The Church Commissioners and Church of England Pensions Board are both shareholders in General Electric (GE), with shareholdings up to £10m. Yesterday, the Church defended the investment, claiming less than 3 per cent of GE’s business was based in arms sales.

But the firm, along with its key subsidiary General Aviation, is a leading supplier of “integrated systems and technologies” for combat aircraft, military transport, helicopters, land vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles – better known as drones.

It is the 20th-highest-ranking firm in the world when it comes to defence sales, which accounted for almost 3 per cent of its total revenue last year – an estimated £4bn.

While the Church of England is not breaching its own rules by investing in the firm – investments in companies that derive less than 10 per cent of turnover from strategic military sales are allowed – some church members reacted angrily to the news.

Keith Hebden, an Anglican priest who was arrested earlier this year for breaking into RAF Waddington – from where drones used in Afghanistan are remotely controlled – said the Church of England’s policy was wrong. He explained: “We’re going to end up with problems. This means we have a stake in wanting there to be war.”

Read the full article here. I wonder how Christian apologists (read: it means those who defend, not those who apologize), will defend a Christian Church having monetary stakes in a weapons manufacturing company. What if a Masjid decided to invest their donation money into a Saudi Arabian arms dealer or a Sudanese weapons manufacturing company? At the end of the day, the Church of England invested in a weapons manufacturer and the only way they can make a profit is through war and combat, the Church, we can say – is making money off of violence.

and God knows best.