Three more academic staff leave under-fire Wycliffe College

Three senior academic staff are leaving Wycliffe College just months after five others left in controversial circumstances.

|PIC1|The Principal of Wycliffe, the Rev Dr Richard Turnbull, has confirmed that three staff are set to leave as controversy continues to cloud the Oxford theological school since the new Principal was appointed.

Dr Turnbull has come under-fire as he has overseen doctrinal change since taking over leadership of the college, CEN has reported.

The three senior members set to depart now are Dr Elaine Storkey, formerly senior research fellow in social philosophy, the Rev Dr Andrew Goddard, tutor in Christian Ethics, and his wife, the Rev Lis Goddard, who was tutor in Ministerial Formation.

The Principal has told CEN that the departures have been agreed by the college and were in the "best interests of the college".

He added: "Andrew and Lis Goddard are still employees at the college but we are negotiating severance terms with them. Elaine Storkey is no longer employed by the college and we are also seeking agreement on terms of severance with her.

"We've just started the new (academic) year and we're fully staffed with tutors and teaching staff all who want to be here, and we've more than the maximum number of students.

"We're in great heart and all looking forward to the year ahead. We have already filled a quarter of our places for next year and the number of women students has increased this year, both in actual number and overall proportion."

Earlier this year Dr Turnbull had to fight off allegations of homophobia following his firm conservative stance on Biblical teachings.

Wycliffe Hall, which is the evangelical school of theology within Oxford University, was condemned by theologian Rev Dr Giles Fraser, who claimed the college had "no love in its heart for the values of learning".

Dr Turnbull rebuffed the claims that the college is part of a "wave of reactionary evangelicalism", and highlighted the college's long record of academic achievement with many students winning academic awards.

He said: "Three-quarters of the social reforms of the 19th century have been directly attributed to evangelical Christianity.

"There is in fact a long history of both intellectual and social engagement. It won't do to simply associate the evangelical tradition with anti-intellectualism."

Responding to the claims of homophobia and misogyny, Dr Turnbull said: "I know of no homophobia or misogyny at Wycliffe. If there is any evidence then it must be produced."

Dr Turnbull's October 2006 address to a group of fellow evangelicals was criticised earlier this year after the speech appeared on the internet. He was speaking at the annual conference of Reform, a conservative evangelical pressure group.

In that address he told: "We are committed to bringing the gospel message of Jesus Christ to those who don't know. In this land that's 95 per cent of the people: 95 per cent of people facing hell unless the message of the gospel is brought to them."

He also talked of the "strategic importance" of making sure the senior posts in theological college were held by conservative evangelicals. "Capture the theological colleges, and you have captured the influence that is brought to bear," he said.

Explaining his comments to the Independent newspaper, Dr Turnbull said: "Why 95 per cent, you ask. All that means is actually in church, on a Sunday morning, you have roughly got 5 per cent of the population. I want the good news of the Gospel to be brought to the other 95 per cent. It's got nothing to do with people's style of church."

He added: "It was nine months ago when I was giving a five-minute welcoming message, which no one has shown any interest until now. I haven't got a record of my remarks, and have not been able to access the site, so I don't want to be drawn into any further discussion of what I said. Some of what has been reported has been erroneous, in fact and context."

Dr Turnbull is the Chairman of the Church of England Evangelical Council, which has led opposition to the ordination of openly gay clergy in the UK.

The council says that Christians in same-sex relationships should repent and give up sexual contact with one another.

The Wycliffe Hall principal was one of the most prominent signatories of the 'Covenant for the Church of England', presented to the Archbishop of Canterbury in December.

The document stated: "The Church of England is increasingly polarised into two churches: the one submitting to God's revelation, Gospel-focused, Christ-centred, cross-shaped and Spirit-empowered; the other holding a progressive view of revelation, giving priority to human reason over Scripture, shaped primarily by Western secular culture, and focused on church structures."