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In the News

  • Aid to the Church in Need: 'Convert or we will shoot you as well'
    January 9th, 2017

    In an interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, widow Jandark Behnam Mansour Nassi, 55, and her son, 16-year-old Ismail, describe their experiences at the hands of Daesh extremists.

    Ismail, who the militants jailed, recounts seeing gun-wielding Jihadi children kill orange-clad Daesh prisoners and how he witnessed a woman bound hand and foot being stoned to death. The teenager goes on to describe how Daesh threatened to kill him if he refused to convert to Islam. He recalls the pain of later converting to Islam against his will and how he went to a Daesh "correctional camp" where the Jihadi militants tried to force him to marry in spite of him being only 15 at the time.

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  • Gatestone Institute: The Islamization of Britain in 2016
    January 9th, 2017

    Sharia courts administering Islamic justice in Britain are run by clerics who believe some offenders should have their hands chopped off, according to Muslim scholar Elham Manea. She described the prevailing attitude as "totalitarian" and as more backward than some parts of Pakistan.

    Teaching children fundamental British values is an act of "cultural supremacism," according to the National Union of Teachers, which wants to replace the concept with one that includes "international rights."

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  • Steadfast Reflections: 'Will you let God disagree with you?'
    January 9th, 2017

    I’ve been trying to work all day, preparing sessions for a conference on the Fatherhood of God. It’s been tough to keep my mind on my work, however, because this is a topic with which I was thrilled to the depths by a man of God who, several days ago, was suddenly taken from us and into the presence of his Lord, Jesus Christ.

    The Revd. Dr. Michael J. Ovey was my principal at Oak Hill theological college, and even since I left college had continued to be a mentor and encourager and teacher and good friend.

    As I’ll say below, Mike’s death is a huge loss to so many people. But I need to say at the start that this reflection on him cannot capture the depth of grief, and loss, that his precious family are suffering. His wife and children are hurting, and I could never let it be heard that what the rest of us feel is comparable to that. Theirs is the pain that needs most comfort, and prayer.

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  • The Huffington Post: Dutch Minister of Health: if National screening program leads to disappearance of people with Down syndrome, society has to accept that
    January 9th, 2017

    The introduction of standard prenatal screening into public healthcare has lead to the (near) elimination of Down syndrome in some countries. In Iceland, for a number of years, hundred percent (100%) of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome were aborted. In Denmark this number is 98 percent. In 2017 the Netherlands will make NIPT (Non Invasive Prenatal Testing) available to all Dutch pregnant women. NIPT can detect a range of chromosomal and genetic variations in the unborn child simply by testing the blood of the mother. Last week members of the opposition party SGP asked the Dutch Minister of Health, Mrs. Schippers, if she planned to take any measures to prevent the Danish and Icelandic scenario from happening in the Netherlands. Mrs. Schippers answered: "If freedom of choice results in a situation that nearly no children with Down syndrome are being born, society should accept that". She said withholding information from parents about the health of their future children is‘undesirable’ and that participation in the National population screening program is an individual decision.

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  • Mail: Former Asda worker will be first British man to become PREGNANT
    January 9th, 2017

    The first British man to conceive a child is four months pregnant and proudly showing off his bump.

    Former Asda worker Hayden Cross, 20, decided to pause his gender reassignment process so he could give birth.

    He found a sperm donor on Facebook and became pregnant four months ago.

    Read more.

  • Scotsman: SNP urged to make sex education compulsory
    January 9th, 2017

    Nicola Sturgeon’s government is under growing pressure to make sex education compulsory in Catholic schools amid growing alarm about the impact that online pornography and “sexting” is having on children in Scotland. Campaigners and politicians are warning that children educated in faith schools are being left behind when it comes to combating the sexual harassment and “sextortion” threats posed by those abusing internet technology.

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  • Church Society: A tribute to Mike Ovey (1958-2017)
    January 8th, 2017

    Lee Gatiss looks at the life and work of Mike Ovey, former Principal of Oak Hill College, who died at the weekend.

    It was with great sadness that I learned of the sudden and unexpected death of Mike Ovey on Saturday evening. I was privileged to know Mike for about 20 years, and he was greatly respected as a member of the Church Society council and as Chairman of the Churchman editorial board. Personal tributes and testimonies to his impact on a generation of theological students and ministers have been springing up all over social media. He has gone to be with Christ, which is better by far, after a life spent fruitfully in his service.

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  • Irish Times: Citizens' Assembly leans towards change in Ireland's abortion laws
    January 8th, 2017


    A strong view in favour of repealing or amending the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution began to emerge at the Citizens’ Assembly on Sunday.

    In a closing session after two days of discussion on article 40.3.3, which bans abortion in the State in all but very limited circumstances, the assembly heard that opinion among the 99 citizen members is trending clearly against the status quo. 

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  • Herald Scotland: Christian right accused of whipping up 'trans panic'
    January 8th, 2017

    THEY say information is a hand grenade - if so one new title called 'Can I Tell You About Gender Diversity?' has just exploded in the middle of the UK's mounting Culture Wars.

    The book published for use in schools to explain transgender issues to children, parents and teachers, has caused what trans activists are now calling "a trans-panic". Critics, including former Conservative party chairman Lord Tebbit and a Daily Mail columnist have declared it "nonsense" or "damaging to children", and complained about its advising against the use of the words 'boys' and 'girls'. What is emerging is a debate that threatens to be almost as divisive as that over the repeal of Section 28. 

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  • Jubilee Centre: Gender – where next? by Christopher Townsend
    January 7th, 2017

    The issue of ‘gender identity’ has risen to prominence with remarkable speed in recent years and demands our attention. This paper begins with a brief survey of different understandings of gender, before examining, distinguishing and contrasting the medical condition gender dysphoria and aspects of transgender ideology. This sets the scene for biblical reflections on the body, sex and gender in the light of the searching questions posed by the transgender phenomenon. The paper concludes with reflections on two challenges which Christians face in a new and changing context of gender confusion.

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