October 4, 2011

Women bishops could help to humanise priesthood

by Jan Harris

As the full inclusion of women in the Church of England draws closer, Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said that this could help to ‘humanise’ the ordained ministry. Dr Rowan Williams has advised the Church to prepare for a culture change when the bar to women’s ordination as bishops is eventually removed. Before the […]



October 3, 2011

Prison separates 17,000 children from mothers

by Jan Harris

According to a report from the Howard League for Penal Reform, ‘Voice of the Child’, around 17,240 children in England and Wales were separated from their mothers in 2010, because the mothers were serving a prison sentence. This includes 11,000 children of non-violent offenders, who could have remained with their mothers if they served sentences […]



September 30, 2011

Rector bans Goths from posing for photos in graveyard

by Jan Harris

Twice a year Goths flock to the seaside town of Whitby in North Yorkshire, but the rector of St Mary’s Church has banned photography around the graves. It is believed that the rector found dozens of Goths sitting or lying on the graves and was concerned that this was disrespectful to the families of the […]



September 29, 2011

William Hague asks Iran to spare pastor’s life

by Jan Harris

Foreign secretary William Hague has added his voice to calls for Iran to spare the life of Youcef Nadarkhani, who has been sentenced to death for apostasy. Mr Nadarkhani, a member of the Protestant evangelical Church of Iran, was arrested in October 2009 after he defied rules requiring non-Muslim students to read the Quran in […]



September 27, 2011

BBC in AD/BC controversy

by Jan Harris

A report in the Mail on Sunday that the BBC has stopped using the terms BC and AD in case they offend non-Christians, has caused an almighty kerfuffle, with Boris Johnson the latest to wade into the fray. The Mail on Sunday reported that the BBC has replaced ‘Anno Domini’ (the year of Our Lord) […]



September 26, 2011

Dead Sea Scrolls now online

by Jan Harris

Parts of the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest known biblical texts, have been digitised and made available online, so that anyone in the world can view them. The 1,200 megapixel images show the 2,000-year-old scrolls in minute detail and scrolling over the image of the Great Isaiah Scroll generates an instant translation into English. […]



September 23, 2011

Majority opposed to gay marriage

by Jan Harris

Following last week’s revelation that the government plans to make the marriage of same-sex couples legal by 2015, new figures from the Office for National Statistics show that more than half of Britons believe this should not be allowed. The figures also show that two thirds of Britons are opposed to the adoption of children […]



September 22, 2011

Pope Benedict visits his homeland

by Jan Harris

Pope Benedict XVI today, who was born in Bavaria, today began a four day visit to his home country, with the aim of strengthening good relations between Germany and the Holy See. At the welcoming ceremony, which was held at Bellevue Castle in Berlin, the Pope said: “I have not come here primarily to pursue […]



September 21, 2011

Jewish news network launches today

by Jan Harris

A brand new 24-hour news network, Jewish News 1, is being launched in Israel today by Mediaset. The satellite channel will broadcast round-the-clock news from a Jewish perspective to Europe, North America and the Middle East, from studios in Tel Aviv, Brussels and Kyiv. Initially broadcasts will be in English but there are plans to […]



September 20, 2011

Australian play offends Hindus

by Jan Harris

A play featuring the Hindu god Ganesh has already caused offence to followers of Hinduism, even though it has not yet been staged. ‘Ganesh Versus the Third Reich’ will premiere at the Melbourne Festival on 29 September. Ganesh, who is revered as the remover of obstacles, is traditionally represented with the head of an elephant […]



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FEATURE: Hindu Texts

Explore the most ancient writings of India, with our complete collection of the most venerated of all Hindu literature, the Upanishads, Vedas, and Bhagavad Gita.