Joseph Hartropp

• Government 'still considering' crackdown on addictive gambling machines, Chancellor confirms

  The UK's chancellor Phillip Hammond has confirmed government plans to crack down on controversial gambling machines that can see customers losing £18,000 in one hour. Hammond signaled the move to the Bishop of St Albans, who has led the Church of England's campaign for a review of the machines.

• Modern life is killing creativity – and the Church has to resist

  Modern Brits are letting their creativity die, according to a recent study. We're more used to taking than making - and it's a crisis that's infecting the Church as well.

• 'God does not love us without liking us': 9 quotes from Christian philosopher Dallas Willard

  On this day in 1935 Dallas Willard was born in Buffalo, Missouri. He went on to become a leading American philosopher and one of the defining spiritual writers of contemporary Christianity.

• Pakistan: Christian boy beaten to death in his classroom

  A Christian Pakistani teenager was beaten to death by his Muslim classmates on his fourth day at his new school in the Vehari District of Punjab, Pakistan.

• Vanuatu farmer trained by Christian charity among world's top 50 cocoa makers

  Cocoa beans produced by a farmer on the Pacific island of Vanuatu have been named among the world's top 50, and nominated for an International Cocoa award. The farmer was trained through an economic development programme by the Christian international development charity World Vision.

• Lawyers file Supreme Court brief for Colorado Christian who refused to bake same-sex wedding cake

  Lawyers representing a Colorado cake artist who refused to bake a cake celebrating a same-sex wedding filed an opening brief with the US Supreme Court yesterday, defending the baker's right not to create artistic expression that violates his conscience.

• Evangelical about the environment: 3 reasons Christians should prioritise creation care

  Today is the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation in the Catholic and Orthodox churches. But some are unconvinced that Christians should be bothered about the environment. What does Scripture say?

• Catholic bishop apologises and priest resigns after Hindu deity Ganesh is welcomed in church

  A Catholic bishop in Spain has apologised after a priest hosted the parading of an image of Hindu deity Ganesh in his cathedral in Ceuta, a Spanish city in North Africa. The service saw Hindus joining Catholics as Marian hymns were sung in the direction of the revered elephant-headed icon.

• What the Church can learn from Marvel's The Defenders

  This month saw the release of the hotly anticipated Marvel's The Defenders, the Netflix superhero team-up event that's been years in the making. The final product is something of a disappointment, though in certain moments it shines. With calling, conflict and unity at its heart, this comic-book crossover may even have a lot to teach the contemporary church.

• Pope Francis to world leaders: 'listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor'

  Pope Francis has called for world leaders to 'listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor', ahead of tomorrow's World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which will feature a joint statement with Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Bartholomew I.

• US Episcopal Church head appeals for Hurricane Harvey relief effort

  The Rev Michael Curry, the presiding Bishop and Primate of the US Episcopal Church has appealed for support for the relief efforts currently underway in Houston, Texas following the unprecedented destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey.

• Christians in North Korea face 'systematic, widespread, and gross human rights violations', says US state department

  A damning report by the US state department has condemned North Korea's record on religious freedom, accusing the country of 'systematic, widespread, and gross human rights violations'.