Since the debacle of Civil Partnerships I must confess to some doubts about the place of Bishops in the House of Lords. You will recall that eight bishops (Chelmsford, Manchester, Norwich, Oxford, Peterborough, St Albans, St Eds & Ips and Truro) voted in favour of the Bill while only two bishops voted against (Chester and [...]
According to opinion polls, 25 per cent of the population are now sceptical about climate change. Interestingly the same proportion doubts evolution. After the leaked emails from the University of East Anglia showing scientists ready to suppress dissent and the absurd claims about glacier meltdown by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change it is tempting [...]
Jesus was a “super-intelligent gay man,” Sir Elton John told an American magazine last week. The singer-songwriter’s remarks to Parade magazine have prompted bemusement and outrage with the president of the Catholic League in the United States thundering that to say Jesus was gay was to say that God was a pervert, while a spokesman [...]
The Invention of the Jewish Nation, Schlomo Sand Verso, hb, £20.00 In the later years of the 19th century a pseudo-science of race flourished in many parts of Europe. It upheld the idea of the nation as an ethnic identity, usually with certain special characteristics. By the end of the 20th century, nations were more [...]
Cartoons portraying Jesus as a beer-drinking, cigarette-smoking yobbo have sparked communal rioting in India, and have led to the burning of a Church of North India (CNI) church and Salvation Army meeting hall in the Punjab. On Feb 20, Christians in the town of Batala took to the streets to protest the publication of a [...]
A unique theological symposium involving several leading theologians speaking on issues of faith, war and peace took place in the warship HMS Bulwark on Ash Wednesday. The symposium, which grew out of the ship’s affiliation with County Durham and was chaired by the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Tom Wright, involved senior officers from [...]
By Sergei Blair Complacency among moderate Muslims against radicals of the same faith may lead to further misunderstanding and hostility among those of different faiths, warned the Rev Nadim Nassar, a priest who’s presenting a seminar to educate Christians about tolerance. The subject sparked wide debate recently among religious leaders and government officials who criticized [...]
By Toby Cohen GOD MAY cast the deciding vote in the coming General Election, as a public theology think-tank said that the election may depend on which party can appeal best to Christians. Theos commissioned a poll by ComRes which showed that 21 per cent of Christians feel the Conservatives have been the most sympathetic [...]
The Government’s plans for free care at home could have a detrimental impact on “our social fabric”, the Bishop of Norwich has warned. Bishop Graham James has previously said that the Personal Care at Home Bill could have “perverse consequences” and has now raised fears about what other services will be cut to pay for [...]
By Michael Brown A LEADING bishop spoke last week of becoming “increasingly uncomfortable” with the “badly conceived” Incitement to Religious Hatred Act. The robust attack on the measure came from Bishop of Liverpool James Jones in a lecture in Ripon Cathedral. In a wide-ranging address, he also criticised politicians who argue that the church should [...]
