
30:11 – What does “Christian nationalism” actually mean?
35:00 – A short digression on “rights”
37:00 – Support the show / Uncollared
39:30 – Bijan Omrani: “Don’t Abandon the Church of England”
48:30 – Listener emails (Victoria & Richard)
55:00 – Stay and fight: the soul of the Church & the nation
59:00 – Lord’s Prayer & close
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In this episode of Irreverend Faith and Current Affairs, Jamie, Tom and Daniel take on three stories that reveal how far parts of the Church have drifted from historic Christianity.
First: a viral sermon by Episcopal priest Flourish Klink claiming God is non-binary, Mary “assigned” Jesus male at birth, and the risen Christ “transitioned.” The clip has millions of views. The three vicars walk through the argument and ask what happens when the pulpit becomes a webcam for untested ideology.
Second: St Helen’s Bishopsgate, one of the Church of England’s flagship evangelical churches, distances itself from episcopal oversight. Rector William Taylor has described bishops as false teachers. What does that mean for the future of conservative churches still inside the C of E?
Third: the Archbishop of Canterbury’s interfaith award, given on 9/11, to a Pakistani cleric who once praised Osama bin Laden. The award was withdrawn after the backlash but this withdrawal has now caused deep offence to the Church in Pakistan who demand an apology from the Archbishop of Canterbury. The panel asks how Lambeth got into this mess and what should be done now.
Also in this episode: Ephesians 6, spiritual warfare, and why the modern Church prefers net zero to the unseen realm.
Timestamps:

0:00 – Intro & banter

6:50 – Lord’s Prayer

7:10 – Ephesians 6 & spiritual warfare

12:03 – “Jesus is trans” sermon begins

16:54 – Flourish Klink clip

29:29 – “If you deny God is trans, you deny Christ’s divinity”

~40:00 – St Helen’s Bishopsgate severs ties with bishops

~55:00 – Interfaith award to the Bin Laden praiser
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Jamie Franklin, Tom Pelham and Daniel French on a week the Church of England and the culture both told on themselves.
On the anniversary of 9/11, the Archbishop of Canterbury gave an interfaith award to a cleric who praised Osama bin Laden as a Muslim warrior standing next to his wife in a niqab. Lambeth put the photo out then withdrew the honour after a Google search anyone could have done. The hosts say the real scandal is a church that would rather curry the world’s favour than speak of Christ.
Then: Greta Gerwig’s new Narnia. Meryl Streep voices Aslan. Rainbow whiskers. Bowie eyes. The panel argues Aslan is Christ in Narnia, not a costume, and that “Translan” is the point.
1 Corinthians 1: boast in the Lord.
Timestamps:

0:00 – Intro
0:15 – Welcome
4:24 – Lord’s Prayer
5:07 – 1 Corinthians 1
11:08 – 9/11 award to a Bin Laden praiser
35:45 – Church leadership, repentance, and the episcopate
42:01 – Meryl Streep’s Aslan / “Translan”
56:40 – Close, support & blessing
Support Irreverend:

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📧 Email / donations → irreverendpod@gmail.com
📚 Buy The Great Return → https://link.amazon/B02p0N26M
Like, subscribe and share if you want more fearless commentary on church, culture and current affairs.
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In this episode of Irreverend Faith and Current Affairs, Rev. Dr. Jamie Franklin reacts to two major developments.
First: a narrow but historic defeat for the assisted dying bill in the Commons. Jamie gives thanks to God, dismantles the myth of the “inevitable march of liberal progressivism,” and argues that only a restoration of Christian faith can stop this returning. He also critiques the weak responses from Church of England bishops who failed to make a distinctively Christian case.
Second: the Lindsay Clancy trial update. After a near-acquittal, several jurors have gone public. The sole holdout who refused to declare her not guilty by reason of insanity was a black man — shattering the expected narrative. Even more disturbing, a prominent panel discussion now frames Clancy’s near-escape as white privilege and calls for the same energy to exonerate women of colour who kill their children. Jamie calls this the demonic endgame of the culture of death.
Also in this episode: Andy Burnham’s push to let Catholics advise on Anglican bishop appointments, Angela Rayner’s two-tier donation rules, and a listener question about the nature of the devil.
Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro & dog disclaimer
2:26 – Lord’s Prayer & Philippians 1
10:01 – Assisted dying bill defeated
20:15 – Church leaders’ responses
27:04 – Lindsay Clancy trial update
29:44 – The holdout juror reveal
31:21 – Oprah-style panel: “women of colour” and child murder
35:41 – Listener question: how should we understand the devil?
40:23 – Andy Burnham & Anglican bishop appointments
47:53 – Angela Rayner’s two-tier donation rules
Support Irreverend:
🔥 Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/irreverend
🔥 Substack → https://irreverendpod.substack.com
📧 Email / donations → irreverendpod@gmail.com
📚 Buy The Great Return → https://link.amazon/B02p0N26M
👍 Like, subscribe, comment and share if you want more fearless commentary on church, culture and current affairs.
#AssistedDying #LindsayClancy #CultureOfDeath #ChurchOfEngland #Irreverend
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