Religion
Why Prof Dawkins has it wrong
No sooner does Baroness Warsi denounce militant secularists who try to marginalise Christianity than, bang on cue, up surfaces Richard Dawkins with a survey commissioned by his Foundation for Reason… Continue reading
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Romney’s continuing religious troubles
Some well-informed people — Rupert Murdoch among them — have suggested that Mitt Romney could exploit Obama’s increasingly fractious relationship with America’s Catholics to win the presidential elections in November.… Continue reading
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Sentamu for Canterbury!
John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, is our cover boy this week. It’s the Church of England Synod next week, word is that Rowan Williams will be standing down soon,… Continue reading
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The benefits of religion flow from belief
Most Spectator readers have probably heard by now of Alain de Botton’s latest, Religion for Atheists, in which he argues that the benefits of religion are too great to be… Continue reading
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The evil being perpetrated against Christians in Nigeria
The religious cleansing against Christians is intensifying in Nigeria, where Christians have been told they have until Friday to leave the country or face attacks by Islamic extremists. As I… Continue reading
26 CommentsThe FCO must do more to stem the bloodshed
The Foreign Office has kindly responded to my Telegraph piece from last week, which suggested that they could do more to confront the religious cleansing sweeping the Middle East. In… Continue reading
30 CommentsWe can’t ignore the persecution of Christians in the Middle East
William Hague has transformed the Foreign Office in his 18 months in charge. He inherited a system hardwired with the dynsfunctionality of the Labour years, and it’s almost fixed. But… Continue reading
65 CommentsCameron’s missing the point: Christian values require Christianity
The Prime Minister does God. At least, that’s the gist of his first major speech on religion. Actually, the interesting thing is that a Tory Prime Minister feels that he… Continue reading
75 CommentsWe cannot forget the riots, nor ignore their causes
If I’d said that an MP had accused the Church of England of being too obsessed with gay marriage and women priests — and not worried enough about how God… Continue reading
31 CommentsThe Cult of Jobs
The immediate beatification of Steve Jobs, the visionary Apple chief who has been killed by pancreatic cancer aged 56, fulfills all the criteria for mass delusion and is evidence of… Continue reading
13 CommentsMitchell rejects allegation that UK aid is going to Islamists
Yesterday, Andrew Mitchell was the toast of the broadcasters. They have turned on him to an extent today. The news that portions of the £52.25 million given in emergency aid… Continue reading
49 CommentsA fierce debate on a religious matter
The Spectator hosted a debate at the Royal Geographic Society yesterday evening with a rather meaty motion: “Secularism is a greater threat to Christianity than Islam”. We have two reviews… Continue reading
22 CommentsCould Warsi’s next job be High Commissioner to Pakistan?
Sayeeda Warsi’s upbraiding of Pakistan for not living up to Jinnah’s ideals is another sign of how the government believes Baroness Warsi to be uniquely able to speak to Britain’s… Continue reading
33 CommentsAncient hatreds mask Stormont’s current challenge
Ignore the antediluvian hatreds for a moment. As Anne Dawson says, the recent violence in East Belfast was largely inspired by current economic distress. Northern Ireland’s economy is a serious… Continue reading
9 CommentsWhy Belfast is ablaze
I live three miles away from where the rioting was happening in East Belfast last night, and heard the helicopters whirring overhead. It was the kind of sound that anyone… Continue reading
41 CommentsThe turbulent priest
“Nowadays politicians want to talk about moral issues, and bishops want to talk politics,” said Sir Humphrey. This week’s New Statesman has been guest edited by the Archbishop of Canterbury.… Continue reading
77 CommentsConservative support to collapse at 6pm
This evening, an event will occur that will make all the controversies and scandals of the last week seem somewhat irrelevant — at least according to American evangelical Harold Camping.… Continue reading
30 CommentsThe End of the World is Nigh
The Rapture is almost upon us. According to Harold Camping, the 89 year-old Family Radio network in Florida. The righteous, he has calculated, will ascend to heaven at 6pm EST… Continue reading
7 CommentsAgainst vulgarity
Where once the British set out for new fields to conquer, they now set out for new cultural nadirs to reach. And it must be admitted that, in the latter… Continue reading
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