When I heard Archbishop John Sentamu was writing for the Sun on Sunday my first reaction was 'brilliant'.
I'm no fan of the Sun for a number of reasons, but I don't have a problem with the readers. My uncle Chris is one of them. He's a retired boat-builder and lives in a town in the North East of England noted for social problems and high levels of heroin addiction.
Uncle Chris doesn't go to church, he doesn't read broadsheets or listen to Radio Four. But he does read the Sun.
So - a good move by the Archbishop, I thought. What a great opportunity to preach the gospel. But soon it became clear my optimism was not shared by everyone, and a Christian media storm ensued. How could the Archbishop endorse a company up to its ears in trouble? What about Page 3, phone hacking, Hillsborough?
The tweeter @God_loves_women suggested that instead of supporting a paper that demeans women we should be 'doing life' with the hurting and broken.
I had to agree and shared the concerns of the detractors. And then the first edition of the 'new' paper appeared and it seemed to me (and a few others) that the Archbishop's rather gushing opening lines could well have been inserted by an over-enthusiastic sub editor.
That aside, the dust has now settled and it looks as if the Archbishop's column will be a regular slot.
Several things struck me as the debate took its course - that for Christians everywhere it's a constant battle between principles and compassion. Jesus often ate with tax collectors and other sinners; entering their homes and sharing food was definitely seen by some as endorsing their activities.
How far do we go before we're seen to be condoning what we believe to be morally wrong or unjust?
I also thought of the first disciples and whether some of them would have been tabloid readers had newspapers been available in first century Galilee.
But most of all I thought about my Uncle Chris. Some of the comments I read during the debate worried me. Mock the paper by all means, but don't sneer at its readers.
I don't share my uncle's worldview, but I respect him. And just telling someone you disagree with them doesn't make them change their mind, or their newspaper...
I'll see him at Easter and I'm looking forward to asking what he thinks about the Archbishop's columns. You never know, we might even end up talking about Jesus.
