David Jenkins (bishop)

David Edward Jenkins (26 January 1925 – 4 September 2016) was a

His selection as Bishop of Durham was controversial due to allegations that he held heterodox beliefs, particularly regarding the virgin birth and the bodily resurrection.^[2][3][4] Between his selection and consecration, he said in an interview: "I wouldn't put it past God to arrange a virgin birth if he wanted. But I don't think he did."^[3] His widely quoted comment about the resurrection of Christ being "just a conjuring trick with bones" is a misrepresentation;^[3][12] his actual words as recorded on television say the reverse: the resurrection is not a conjuring trick with bones. The original line appears to have been "[the Resurrection] is real. That's the point. All I said was 'literally physical'. I was very careful in the use of language. After all, a conjuring trick with bones proves only that somebody's very clever at a conjuring trick with bones."^[13] According to his BBC obituary, he considered "the resurrection was not a single event, but a series of experiences that gradually convinced people that Jesus's life, power, purpose and personality were actually continuing."^[4]

Nonetheless, Jenkins' public pronouncements caused great disquiet, particularly within his own diocese. As a result of doubts concerning his elevation to bishop, a petition signed by more than 12,000 people was submitted to the Archbishop of York.^[4]

Three days after his consecration as bishop on 6 July 1984, York Minster was struck by lightning, resulting in a disastrous fire which some interpreted as a sign of divine wrath at Jenkins's appointment.^[2][12][14]

As a bishop, Jenkins was known for his willingness to speak his mind.

After leaving office in 1994 he continued to voice his opinions, such as in a BBC interview in 2003.[15]

Political views

Jenkins also became identified with opposition to the policies of the Thatcher and Major governments and subsequently was a critic of New Labour.^[4] He argued that what these governments shared was a dogmatic faith in the market^[16] which had many pseudo-religious elements to it. This led him to write at length about what he saw as the intellectual deficiencies of economic theory and market theorising and its pseudo-theological character.^{[citation needed]}

His book Market Whys and Human Wherefores: Thinking Again About Markets, Politics, and People was an extended layman's critique of economic theory and its application to policy, in which he described himself as an 'anxious idiot'^[16] using the latter term in its original meaning of an ordinary person with no professional expertise.^[17] It nevertheless diagnosed many of the problems with economic theory and its application to a deregulated economy that would later be seen as prescient in the light of the global economic crisis of 2007 onwards.^{[citation needed]} In Dilemmas of Freedom, he also challenged the idea that markets created freedom.^[18] In Price, Cost, Excellence and Worth: Can the idea of a university survive the force of the market? he similarly questioned whether they were compatible with the idea of a university^[19] while in The Market and Health Care, he addressed the issue of health care in a similar vein.^[20]

Controversies

In 2005, he became one of the first clerics in the Church of England to participate to the public blessing of a civil partnership between two homosexual men, one of whom was a Church of England priest.^[4]

In 2006, Jenkins was banned from preaching in some of his local churches after reportedly "swearing" in a sermon, using the words "bloody" and "damn".^[21] In 2002 he published his memoir The Calling of a Cuckoo: Not Quite an Autobiography.^[22]

Personal life

In 1949, Jenkins married Stella Mary Peet, known as Mollie. She died in 2008. The couple had two sons and two daughters.^[2][3] His daughter Rebecca^[23] was his assistant and PR officer while he was the Bishop of Durham.^[3] Jenkins died on 4 September 2016 at the age of 91.^[2][3]

Selected works

He wrote numerous books on Christian theology which include:

• Guide to the debate about God original edition 1966 (2nd ed. Cambridge ; Cambridgeshire : Lutterworth Press, 1985.)
• The glory of man, London : SCM Press, 1967
• Living with questions Investigations into the theory and practice of belief in God, London: SCM Press, 1969
• What is Man, London : SCM Press 1970, 1985
• The contradiction of Christianity, London : S.C.M. Press, 1976 (based on the Edward Cadbury Lectures given at the University of Birmingham in 1974)
• The God of freedom and the freedom of God, London : The Hibbert Trust
• God, miracle and the Church of England London : SCM, 1987
• God, Jesus and life in the spirit London : SCM Press, 1988
• God, politics and the future, London: SCM Press 1988
• Still living with questions, London : SCM, 1990
• (with Rebecca Jenkins) Free to Believe, London : BBC Books, 1991.

He also gave the Bampton Lectures on the Incarnation at Oxford.^[24]

See also

• Anglican views of homosexuality

References

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