De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron MP who quit as Liberal Democrat leader in July  after journalists attacked him for being Christian and questioned him about his opinions regarding homosexual acts, has admitted that he should have stood by his principles and that he lied when he said gay sex isn't a sin. I was really pleased when Tim was appointed leader. I feel we desperately need more Christian voices to engage the culture. I was then hugely disappointed that he decided to betray his Christian beliefs on any number of issues in the course of his pursuit of acceptance and power. I think Peter D. Williams of Right to Life   said it perfectly on social media yesterday: Since resigning as party leader, Tim has started doing what he should have done in the first place, providing an intelligent, articulate apologia for the hope that he bears (1 Peter 3:15). As I reported in November , he gave the Theos annual lecture for 2017  which was roundly welcome...

Finally, at the end, forced to resign as Liberal Party Leader, Farron understands. Last night Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron MP gave the Theos annual lecture for 2017 . Theos are a Christian think tank based in the UK. The organisation conducts research, publishes reports, and holds debates, seminars and lectures on the relationship between religion, politics and society in the contemporary world. Dan Hitchens found the most interesting dimension to the rage against Tim Farron when commenting on Jacob Rees Mogg's public profession of faith on the TV recently – to be the depth of subsequent anger at the “bigot” Rees-Mogg and his “utterly abhorrent” opinions. He goes on to suggest that: "Secular liberalism loves to shout about how Christian sexual ethics are wrong; but secular liberals are far less confident when it comes to their own positive beliefs. Whatever can be said about Catholic teaching, there are at least various well-elaborated philosophical...

Have you heard about the unholy row that's been going on in France this Advent season? Of all things, it is about the French tradition of displaying nativity scenes in public buildings. One French court has stirred up a hornet's nest by ordering a regional government office to take down the Christmas crib it set up in its lobby as usual this year. The western town of La Roche-sur-Yon, in the traditionally Catholic Vendée region, is appealing the order. Conservative politicians in other towns, especially those from the far-right National Front, have announced they will resist it. The nativity scene at Béziers city hall, which has also been the subject of demands for its removal. The court acted after a complaint from the ironically named atheist Freethinkers Federation , ( Fédération Nationale de la Libre Pensée ) which said the crib violated the 1905  laïcité  law separating Church and state. A Federation official said the group pressed the issue in reaction to huge...

I am listening to the debate which continues to rumble on about religion in schools subsequent to the Trojan Horse affair , this morning on Radio 4. The effect of the discovery of an extremist agenda within certain schools with a Muslim majority has led to a renewal of calls to remove all religion from schools and instead pursue a secular liberal agenda. The justification is that despite the reality of an established Church in the UK, organised religion is virtually a thing of the past, and more and more people are secular and liberal. Religion is no longer relevant for them. From a Catholic perspective of course, this is strange, given the broad success of Catholic Schools, and their tendency to be over-subscribed. If we don't want religious schools, how do we deal with this inherent dichotomy? From a secularist perspective, faith schools should be abolished and secularism enforced. The issue is a separation of private belief from the delivery of a public good. That is w...