Religion
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…
Blurred vision
The fight for the future of the Church of England
Born again
The rise of the secular godparent
The doors of St Aidan’s were locked
The end of summer 2021, the end of the great British staycation. I sat on the grass outside the post…
Kicking the habit
Work is our new religion. There are people whose primary job is writing listicles of celebrity gossip, illustrated with gifs…
Is Boris Johnson allowed to pick the next Archbishop of Canterbury?
A few weeks ago, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was shirty with me when I asked him whether he was now…
Pope Francis is losing his culture war
Since I wroteabout the Pope’s declaration of war on the Old Rite, something unexpected and beautiful has happened. Many bishops…
Leave, convert or perish: The fate of Afghanistan’s minorities
President Biden’s decision to ‘end the war in Afghanistan’ means the complete withdrawal of 3,500 US troops by the 20th…
Breaking faith
Is this the last chance to save the Church of England
