Religion
Who you gonna call?
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…
Real life
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…
Nick Cave: Seven Psalms
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…
Toxic Patriarch
How Putin weaponised the Russian Orthodox church
Unholy war
The destruction of Ukraine’s churches
The first intercessor
The Catholic church has always venerated Mary (‘Mother of God’) above other saints. But in recent years there has been…
Turbulent priest
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…
Chief Rabbi’s Notebook
Reactions to the recent passing of F.W. de Klerk transported me back to my childhood in South Africa. The horror…
Letters
Wrong cure Sir: In referring to the UK as the highest-spending European nation in healthcare proportionate to GDP (‘Hospital pass’,…
High life
A few weeks after Friedrich Nietzsche bragged to an admirer that he had completed a ruthless attack on our Lord,…
Formula milquetoast
If it weren’t for this job I sometimes wonder whether I’d even bother watching TV at all. This mood strikes…
How’s your father?
I was turned on to Midnight Mass by Ricky Gervais who raved about it in one of his social media…
Cult hit
The enduring power of Japan’s doomsday groups
God is everywhere
Twenty years ago The Corrections alerted a troubled world to the talents of Jonathan Franzen. Though cruel and funny and…
Power to the parish
The demise of the Church’s heritage is not inevitable
High life
Gstaad Good manners aside, what I miss nowadays is a new, intelligent, finely acted movie. Never have I seen…
