Hundreds evacuated by sea from island as Greek wildfires rage

Athens, Greece Reuters Hundreds of people were evacuated by boat from an island near Athens as Greece braced for a fourth day of wildfires on Friday with emergency services forecasting strong winds and searing temperatures. Coastguard vessels assisted by tourist boats have picked up 631 people since late Thursday from three beaches on the island […]
Kent Hovind, controversial US creationist preacher known as ‘Dr Dino,’ arrested in domestic assault case

RNS A controversial Alabama creationist preacher who recently sued the US Federal Government for half a billion dollars was arrested in late July in a domestic assault case. An arrest warrant dated 19th July alleges that Rev Kent Hovind, known as “Dr Dino”, intentionally threw his estranged wife, Cindi Lincoln, to the ground, causing bodily […]
Snapshot: Albatrosses, off the Falkland Islands

See FER NANDO’s image…
Soundbite – The TCM Update: for KING & COUNTRY release ‘Relate’

For KING & COUNTRY’s new single, Relate. Listen to this week’s TCM Update…
Orlando’s Holy Land theme park sold by TBN to health care company

RNS The Holy Land Experience, a Christian-based theme park in Orlando, Florida, has been purchased by a Seventh-day Adventist health care company. Trinity Broadcasting Network, the park’s owner since 2007, sold the roughly six hectare museum and tourist attraction to Adventist Health System Inc. The health care company, also known as AdventHealth, was founded by […]
In the US, Warnock, Progressive National Baptists focus on voting rights during annual meeting

RNS Rev Raphael Warnock urged the Progressive National Baptist Convention to keep fighting to protect voting rights as the historically Black denomination held its annual meeting. “If we don’t check what they’re doing in Georgia, they’ll be able to nullify the votes and the voices of the people after they have already been cast,” Warnock, […]
Australian Christian leaders say government move to address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage, including reparations, doesn’t go far enough

Last updated 2:50pm (AEST) Sydney, Australia Australian Christian leaders say the Federal Government’s $A1 billion Closing the Gap announcement does not go far enough to address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage, and acknowledge the past wrongs suffered by the nation’s Indigenous people. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the funding, including $A378.6 million in redress payments for […]
Restoring relationships: Inside PeaceWise’s mission to take God-inspired conflict resolution across Australia

PETA MCCARTNEY reports on the work of Australian organisation, PeaceWise…
Amid hesitation in African Anglican provinces, Kenya appoints first two women bishops

Nairobi, Kenya RNS In a predominantly Anglican region of western Kenya, a long-serving female priest has been elected an Anglican bishop, making her the second woman to hold that rank in a country where the consecration of women as bishops is still controversial. Rev Rose Okeno, 52, will lead Butere, a rural diocese where a […]
Essay: What is a cult?

MATHEW SCHMALZ, a professor of religious studies at College of the Holy Cross in the US state of Massachusetts, looks at what we mean when we talk about a ‘cult’ or ‘cult leader’…