Tag: Articles
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Establishment of the Church of England: A reply to Theo Hobson
Originally published on 29 March 2012 in Theology. By Nigel Biggar Theo Hobson’s argument that there are cogent theological objections to the establishment of the Church of England is not persuasive. He concedes that the current form of establishment is liberal, but implies that this renders the Church harmless in the sense of being deferential…
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An elected upper chamber will not reform the lords in the way required
Originally published on 15 August 2015 for The Herald. By Nigel Biggar. Lord Sewell’s scandalous conduct has been a gift to the professional enemies of the British constitution. Thus Pete Wishart, the SNP’s leader in the Commons, has used the occasion to mock the House of Lords as “the most absurd and ridiculous legislature anywhere…
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The Political Benefits of Royalty
Monarchy brings a distinctive and Christian contribution to the state, argues Nigel Biggar THE British monarchy has had a good year. The 60th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation has reassured our sense of continuity with the past, while the birth of a new heir promises stability down several generations into the future. These are among the…
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The Times: ‘Ukraine’s tragedy shows why we need Faslane’
27 March 2023. By Nigel Biggar for The Times. World leaders, even Putin, take the nuclear threat seriously. Why if Kyiv had kept its stockpile? When Russian forces crossed the border and advanced on Kyiv just over a year ago, only two responses were possible: acquiesce or fight. The Ukrainians chose to fight and the…
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On Colonialism
1 March 2023. Nigel wrote an article for issue 14 of Aspects of History, a multi-platform periodical founded and edited by Oliver Webb-Carter. Aspects of History believes that ‘history should be both championed and challenged, disseminated and debated’. You can find Nigel’s article through the link below. Do make sure to subscribe to Aspects of…
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Anatomy of a book cancellation
By Nigel Biggar for Compact. 2 February 2023. It was the second week of December 2017, and my wife and I were at Heathrow airport, waiting to board a flight to Germany. Just before setting off for the departure gate, I couldn’t resist checking my email just one last time. My attention concentrated when I…
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The case for keeping the Elgin Marbles
The call for the restitution of museum artefacts on the grounds of ‘colonial guilt’ is based on a misreading of history Article by Nigel Biggar for The Telegraph. 28 January 2023. That those who do an injustice should rectify it, is moral common sense. No one disputes that Germany’s post-1945 government should have restored stolen…
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Erasing Berkeley’s name would do nothing to combat racial prejudice in Ireland
Nigel Biggar: In celebrating people, we admire them only for some things they’ve done ‘Ireland’s famous 18th century philosopher, George Berkeley, was guilty of racial prejudice and slave – owning. He once described the Irish poor as “a lazy destitute race” and he bought a slave plantation on Rhode Island. Since the Irish today deplore both racism and slavery, shouldn’t…
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Empire is never black and white but decolonisers just won’t see it
My run-in with the Rhodes Must Fall movement shows how little appetite there is for nuanced discussion of colonialism. Instead, activists are driven by hatred of the Anglo-American liberal world order, writes Nigel Biggar ‘It was early December 2017 and my wife and I were at Heathrow airport, waiting to board a flight to Germany.…
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The importance of being British
In an essay published in UnHerd (10 January 2022), Nigel Biggar offers Christian reflections on patriotism in general, as well as an apologia for the British species. Read ‘The importance of being British’ here.