The first cleric in the story below (Very Rev. Kelvin Holdsworth, Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow) is a trifle eccentric. He wants us to pray that Prince George will be gay.

Well, as someone who was delighted (and relieved) when Tom Robinson sang “Glad to be Gay” in the 1970s, I wouldn’t want to deny George that experience. But he wouldn’t have to be forced into it by a higher power – not because of a gay gene (I’m not a big fan of that theory) but because, as he grows up, he will sort it out for himself. It’s mostly a social process, in which he will have his own strong part to play.

The second cleric (Rev. Gavin Ashenden, a former Chaplain to the Queen) says that Holdsworth’s prayer is “unkind”. This suggests that we are unfortunate to be gay, perhaps should be sad to be gay – and to some people (not necessarily Ashenden) it might mean that we should get therapy to stop us being gay. Well (you’ve guessed it!) I’m not with Ashenden.  I’m with Tom Robinson. (Incidentally, I once knew a Chaplain to the Queen who wrote that being gay was like having a club foot. But this was in the 1970s. Things should have moved on by now in royal chaplaincy circles.)

Ashenden also says that to pray that George will be gay “is to pray in a way that will undermine his constitutional and personal role” to produce an heir to the throne. It is, he said, “the theological equivalent of the curse of the wicked fairy in one of the fairytales. It is un-Christian as well as being anti-constitutional.” Perhaps this is the key to Ashenden’s harrumphing. On the same day that news reached us that Morgan Stanley fears that a Corbyn government would be detrimental to the financial and economic status quo that we have all come to love (and Jeremy agrees the fear is justified), so Ashenden claims that a gay prince would seriously undermine the royal privilege that allegedly holds the system together (I doubt it would be enough). But if they think that’s what’s at stake, George, if you turn out to be a gay prince, watch out for the therapists!

But surely, even in this bizarre world of wicked fairies and things that go bump in the night, Ashenden has nothing to worry about. Whatever theology lies behind Ashenden’s mish-mash of prejudice and defence of a constitutional monarchy, Holdsworth’s prayer couldn’t work. For it would entail God acting against his own “divine right of kings” (and queens), which he surely couldn’t do. And on the question of fairytales, we are dealing with two of them here. The first is the royal fairytale (nowadays largely taking the form of a soap opera, which no one should actually believe in, even if the plots are fun; the second is one that Ashenden should acknowledge, since he has introduced talk of fairytales. In the run-up to Christmas, there will be much singing, and many readings from the Bible, about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. A close reading of that story (full, as it is, of invention, contradictions and fantastic images) should at the very least make us very sceptical indeed of its value as history. What, then? Is it myth? (myths can be helpful). Is it a fairytale? I think it’s a fairytale. So Ashenden should be careful about what he says about Holdsworth’s prayer. Because people who live in glasshouses shouldn’t throw stones.

Here’s the story:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/dec/01/christians-should-pray-from-prince-george-to-be-gay-says-c-of-e-minister?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H+categories&utm_term=254715&subid=12991040&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2