The Jesus Candidate by James Paul Lusk
A customer asked the Ashers Bakery to put icing on a calke with a message calling people to 'support gay marriage.' Did this violate their freedom not to bacl a political cause?

On 10th October 2018 the UK Supreme Court allowed an appeal by Ashers bakery in the 'gay cake' case. In the words of the Court's press release: nothing in discrimination law 'imposes civil liability on the appellants for the refusal to express a political opinion contrary to their religious beliefs.'  As I said my original comment on the case, the bakers were not discriminating against a customer because of sexual orientation. They thought they had a right not to provide their services to a political cause with which they disagreed.  The Supreme Court finding does not re-legalise any form of discrimination. It is a victory for political freedom. 

Lydia Bean is author of The politi s of evangelical identity, reviewed here

Why do so many white 'evangelicals' in the USA support Donald Trump? The politics of evangelical identity: Local churches and partisan divides in the USA and Canada by Texas-based Lydia Bean (pictured) considers why they have developed a strongly Republican, 'conservative' political identity - she finds the answer in 'religious nationalism.' Here is my review published in Evangelicals Now in February 2018.

Andrea Hatcher is professor of politics at Sewanee University, USA. Her book 'Political and religious identities of British evangelicals is reviewed here.

Political and religious identities of British Evangelicals by American professor Andrea Hatcher (pictured) finds that UK evangelicals do not share a political identity in the way that white evangelicals do in the USA. She concludes that there is 'no Religious Right' in Britain. Click here for my review published in Evangelicals Now in April 2018.

Tiom Farronl, former leader of the UK Liberal Democrats, pictured here with 'The Jesus Candidate.'But is he right to dismiss 'British Values' as a myth?

Are there 'British Values' or is Tim Farron (pictured) right to call the idea a 'myth'? My thoughts are in this article in Christian Today. Tim, an evangelical Christian, lost the leadership of the UK Liberal Democrats after being hounded for his views on gay sex and sin. What was really going on? See my Leviticus weaponised - the assassination of brother Tim.

Careless: the facts behind May's miss-step on care

Who cares? Prime Minister Theresa May (not pictured) carelessly threw away an election-smashing poll lead when her advisers lured her into a terrible miss-step on 'Maycare.' But what were - and are - the facts? How difficult need it be to pay for care in old age? Read my take here.

What does the bible say about the state?

The Bible and the state: why I say 'theocracy is idolatory' in my look at the history of the first King of ancient Israel (might not be who you thought it was!) and other bible passages dealing with the state.