Imagine living in a country governed by such authoritarian literalists that it was forbidden to say “God heals”, on the basis that, technically speaking, it isn’t true. Well, you don’t have to imagine. If you are reading this blog from within Britain, then you already live in that country. Last week, the unelected suits of the Advertising Standards Authority crossed the line from policing displays of cleavage in film posters and monitoring health claims in TV commercials to interfering in the realm of freedom of religion, banning a Christian group in Bath from expressing its belief that God’s power can heal sicknesses.
In the News
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February 6th, 2012
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February 6th, 2012The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review an Alliance Defense Fund case regarding opening public meetings with prayer. This American tradition originated with our Founding Fathers, and has been observed by every U.S. Congress ever since.
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February 6th, 2012It is a very modern custody battle. A gay man who donated sperm to his lesbian ex-wife is demanding overnight and holiday contact with her two-year-old son.
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February 6th, 2012Returning from a General Synod meeting in York with a story to write, I once typed "The Church of England yesterday decided", and fell immediately into a profound sleep over my laptop. I was entirely sober at the time. It's just the effect that synod has; and I'm beginning to wonder whether this isn't part of its real purpose.
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February 6th, 2012A police station has been hit by an explosion and attacked by gunmen in the flashpoint northern Nigerian city of Kano, injuring an officer.
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February 6th, 2012A federal judge on Monday upheld the Texas law requiring women to have a sonogram before having an abortion, saying an appeals court had forced him to declare the law constitutional.
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February 5th, 2012Calls to scrap curbs on smacking have overwhelming public support – and parents believe such a move would help prevent a repeat of last summer’s riots. It would also lead to a general improvement in behaviour by young people. But one in three parents is scared to smack for fear of getting into trouble with the authorities. These are the findings of a Mail on Sunday survey conducted after our report last week on comments by David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham, North London, where the riots began.
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February 5th, 2012You probably saw last week the terrible story of the Shafias. Mohammad Shafia was an Afghani, who -- after making money in property in Dubai -- emigrated to Canada.
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February 5th, 2012Here is an amazing good news story I first read about on Aljazeera which has had wide coverage outside the UK but has been largely ignored by the BBC and most British newspapers.
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February 4th, 2012A Christian organisation in Bath has been asked to take down claims stating that God can heal certain illnesses after a complaint from an "unofficial adviser to the media".