Forgive us, Charlie Darwin, wherever you are… *

News reaches us from London that the Church – the Anglican Church, that is, not the One True Church – has apologised to Charles Darwin (right at the bottom of the page, after a screed of theological equivocation) for “misunderstanding his theory of evolution”. “About time, too!”, one might be inclined to say. But various commentators – including one of Darwin’s great-grandsons – have pointed out that the only conceivable reason for such an apology is to make the apologiser feel better.

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‘While the poor receive free school meals, the Church receive free schools’

This just in from the NSS‘s Newsline email (which you should subscribe to, as well as joining or donating to the NSS, of course):

Shropshire County Council Cabinet has decided to proceed with its plan to create six new faith schools. Twelve existing schools are to be closed, the pupils from each pair going to a new faith school.

Four of the schools to be closed are inclusive Community Schools. The changes will result in the loss of hundreds of community school places to the advantage of the Church of England. The chairman of Governors of at least two of the community schools destined to close do not want to become part of a faith school, and fear the religious agenda.

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The End of Universal Human Rights

From the International Humanist and Ethical Union’s website:

For the past eleven years the organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), representing the 57 Islamic States, has been tightening its grip on the throat of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yesterday, 28 March 2008, they finally killed it.

Disgraceful. But not unexpected, given the apathy of the West…

Hat tip: NSS.

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Point skyward for Jesus – or your parents get it

News reaches us from the other side of the Atlantic of a family who suffered dire consequences as a result of complaining that their son was required to sing a song of worship by his music teacher for a grade.

His teacher also instructed him to point skyward at certain points of the song. She said that he was to do this to show he loved God.

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“There must be violence against women”

The quote marks are there lest you think this is my actual opinion! This staggering item just came in via the National Secular Society’s newsletter (www.secularism.org.uk/newsline.html):

yementimes.com/article.shtml?i=1117&p=community&a=6

You’ll notice, of course, that there’s a “comment on article” link at the top of the page…

For the sake of women in the Yemen (and other islamic coutries), please spread this item as widely as possible.

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No faith? No chance.

Apparently non-faith schools are now considered a “political impossibility” by the (UK) government. This article in the Observer yesterday chronicles a headmaster’s attempt to set up a secular school.

Crisis of faith in first secular school.

Bastards.

And the Guardian have archived all their Faith School articles here.

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You’ve got a friend in Jesus (but maybe not the Pope…)

The Vatican has dropped all reference to the McCanns from its website, according to the Mirror (hat tip: New Humanist). A quick Google on mccann site:www.vatican.va shows that they have indeed done so; the only McCann references remaining are a letter to Cardinale Ovenio McCann dating from 1985 and a mention of Rev. John McCann, in connection with the 2006 week of prayer for Christian unity (which, by the way, obviously didn’t work).

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