Church of England vicars Daniel French, Thomas Pelham and Jamie Franklin sit down to talk about the most important issues in church and society. This week we begin with some reflection upon the two "beasts" of Revelation 13 and how the imagery of persecution, faith and endurance is relevant to Christians in the twenty-first century, especially pertaining to persecuted Christians in nations such as Qatar, Iran, Tunisia and Morocco who are represented at this year's football World Cup. From the serious to the silly, we discuss whether the Church of England was correct to issue guidance saying that churches should not schedule their carol services for the same time as the World Cup final and we take in the somewhat questionable claim that elite western footballers have been silenced because they were threatened with yellow cards if they wore rainbow armbands out on the field. (All will be explained.) What does the moral and philosophical incoherence on display by footballers, journalists and western institutions reveal to us about ourselves and how can the Christian faith speak to this confusion? In Twits on Twitter, it can be no other than FIFA president Gianni Infantino's bizarre soliloquy, in which, in order to justify the questionable decision to stage the World Cup in Qatar, he claims that he "feels" like he is various things such as a Qatari, a gay person, disabled and a migrant worker. We didn't understand either. In Question the Rev, questions about Bible translations, ex-NHS staff becoming lay preachers and whether or not the country should be officially Christian or secular from a political perspective. All that and more or course in this week's episode of Irreverend: Faith and Current Affairs! (Chapter timings available below.) If you enjoy the show, please don't forget to review, subscribe, share and support if you possibly can. For all your merchandise needs please go to https://www.irreverendpod.com and click on 'merch'. To support the show please see: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irreverend and https://www.patreon.com/irreverend. Chapter Timings: 00:00 Welcome, Banter, Notices 03:56 Scripture - Revelation 13:1-10 24:52 Outrage on Twitter as Church of England suggest no carol services during World Cup Final 33:00 Slave labour, Islamic prohibitions on homosexuality and rainbow armbands 43:15 Twits on Twitter: Gianni Infantino, "Today, I have very strong feelings. Today I feel Qatari..." 59:55 Question the Rev: Bible translations, ex-NHS staff becoming lay preachers and whether or not the country should be secular or Christian Links: Church says avoid planning choral services at time of World Cup final: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/nov/21/avoid-carol-services-on-world-cup-final-day-church-of-england-vicars-told?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other https://www.churchsupporthub.org/sport-and-wellbeing-landing/article/making-the-most-of-the-world-cup-final-18thdec-2022.php German footballers cover mouths after being “banned” from wearing rainbow armbands: https://twitter.com/DFB_Team_EN/status/1595405792957562880 Infantino, "I feel Qatari": https://twitter.com/search?q=infantino%20i%20feel%20gay&src=typed_query&f=top Notices: Find links to our episodes, social media accounts and ways to support us at https://www.irreverendpod.com! Thursday Circles: http://thursdaycircle.com Jamie's Good Things Substack: https://jamiefranklin.substack.com Irreverend Sermon Audio: https://irreverendsermonaudio.buzzsprout.com ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZa30u2TBeY

Church of England vicars Daniel French and Jamie Franklin sit down to talk about the biggest and most relevant stories of the week: the census says Christians are now in a minority in this country, the Balencia child porn scandal, MPs including Jacob Rees-Mogg speaking out against enshrining abortion rights in UK law, a Cambridge don saying perhaps Jesus was trans, the Crown Prosecution Service saying the Bible is no longer relevant and a word on the lockdown protests in China. It's all here and more in this week's episode of Irreverend: Faith and Current Affairs! If you enjoy the show, please don't forget to review, subscribe, share and support if you possibly can. For all your merchandise needs please go to https://www.irreverendpod.com and click on 'merch'. To support the show please see: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irreverend and https://www.patreon.com/irreverend. Links: Balenciaga Child Porn: https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/11/27/balenciaga-and-the-rise-of-paedo-chic/ MPs speak against right to abortion in UK Law: https://righttolife.org.uk/news/overwhelming-majority-of-mps-speak-against-introducing-right-to-abortion-in-uk-law Jesus could have been transgender: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/11/26/jesus-could-have-transgender-claims-cambridge-dean/ CPS says Bible passages no longer appropriate: https://dailysceptic.org/2022/11/26/crown-prosecution-service-say-it-is-no-longer-appropriate-to-quote-some-passages-from-the-bible-in-public/ China lockdown protests: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/11/27/china-lockdown-protests-wuhan-covid-xi-jinping/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/11/27/could-beginning-end-xi-jinping/ Notices: Find links to our episodes, social media accounts and ways to support us at https://www.irreverendpod.com! Thursday Circles: http://thursdaycircle.com Jamie's Good Things Substack: https://jamiefranklin.substack.com Irreverend Sermon Audio: https://irreverendsermonaudio.buzzsprout.com ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zkh14l_gqE