Several schools in Birmingham have been inspected by OFSTED
and the Department of Education because of rumours that they were effectively
running as Islamic schools, despite not being faith schools. A leaked report
suggests the charges are substantiated at some of the schools, with girls
sitting separately from boys; religious education concentrating almost
exclusively on Islam; compulsory Arabic classes; and sidelining/threats to
women and non-Islamic teachers (five non-Islamic head teachers have retired in
the last 6 months). Unofficial reports also suggest that children were taught
that Islam is an advanced development of Christianity. Some of these ‘facts’ are being disputed by the foundation that
runs many of the schools, and by Birmingham City Council (who have been
criticised for previous inaction); a high level investigation is expected.
The Archbishop of Canterbury gave a major interview after
visiting Christians in war-torn parts of Africa. A lot of the interview centred
on gay marriage. The Archbishop prefers a beneficent case-based approach, but
this leaves him caught in a dilemma: he would probably prefer to provide church
blessings for gay marriages, because of past cases of hatred and bigotry
against gays; but much to his surprise, even the pitifully poor Christians of
South Sudan who had just buried their war dead told him that they could not
accept any help from a Western church that supported gay marriage. Furthermore,
he had heard of a case where a group of Christians were killed because, the
killers said, “you are going to try to make us all gay,” which made him wary of
implementing pro-gay policies that put further lives at risk. However, the
former Bishop of Rochester (who was born in Pakistan) said “Christians are
being persecuted around the world for their faith, not for what western leaders
do or don’t say about homosexuality,” which throws doubt on the Archbishop’s wisdom
in generalising from specific cases.
David Cameron’s supportive comments towards Christianity and
its influence in Britain have been condemned by a group of 50 secularists and
atheists, including some high profile novelists. In a letter to the Daily
Telegraph, they argued that Cameron is “mischaracterising the UK as a Christian
country” and that this has “negative consequences for our society and politics […]
it fosters alienation and division in our society [and] fuels enervating
sectarian debates.” The 2011 census found that 59% of Britons self-identify as
Christians, down from 72% in 2001.
A 23 year old model announced in the Sunday Mirror that she
intended to abort her 18-week-old foetus in order to become famous on the reality
programme “Big Brother.” She said, “I’m
finally on the verge of becoming famous and I’m not going to ruin it now.”
However, her admission appears to have severely damaged her already slim chances
of appearing on the show: a ‘source’ from the show’s producers said, “How can
we work with her – or pay her – if she admits having an abortion to achieve
that?” The model says she does not know which of two men is the father, but
that both have offered to support her if she decides to have the baby.
In sport, Manchester United’s dreadful season – their worst
for 20-25 years – looks likely to end with the sacking of their manager, David
Moyes. Moyes took over from Sir Alex Ferguson last summer when Ferguson retired
after 25 years, but has enjoyed very little success. Moyes is a practising
Christian, but this does not seem to have had a positive effect on the Red Devils’
performance on the field.
And finally, an American medical journal has published a
study that shows that listening to gospel music brings significant benefits to
older Christians. The study found that over-65s who regularly listened to
Gospel music were less anxious about death and had increased life satisfaction,
self-esteem, and sense of control over their lives. The authors wrote, “Given
that religious music is available to most individuals, it might be a valuable
resource for promoting mental health later in life.”
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