Insect Armageddon: an Extinction Level Event
The Bible is full of insects and bugs: there are ants (Prov 6:6), bees (Jdg 14:8), fleas (1Sam 24:14), flies (Ex 8:24), gnats (8:16), grasshoppers (Isa 40:22), hornets (Deut 7:20),…
Creation
Sir Brian Souter barred as sponsor of Turner Prize for being a morally orthodox Christian
Sir Brian Souter is a Christian. He also happens to be a wealthy Scottish businessman, philanthropist, and supporter of the SNP, but he is a Christian first and foremost: his faith guides his work ethic, permeates his politics, and informs…
Michael Gove delivers Theos Annual Lecture: “I speak as a Christian”
Michael Gove delivered this year's Theos annual lecture last night, and his subject was environmental justice, stewardship and the moral purpose of government. The whole lecture is well worth reading,…
Children’s Society Christingle song fails to mention God, Jesus – or anything particularly Christian at all
You are probably familiar with Christingle and may well know about all the Christian symbolism which it represents. It’s generally pretty widely recognised that the candle inserted into the Christingle…
Four-day week: mandatory indolence or an interfaith ‘sacred weekend’?
When Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell mooted imposing a four-day week on the British economy (that is, a four-day working week; Labour has no plans to re-calibrate or 'modernise' the solar…
A quarterback and a porn star walk into a bar…
You might think this would be the set-up line for a bad joke, but, no, it’s for real. Amidst the typical National Football League off-season stories about murder, sexual assault,…
Does installing Tim Peake’s spaceship in a cathedral glorify God and lead people to salvation?
If you install a junk spaceship or other space detritus in a sacred space and then pat yourself on the back for increasing your visitor numbers by 600% to 58,000,…
What kind of person sets a dog on fire?
Bruce is a dog; a bull-lurcher from Little Orton near Carlisle. He has been badly beaten with a stick with nails sticking out of it, his skull fractured, his jaw…
“We have built our tower to the Moon, and now we build it to Mars. What, then, is denied to us?”
This is a guest post by Carl Jacobs: a Christian by grace, a Calvinist by conviction, an American by birth. Husband of one, father of two, an engineer by profession,…
The evil of oil: a letter from the Interfaith Council for an Ethical Energy Policy
This is a guest post by Carl Jacobs. _______ In the name of Ecumenical comity, I have decided to give over my column this week to His Most August Personage,…
How does a crucified stormtrooper glorify God?
There is a crucified stormtrooper hanging on the wall of St Stephen Walbrook church in the City of London, forming part of a 'Stations of the Cross' exhibition. The parish…
Trump’s UN “hate speech” tells the world a few home truths
UN Secretary-General António Guterres doesn't like divisive political discourse: he prefers consensual dialogue about climate change; exhortations to build bridges rather than walls; measured denunciations of Israel rather than the…
The Musicians’ Church hasn’t banned non-Christian music, but it has sown confusion
"Absurd and obscene to see a church in London banning classical groups that want to perform non-religious music", bleated the Humanists on Twitter, knowing full well that the secularist hordes…
Charlottesville: white supremacists are fundamentally anti-American and anti-Christian
Charlottesville has gone downhill a bit since The Waltons: the town where John Boy negotiated his first bank loan, Jim-Bob learned about his dead twin brother, and grandma and grandpa…
The compassionate origins of Tory transgender self-identification proposals
"Maria Miller gathers up her handbag and makes to leave: 'I don’t think I’m happy about this. I think I’ve finished... I didn’t realise this was such a stitch-up'", the…
Justine vs Justin: the ‘not yet’ and ‘never’ of same-sex marriage in the Church of England
In an interview for Sky News last week on same-sex marriage and the Church, Justine Greening (the Education Secretary who also happens to hold the Equalities portfolio) told Sophy Ridge:…
BlessU-2: a robot priest and the parable of technological emptiness
"Bless me, Robot, for I have sinned." "Do you want to receive absolution in a male voice or a female voice?" The penitent presses a button on a touchscreen torso,…
In defence of church pews: God save us from white plastic, stackable stainless steel and bright blue upholstery
There is "no theological basis" for the retention of church pews, declared John Gallagher, Chancellor for the Diocese of Rochester, as he dismissed the view of conservationists who wanted to…
Good Disagreement: report fellow Christians to the police for daring to disagree
It isn't entirely clear what happened to 1 Corinthians 6 in the Christian pursuit of Good Disagreement. It appears that if certain liberal/progressive Christians disagree with conservative/traditionalist ones, they think…
Gender identity and the plastic nature of self-definition
One school in Brighton (Brighton College) has decided to allow its students to decide for themselves whether they wish to dress as a boy or as a girl, irrespective…