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Religion and Society

  • 29 Mar 2013
    Burying enmity: the language of the Cross

    Much has been written about the meaning of the cross, a subject on which Christians hold varying views, says Savitri Hensman. In Christ’s sacrifice, the true horror is exposed and the hope of a different way of life revealed. This can be difficult to comprehend, but it cannot be ignored or sidelined.

  • 28 Mar 2013
    We are challenged by a Gospel that points us to those in most need

    When people talk about Christians who hail from an Orthodox or Catholic background, the temptation at times here in the Protestant-influenced West (but not so much in other parts of the world) is to suppose that these are men and women who are not necessarily Scripture-based in their faith - and therefore somehow ‘not Christian enough’.

  • 27 Mar 2013
    Coming to terms with the paradoxes of the Pope

    Like many people, I have spent some time in recent weeks caught up in the media-fest that has accompanied the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new Pope Francis.

  • 26 Mar 2013
    Evangelicalism reconsidered on 'Beyond Belief'

    Ekklesia's co-director Jonathan Bartley appeared on BBC Radio 4's 'Beyond Belief' programme on Monday 25 March 2013, discussing the history, nature and challenges of (and to) evangelicalism within Christianity.

  • 24 Mar 2013
    A different angle on current affairs: Ekklesia on the airwaves

    Ekklesia staff, associates and friends have been much in demand on the radio and television recently. Tomorrow (Sunday 24 March 2013), new associate Keith Hebden, an Anglican priest involved in social justice advocacy and the activist network Christianity Uncut, will be appearing on a range of local BBC radio stations across England (7am - 9am), making the case against the government's unpaid 'workfare' mandatory work placement programme.

  • 24 Mar 2013
    Workfare: Hurting the poor, helping the rich

    By requiring people to work without pay, the government's workfare schemes are pushing more and more people into poverty and unemployment, says Ekklesia associate Symon Hill. Christian organisations need to campaign against workfare, not participate in it, he argues.

  • 23 Mar 2013
    The media, the temple, and learning to turn the tables

    As politicians fret about the Leveson inquiry and struggle to square the circle of defending a media free from state interference that some argue needs to be better protected by the state from unethical corporate politicking and domination, there is great value in us returning to examine Jesus’ engagement with the a major medium of communication in his day: the Temple. Keith Hebden argues that across the chasm of the centuries, lessons in confronting power and 'domination systems' are there to be learned if we pay proper attention.

  • 23 Mar 2013
    World churches' chief welcomes new Archbishop of Canterbury

    The WCC General Secretary joined church and civic leaders as Archbishop Justin Welby was installed in his new ministry at Canterbury Cathedral.

  • 22 Mar 2013
    Do we have a new pope for a reformed church?

    We have begun to learn something of the varied influences that have shaped the new pontiff. What is required from the new pope today, says Dr Harry Hagopian, is more than an evocative name and a humble posture. Catholicism also needs someone who can bringing a cleansing brush to bear on tired structures, on the abuse scandal, and on the existential, ecclesial, structural, ecumenical and global challenges that Christians face in a fast-changing world. It is a monumental task, but which many hope the first Jesuit pontiff can begin and lead.

  • 22 Mar 2013
    New Archbishop of Canterbury’s ministry inaugurated

    The “inauguration of the ministry of the one hundred and fifth Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Portal Welby” (as the order of service described it) was a powerful and sometimes moving act of worship.