A Christian street preacher was today found guilty of using “threatening” language by quoting the Bible when speaking about homosexuality on the streets of Taunton in June last year. Former paratrooper Mike Overd was convicted under section 5 of the Public Order Act, which concerns causing harassment, alarm or distress by using threatening, abusive or […]
A new poll in Northern Ireland has revealed overwhelming support for the right to freedom of expression, ahead of the court case against Ashers Baking Company later this week. The ComRes survey showed that 90 per cent of voters say equality laws “should be used to protect people from discrimination and not to force people to say […]
An incoming Labour government would appoint a Global Envoy for Religious Freedom, says Douglas Alexander. You don’t need to be a practising Christian to understand the enduring power of the Christmas story. The idea that hope emerges in unexpected places, amongst powerless people, is what gives the Nativity narrative its magical quality. Yet as Mary […]
Outgoing artillery shook St Elias church as the priest reached the end of the Lord’s Prayer. The small congregation kept their eyes on the pulpit, kneeling when required and trying to ignore the regular thuds that rattled the stained glass windows above them. Home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, the […]
British society must not shy away from its own beliefs or traditions such as saying “Happy Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays”, former Cabinet Minister Liam Fox has said. In an online video message Dr Fox said Christmas is “a time of hope and renewal, a central part of our religious belief”. He explained that was why […]
Thousands of copies of the Bible are to be taken into the Islamic Republic of Iran over the next three years. The move follows a new translation of the Bible into Farsi, a process which has taken two decades. Despite facing persecution, the Christian community in Iran is thought to be the fastest growing in the […]
A field worker with persecution watchdog group Open Doors helping refugees in Iraq has spoken out about the “unbelievable” suffering going on in the country, which is under attack by the Islamic State terrorist group, which is better known as ISIS. “The suffering we see is unbelievable and it makes me cry every time I […]
As violent persecution against Christians around the world intensifies, Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, in a recent op-ed bluntly asks, “Why is the world silent while Christians are being slaughtered in the Middle East and Africa?” “In Europe and in the United States, we have witnessed demonstrations over the tragic deaths […]
This week, as Jews celebrate the Passover holiday, they are commemorating the Bible’s Exodus story describing a series of plagues inflicted on ancient Egypt that freed the Israelites, allowing them to make their way to the Holy Land. But over the past century, another exodus, driven by a plague of persecution, has swept across the […]
The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby told the Guardian this week “there is a certain toxicity about the brand” of Christianity. It is a concern most keenly felt among evangelical Christians. One senior source at the Evangelical Alliance, an umbrella organisation representing about a million British Christians, says part of their job is to “detoxify the brand.” […]