You are viewing an archived copy of Christian Concern's website. Some features are disabled and pages may not display properly.
To view our current site, please visit christianconcern.com
Sinn Fein has renewed its commitment to actively campaign for same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.
Signing a pledge to work to legislate for marriage equality party members Gerry Kelly, Caral Ni Chuilin and Megan Fearon said there is a growing demand for a change in law.
We hear many voices in the church of those identifying as gay or same sex attracted, but the voices of those who want to change and have changed have fallen silent. This is the first in a series of stories of how people have, in various ways, moved away from same sex orientation and relationships. Each story is different and genuine; they are not intended to be prescriptive in terms of saying what should happen, but simply to allow personal experiences to be heard. Our first story is told by Luke from London. Do share it with friends and your church.
I can already hear the shocked gasps from some as they read this title. "Oh, can't we have a nicer tone in this debate?", some are thinking, as they cover their ears, desperately thinking happy thoughts and hoping the whole nasty issue will go away.
It has been said to me that just as Jesus was silent before his accusers, so that should be our example. Well, he was silent at key moments in his trial, but in his ministry there were plenty of times when he confronted and exposed the falsehood and hypocrisy of his opponents. And he did it publicly, not quietly in a corner. Peter and John courageously looked their accusers in the eye and told them that Jesus, whom they crucified, was risen, and was the only Saviour and Lord. Later, the apostle Paul was not afraid to confront those in Galatia who were following a false Gospel, and told of how "when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face". This year we are celebrating the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther who called out the corruption and heresy in the church leadership and teaching of his day.
At a robotics conference in 2015, I was surprised to hear a presenter argue that the sci-fi film Ex Machina was a "love story." Ex Machina is about a wealthy programmer who builds a robot woman and invites his employee to take the Turing Test—which tests whether he can tell the difference between a human and a machine. The robot woman is locked in a room and cannot leave voluntarily. Her "rescuer" only wants to help her because he is sexually attracted to her. Rather than being a "love story," Ex Machina is really about domestic violence and sexual objectification, though evidently not all people think that.
How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him. (1 Kings 18:21)
It is logically impossible to tolerate differences of opinion when it comes to the acceptable boundaries of tolerance.
Tomorrow, the General Synod of the Church of England will debate whether to take note of report GS2055, snappily titled "Marriage and Same Sex Relationships after the Shared Conversations".
It is the next step in a long process, as the Church of England has held structured conversations on human sexuality, which had the tautolagous title of "shared conversations".
What leads a young child to stand up in front of his class and tell his school friends that he agrees with the aims and objectives of the so-called Islamic State?
Matthew Price met one of the youngsters identified through the government's controversial Prevent programme as being at risk from radicalisation.
The boy is now 10 years old. He is small, with a round face and engaged eyes. You can tell he is intelligent because he asks questions - lots of them. It is that curiosity that got him into trouble in the first place.
This week, the Irish Government will appear before the UN Committee for the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women. The hearing takes place in Geneva and while it focuses on many areas of life affecting women such as equal pay, the issue of abortion is also on the table for discussion.
A children's retailer has been accused of being in "the stone age" for marketing princess costumes for girls, and doctors' outfits for boys.
The Early Learning Centre (ELC) has come under fire for a marketing mailout which showed two girls dressed up as "Belle and Cinderella" who are "all ready to go to the ball", whereas a little boy is dressed as Spider-Man. Another girl is dressed in a pink ballerina tutu, while "Danny the doctor" is "here to save the day".
A heartbroken mother has told of the harrowing moment her premature son was 'left to die' by doctors because he was born one week before the abortion limit.
Ashley Glass claims that when her son Dylan arrived at 23 weeks' gestation she was forced to watch as he fought in vain for breath without medical assistance.
At the time, in March 2014, hospitals were only obliged to intervene and revive babies born after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
A 65-year-old woman who wants to divorce her husband of nearly 40 years is staging an "extraordinarily unusual" Valentine's Day court fight.
Tini Owens has failed to persuade a family court judge to allow her to divorce husband, Hugh Owens, 78.
Judge Robin Tolson, who hears cases in Oxford, refused to grant Mrs Owens' divorce petition in a ruling made last year. Now she wants court of appeal judges to overturn that decision. Three appeal judges are analysing the case at a hearing in London.