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Renowned Anglican theological college, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University (UK) “is in chaos following a barrage of resignations, forcing a crisis meeting of the governing body to limit the damage to the college’s reputation… From September 2007, Wycliffe Hall will have lost all its best loved and most respected staff members. [Principal Richard] Turnbull will replace them all with conservative evangelicals. More than half the teaching staff have resigned this year. Most will not be replaced in time for the opening of the next academic year…the college will not be capable of teaching its regular curriculum.”

The above text has been circulated to all remaining members of staff at the college. Since Richard Turnball’s appointment in the top job his alleged attempts to swing the college’s theological stance sharply in the conservative evangelical direction, especially with regard to homosexuality and the ordination of women priests, have led to allegations of bullying and intimidation, followed by a slew of resignations, and an alleged attempt to quash the concerns of radio personality Elaine Storkey which has now backfired in the extreme.

According to the Guardian:

The dispute appears to mirror splits in worldwide Anglicanism - and the Church of England - over theology and homosexuality, which have been aggressively led by conservative evangelical groups.

Dr Turnbull denies being a member of conservative evangelical pressure groups, although he did sign a covenant launched last December by leaders of such groups threatening to stop associating with more liberal churches and reject the authority of bishops they disagree with.

The ecumenical theologian and co-director of Christian think-tank Ekklesia, Simon Barrow, has today published an article (aimed at his predominantly liberal Christian audience) called “Why we need to rid ourselves of the ‘god of the slots’“.

As he says in his blog, the article’s “main concern” is:

to show why “the god of the slots” in culture is the equivalent of “the god of the gaps” in science — a related, but distinct, issue.

He links the “God of the slots” to very current questions, such as the religious monopoly of Thought for the Day and hints at the validity of the British Humanist Association’s complaint against religious privileging in politics and broadcast media. In a parallel article (”Losing our (radio) religion?“) also published today, he says:

the idea that a “Christians only” or “religious only” policy is a good way to advance the churches’ attractiveness in the media (or anywhere else) seems to me extraordinarily miscalculated, quite apart from indefensible in a plural era and contradicting of the Gospel message.

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