News

Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion to be adapted for stage
Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion is being adapted for stage in a show billed as a cross 'between an atheist support group and watching a great stand up'.

Praying through Lent: Just say it to God
Prayer for some people is as easy as breathing. Others find it much harder â what's it all about? How should we do it, what should we say, what happens if it doesn't work â and what does 'work' mean, anyway?

UN aid workers carried out 60,000 rapes in a decade
UN staff have carried out thousands of rapes all around the world, a former official claimed on Tuesday.

John Wesley: Flawed prophet and 'father of Methodism' whose life was filled with the Holy Spirit
We are dealing with a prophet, a great man of God, and an astonishing character whose life was filled with the Holy Spirit.

'An eye for an eye': Justice and mercy in the Old Testament
In the four weeks between the New Year for Trees and the carnival festival of Purim, the Bible lays out the ways in which the Jewish people can cope with each other when strife abounds.

Israeli police recommend indicting Benjamin Netanyahu over corruption claims
The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year premiership has been threatened by corruption allegations after Israel's police recommended that he be indicted on charges of bribery and breach of trust.

Christian magistrate sacked after criticising gay adoption sues Lord Chief Justice
A Christian magistrate who was sacked after giving media interviews expressing his views on gay adoption is suing the Lord Chief Justice for religious discrimination.

Muslim teens sentenced to studying Qur'an references to Virgin Mary after mocking Christianity
In a refreshing twist on blasphemy sentences from the Middle East, three Lebanese teenagers who were charged with insulting Christianity have been given the unusual sentence of studying the references to the Virgin Mary found in the Quran.
Vice President Mike Pence 'thinks Jesus tells him to say things' says former Trump staffer
The US Vice president Mike Pence 'thinks Jesus tells him to say things', according to a former official in the Donald Trump administration.

Vatican deal with China would undermine Catholic Church's 'moral power' say influential Catholics
A group of influential Catholics, most based in Hong Kong, have warned that if the Vatican presses ahead with an imminent agreement with the Chinese regime it risks plunging the Catholic Church into confusion and losing its moral high ground.

Russian Orthodox bishop accuses US of trying to influence Russian elections
The much-criticised 'Kremlin list' prepared by the US treasury department is designed to undermine the Russian electoral process, according to a senior Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) figure.

US pastor Andrew Brunson pens 'heartbreaking' note to wife requesting prayer from Turkish prison
The American evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson has sent a 'heartbreaking' message to his wife, conceding that he is struggling to cope and requesting prayer as he continues to languish in a Turkish jail some 16 months after his arrest.

The UK has more profound poverty than Uganda
In parts of the UK, there is a kind of poverty more profound than in Uganda.

The crime of spiritual abuse: One of the most dangerous ideas in decades
Criminalising spiritual abuse is one of the most dangerous and foolish ideas to have happened in the UK for decades, says David Robertson.

Oxfam prostitutes scandal: Charity Commission launches major inquiry
The Charity Commission has launched a statutory inquiry into Oxfam amid concerns that the scandal-hit charity may not have 'fully and frankly disclosed' all details about allegations of sexual assault and the use of prostitutes in Haiti in 2011.

Billy Graham responds to man who says childhood abuse made him turn his back on God as a Heavenly Father
World-renowned evangelist Billy Graham has responded to a distraught person who wrote to him saying that an abusive father changed his perspective about God as the Heavenly Father.