Mark Woods

• Irish police are investigating Stephen Fry for blasphemy over 'God is a maniac' comments

  Irish police have launched an investigation into whether Stephen Fry broke Ireland's blasphemy law when he described God as 'capricious, mean-minded and stupid' in a 2015 TV interview.

• John Calvin on the cross of Christ: 6 quotes from the great Reformer

  Much of Calvin's writing wasn't sharp-edged controversy at all, but deeply insightful commentary on Gospel truths.

• Orthodox bishop calls on Turkey's President Erdogan to convert – with Vladimir Putin as his godfather

  A Greek Orthodox bishop has called on Turkey's President Erdogan to repent and convert to Orthodoxy, with Russia's President Vladimir Putin as his godfather.

• Pakistan hospital forces Christian staff to attend Quran readings

  Staff at a hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, have gone on strike after a Christian member of staff was slapped after refusing to attend a morning reading of the Quran.

• Why God's sovereignty does not make him responsible for tragedy

  Things happen to us that we don't understand and can't control. We look for someone to blame. If it's God, or the gods, it's somehow more bearable.

• Could Zacchaeus count? What his story tells us about the arithmetic of gratitude

  There's a fascinating story in Luke 19 which has all the elements needed to make it a great children's Sunday school lesson.

• Right-wing 'anti-intellectual bigotry' puts scholarly study of Bible at risk, warns professor

  A biblical studies teacher at a prestigious US university has warned teachers in his field are still subject to charges of 'treason and heresy' even in the 21st century.

• Mark Driscoll's former elders deny his account of how Mars Hill folded

  Former elders at Mark Driscoll's Mars Hill Church in Seattle have contradicted his account of the events that led to his acrimonious departure and the church's closure.

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  Buried St Edmund: How this time archaeologists are hoping to find a king under a tennis court

  Town councillors have given their backing for an excavation that could uncover the bones of one of England's early kings and martyrs, slain by his enemies centuries ago.

• First CofE vicar to marry same-sex partner has resigned

  Andrew Foreshew-Cain, the first Church of England vicar to enter into a same-sex marriage, is resigning as a parish priest today.

• Attack at Hillsong church leaves security guard unconscious, worshippers injured

  Young worshippers at a Hillsong church have been injured and a security guard knocked out after a brawl outside one of the church's Sydney campuses.

• Challenge to CofE as GAFCON Anglicans appoint 'missionary bishop'

  The conservative Global Anglican Futures Conference – GAFCON – is to appoint a 'missionary bishop' in the UK, bypassing Anglican Churches in England and Scotland.