Christian playgroup banned from library for singing about God

Jul 18, 2019 by

Christian playgroup banned from library for singing about God

by Heather Preston, Premier: A church-run playgroup has been banned from a local library following complaints from parents that their nursery rhymes mention God. Helpers from Noah’s Ark playgroup have met at Burgess Hill Library for the past 8 years, to sing songs based on bible stories. The group have now been asked to take their session’s elsewhere. Library officials made the decision to exclude the volunteers from ‘baby rhyme time’ at the venue, after families...

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Truro report launched to Ambassadors, FCO staff, NGO leaders and clergy

Jul 17, 2019 by

Truro report launched to Ambassadors, FCO staff, NGO leaders and clergy

by Chris Sugden and Vinay Samuel, CEN: The Truro Report on FCO support for persecuted Christians was launched to a packed Assembly Hall in Church House on Monday July 15. The launch was chaired and introduced by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Prime Minister’s special envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FORB). His own appointment had been suggested by Boris Johnson, when Foreign Secretary, and Theresa May. He apologized that Jeremy Hunt had had to go to Brussels to discuss the Iran...

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How the Israel Folau case is dividing Australia – and the Church

Jul 13, 2019 by

How the Israel Folau case is dividing Australia – and the Church

by Natasha Marsh, Catholic Herald: Not a day passes in Australia without hearing the latest in the saga of Israel Folau, the sporting superstar sacked by Rugby Australia (RA) on April 11 after he posted a biblical warning to “drunks, homosexuals, adulterers” and others on the social media site Instagram. In a drama that has stretched from his first transgression in 2017, when he publicly opposed same-sex marriage, right through to this year’s federal election, Australia has watched as “Izzy”...

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Australia needs to recognise conscience rights, not just religious rights

Jul 12, 2019 by

Australia needs to recognise conscience rights, not just religious rights

by David Van Gend, MercatorNet: Two problems with Scott Morrison’s proposed Religious Discrimination Bill. First, what does it mean for those who make a stand on conscientious, not religious, grounds? Why should our laws protect religious dissenters but not agnostic dissenters? Second, does it effectively address the actual threats facing religious people? These are not threats to the freedom to worship but the freedom to speak one’s truth in the public square (not so, Izzy?) or educate one’s...

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LGBT campaigner wins right to criticise LGBT

Jul 12, 2019 by

LGBT campaigner wins right to criticise LGBT

from Christian Concern: Christian Concern Communications Officer Rebekah Moffett comments on Peter Tatchell’s defence of Felix Ngole. Peter Tatchell, a well-known and prominent LGBT campaigner, has come out in support of student social worker Felix Ngole’s right to free speech. Christian beliefs Felix recently won his case against Sheffield University, after the university dismissed him from his social work course for his comments on Facebook stating that homosexuality is a sin. In a BBC radio...

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Christian doctor lost his job after refusing to identify a six-foot-tall bearded man as ‘madam’, tribunal hears

Jul 11, 2019 by

Christian doctor lost his job after refusing to identify a six-foot-tall bearded man as ‘madam’, tribunal hears

by Gabriella Swerling, Telegraph: A Christian doctor lost his job in a government department after he refused to refer to “a six-foot-tall bearded man” as ‘madam’, a tribunal heard. Dr David Mackereth, 56, claims he was sacked as a disability benefits assessor by the Department of Work and Pensions over his religious beliefs. The father-of-four alleges he was asked in a conversation with a line manager: “If you have a man six foot tall with a beard who says he wants to be addressed as ‘she’...

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