It’s about 40 years since I changed my mind about the morality of same-sex partnerships; in one way or another, that change affected a lot of what I did — and failed to do — as Archbishop of Canterbury

Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, Prospect, 3 November

Interfaith dialogue shows you what someone else’s face looks like when turned to the God they believe in. It’s not an argument that someone has to win; it’s a conversation after which you are both (or all) aware of more to absorb and reflect on. I don’t think that it’s relativism — more the willingness to let the truth you are convinced about be probed and deepened by perspectives from elsewhere. Good dialogue starts from a place of confidence in your belief that is deep-rooted enough to be able to risk the challenges and learn new questions to ask

Ibid.

It said something wonderful about our country that that was possible, but also that it wasn’t a big deal. It was in a sense, gosh, this is great, but also that’s just Britain. That’s what you would expect from Britain. Hopefully it’s a source of collective pride across the country

Rishi Sunak, on becoming the UK’s first Hindu Prime Minister, interview, The Times, 5 November

Politicians used to go around saying, “God is on our side.” I always thought that we have to be on God’s side, and we have to do what we think is right

Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister, interviewed on Songs of Praise, BBC1, 6 November

In the past, when the Church [of England] has changed its doctrine and teaching on divorced people or on the role of women in the Church, it has done so because it was in a very, very different place from the society and the country it seeks to serve, and everybody in that country, and I think we’re at the same position now with lesbian and gay people

Ben Bradshaw MP, member of Ecclesiastical Committee of Parliament, Sunday, BBC Radio 4, 6 November

The Church has always understood its primary call is to be faithful to God and scripture and to the teaching of Jesus, and not simply to follow the trends in society. I would be much happier for the Church of England to be at odds with society than to be at odds with Jesus and the teaching of the scriptures

Andrew Goddard, LLF Steering Group, responding to Ben Bradshaw, Sunday, BBC Radio 4, 6 November

Here’s a thought. Maybe, just maybe, Twitter isn’t the best forum for debating proposed changes to moral and sacramental theology?

Philip Murray, Twitter, 7 November

We invite readers’ contributions. Quotations have to be from the past few days (or quoted therein), and we need author, source, and date. Please send promptly to:

quotes@churchtimes.co.uk