Salvation

Global persecution of Christians more extreme than ever

January 13, 2016
Gillan Scott
317 Comments

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 Anglican communion will tear itself apart over the matter of…

Church of England continues its decline – but is revival stirring?

January 12, 2016
155 Comments

The Church of England has published its attendance stats ('Statistics for Mission') for 2014. Don't yawn. Yes, the interesting Anglican stuff is leavening this week in a Canterbury crypt,…

An abused dog howls for the love of God

January 6, 2016
486 Comments

An abused dog is stroked for the first time. The sound is piercing and distressing. It isn't quite a howl of anguish; more a shriek of intense fear. It…

On the Feast of Stephen

December 26, 2015
123 Comments

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…

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us

December 24, 2015
111 Comments

'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.. Through him all things were made.. In him was life.. the light of…

Stephen Crabb has no need to be ashamed of his Christian faith

December 19, 2015
164 Comments

Who could have imagined just 15 years ago at the turn of the century that we would now be living in such unpredictable times? What seems like a permanent…

Rev'd Barry Trayhorn "forced to resign" as prison worker – for quoting the Bible in chapel

November 2, 2015
462 Comments

HMP Littlehey is a 'Category C' men's prison ("Those who cannot be trusted in open conditions but who are unlikely to try to escape") and Young Offender Institute near…

Fr Raniero Cantalamessa – Preacher to the Papal Household – to speak at Synod Eucharist

November 1, 2015
425 Comments

As the Queen and Supreme Governor of the Church of England inaugurates the tenth General Synod on 24th November, it has been announced that the ceremony will be preceded…

Happy Reformation Day

October 31, 2015
0 Comments

Quite why Martin Luther chose to protest against Tetzel and his sale of indulgences on All Hallows' Eve is unknown, unless it was simply a marketing decision to ensure…

Bishop of Chelmsford repudiates episcopal "talent pool"

October 1, 2015
0 Comments

It was a glorious sermon, with an audacious, if not subversive (which some may call prophetic) intervention on the Church of England's emerging "talent pool" approach to recognising bishops.…

The social gospel is a legitimate child of evangelism

September 2, 2015
243 Comments

"I am so tired of hearing this social gospel held up as the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. The reason the Church pushes this social gospel is because by…

Evangelism threatened by counter-extremism measures

August 28, 2015
107 Comments

The Evangelical Alliance has been surveying Evangelicals. 1,730 of them, to be precise. And it transpires that four out of five of them think government policies to tackle extremism…

Welby: "Christians are not saints"; Cranmer: "O yes we are"

August 27, 2015
103 Comments

"Christians are not saints," tweeted Lambeth Palace, apparently quoting from a sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. "They are sinners calling other sinners to know and love…

Was St Paul wrong about the timing of the Second Coming?

August 20, 2015
203 Comments

If Jesus, being fully and infallibly God, was not wrong about the time of his Second Coming, what about St Paul, being fully and fallibly man? The whole thrust…

China abolishes the cross of Christ

August 13, 2015
77 Comments

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…

Tweeting the truth in love: Justin Welby affirms an unpalatable article of faith

August 11, 2015
280 Comments

We have a blogging, vlogging and tweeting Archbishop of Canterbury. He's on Flickr, too. Justin Welby has fathomed that the medium is the message: the social network is the…

"God told me to.."

August 5, 2015
149 Comments

Have you ever had a Christian say to you: "God told me to..", followed by a directive or (more usually) a subtly coercive exhortation to do something (usually) for…

Assisted suicide and the unbearable indignity of the insupportable life

August 3, 2015
256 Comments

"I can't take this anymore," said Chantal Sebire (left), as the cancerous bulge ate into her nasal cavity and gnawed at her brain, robbing her of sight, taste and…

Pray and fast for climate change? Is the Church creating disciples of Christ or eco-warriors?

July 15, 2015
101 Comments

The latest session of the General Synod of the Church of England drew to a close in York this week and, absent any debate about women bishops, it failed…

"Thatcher Rest In Hell" – Durham Miners' Gala rejoice over Thatcher effigy in coffin

July 12, 2015
272 Comments

"The Durham Miners' Association has been shocked and saddened at the news last week of the death of three stalwarts of the socialist and labour movement," wrote the Friends…