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…
Donald Trump
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 of the United States of America, and there is now…
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…
Welby: “I really, genuinely do not understand” Christian support for Trump
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was interviewed by Robert Peston on Sunday. He spoke about the British economic model, economic justice, investment, skills, apprenticeships, automation, robotics, AI, equality for…
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…
If only the Trump Twitter feed had more soft words and gentle answers
There is a time to keep silence, and a time to speak, observes Qoheleth, the voice of the Book of Ecclesiastes (3:7). Proverbs talks about the wise man using words with…
The black Christian who converts white supremacists by loving them
Whenever white supremacists march to proclaim their Europid purity and superior cranial virtue, they are usually met with an equal and opposite force of scorn and condemnation: protest meets counter-protest;…
Donald Trump is no neo-Nazi sympathiser: he’s just not a very good politician
This is a guest post by Martin Sewell, a retired solicitor. ______ When the USA elected Donald Trump to be their new President, it was, to a significant degree, because…