Bishop in new theological storm

Press, 31 October 1984, Page 49

Bishop in new theological storm

NZPA-AP London The controversial new Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev. David Jenkins, who was embroiled in a new theological storm over comments comparing the Resurrection of Jesus Christ to a “conjuring trick with bones,” has insisted that he was misquoted. "What I actually said was that the Resurrection was far more than a conjuring trick with bones, which is the exact opposite of what I have been quoted as saying,” Bishop Jenkins said after preaching at a service in north-east England. Bishop Jenkins, the Church of England’s fourthranking prelate, said that the news media’s interpretation of his remarks was “ridiculous.” The Bishop’s appointment in July sparked the biggest theological storm in the Anglican Church in decades. Clergymen and churchgoers protested over his doubts about the biblical account of the Resurrection and the virgin birth. In a 8.8. C. Sunday religious affairs programme,

“Poles Apart,” Bishop Jenkins said, "I am bothered about what I call God and conjuring tricks. I am not clear that God manoeuvres physical things. I am clear that he works miracles through personal responses and faith.” To a questioner who emphasised the New Testament teaching that Christ rose from the tomb, Bishop Jenkins replied, “All I said was: ‘was it literally physical?’ ... after all, a conjuring trick with bones only proves that somebody is clever at a conjuring trick with bones.”