Not fit for the cure of souls
Francis Sedgemore, Sunday 24 January 2010
Stephen Sizer is the vicar of Christ Church, Virginia Water – a leafy, affluent corner of Surrey in the southeast of England. This is classic commuter country, with bonused to the eyeballs bankers in comfortable residence.
Christ Church is on the evangelical wing of the Church of England, which is itself part of the international and nominally catholic and apostolic Anglican Communion. But there is a twist. Christ Church and its chief priest are not bog-standard evangelicals; they are part of a faction within the CofE that could best be described as crypto-Baptist. You will find such churches in many wealthy parts of Britain, and their pews are filled with bums drawn almost exclusively from the business world, government and academia.
The theology and ecclesiology of crypto-Baptist Christianity is very shallow. Yes, I know this is a bit rich, coming as it does from an atheist, but until my faith evaporated in a puff of logic I was a confessing and active member of the Anglican church. In the case of Sizer’s church and others of its ilk, this deficiency is made up for with hard right political activism combined with a veneer of intellectualism. Church structures are rigid, and leadership absolute. There is something distinctly cult-like about this faction of the Christian religion.
Sizer is a typical crypto-Baptist Anglican priest. He is also an active scribbler, having penned a number of books on theology and politics with a focus on the Middle East. This vicar, or “Senior Pastor” as he prefers to call himself, holds extremist views on Israel, and is an opponent of what he calls “Christian Zionism”. Sizer also associates with known holocaust deniers and other assorted antisemites. This is indisputable fact of the kind that would stand up in a court of law. There is such a thing as guilt by association, and Sizer has some serious charges to answer.
Why, then, does Sizer, who with a doctorate is obviously an intelligent man, think it acceptable to threaten a critical blogger with legal action? For that is what the priest has done in the case of the Christian blogger known as “Seismic Shock”. I shall not repeat the details, but simply explain that Sizer made a complaint to the police about Seismic Shock, following which the boys in blue paid a visit to the blogger’s home in Horsforth, to have an “informal chat”, to use their words.
Libel is a matter for civil and not criminal law, and it is a gross misuse of police resources to have officers intervene as they have in the case of Seismic Shock. I would recommend to the blogger that he make formal complaints to the Chief Constables of West Yorkshire and Surrey, and also discuss the matter with Christopher Hill, the Bishop of Guildford.
Given Stephen Sizer’s outrageous behaviour in (a) engaging in political activity that conflicts with Church of England policies on the Middle East, (b) associating with individuals who are morally depraved, and (c) attempting to silence critics in a legally dubious manner, one must question whether this man is fit to be in Holy Orders, let alone have charge of such a large and active Christian community. He is certainly bringing the church into disrepute.
Photo of Stephen Sizer copyright © 2007 Eileen Fleming.
Feed the writer! 
Sunday 24 January 2010 at 13:50 UTC
I agree with a lot of what you’ve said. Sizer’s involving the police in this matter is quite outrageous.
Sunday 24 January 2010 at 13:54 UTC
Those wishing to complain about Stephen Sizer can email his bishop here. If you do this, stick to the facts as they pertain to the Church. But whatever you do, don’t assume that a ruckus confined to the blogosphere has any impact in the real world.
Sunday 24 January 2010 at 14:19 UTC
Point of order, I take Seismic to be a Red Sea Pedestrian.
It was a Christian blogger called Vee against whom Sizerfuhrer’s deeply sinister threat was one step too far:
http://livingjourney.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/theres-a-change-in-the-air/#comment-23443
Sunday 24 January 2010 at 14:24 UTC
I’ve seen a reference somewhere to Seismic Shock being a Messianic Jew, but, from my admittedly cursory glance it his blog, I’ve assumed that he is an ecumenical Christian. Maybe I’m wrong; I often am.
Whatever his religious affiliation, Seismic Shock is a mensch.
Sunday 24 January 2010 at 14:34 UTC
I’d bet my last shekel on his being an RSP. There is a Messianic Jew who contributes to the Sauce Bottle, but it ain’t him.
Sunday 24 January 2010 at 15:29 UTC
[...] Francis Sedgemore – Not fit for the cure of souls [...]
Sunday 24 January 2010 at 15:48 UTC
[...] 5: In Spanish from Fabian, Francis is very good, I liked this comment “Sizer is a typical crypto-Baptist Anglican priest.” Possibly [...]
Sunday 24 January 2010 at 16:41 UTC
Are there any interesting sources on crypto Baptism in the CoE? I’d not come across it before. What are its views on issues internal to the CoE (women bishops, gay clergy etc)? I’m not CoE, you understand. But as I’m a taxpayer I do pay for it (at least I assume I do – correct me if I’m wrong Francis, as you appear to have actually been a card carrier) and so try to take a bit of an interest in what they are doing with my money.
Sunday 24 January 2010 at 17:20 UTC
Great post, Francis, if I may say so.
As a side and purely personal / technical remark re the paragraph: “Christ Church is on the evangelical wing of the Church of England, which is itself part of the international and nominally catholic and apostolic Anglican Communion. But there is a twist.” If the first sentence merely added some to my normal state of confusion, the second one (about the twist) sent me to the cupboard for a dose of single malt.
Even the most impenetrable course during my physics studies didn’t cause this here atheist and ignoramus in all matters religious such despair ;-)
Sunday 24 January 2010 at 18:57 UTC
Mike – I’m not sure, and am a little too busy right now to go digging. My knowledge of Anglican crypto-Baptists comes from personal experience in the CofE. I used to be a churchwarden in an ancient Anglican community church just outside of Southampton, and in that city is the notoriously crypto-Baptist “Highfield Church”, many of whose worshippers are academics at the University of Southampton.
On internal CofE issues the crypto-Baptists tend to be highly reactionary. That includes women clergy, and gay people generally.
Sunday 24 January 2010 at 19:08 UTC
Snoopy – The Anglican Church is not a Reformation (i.e., Protestant) body per se, but rather part of the wider catholic church that can trace its hierarchy back to Peter, the first Bishop of Rome.
Today the wider catholic church (note small “c”) includes the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the international Anglican Communion, and more recent offshoots of Roman Catholicism, some of which go by the name “Old Catholics” (and are part of the so-called Union of Utrecht).
While the CofE is a catholic and apostolic church, it is divided between high-church “Anglo-catholics” and liberal “affirming catholics” on the one hand, and various kinds of evangelical protestants on the other.
Sunday 24 January 2010 at 20:12 UTC
[...] he didn’t, obviously – there’s absolutely no reason to get the plod involved. As Francis Sedgemore put it: “Libel is a matter for civil and not criminal law and it is a gross misuse of police [...]
Monday 25 January 2010 at 01:08 UTC
[...] the Anglican Church into disrepute? Filed under: censorship — seismicshock @ 1:08 am Sedgemore has more. Leave a [...]
Monday 25 January 2010 at 15:05 UTC
Seismicshock does Jesus NO favor by claiming to be a Christian and Rev. Sizer is an honorable and courageous Christian!
Because I receive Google alerts for ‘eileen fleming’ I was alerted to this nonsense as I was alerted to the IDIOT WIND blowing from the Seismic Shock WordPress blog on September 19, 2009, accusing me once again of being an Anti-Semite and holocaust denier!
Freedom of speech is not for slandering people while hiding behind pseudo-names and that is WHY Rev. Sizer alerted the police!
And as good always comes from bad for those that LOVE God and are called to his purpose, if anyone here has eyes to see and a brain to think-LEARN LOTS @
http://www.wearewideawake.org
on September 19, 2009 about SeismicShock!
Eileen Fleming,
Founder of WeAreWideAwake.org
A Feature Correspondent for Arabisto.com
Author of “Keep Hope Alive” and “Memoirs of a Nice Irish American ‘Girl’s’ Life in Occupied Territory”
Producer “30 Minutes with Vanunu” and “13 Minutes with Vanunu”
Monday 25 January 2010 at 15:30 UTC
“Freedom of speech is not for slandering people while hiding behind pseudo-names and that is WHY Rev. Sizer alerted the police!”
Putting aside for one moment the fact that English libel law is fundamentally unjust, and looks set to be changed following an acknowledgement from government ministers that the status quo cannot continue, what Sizer should have done is sue Seismic Shock in a court of law, using information gleaned from a lawyer’s approach to the blogger’s web hosting company.
Matters such as this have nothing to do with the police. Or at least they don’t in the first instance. Sizer has by his actions laid himself open to a charge of wasting police time. This is a very serious business, Eileen, and your friend could soon find himself in very big trouble.
Monday 25 January 2010 at 15:52 UTC
NO doubt that Rev. Sizer can handle any “big trouble” thrown his way; as he is on God’s side and there is NOTHING Christian about Zionism or slandering people!
“The word of God is living and active. Sharper than a two-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him whom we must give account.”- Hebrews 4:12-13
And as Mother Teresa affirmed:
“In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
little sister in JC,
xoxe
Monday 25 January 2010 at 19:27 UTC
Sizer is not on God’s side, he is on his own side, with you Eileen.
Monday 25 January 2010 at 20:06 UTC
Which “God” would that be – the demiurge of the books of Moses, the spirit that moved the prophets of the Old Covenant, or Jesus’ dad? And as for Mother Teresa, good heavens! Have we sunk to such depths already that this infamous old fraud is dragged into the debate?
Monday 25 January 2010 at 20:16 UTC
Fantastic blog post. I am filled with shock, anger, sympathy and admiration for Seismic.
Thursday 28 January 2010 at 21:12 UTC
[...] Sizergate affair, about which I commented on Sunday, is an unpleasant business, and confirms me in my [...]