Category - Christianity

Common sense, mercy and sacrifice

Keith Walton — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 10:02:27 +0100

Much religion is dripping in sacrificial language, says Keith Walton. The appeasement of the gods is a common theme in many traditions. But in the biblical tradition, love that does justice becomes the core of a new perspective, based on a different understanding of who God is.

Bishop Nazir-Ali in new ‘Christian nation’ and Islam row

staff writers — Thu, 29 May 2008 10:28:07 +0100

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, who earlier caused anger by suggesting some Muslim communities were ‘no go areas’ has created a fresh argument by claiming that the collapse of a ‘Christian nation’ has left Britain in a moral vacuum.

Christian Research data defended, but church decline continues

staff writers — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:20:54 +0100

The Christian Research organisation, whose latest data survey on the decline of UK church attendance has annoyed the Church of England, has defended its work against accusations of being misleading.

Are Christians facing discrimination?

Jonathan Bartley — Fri, 09 May 2008 00:42:43 +0100

Constant Christian claims of discrimination don't hold water, says Jonathan Bartley. They are used to excuse privilege, and evade the more demanding self-giving dynamic of the Gospel.

Church leader honoured for work against racism and apartheid

staff writers — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:22:55 +0100

The Rev Philip Potter, a former general secretary of the World Council of Churches, has been honoured by the South African government for his determined commitment to combatting racism and apartheid in the 1970s and 1980s.

Developing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Savi Hensman — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:20:55 +0100

Does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights represent a triumph of the Enlightenment over superstition? Or has it sidelined religion and sought to impose monolithic norms on diverse communities and cultures? Savi Hensman says the reality is more complex than these popular antitheses suggest.

Power to which people, exactly?

Simon Barrow — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:29:03 +0100

Britain counts itself as a mature democracy. But what really guarantees freedom and fairness, asks Simon Barrow, and how does the church relate to the will of the people in wider society?

The God elusion

Simon Barrow — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:11:34 +0000

The current media-propelled debates about God are mostly hopelessly out of touch with their own intense fallibility, says Simon Barrow. He tries to explain why God-talk will always be helpfully elusive if it is faithful to what it seeks to point to.

Accounting for the hope within

Simon Barrow — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:04:21 +0000

Ekklesia's friends and associates are a varied bunch - Anabaptist, Catholic, Evangelical, liberal, Protestant, radical and more. Here Theo Hobson tells it like it is for him.

Christianity needs a new public profile

Jonathan Bartley — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:53:52 +0000

The church is running out of justifications for the various anomalies it clings onto, and it is just a matter of time before they go completely, says Jonathan Bartley. We cannot proclaim the message of God's liberating future by clinging to the past.