The Daily Telegraph, having gathered information, concerning the genealogy of the Bishop of the Church of England Justin Welby, brought to the forefront of the media the accusation that Welbyâs father was not his legitimate biological father. After a DNA test was carried out using hair follicles of Anthony Montague Browne from his hairbrush, it was discovered that the father is the former Private Secretary to Sir Winston Churchill. Obviously, this was both alarming and shocking to find out that your parent is not your parent.
Here lie two levels of concern regarding this situation. Firstly, the media itself chose to discover and disclose this publicly, and secondly, the Bishopâs ability to respond to this with dignity. On the first point, it was once the position of the Church of England, that no minister could be ordained a Bishop if his birth had taken place outside of wedlock. Yet in the ambiguity of his birth status he was still appointed for this season. Furthermore, every family tree has sections that are unpleasant or ambiguous; and even Jesus Himself had a problematical and questionable birth life. It is undoubted that they would have made a mockery of Jesus and the marriage status of Mary at the point of Jesusâ conception.
The mere fact that the media chose to pursue him in the manner in which they did demonstrates the fact that oftentimes news at any cost is always the selling point of newspapers. Welbyâs response demonstrated his leadership qualities when he said in response to this media revelation that his âidentity is not in his biological father but in Jesus Christâ. Abraham Lincoln once said, âI donât know who my grandfather was, I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will beâ. Today, you may be looking at your family tree, unsure as to the authenticity of your family line, however, remember that regardless of our family line that we share, we are able to trace our family tree in Jesus Christ.