The Affirming Catholicism document crudely caricatures the position we have carefully set out, traduces the real legal and historical position, understands 'the Church' in a very narrow sense and is disturbing in its un-Anglican and intolerant zeal to stifle public expressions of dissent and doubt.

My resolve in this direction has been stiffened, this last week, by reading a new book entitled Pierced for Our Transgressions by three authors connected with Oak Hill College in London (details below). This essay cannot be a full discussion of all the relevant matters; that would take a substantial book. It is one small step in the direction of putting down some markers for the ongoing debate.

The 54-year-old Anglican priest was debating with Dawkins during Oxford 's Literary Festival in March. Dawkins' post as professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford is funded by Hungarian-born Microsoft millionaire Charles Simonyi. His attacks on religion are frequent, and he set up a foundation in December to send atheist books and DVDs to schools in Britain and the United States.

He writes: "Perhaps the greatest surprise and innovation is the section entitled 'The Baptismal Covenant'." He notes that the theme of making a personal covenant with God in Baptism has not even been a minor theme in Anglican Services of Holy Baptism. But further, he makes the very important point that the way the 1979 service is constructed itself shows that the obvious interpretation of "covenant" is "contract", that is the one to be baptized make a contract with God.