Society & Politics

• Keir Starmer criticised over cowardly apology for visiting church. Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised after he apologised for visiting Jesus House in London – one of the largest black majority churches in Britain – on Good Friday on realising it has a traditional view of sexuality. Crumbling under pressure from LGBT+ Labour members, Starmer said the visit was a mistake. Other Labour MPs have been forced to pick up the pieces from the fallout. One social commentator asks whether Starmer will also shun Catholic, evangelical and Orthodox churches as well as UK mosques, all of which hold to similar views regarding same-sex marriage. Read more in this week’s editorial and also here.
• Duke of Edinburgh dies aged 99. Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh passed away this morning, Friday 9th April, aged 99, Buckingham Palace has announced. The Palace said in a statement: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.” All at Prophecy Today extend their condolences and their prayers to the Queen and others in the Royal Family at this very sad time. The Church of England has set up an online book of condolence where readers can submit a message.
• Anarchy in London school. London’s Pimlico Academy was the centre of a mutiny by pupils last week. Protesting at measures such as new school uniforms, which were said to penalise Muslims and those with Afro hairstyles, and other factors, including the fact that school walls had been painted white, hundreds of students engaged in a mass walkout. Anti-flag graffiti also appeared on school walls, saying ‘Ain’t no black in the Union Jack’. Although many have deplored the protests, the National Education Union (EDU) backed them. It has since been claimed that the school rebellion was actively supported by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). Read more here and here.
• SNP election candidate compares Tories to Hitler and the Holocaust. AN SNP election candidate sparked outrage after she compared Tory tactics on an independence referendum to Hitler and the Holocaust. Stephanie Callaghan, candidate for Uddingston and Bellshill, was forced to apologise for her comments, which antisemitism campaigners called “disgraceful”. Tory MSP Annie Wells said, "What kind of warped mind would think that opposing independence is anything like the Holocaust?” There are calls for Ms Callaghan's candidacy to be removed.
• Oxford to move beyond “white European music from slave period”. The University of Oxford is considering changes to the music curriculum after some staff raised concerns about the “complicity in white supremacy” in the teaching of the subject. It is argued that the current curriculum focuses on “white European music from the slave period”, such as Beethoven and Mozart. They argued that Oxford’s music curriculum had “not shaken off its connection to its colonial past” and would be “a slap in the face” to some students, and that the current focus on “white European music” causes “students of colour great distress”.

Church Issues

• Canadian sisters go viral by singing Easter version of ‘Hallelujah’. Two sisters from Ontario, Canada have taken the world by storm with an Easter version of Leonard Cohen's famous song Hallelujah. Callahan and Cassandra Star Armstrong (aged 19 and 10 respectively) uploaded the candle-lit video of themselves singing their version of the song. In less than three weeks, they have surpassed four million views on YouTube alone. Armstrong explained that she and her 10-year-old sister recorded the song as a gift to their grandparents while their grandmother battles illness and the family remains separated for the holiday. Listen to the beautiful song here.

World News

• 23,000 Christians reported returning to Iraq. Thousands of families are said to be returning to Iraq, just a few years after the towns were taken over by ISIS and Christians killed. Pope Francis' visit to Iraq has apparently given hope to Iraqi Christians returning to their homeland after fleeing years of violence. But even with the rise in optimism, believers are aware that Christian persecution won't be stopped without Western support. "The persecution of Christians and minorities will continue as long as there are militias and a weak government”, said Father Araam Romel Qia, a Chaldean Catholic priest. “We hope for continued support from the international community."
• Controversial Canadian pastor says 'Nazi' police bring back memories of communism. A video documenting a confrontation between a Canadian pastor and local police who entered his church to check that Covid restrictions were being adhered to, has gone viral, receiving many millions of views. Many worldwide have praised Polish pastor, Artur Pawlowski for his brave stance; others have condemned his rudeness and loud rants. Local media reported that Pawlowski had already been charged multiple times for breaching Covid restrictions. Pawlowski has since stated that the law enforcement actions brought back memories of communism in Poland under the Soviet Union. “It was like a … flashback when those police officers showed up at my church. Everything kind of came back to life from my childhood,” he said.
• 40 percent of US white evangelicals will not get vaccine. Vaccine scepticism is widespread among US white evangelicals, according to a recent poll conducted across America. 40% of white evangelicals said they will likely not get the vaccine. This is a higher percentage than among any other group. Among Americans generally, that figure is 25%, still very high compared to Western Europe. Vaccine scepticism is more common among laity than church leaders, many of whom endorse the policy. But even many who approve the vaccine are highly critical of the implementation of vaccine 'passports'.

Israel & the Middle East

• Ancient 'temple tax' coin found in Jerusalem. Archeologists in Jerusalem's Old City have discovered a rare silver 'Tyre Coin', which, they believe, might have been used by pilgrims to pay the Temple tax during the reign of King Herod. The 'Tyre shekel', very few of which have been found thus far, was used during the Second Temple Period and produced in the ancient city of Tyre from 125 BCE until the outbreak of the Great Revolt in 66 CE. "We know from the Gospels that Jesus visited Jerusalem ... and we know that He talked to the money changers. So here we have the evidence, the archaeological evidence to the historical sources," Eilat Lieber, the director of the Tower of David Museum said.
• 'Lost golden city' discovered in Egypt. Meanwhile, Egyptian archaeologists say they have uncovered a vast, untouched, 3,000 year-old ‘lost golden city’. The site, buried under sand for millennia, was uncovered near Luxor this week. The team called the find “the largest” ancient city ever uncovered in Egypt, and the “second most important archeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun”. “The archaeological layers have laid untouched for thousands of years, left by the ancient residents as if it were yesterday,” the team’s statement said.