Snopes recently published an article entitled “Too Many People Think Satirical News Is Real”.

In it, the writers talk about a survey they conducted on what Americans’ views are on high-profile political issues.

They said: “We identified news stories – both true and false – that were being shared widely on social media.

“We discovered that many of the false stories weren’t the kind that were trying to intentionally deceive their readers; they actually came from satirical sites and many people seemed to believe them.”

The Ohio State University researchers asked a sample of 800 Americans whether they believed 120 “widely shared falsehoods.”

The study revealed that “stories published by The Bee were among the most shared, factually inaccurate content in almost every survey we conducted”.

It also found that Republicans were more likely to think that Babylon Bee articles were not satire.

The writers added: “Of the 23 falsehoods that came from The Bee, eight were confidently believed by at least 15 percent of Republican respondents.”

Kyle Mann, editor-in-chief of the Babylon Bee, criticised the research on Twitter, saying the study was not conducted in a way that would produce accurate results.

That survey @snopes shared is horrible. Did they seriously paraphrase Bee stories and ask people if they thought they were true? That’s an awful way to figure out what percentage of…

The UN day for commemorating those who are victims of violence due to religion or belief started as just an idea in Ewelina Ochab’s head – a legal researcher, writer for Forbes and Roman Catholic (pictured above, far left).

Having worked on religious freedom and human rights for nearly four years, she wondered whether it might be helpful to victims and survivors and charities that work with them if there was a day that was recognised worldwide where religious persecution was acknowledged.

“I was always very impressed with how the UN states and civil society mark one of the days focused on acts of violence against women and girls and I wanted to create something similar.”

“It required a lot of work. The first step I took was to approach a number of NGOs…I wanted to hear from them whether they would appreciate having such a day, whether this would help in their work and be appreciated by survivors of such atrocities.”

After hearing positive feedback from aid charities and lobby groups about the idea, she took it forward.

“It’s not only up to the NGOs whether they want to have such a day. To establish such a day, we needed to have states who were willing to support it, who were willing to table it at the UN. So, that was the second step – to approach states to get their support and to approach parliamentarians as well, who could then encourage governments to…

Cross-party think tank Civitas have today released ‘Islamophobia: An Anthology of Concerns’, a book containing essays from contributors from a variety of religious and philosophical persuasions.

Contributors include Richard Dawkins, Tim Dieppe from Christian Concern and Lord Singh of Wimbledon.

Attempts to define ‘Islamophobia’ risk curtailing freedom of speech and hindering work intended to expose extremist activities, a new collection of essays warns, according to Christian Concern.

The definition, which has been proposed by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims is: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.”

Tim Dieppe, Head of Public Policy at Christian Concern said: “This anthology shows the widespread concern about formalising a definition of Islamophobia. People from many different faith persuasions or none can all agree that free speech is one of the fundamental requirements of a free society.

“The proposed definition by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims is vague and dangerous. Its adoption would clearly lead to restrictions on what can be said about Islamic beliefs and practices. It is shocking and disturbing that various political parties and local councils have rushed to adopt this definition without proper consideration of the…

Mr Trump said revamping the countries’ trade relationship should have been done “a long time ago by a lot of other presidents”.

He added: “Over the last five or six years China’s made $500 billion dollars, ripped it out of the United States. Not only that, If you take a look, intellectual property theft… somebody had to do it.”

Mr Trump then opened his arms, looked toward the sky and said “I am the chosen one. Somebody had to do it, so I’m taking on China… and you know what we’re winning.”

“I am the chosen one,” President Trump says in defense of trade war. “Somebody had to do it, so I’m taking on China.” pic.twitter.com/aAFvUe8dOc

— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 21, 2019

His statement was followed by laughs from journalists.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump also thanked conservative commentator Wayne Allyn Root who described him as a “the King of Israel” and “the second coming of God”.>

….like he’s the King of Israel. They love him like he is the second coming of God…But American Jews don’t know him or like him. They don’t even know what they’re doing or saying anymore. It makes no sense! But that’s OK, if he keeps doing what he’s doing, he’s good for…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 21, 2019

The president has now been accused of having a messiah complex.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily…

In one post she talked about how she has put her future in God’s hands.

The posts come after the death of her ex-husband George Kay.

 

In a following post she thanks God for helping her through the tragic time.

 

The 38-year-old said she also attends Hillsong Church after her neighbours have been inviting her for years.

 

She wrote in a column for New magazine: “”Me and the kids went to a Hillsong church in Tonbridge and it was amazing.

“I’ve always been a spiritual person and my neighbours have been begging me to go for years, so I finally did.”

She continued: “It was like a full-blown concert and I came out feeling much better. We’re definitely going back on Sunday.

“I heard that Justin Bieber is a fan of Hillsong and I can see why. I think people need to try it.”

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

The former Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Prof Nicholas Thomas Wright is currently Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at St Mary’s College, St Andrews in Scotland.

NT Wright prepared for ordained ministry at Wycliffe Hall and is one of the world’s leading New Testament scholars, and a world authority on the apostle Paul.

Wright is the author of over 80 academic and lay-level books such as Surprised by Hope, The Day The Revolution Began and Paul: A Biography (writing under the name Tom Wright for a general audience).

Wright is ordained in the Church of England and, among other roles, served as Bishop of Durham between 2003 – 2010.

Rev Dr Michael Lloyd, Principal of Wycliffe Hall, said: “We are delighted that Tom will be joining us. Wycliffe aspires to be a centre for the intellectual renewal of the Church, and, through the Church, of society. I can think of no one who is better able to help us to make that aspiration a reality.

“Tom has reshaped the field of New Testament studies, he has defended the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection with a thoroughness and sophistication never before attempted, and his impact reaches far beyond the boundaries of the church by his engagement with the traditional and new forms of media.

“He will help foster an intellectual fearlessness and a disciplined spirituality in the next generation of church leaders. We…