BBC actor John Barrowman has launched a blistering attack on the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland for defending the traditional definition of marriage. Earlier this month the Scottish Government, led by the Scottish National Party, launched a consultation on whether to redefine marriage but the proposal has met fierce opposition from senior figures within the Church. Now Mr Barrowman, who plays the main character in BBC One’s Torchwood, said that he was ‘horrified’ that church groups were ‘prepared to ruin lives’. He added: ‘That’s not being Christian at all. In fact, I think it’s evil. Being gay is not, as they claim, against the laws of nature. I was born this way.’ The actor, who has been in a civil partnership since 2006, made the comments after the Archbishop of Glasgow and the Bishop of Paisley warned against meddling with the definition of marriage. (See last week’s Prayer Alert)
Pray: that the Church would continue to speak up boldly for the sanctity of marriage. (Heb.13:4)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/bbc-star-calls-rc-church-evil-for-defending-marriage/
BBC religious output drops 20% in one year
25 Jul 2013The BBC’s religious output has fallen by 20 per cent in one year, according to its latest annual report. One secularist group welcomed the figures, claiming audiences see religion as unimportant. But a recent BBC Trust report highlighted a lack of knowledge about religion amongst some BBC staff. Across the broadcaster’s TV and Radio stations religious programmes amounted to 1,126 hours in the 2012-13 period, down from 1,393 in 2011-12. Religious output on BBC One decreased by just three per cent, whereas overall radio content fell by a fifth from 1,211 to 975 hours. On digital channel BBC Four, the number of hours devoted to religious programmes dropped from 53 hours to five. Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society said: ‘It is good that the BBC is taking notice of its audiences at last - who according to its own research don’t regard religion as an important genre and hardly ever watch it.’
Pray: that the fall of religious content in the BBC will be reversed and the secular influence will also be greatly reduced. (Is.40:23)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/bbc-religious-output-drops-20-in-one-year/
BBC accused of anti- Christian bias
20 Jul 2010
The BBC has been forced to defend an East Enders' storyline after outraged viewers accused the Corporation of anti-Christian bias. The complaints centre around a portrayal of a Christian Pentecostal pastor as a deranged killer whose deeds are motivated by his Christian faith. Viewers watched the pastor failing to help his ex-wife when she was dying, strangling a love rival to death and attacking his current wife. Over 100 viewers have now written to the Corporation saying that they find the storyline deeply offensive. The BBC issued a statement defending their controversial plot. Last year Don Maclean claimed that the BBC is keen on programmes which attack churches, and that there was a wider secularist campaign ‘to get rid of Christianity’. Daily Telegraph writer, Damian Thompson, said: ‘We are deep into the realms of BBC bias and ignorance here. Only a BBC drama series would, to quote the complainant, ‘transfer the practice of terrorist beheadings from Islamist radicals to a fantasised group of fundamentalist Christians’. Pray: that BBC will give a more balanced view of Christians in their future programming. (Ho.14:9) More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/bbc-accused-of-anti-christian-bias-by-viewers/
Basic home care help 'breaching human rights'
25 Nov 2011Basic care for the elderly in their own homes in England is so bad it breaches human rights at times, an inquiry says. The home care review by the Equality and Human Rights Commission highlighted cases of physical abuse, theft, neglect and disregard for privacy and dignity. It said on many occasions support for tasks such as washing and dressing was ‘dehumanising’ and left people ‘stripped of self-worth’. The findings have added weight to calls for a complete overhaul of the system. Campaigners described the situation as ‘shameful’, while councils, which are in charge of providing such services, said without urgent reform services would just get worse. There are currently nearly 500,000 people who are getting council-funded support in their own homes.
Pray: that the elderly will be shown respect and honour in their old age. (Lev.19:32)
The UN's emergency relief coordinator Valerie Amos is in Syria to discuss ways of getting aid to the estimated two million people caught up in the country's conflict. Diplomats warn that unless the violence eases it will be impossible to get emergency relief to the worst affected areas. Syria's PM Riad Hijab has spoken out for the first time since his defection last week – saying the regime controls no more than 30% of the territory, and he calls on the opposition abroad to unite and on the Syrian army to stand alongside its people. He said, ‘Syria is full of officials and military leaders who are awaiting the right moment to join the revolt.’ Baroness Amos said around 2.5m people across the country are now in need of assistance. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19262815
Pray: that God would implement His way forward through Baroness Amos and others working for justice and peace for the people of Syria. (Ps.5:7,8)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19252811
An Ofsted report last year stated the quality of RE lessons at many primary schools was ‘not good enough’ and ‘only six out of 10 schools are ‘satisfactory’ in teaching RE'. In response to this Barnabas Fund has launched a new resource pack to enrich teaching of Christianity within Religious Education called, ‘Assisting Christianity Teaching in Schools (ACTS)' and they are asking Christians to donate packs to local schools. Ofsted said ‘In many cases, the study of Jesus focused on an unsystematic collection of information about His life, with limited reference to His theological significance within the faith.’ The pack aimed at ages 7 to 11 covering basic Christianity, Bible reference, character development, the life and teachings of Jesus through children’s fiction and biographies, posters, maps, Bible guides, fact books, Bible story books, time lines, animated DVDs, activity workbooks and presentation slides.
Pray: that many churches will be able to step into this opportunity to meet educationl need. (Ps.34:11)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/barnabas.fund.seeks.to.boost.teaching.of.christianity.in.schools/28250.htm
Barclays and Coutts have announced that they will withdraw their support for Stonewall's Awards event unless the homosexual campaign group drops the 'Bigot of the Year' category. Coutts and Co stated: ‘We have advised Stonewall that we will be withdrawing our support of the awards unless they remove this category.’ Barclays' Head of Global Diversity and Inclusion stated: ‘Barclays does not support that award category either financially or in principle and have informed Stonewall that should they decide to continue with this category Barclays will not support this event in the future.’ However, according to a newspaper report today (Wed), http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/30/stonewall-bigot-award-banks-sponsorship?newsfeed=true Stonewall has indicated that it will not scrap the Award, even if that means losing sponsorship for the event. We give thanks to God for the many taking action by contacting these banks leading to these developments. Meanwhile, we still don't know where PwC and Google, two other big-name supporters of the event, stand on the issue.
Pray: that following the actions by the banks other sponsors will take a stand on this issue. (Pr.12:7)
Metal theft from Baptist churches has risen to record levels this year. By the end of October Baptist Insurance had received 110 claims for theft of metal, already 25 more than it handled in its previous worst year. In 2008 it dealt with nearly 90 claims from the churches it insures. The total cost of the metal theft claims for 2011 stands at more than £160,000, again a record. The theft of metal from churches is linked directly to the price of lead, which rose sharply at the start of 2011. 'We have seen a huge increase in theft of metal,' said Katri Link, Baptist Insurance press officer. ' This year has been the worst year for metal theft, both in terms of number of claims and cost of claims. At the start of the year we saw the price of metal go up - the demand in the market from the Far East is high - and there is a direct correlation.' Churches everywhere have been suffering, although 2008 remains the worst year across all denominations.
Pray: for the protection of church buildings from this kind of crime and increase of police and community awareness. (Dt.5:19)