Lawfare — politics is now waged through the Courts
There is one enduring feature of all functional democracies – that of balance. Over-mighty monarchs, barons, presidents or workers' councils do not make for happy societies. If the definition of…
Donald Trump
Trump shames America by betraying the Kurds
The Kurds have no friends but the mountains. They helped us to defeat the ISIS/Daesh death cult, but now they are being cleansed from their ancient homeland by Turkey, where President Erdoğan says they are terrorists. As US troops were…
Sovereignty: why is it good for Kashmir and Hong Kong, but bad for the UK?
News from Hong Kong and Kashmir has continued to dominate the news, and then the Labour Shadow Chancellor and Deputy Leader John McDonnell sowed a degree of discontent in the…
Abortion banned in Alabama: a pro-choice/pro-life dialogue
This is a guest post by Neil Richardson, a church community worker in Croydon, teacher of Latin, and author of Courting Disaster. He is a passionate advocate for the rights…
The weird cult of Greta Thunberg: she’s not the Green Messiah
The activities of those following the latest fashion in political activism have been disrupting the nation’s capital, and yesterday its unlikely spokesperson and poster child, Greta Thunberg, went to Westminster…
Before peace, reconciliation and healing, there must come reckoning
Donald Trump is not a modest man. He is not polished, well read, stylish, university educated, 'sophisticated', or a paragon of moral virtue. But he is the duly elected President…
Bishop denounces Boris Johnson as an “amoral liar”
It was a good lecture by the Bishop of Leeds, if a little long. Delivered to mark the centennial celebrations of Bradford Cathedral, he expounded some of the root causes…
Amidst all the buffoonery, Trump is right to reject the Palestinian definition of ‘refugee’
I never expected much good to originate from the election of the Buffoon. Sure, the fact that Hillary Clinton will from time unto eternity be remembered as 'she who enabled…
What makes Jair “God above everything” Bolsonaro a far-right politician?
Those stupid people have gone and done it again. Not content with Brexit, Trump and Orbán, or the rise of the National Front, Alternative for Germany, Golden Dawn or the…
Bishop Nick Baines derides Brexit British hopelessness
There's a lot of anxiety about. The torch which once lit our path is being extinguished. Our institutions and communities are beset with moral problems, dilemmas and quandaries. Our politics…
Trump to Europe: “You are losing your culture”
While the media pore over Donald Trump's interview with the Sun, focusing on the possibility a post-(soft) Brexit US/UK trade deal ("..it will probably kill the deal") and Boris Johnson…
Supreme Court Judge Anthony Kennedy retires: Donald Trump was elected for such a time as this
Yesterday, the real prize of winning the last US General Election was presented to the American people. The resignation of US Supreme Court Judge Anthony Kennedy offers Donald Trump the…
The G7 Summit: a Renaissance oil painting of the sacred and profane
The G7 Summit brings together the mighty economies of the USA, Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Japan and Germany, which together represent 62% of global net worth. That's $280 trillion,…
Identity politics in the Church is just sectarianism writ small
It all began last week with a tweet from the always provocative and interesting Canadian academic Jordan Peterson. Listening to the constant denigration of the intelligence of those who support…
Israel at 70: a blessing to all the nations of the earth
On 14th May 1948, 70 years ago today, David Ben Gurion declared the independence of the State of Israel. In celebration of this momentous anniversary, God raised up Netta Barzilai,…
The Syrian civil war will never be resolved by the UN Security Council or the International Criminal Court
This is a guest post by Carl Jacobs. ____________________ The Syrian civil war has not been kind to the sacred secular institutions of International Liberalism. There are now 400,000 dead…
Happy Inauguration Anniversary, Mr President. And thanks for getting back to the separation of powers
One year ago, our friends in the USA exchanged one thin-skinned narcissistic president for another, and immediately a fresh chapter of their ongoing culture wars began. Less inhibited than their…
‘Shithole countries’ tittle-tattle only served to mask the Uranium One fallout: the real scandal is yet to surface
Last Friday, President Trump was reported to have used the most crass terms when discussing admitting migrants from countries like Haiti into the United States of America. He denies the…
Bishop of Liverpool slams ‘so-called Evangelicals’, and so condemns himself
The term 'Evangelical' as applied to Christians has a long and well-chronicled heritage. In 1525, William Tyndale explained in his Doctrinal Treatises (p8): "Evangelion (that which we call the gospel)…
The whole world should recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital – simply because it is
There is no greater view in the world than that of Jerusalem from the top of the Mount of Olives. There isn't a more wonderful picture of world history, of…