Joseph Hartropp

• 'A simple Christian': How a faithful Queen inspires in the age of Trump

  'There are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise they are quite important things.' The Queen, and the TV show about her life, show us what it means to truly lead.

• Tim Farron and the gay sex question: Is there hope for Christians in politics?

  Tim Farron had (probably) just one New Year Resolution for 2018: 'Please God, no more public statements about gay sex'. Alas, January is full of disappointment.

• Is the 'Twelve Days of Christmas' a secret Christian code?

  The children's tune 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' is known and loved by many. But is it secretly a theologically charged Catholic code?

• Epiphany: Why the journey of the Magi is all about mission

  This Sunday will mark the Christian feast of Epiphany, a world-wide Church celebration that in the west particularly recalls the storyof the Magi who visited the infant Christ. Though easily imagined as a familiar part of the Christmas story, the wise men are more radical than we think: their story is all about mission.

• Social media faces children with a 'mental health crisis'. Here are 3 ways the Church offers hope

  New research has urged 'digital literacy' for children's education in the UK, as fears grow about the damaging effects of social media on young people's well-being. The threat is profound, but the Church can lead the way – for both young people and adults – in modelling a more human way to live.

• Marvel's The Punisher review: What a gun-wielding maniac teaches us about God

  The Punisher – the latest Marvel Comics adaptation from Netflix – features not fluffy heroics but a dark and bloody affair driven by revenge and a skewed sense of justice. Its anti-hero lead isn't an idol to aspire to – but he does have much to teach us about God, guilt and how (not) to put the world to rights.

• Meet the Nativity review: The viral Christmas gift that keeps on giving

  This festive season has seen an innovative, profound and highly successful new short film series hit the internet. Not another commercial Christmas ad, but a creative, deeply Christian but mercifully un-preachy exploration of the reason for the season. Meet the Nativity really is Christmas come early.

• CMF praises 'climb-down' allowing UK medics religious exemption from contraception prescription

  UK medical professionals who work in sexual health will now be free to 'conscientiously object' on religious or moral grounds to prescribing contraception, including the morning-after-pill, to patients. The move comes after the Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF) publicly lobbied for the exemption and warned of legal action.

• Pope Francis wants to change the Lord's Prayer – but has he got his Greek wrong?

  Pope Francis has encouraged Catholics to make a change to the Lord's Prayer, saying that the current form wrongly implies that God can lead humankind 'into temptation'. But looking at the original Greek prayer, is he right?

• Not the Virgin Birth: Why Christians get confused about the 'Immaculate Conception' of Mary

  Today is the feast of the Immaculate Conception in the Catholic Church. It's a notable occasion not only as a marker of Marian theology, but also because the 'immaculate conception' is still confused on a regular basis with something similar but crucially different – the virgin birth of Christ.

• Gospel fiction, ungodly truth? Why Christians should recover the art of storytelling

  Christians should love stories. After all, the Bible – the 'greatest story ever told' – is full of them. But much 'Christian' fiction today can be poor. Is there hope for the imaginative enterprise?

• #GodWithUs: CofE gets creatively evangelical with new Christmas campaign

  The Church of England has launched #GodWithUs, its Advent and Christmas campaign 'aimed at encouraging millions to experience the love of God' this festive season.