Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

Among CofE clergy, one in ten have experienced violent behaviour in the last two years, and the same percentage are experiencing more hate crime than they did two years ago. Over 66% have received verbal abuse and one in five has experienced threatening behaviour. Most threats were to harm the cleric personally, but 20% had relatives threatened and 35% experienced threats to church property. 25% of cases were because they declined to give money to someone who asked them for it. Clergy who have suffered violence are likely to find their work ‘more challenging’ than they did previously. This situation has necessitated National Churchwatch to produce a personal attack alarm for clergy; it looks like an ID badge, but has a button on the back to press if they feel at risk or needs assistance. The button connects immediately to a control room which can monitor what is going on and call the police if necessary. See

Voice for Justice researchers note that some members of a new commission, whose task is to study extremism and report back to the Government, hold Christophobic and hostile views. The Commission for Countering Extremism will soon publish a wide-ranging study on ‘all forms of extremism’ that will include its scale, the tactics and objectives of extremists, the harm caused, and the nature of current response. It is an independent and impartial public body, and commissioners must ‘not participate in the discussion or determination of a matter where their interest might suggest a danger of bias’. However three members have publicly expressed views that place them in clear conflict with Government guidelines. Sara Khan: ‘If Christians must celebrate same-sex relationships, then atheists must celebrate Jesus Christ’; Peter Tatchell: ‘Menacing Christians are put in the same category as IS and Taliban’; Dame Louise Casey: ‘Pro-abortion and pro-LGBT relationships are tests of integration; Bible-believing Christians are less progressive.’

The Turning mission last August involved teams from many churches going out on the streets and sharing the gospel. This will start again on 2 February in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, and will continue on the first Saturday each month, with churches sharing the Gospel and seeing people come to Christ. Last year, approximately 300 people made a commitment to the Christian faith. Plans are also being made for a further round of ‘Leaders Envisioning’ meetings in late February, aiming for new missions in August as The Turning is rolled out across Scotland. Organisers have also produced The Turning Bible which helps those who have responded on the streets to understand the Word of God as they begin their journey of faith. This version is easy to read and understand, using everyday language, and is perfect for reading aloud. See

Nigel Farage could become leader of a new pro-Brexit party if Britain’s departure from the EU is delayed beyond 29 March. The former UKIP leader said he had offered his enthusiastic support to the Brexit party after being sounded out as its potential leader. Catherine Blaiklock, formerly a spokeswoman for UKIP, confirmed that on 11 January she had applied to register the party with the Electoral Commission. It would be ready to fight any snap general election, or the local elections across England in May. She said, ‘I think people feel treason has been committed. It’s democracy. It wouldn’t matter whether Leave had won by a single vote - it’s a first-past-the-post system.’ The party would aim to attract the 17.4 million people who voted to leave in 2016, and to win over defectors from the Conservatives, Labour, and UKIP.

‘Father, help us to resist the destructive ploys of the enemy to divide our nation. Give Your strength and peace to our politicians. Give fresh anointing to our government as they carry the mantle for running the country and banish confusion and fear from parliament, replacing it with wisdom from heaven as decisions are made on behalf of the people. Establish your purpose and direction for our nations in the coming weeks. Amen’. On 17 January our newspapers led with news of the Brexit deadlock. While all agree there is political chaos, they disagree about who is to blame: is it Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn or MPs in general? The Guardian said that despite surviving a dramatic no-confidence vote, Mrs May was left scrambling to strike a Brexit compromise, and Tory MPs remain deeply divided about how she should adapt her deal.

Senior Anglicans are asking the Archbishop of Canterbury to force his ambassador to the Vatican to resign because he does not believe Jesus rose from the dead. In an Easter sermon some years ago Dr John Shepherd said, ‘It is important for Christians to be set free from the idea that the resurrection was an extraordinary physical event, which restored to life Jesus’s original earthly body. The resurrection of Jesus ought not to be seen in physical terms, but as a new spiritual reality.’ He added that the disciples merely ‘felt his presence after his death’, and the Gospel accounts in the Bible were not historical records as we would write history today. Senior Anglicans have rounded on his unorthodox views. Dr Shepherd’s appointment came after the previous ambassador stood down following accusations of sexual misconduct.

Dame Louise Ellman MP, the vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel, presented a bill in Parliament on 9 January under the ten-minute rule, arguing that British taxpayers are funding the teaching of a curriculum that preaches martyrdom and jihad. She told the House of Commons that young Palestinian minds are being poisoned, and the opportunity for Britain to help promote the values of peace, reconciliation and coexistence is being squandered. ‘This is not about a peaceful future. It is a scandal.’ Britain will donate £125 million to the Palestinian Authority by 2021, and. £20 million will go towards the education curriculum. The bill, which is supported by a handful of MPs,l will be read for a second time on 8 March.

The Evangelical Alliance writes, ‘Paul reminds Timothy that praying for our leaders “pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.’’ (1 Timothy 2:4) So we should not just be praying for competence for our leaders, but that they would know Jesus Christ. If they already say they know Jesus, we should be praying that their faith would deepen and grow. Paul’s life gives us a number of principles that can guide our prayers for those in authority. However, there is still a difficult question: how do we pray together for our politicians when we may disagree quite strongly on their policies? This question is an important one for Christian unity, and will get more acute as the Brexit debates enter a new stage.’ Nevertheless we can all recommit to praying for our political leaders to know Jesus.

Arlene Foster, its leader, has said that the DUP will act in the best interests of the UK. ‘The promotion and protection of the Union is at our core’. She added, ‘We had made clear in all discussions that letters of reassurances were not enough to win our support for the backstop.’ She also said that the backstop did not respect Northern Ireland's constitutional position: ‘Immediately after the Government's meaningful vote defeat, I said we would work to set out a plan which deals with the flawed backstop. When meeting with MPs from all parties over the last few days, I have emphasised that the DUP's clear preference is to have a deal and an orderly exit from the EU. We will meet again with the Prime Minister in the coming days, and will stand up for the Union. We shouldn't fear uncharted waters. We should see them as an opportunity to seize and lay a better foundation for the next generation.’

Ten years ago the notorious atheist bus campaign marked a high point for militant atheism. But now there's a new and more serious challenge to the Church. It is ‘identity politics’. Although it highlights oppression or injustice in a way that the Church can support, at its worst it pits different social groups against one another, black vs white, female vs male, transgender vs feminist, rich vs poor. It encourages judgement and prejudice against those who are allegedly powerful - a white, straight man is deemed ‘privileged’ though he may have experienced many power-limiting experiences in his life. It provokes its followers to see antagonism within every social interaction. Identity politics has taken over much of the media, academia and political discourse. Google employee James Damore lost his job for asserting that the gender gap in the tech industry is due to biological differences.