Holy Saturday: marginalisation, persecution, martyrdom
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus…
Christian persecution
Nazir-Ali: 'Faith, Freedom and the Future: Challenges for the 21st Century'
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali offers analysis of current challenges and gives urgently needed advice for Christians and policy-makers in a timely new book: Faith, Freedom and the Future: Challenges for the 21st Century, reviewed here by the Rev'd Andrew Symes…
Good Friday: love so amazing, so divine
Good Friday The Collects Almighty God, we beseech thee graciously to behold this thy family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed, and given up…
Global persecution of Christians more extreme than ever
This week many in the church and a few in the media have their eyes on Justin Welby and the Primates meeting in Canterbury, waiting to see if the…
On the Feast of Stephen
The funeral of St Stephen, by Filippo Lippi (1460). St Stephen – 'a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost' (Acts 6:5) – was chosen to be a…
Kenyan Muslims say "I'm Spartacus" to protect Christians
Peace on earth won't magically descend from the clouds: it has to be aimed at and worked for. And it starts in the hearts of each and every one…
Third Sunday of Advent: rejoice in the recognition of Jesus
Today is Gaudete Sunday: into the season of waiting, preparing and expecting, we inject a note of delight and good cheer: 'Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I…
Nissar Hussain battered with a pickaxe in Bradford for converting from Islam to Christianity
Quite a few British Muslims are eager to abandon the path of Mohammed and the faith of their forefathers. Some are brave enough to convert to Christianity and make…
Cameron's desire to bomb ISIS in Syria is moral, but not the solution
‘Cameron ready to bomb Syria’ announces the Telegraph on its front page today. As headlines go it’s not exactly a major revelation. The PM has been keen to intervene…
The Queen hosts President Xi Jinping, and the Catholic Herald sneers at her hypocrisy
"As the Catholic Herald has constantly stressed, China continues to persecute Christians, and there is evidence that this persecution is getting worse. How ironic, then, that the Supreme Governor…
Bradford ex-Muslim Christian converts "have given up on the Church of England"
"Muslim family are driven from their home... after they converted to Christianity." "Neighbours vandalise car and call them 'blasphemers'"; "windows are constantly smashed"; "family attacked in the street"; "Bradford…
As 40% of adults think Jesus is a myth, has Religious Education failed?
Richard Dawkins and the other prophets of atheism love to tell us that in the fabricated battle between religious belief and rationalism, there can be only one winner, and…
Ukip MEP bashes Archbishop for offering sanctuary to refugees
What do you think? There was an archbishop who loved to read The Guardian and watch the BBC. He saw that thousands upon thousands of Christians were suffering throughout…
Welby breathes new life into the crumbling Anglican Communion
Anglicanism: the final frontier. These are the prophetic voyages of Justin Welby. His continuing mission: to explore strange new reconciliations; to seek out new wine and new creations; to…
Migrants, refugees, dead babies and 'virtue signalling': WWJD?
This is a guest post by the Rev’d Stephen Heard – Assistant Priest at St Mark’s Church, Enfield. He is a former civil servant with a background in political and…
Archbishops clash over crushing ISIS and right-to-die compassion
The Church of England is all over the place today. Indeed, one headline seems almost purposely designed to degrade the other. In the red corner we have Archbishop Justin…
ISIS destroys the the ancient Monastery of Mar Elian
"The Monastery of St. Elian was a Christian monastery near the town of Al-Qaryatayn in the Homs Governorate," says Wikipedia. "Was"? Yes, the tense is accurate. It had stood…
Was Jesus wrong about the timing of his Second Coming?
The imminence of the long-prophesied kingdom of God and the end of time has occupied Christians and Jews more than any other subject of theological conjecture. Certainly, at the…
China abolishes the cross of Christ
China's stock-market has plunged: its GDP has crashed, the yuan has been devalued and economic confidence is in free fall. Another boom-and-bust bubble has burst: Mammon threatens another tidal…
It is time to arm Iraq's anti-ISIS Christian militia
While HM Government faffs around arguing over whether we should be calling the Islamic State 'ISIS', 'ISIL' or 'Daesh' because, according to David Cameron, the Islamic State is neither…