2015 election: How Christians can get involved
Most evangelical Christians are committed to voting in the election, according to results of a new study by the Evangelical Alliance. Of the 2,000 evangelical Christians surveyed, 94 per cent said they were likely to vote, and of these, 80 per cent they would definitely vote. Lyndon Bowring, executive chairman of CARE, is encouraging Christians to do more than put a cross by a name. Bucking the trend of disillusionment with the state of politics in the UK, Bowring argues that Christians should exercise grace and support their MP. ‘How many churches invite their local MP to come, whatever his beliefs are?’ asks Bowring. ‘Offer to pray for him.’ Prayer is one way to respond, but if you're looking for something more concrete, holding a hustings at your church may be another answer. It provides an opportunity to hear from all the candidates standing in the constituency and learn more about their policies and principles'.
Fear prevents churchgoers from inviting friends
A ‘culture of fear’ is preventing many churchgoers from inviting friends or relatives to services, a co-founder of the Back to Church Sunday campaign, Michael Harvey, says. Worshippers are frightened that an approach could lead to rejection, a lost friendship, or a damaged relationship, Mr Harvey says. He is the business consultant who, in 2004, helped launch the campaign, which has since expanded into the Season of Invitation. The survey group Christian Research found that 52 per cent of 1153 members of its Resonate panel showed ‘a deep-seated reluctance or resistance’ to inviting people to church. Disclosing early findings last week at Durham University, in a presentation, ‘Developing a Culture of Invitation’, Mr Harvey said: ‘Tellingly, although the question invited people to suggest what their church could do to help them invite people, most comments cited critical reasons why they would not invite anyone to their church’.
Children taken from born-again couple accused of being in a cult
Born-again Christians whose adopted children have been taken into care say they are being persecuted for their religious beliefs by social workers. In one case, parents say social workers accused them of causing emotional abuse with their strict parenting methods, which included smacking a child’s hand and punishing children for swearing by putting soap on their lips. They claim they were described as ‘cult’ members by social workers despite their church following the Alpha Course, the dominant strand of evangelism in Britain, followed by 20m people worldwide, including the adventurer Bear Grylls. Andrea Williams, chief executive of the campaign group Christian Concern, said: ‘We are seeing a worrying trend whereby Christian parents are being treated with suspicion because of their faith’.
Children taken from born-again couple accused of being in a cult
Born-again Christians whose adopted children have been taken into care say they are being persecuted for their religious beliefs by social workers. In one case, parents say social workers accused them of causing emotional abuse with their strict parenting methods, which included smacking a child’s hand and punishing children for swearing by putting soap on their lips. They claim they were described as ‘cult’ members by social workers despite their church following the Alpha Course, the dominant strand of evangelism in Britain, followed by 20m people worldwide, including the adventurer Bear Grylls. Andrea Williams, chief executive of the campaign group Christian Concern, said: ‘We are seeing a worrying trend whereby Christian parents are being treated with suspicion because of their faith’.
