News

Can Pope Francis do anything to help Egypt's Christians?
At the World Conference on Peace he is attending at al-Azhar univerisity in Cairo, the Pope will be among friends. And as someone who has shown himself unafraid to speak out on difficult issues close to his heart, he will certainly raise the issue of escalating religious persecution of Christians.

It's tempting to bulldoze a few cathedrals, but it's a bad idea
Here are three reasons we should be fighting to keep cathedrals open and thriving.

Is Marvel's new Avengers film secretly being filmed at Durham Cathedral?
Speculation has spread on social media that Marvel's next Avengers movie is being secretly filmed at England's historic Durham Cathedral.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 review: an atheist's God from beyond the stars
In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the villain is a million-year-old deity who created himself and the world around him. Martin Saunders gives it four stars ****

What did Jesus mean when he said 'I am the vine'?
In John's account of his long address to his disciples before his betrayal and crucifixion, Jesus describes himself as the 'true vine'.
Baptist leader Paige Patterson apologises for 'racist' rap photo
The president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has issued a lengthy apology after a photograph of senior staff dubbed 'racist' by critics was posted online.

Five inspiring TED talks you should watch this weekend
After the huge success of the Pope's TED talk, here are five more to inspire you.
Guildford Cathedral will not close, church officials insist
Officials at Guildford Cathedral are insisting the beleagured building will remain open in spite of crippling financial difficulties.

Royal stamp of approval for Scripture Union as Prince Edward opens its new headquarters
Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex has officially opened a new headquarters for Scripture Union, a Christian children's charity seeking new ways to reach out to the young and unchurched.

TV anchor astonished by Egyptian Christian's forgiveness for husband's killers
The forgiveness shown by a Coptic Christian woman to her husband's killers has rendered an Egyptian TV host speechless.
Trump says 'major, major' conflict with North Korea possible, but seeks diplomatic solution
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday a major conflict with North Korea is possible in the standoff over its nuclear and missile programmes, but he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the dispute.

'I am a bishop.' Lesbian Methodist bishop defiant in the wake of challenge to her election
A lesbian bishop in the United Methodist Church asserted her calling to the ministry after a council hearing to determined whether her election last summer was valid.

'He gives wisdom to the wise': 11 Bible verses about leadership
Christians often implore each other to 'pray for our leaders', but what is good leadership? The Bible doesn't feature democracies or political elections, but it has plenty of leaders: pharoahs, kings and emperors to name a few. Scripture has much wisdom and warning for such figures. Here are 11 Bible verses about leadership.

It's official: Christians don't respond to persecution with violence
Christians around the world respond to persecution with largely non-violent 'survival strategies' that require a lot of 'creativity, determination and courage,' according to a new report.

The 'world's worst humanitarian crisis' is not Syria or Iraq. Why do we barely hear about it?
Despite the vast numbers of people teetering on the brink of starvation, Yemen has barely made an impression on electoral politics in the UK or US. British Aid agencies are fighting to get attention for the crisis, though. Christian NGO Tearfund has described Yemen as the 'world's worst humanitarian crisis'.

In this square where heretics were sentenced to death by fire, the Bible is read out loud to mark the Reformation
Two hundred people met in Spain in a public reading of the Bible to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.