Church leaders are "angrily" criticising the Premier League in England for holding football matches on Easter Sunday, a prime Bank Holiday in the UK. Simon Barrow argues that a more imaginative response is needed.

We got suckered by Fichte’s freedom fantasy, says Giles Fraser. The credit crisis is a reminder that, however clever we think we are, we cannot escape the limitations of reality.

The targeting and scapegoating of vulnerable groups can undermine the very values which are supposedly being defended, says Savi Hensman. She also sets out the strong Christian case against such practices.

The recent ‘war of position’ on the economic crisis is more about the politics of appearance than the politics of change, says Simon Barrow. The real agenda cuts much deeper.

Given all the previous pronouncements about the BNP, why did the Archbishop of York and the Church of England refuse to answer the BNP when it asked what Jesus would do, asks Jonathan Bartley

It is understandable that some people feel sceptical about demonstrations in the wake of events like the G20 summit, says Simon Barrow. But mobilisation for change needs to be seen as part of a larger process of change, not as an act of disconnected idealism.

In a recent lecture given at the Royal Academy of Arts, reports Simon Barrow, the Archbishop of Canterbury explored aspects of how icons are examples of the way in which in which divine energy is present in material reality.

The idea of preparing for death makes sense, says Giles Fraser. In a society that fears dying it has taken a reality TV celebrity to remind us of what is truly important in negotiating mortality.

Some Christians are crying 'persecution' when conflicts over belief arise in public life, says Jonathan Bartley. The way to halt this juggernaut of paranoia is to bring a lot more mediatory light, and far less antagonistic heat to the situations involved.

The slums of West Africa and of Mumbai are a reminder that the world's horrors are immune to pieties and romanticism, says Giles Fraser. What is needed is compassionate action.

There are many people in Britain's faith communities who have not yet grasped the importance of taking action now on threats to civil liberties, says Savi Hensman. She would like to see that change.

Genuine faith – in God, in the good, in people and in the future of our planet – grows through freedom, depends upon freedom to keep it honest, and can contribute to the shared openness and strived-for equality that is an essential part of our free flourishing, argues Simon Barrow.

Evangelical Christians have been deeply immersed in the anti-gay problem, says Simon Barrow. But as they re-read the biblical message in the light of its living centre, Jesus Christ, they can be part of a historic change.

The Church of England's General Synod produces the headlines, says Giles Fraser. But this is not the true church. They are somewhere else, trying to make a real difference to the world.

Growing up does not always come with age, says Giles Fraser. Many people are little more than moral babies, well into their 30s and 40s. Real growing up is a moral business, concerned with over­coming infantile self-obsession.