Archbishops' damp squibThe Church of England has issued its response to the Anglican Covenant first mooted by the Windsor Group and then put out by the Covenant Design Group (CDG). The General Synod gave the archbishops authority to respond on their behalf; and the fears of many Evangelicals have been realised. In effect the…
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Queen JezebelAn ancient seal discovered in 1964 and long thought to be connected to Queen Jezebel has had its pedigree enhanced following research at Utrecht University, in The Netherlands.Confusion over the letters engraved on the stone left some uncertainty, but closer scrutiny of the seal's engraving revealed markings characteristic of royal objects and confirming…
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Chinese new year - a Christian perspective The symbols, traditions and festivals of the Chinese New Year are deeply rooted in more than 5,000 years of human civilisation, culture, mores and beliefs. The Chinese New Year lasts for 15 days and most Chinese households will observe traditional celebrations and practices. Unfortunately, some of our…
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Doctors' warning on alcoholDoctors' leaders have called on the UK Government to raise the price of alcohol to curb the harm caused by excessive drinking. Writing in the British Medical Journal Ian Gilmore, President of the Royal College of Physicians, and Nick Sheron, a liver specialist at Southampton University Hospital, said attempts to change…
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A common word? Last October the issue of interfaith dialogue was thrust into the limelight by a letter from 138 Islamic scholars addressed to the pope and other church leaders. At a time of heightened international anxiety over Islamic terrorism, nuclear proliferation and the growth of militant religious fundamentalism, it seemed that moderate Islamic…
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New Year messagesNew Year has become an occasion for denominational church leaders to convey a message to their followers. However, sad to say, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ rarely ranks high on the scale of popular themes.This year in his New Year message the Archbishop of Canterbury talked about the importance of…
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Chinese police arrest pastorsChinese police arrested 270 pastors in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong in December for taking part in an 'illegal religious gathering'. About 120 of them were eventually released after paying 300 yuan (£20) as an 'interrogation tax'. It is assumed that this raid is part of a secret nationwide campaign…
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C of E vs RCRoman Catholics claim to have overtaken Anglicans as the UK's dominant religious group, with more people attending mass every Sunday than worship with the Church of England. A survey of 37,000 churches shows the number of people going to Sunday mass in England last year averaged 861,000, compared with 852,000…
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For the third year running, a group of church leaders and members met together in late October to consider the great truths of the Reformation. The conference is organised by Grace Mission and their pastor, American Reformed Baptist missionary Don Donell. Villa Carlos Paz, in the western province of Cordoba, is the scene of…
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ExpelledChristian movie producer raises storm of controversyAndrew Halloway reveals the story behind a new film, Expelled, from Hollywood producer John Sullivan. Launched in the USA this month, the film is a documentary type movie in the style of Fahrenheit 911and An inconvenient truth. It exposes the persecution experienced by scientists who don't accept evolution.…
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Blessing in south-east NigeriaThis November's Reformed Bible conferences in Lagos and Port Harcourt were the sixth annual conferences for church leaders and the only one in this area for churches espousing the doctrines of grace. The theme this year of 'Understanding the times' addressed biblical principles for the churches' worship, life and service. We…
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Peter Sanderson (1942-2007)Peter Sanderson was a true Yorkshireman and servant of God. He was born in Sheffield on 14 October 1942 and brought up in a non-Christian home, although sent to Sunday school. At 15 he started work and trained as a dental technician.He married Norma and they had a son and a daughter.…
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Missionary Spotlight The Ethiopian Embassy describes Ethiopia Riven by many deep and stupendous gorges; crowned by high and magnificent mountains; necklaced by a chain of lakes; watered by majestic rivers; studded with burning deserts and great escarpments that plunge down from its highlands; Ethiopia remains a land of incomparable beauty. But it is not…
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Child poverty1.4 million children live in poverty in the UK despite being brought up in working households, according to research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). 600,000 children have been lifted out of poverty in the past 10 years but the number living in poverty has remained constant. The institute wants the…
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Guest Column - Adjusting backRoger and Diana Pomeroy spent 38 years as missionaries in Pakistan and returned to Wales for retirement in May 2006. How are you adjusting back to life in the UK? This is the most frequently asked question we face. In fact this was the question the editor put to me…
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Baptist pastor's Christmas miracleConrad Pomeroy, a Baptist pastor in Scotland, had an eventful but ultimately blessed Christmas this year when his wife gave birth to their son three months early, in the bath on Christmas Day. Conrad is pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Dundee.Baby Joel Pomeroy was not breathing when he was born,…
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Smallest BibleResearchers in Israel say they have succeeded in putting a version of the Hebrew Bible on a gold covered silicon chip smaller than a pinhead. The 300,000 words in Hebrew were inscribed on the chip's surface at the Haifa Institute of Technology. A particle beam was aimed toward a point on the chip's…
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East Hull Presbyterian ChurchOn Saturday 8 December, East Hull Presbyterian Church marked the opening of its extended and refurbished premises with a service of thanksgiving led by Bill McCully. The preacher was Ian Hamilton, minister of Cambridge Presbyterian Church. Greetings were brought by representatives of the Liberated Reformed Churches in the Netherlands. Representatives of…
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God’s providence in Ethiopia The reformed evangelical communities in Ethiopia are growing by leaps and bounds. From 1977-1992 the Mengisto communist regime banned foreign missionaries and limited religious activities by stringent legislation. This was a blessing in disguise since it stimulated a maturing, indigenous spiritual movement. Prior to 1977 the Coptic Church enjoyed much…
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CommentMore than a dreamThe words 'I have a dream' were made famous by American civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King, in a speech in Washington DC in 1963. He ended the speech with the words: 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!' By any measure this was…
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Benazir aftermathThe past year has seen continuing violence against Christians as Pakistan struggled to contain Islamist extremism. The assassination of democracy campaigner Benazir Bhutto and the turmoil that has followed make it an even more dangerous place to be a Christian, says Release International.Release International's partners, Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan (SLMP), believe Islamist extremism…
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News in BriefHealing for body and soulBritons currently spend £130 million a year on complementary medicine and alternative health treatments such as aromatherapy, reflexology, massage, nutrition advice, shiatzu, reiki, naturopathy, yoga, homoeopathy, cranial osteopathy, posture advice and muscle toning techniques. This figure is expected to rise to £200 million in the next few years.…
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Pioneer work among the Afars The Red Sea Mission Team (RSMT) is an international and interdenominational mission agency that has been partnering evangelical churches in the UK since the early 1950s. Its aim is to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to Muslims, and to establish churches among them. The main areas…
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Another uniform caseThe UK High Court has been asked to rule on the case of a fourteen-year-old Sikh girl excluded from school for wearing a bangle. Sarika Singh has been excluded from Aberdare Girls' School in Mid Glamorgan since last November.The school dress code bans all jewellery and school managers believe their policy ensures…
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Global Anglican FuturesWith the Anglican Communion divided by those who have abandoned biblical Christianity, the growing provinces of the Global South are taking a lead in re-establishing global Anglicanism. To that end the Global Anglican Futures Conference is planned to take place in June, only a matter of weeks before the Lambeth Conference. The…
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Encouragement in Ethiopia Ethiopia, in the horn of Africa, is five and a half times the area of UK and has a population of 70 million. It is a poor country with an average life expectancy of only 39 years. Half the population belongs to the Coptic Church, one third is Muslim, and over…
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Even the strong need comfort. The seemingly fearless apostle Paul speaks of comfort as something he needed and received continually. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 he writes: 'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation ...…
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Understanding Hebrews Part 2Last month, in Part 1 of this overview of the epistle to the Hebrews, we saw that the key word in Hebrews is 'better'. Christ is 'better' than all who came before him - better than the prophets, better than the angels, better than Moses, better than Joshua, and better than…
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God's plan for the local church The Irish Biblical Reformation Conference was held on 3 November 2007 at Edenmore Golf Club. The guest speaker was Stephen Rees, pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Stockport, and his subject was, 'God's plan for the local church'. He began by stating that this was a subject close to his…
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Mount Merrion, BelfastOn Thursday 6 December over 600 people gathered in the Martyrs Memorial Free Presbyterian Church (FPC), Belfast, for the ordination and induction of Paul Thompson as minister of Mount Merrion Free Presbyterian Church, East Belfast. The service was chaired by Mount Merrion's interim moderator, Rev. Thomas Murray from Comber FPC. Opening the…
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Hindus attack ChristiansAn American mission group International Christian Concern (ICC) has reported the deaths of at least six Christians in Orissa state following anti-Christian unrest. A local Christian told ICC on condition of anonymity that on the night of 28 December, 600 Christians had to hide in a Baptist church in Udaigiri village in…
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Wanted! Spiritual people, age immaterial Would you choose as a role model someone so old that he was waiting to die? Probably not. Yet, unlikely as it may seem, the aged Simeon (Luke 2:25-27) provides a pattern for all who are serious about biblical spirituality. Today, biblical Christianity is commonly derided and sidelined -…
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Reinventing evangelicalism Iain Murray reviews Rob Warner’s recent book Reinventing English Evangelicalism A complaint levelled against this reviewer’s Evangelicalism divided (2000) was its incompleteness as a history of English evangelicalism in the second half of the twentieth century. This was fair comment because the book was not meant to be such a history. However,…
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Nehemiah's wallA biblical wall that has eluded archaeologists for years has finally been found, according to an Israeli scholar. A team of archaeologists in Jerusalem has uncovered what they believe to be part of a wall mentioned in the Bible's Book of Nehemiah, reports Associated Press.The discovery, made in Jerusalem's ancient City of David,…
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Zachary Macaulay - unsung hero of Abolition Four-year-old Tom Macaulay was on his best behaviour. It was 1804 and his father Zachary was taking him to Strawberry Hill, a pretentious eighteenth-century house designed on Gothic lines by Horace Walpole. They were visiting Walpole's great niece, Lady Waldegrave. Tom was a precocious child. During the…
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Guest ColumnAdjusting backRoger and Diana Pomeroy spent 38 years as missionaries in Pakistan and returned to Wales for retirement in May 2006. How are you adjusting back to life in the UK? This is the most frequently asked question we face. In fact this was the question the editor put to me in soliciting…
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UK wedlock tragedyOver half the babies born to British women in 2007 were born outside of marriage, according to new figures. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has released figures which show that marriage among Britons is now at its lowest level since records began and that a majority of babies born to British…
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