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In the News

  • TGC: Scandalized by the Substitute: A Response to Young and Gungor by Owen Strachan
    March 18th, 2017

    The doctrine of atonement for sin is—or at least has been—at the center of Christian faith and practice since Jesus's earthly ministry. But in recent days, various voices have raised objections to the cross. Musician Michael Gungor called the atonement "evil" and "horrific" on Twitter, decrying a God who would mandate blood sacrifice for sin. William Paul Young, author of the 20-million-copy-selling The Shack, concurs. In his new Lies We Believe About God, Young says of Christ's death:

    Who originated the Cross?... If God did, then we worship a cosmic abuser, who in Divine Wisdom created a means to torture human beings in the most painful and abhorrent manner. Frankly, it is often this very cruel and monstrous god that the atheist refuses to acknowledge or grant credibility in any sense. And rightly so. Better no god at all, than this one.

    Don't miss this: The most popular Christian writer in our time labels the biblical God a "cosmic abuser." Ancient false teaching returns.

    Read more.

  • Telegraph: Easter becoming a 'second Christmas' as families buy crackers for their Sunday lunch
    March 17th, 2017

    It was once celebrated with an egg hunt in the garden and a simple Sunday roast.

    But now Easter is becoming a "second Christmas", experts say, as supermarkets have started selling Easter crackers as part of a new, expanded range of themed decorations and gifts.

    According to home gurus at Good Housekeeping magazine, house proud families' Easter efforts are getting bigger and better than in years gone by.

    Read more. 

  • GOV UK: Indecent images of children: guidance for young people
    March 17th, 2017

    This guidance aims to help young people understand the law on making or sharing indecent images of children.

    Read more. 

  • Premier: Students hit out at chaplaincy pro-life posters
    March 16th, 2017

    Several students union staff are calling for pro-life posters they say are "harmful" to be taken down from a Catholic university chaplaincy building in Scotland.

    They have joined nearly 300 hundred people in signing an open letter urging the chaplaincy office to remove the images which support a Lent campaign by 40 Days for Life.

    The letter said: "While we understand the Church’s stance on reproductive issues, we feel that it is deeply inappropriate to display posters encouraging people to take action outside maternity clinics."

    Encouraging people to fast and pray for an end to abortion, the 40 Days for Life campaign is also holding vigils outside Aberdeen Maternity Hospital.

    Read more.

  • Christian Today: Bill To Decriminalise Abortions Passes First Stage
    March 16th, 2017

    A bill to decriminalise abortions fully has passed its first stage in the House of Commons.

    Terminations are still technically a criminal offence in the UK but the move by Labour MP Diana Johnson would remove any legal restrictions.

    Her ten-minute rule bill, typically passed on the nod, faced a challenge in the Commons and unusually had to be voted through before it passes to the next stage.

    Read more. 

  • Premier: Christian MP calls for change amid 'unacceptable' suicide rates
    March 16th, 2017

    A Christian MP's calling for widespread change, amid suicide rates that have been deemed "unacceptable".

    Andrew Selous spoke after the Health Select Committee of MPs, which he's a part of, found there were 4,800 recorded suicides in England in 2015 - though, the group said there were probably significantly more in reality.

    The Committee said around a third of those had seen a GP before taking their own life, but they weren't referred to a mental health specialist.

    Read more. 

  • BHA: New stats reveal: only legalising humanist marriages will give same-sex couples a meaningful choice of type of marriage ceremony
    March 16th, 2017

    The Office of National Statistics has published new statistics on the number of marriages, both same- and opposite-sex, which occurred in England and Wales in 2014, the first year that same-sex marriages were legally recognised. The statistics have revealed that just 23 couples out of the 4,850 who had same-sex marriages, or just 0.47%, opted to have religious same-sex marriages. The British Humanist Association (BHA), which performs a very high number of same-sex wedding ceremonies and has been doing so for over five decades, has responded by saying that the Government should recognise that only by extending legal recognition to humanist ceremonies will same-sex couples be offered a meaningful choice of type of marriage.

    Read more. 

  • Christian Today: Street preaching: why it's vital to protect it (even if you really hate it) by Ed MacKenzie
    March 16th, 2017

    I wonder what your reaction is when you pass a street preacher. Shy away? Stop and listen? Sidle over for a discussion? Explain to your friends that this isn't 'your kind of Christianity'?

    Some have been influenced by the response of Rob Bell, one-time evangelical megastar, who criticised street preaching in his Nooma video Bullhorn Guy. Bell contended that such an approach was more likely to put people off the gospel than win them to it, and suggested that Christianity was about loving the neighbour rather than preaching at them.

    Just last week, in response to the arrest of two street preachers in Bristol, the Archdeacon of Oxford took an even more critical stance. Citing the risk of stirring up religious hatred, Ven Martin Gorick called for street preaching to be outlawed.

    Read more. 

  • Oak Hill College: Giving thanks to God for Mike Ovey
    March 16th, 2017

    A thanksgiving service for the life and ministry of Mike Ovey took place on Monday afternoon, 13 March, at All Souls, Langham Place, in London.

    A packed church of about 800 people joined Mike’s family, together with friends, colleagues, Oak Hill students and alumni, to pay tribute to Mike's exceptional gifts, which he offered in the service of the people of God, and to thank God for his life as a teacher, educator, and leader.

    Read more. 

  • Christian Medical Fellowship: Lord Shinkwin's Abortion (Disability Equality) Bill by Rachel Owusu-Ankomah
    March 16th, 2017

    In May 2016, Lord Shinkwin, brought his Abortion (Disability Equality) Bill to the House of Lords.

    Lord Shinkwin, who himself has osteogenesis imperfecta, has been a life peer since 2015 and prior to this spent a number of years in the voluntary sector, working for charities such as RNID, Cancer Research UK and the Royal British legion.

    His private member’s bill seeks the provision of equality within the 1967 Abortion Act (and its subsequent amendment by the 1990 Human Embryology and Fertilisation Act), by changing the law to ensure that disability can no longer be given as a reason for termination at any gestation.

    Read more.