Holloway loves doubt

London

Bishop Richard Holloway, until last year the head of the Scottish Episcopal (Anglican) Church, has admitted that he may have ceased to be a Christian although he has given his life to the faith.

In his new book, Doubts and Loves, the former bishop of Edinburgh also says he has “ended up in my 60s the kind of bishop that I attacked when I was a priest in my 30s.”

Bishop Holloway has long been a controversial figure within the Anglican Com-munion, particularly for his advocacy of gay rights for clergy.

At the 1998 Lambeth conference of Anglican bishops, Bishop Holloway was the most prominent opponent of a motion declaring that homosexual practice was incompatible with scripture. The motion was passed.

Bishop Holloway said at the time that he had “always felt passionately about the human rights side of the gay question” and he believed “chaste partnerships among homosexual priests are theologically appropriate.”

In Doubts and Loves he describes the events surrounding the Lambeth motion as “the most traumatic experience of my life.” Intolerance based on Bible texts reinforced his view that “certain aspects of Christianity were becoming a scandal to the young.”

He said his doubts about conventional Christianity were “speeded up” at the last Lambeth.