Try to imagine a world in which only things acceptable to pure reason are deemed legitimate, suggests Giles Fraser. It would be to imagine the most desperately impoverished cultural and emotional (let alone spiritual) desert.

Often Christians behave as if their central convictions about God has little practical bearing on the world and its problems, says Simon Barrow. On the contrary, being engaged by the Trinitarian mystery of God is central to facing up to the world's lesions with realism and hope.

Churches could have a vital role to play in rejuvenating democracy, says Jonathan Bartley. But it needs to be through a faith-engagement with politics based on openness and change.

Few words are bandied about with such casual abandon as “liberal”, says Giles Fraser. It can stand for the liberality and generosity vital to any outlook, but it can also mean an exulting of individualism and a damaging denial of inherited wisdom.

Dismissing those who want to reform faith schools as 'useful idiots' for a 'secularist conspiracy' misrepresents the facts, feeds absolutism and undermines sensible debate, say Simon Barrow & Jonathan Bartley. It also shows how weak the anti-reform case really is.

The Church of England has at last set out what is means by a "Christian ethos" in schooling, says Jonathan Bartley. Its espoused values are very positive. So now is the time to end discrimination in schools run by the church but funded by the general taxpayer.

The furore about MP’s expenses has temporarily overshadowed all other political issues, says Simon Barrow. But it is perhaps better seen as a symptom of a much wider disconnect between governors and governed.

The Anglican Consultative Council has been meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, writes Savi Hensman. But when will Christians really learn the harsh lessons about how hatred and homophobia are inimical to the Gospel?

The grim situation in Sri Lanka shows the hazards of extreme ethnic nationalism, says Savi Hensman. In today’s world, many people – whether they regard themselves as atheists, agnostics or religious believers – in reality put their ‘nation’ first, often symbolised by a flag.

Some traditional loyalties bind us to dominant economic, political, social and religious systems, says Simon Barrow. The Gospel of Jesus turns such commitments upside down.

The 'freedom principle' is not some alien liberal implant into historic Christianity, says Giles Fraser. It is the essence of the Easter and Passover message.

You often get more preoccupation with finance in church meetings and more serious attention to God in political meetings, says Simon Barrow. At least in terms of being sanguine about their respective claims. Sometimes.

Some Church of England leaders are complaining that others are stealing their opinion space in the media, says Jonathan Bartley. The answer is to act with integrity, rather than to demand attention.

The Cross of Christ is God's identification with the victim, says Giles Fraser. It abolishes the order of sin and death by abolishing sacrifice, not sanctifying it.

Theologian Janet Soskice has written a fascinating book about the discovery of one of the most ancient Gospel manuscripts. It reminds us that to understand the search for meaning in the present we have to value the past properly, says Simon Barrow.