Quotes from the media

‘‘ QUOTES FROM THE MEDIA ASYLUM SEEKER TURNED AWAY WITH QUOTES FROM THE BIBLE

The Home Office has refused asylum to a Christian convert by quoting Bible passages, which it says prove Christianity is not a peaceful religion. The Iranian national, who claimed asylum in 2016, was told passages in the Bible were ‘inconsistent’ with his claim to have converted to Christianity after discovering it was a ‘peaceful’ faith.

The refusal letter from the department states the book of Revelation – the final book of the Bible – is ‘filled with imagery of revenge, destruction, death and violence’, and cites six excerpts from it…

When contacted by The Independent, the Home Office said the letter was ‘not in accordance’ with its policy approach to claims based on religious persecution, and said it was working to improve the training provided to decision-makers on religious conversion. The Independent

Churches are being encouraged to host informal café-style meetings… to bring together people of all standpoints and encourage open discussion and prayer around Brexit. Newly commissioned resources backed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York invite people to ‘get together and chat over a cup of tea and pray for our country and our future’. The packs include specially chosen Bible passages, new prayers and prompt questions to start conversations. Questions for those attending include: ‘What effect has Brexit had in your family relationships, friendships, etc, and if you disagreed, has it been possible to disagree well?’ and: ‘What are the three main things we have in common that we can build on for a better future as a community and as a nation?’ The Church of England Newspaper CHURCHES URGED TO OFFER TEA AND PRAYERS AFTER BREXIT DEBATE LORD WILLIAMS BACKS NEW SCHOOL CLIMATE STRIKES Schoolchildren around the world, including the UK, went on strike… to demand more action to tackle climate change… The Fridays for Future website says that nearly 1.3 million schoolchildren, in 130 countries, took part in the strikes. More are planned… The former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Williams, who also chairs Christian Aid, recorded a video message, in which he expressed support for the strikers. He said: ‘The nature of changes in climate and environment that we are living with threaten not only the wellbeing, but also the being, of our species on this planet…’ The Bishop of Truro, the Right Rev Philip Mounstephen, said: ‘I don’t want to chide them or patronise them. I want to say that I am 100 per cent behind them.’ Christian Aid’s youth-and-campaigns manager, Richard Baker, said: ‘The phrase “Out of the mouth of babes comes wisdom” is based on the Psalms. It feels like an appropriate summary today.’ Church Times

ALLOCATING SCHOOLS BY BALLOT ‘WOULD HELP POORER CHILDREN’

Ballots to allocate places at Scotland’s top state schools to give disadvantaged pupils more equal access should be considered, an education charity has advised. In its first study of education in Scotland the Sutton Trust found that the 70 top-performing state schools took half as many disadvantaged pupils as the national average and the school system was ‘highly socially segregated’. It recommended that children from deprived areas be given the chance to attend high-performing schools even if they lived outside a catchment area.

The report… found that the rate of children receiving free school meals at Scotland’s best schools was 9.1 per cent, compared with the national average of 16.3 per cent. The Times

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