Religion
The Anglican priests charged with exorcising evil spirits
The Anglican priests charged with exorcising evil spirits
In defence of the Free Church of Scotland
Recent days have shown an upsurge of interest in a small Presbyterian church (the Free Church of Scotland, colloquially referred…
Cardinal Pell’s righteous fury at the Vatican’s theological direction
Cardinal Pell, a former head of Vatican finances, does not criticise Pope Francis directly in the piece he’s written for…
AA only admits the right sort of alcoholics
The support group groupies have issued another ban. They have attempted to slap an exclusion order on another long-standing member,…
The Archbishop of Canterbury has risen to the occasion
Archbishop Justin Welby has done a good job of relating the Queen’s virtues to her Christian faith. This is no…
Salman Rushdie overcame his fear
After Ayatollah Khomeini ordered Muslims to kill him for publishing The Satanic Verses in 1989, Julian Barnes gave Salman Rushdie…
An intense slab of religiosity: Nick Cave's Seven Psalms reviewed
Grade: B There has always been a seriousness and intelligence about Nick Cave quite at odds with that which usually…
Why the Bible still matters
If you look to our schools and universities, you will not see a serious engagement with the Bible as part…
How Putin weaponised the Russian Orthodox church
How Putin weaponised the Russian Orthodox church
Why the destruction of Ukraine’s churches matters
The destruction of Ukraine’s churches
Is the Virgin Mary being sidelined by Rome?
The Catholic church has always venerated Mary (‘Mother of God’) above other saints. But in recent years there has been…
Kirill, the Patriarch in league with Putin
The Patriarch in league with Putin
Dostovesky and Putin’s useful idiots
When I was 17 I heard the name Dostovesky, and was enthralled. Just the name felt so glamorously intellectual, so…
The churches must stay open
Hooray for Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who used the one day of the year when his pronouncements are amplified by the…
Our new era of Jewish-Muslim relations
Reactions to the recent passing of F.W. de Klerk transported me back to my childhood in South Africa. The horror…
How to cure what ails the NHS
Wrong cure Sir: In referring to the UK as the highest-spending European nation in healthcare proportionate to GDP (‘Hospital pass’,…
A brief history of the death of God
A few weeks after Friedrich Nietzsche bragged to an admirer that he had completed a ruthless attack on our Lord,…
Eddie Izzard is so bad I'm hoping he gets dismembered: Sky's The Lost Symbol reviewed
If it weren’t for this job I sometimes wonder whether I’d even bother watching TV at all. This mood strikes…
Profound and original and unashamedly religious: Midnight Mass reviewed
I was turned on to Midnight Mass by Ricky Gervais who raved about it in one of his social media…
The enduring power of Japan’s doomsday cults
The enduring power of Japan’s doomsday groups
God is everywhere, sometimes in strange guises, in Jonathan Franzen’s Crossroads
Twenty years ago The Corrections alerted a troubled world to the talents of Jonathan Franzen. Though cruel and funny and…
The Church Closers’ Charter must be torn up
The demise of the Church’s heritage is not inevitable
My literary heroes have led me astray
Gstaad Good manners aside, what I miss nowadays is a new, intelligent, finely acted movie. Never have I seen…
The fight for the future of the Church of England
The fight for the future of the Church of England
