Armbands at Dawn

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! 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: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 armbandsInfantino, "I feel Qatari"Notices:Find links to our episodes, social media accounts and ways to support us at https://www.irreverendpod.com!Thursday Circles: http://thursdaycircle.comJamie's Good Things Substack: https://jamiefranklin.substack.comIrreverend Sermon Audio: https://irreverendsermonaudio.buzzsprout.comSupport the show