´óÏó´«Ã½

Live radio can throw up some curious encounters.

In this one, the born-again Christian actor , who was recently evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother House, is the guest of Richard Bacon on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Five Live. They discuss evangelical Christian, the miraculous, other religions, the problem of suffering, and creationism.

When Baldwin presents an argument against evolutionary biology -- that humans cannot have descended from monkeys because monkeys still exist -- Bacon explains that Darwin never claimed that humans descended from apes, but rather that all life forms have a common ancestor.

Listen again here.

"Jesus was white. If I was advertising for an actor in Sanders of the River I would specify a black man. We want a cast that is appropriate to Trafalgar Square in 2010. When we perform it in a black prison in Alabama or in Uganda we will have casts appropriate to the area." So says Peter Hutley, the producer of , which is to be staged in Travalgar Square on Good Friday.

Hutley's production has advertised for a 'white male actor' to play the part of Jesus, much to the chagrin of the playwright : 'I thought we had got over the idea that Jesus always had to be a tall, white man with blue eyes and long, blond hair . . . Jesus was almost certainly a Palestinian by descent and precisely the kind of man that a lot of people would have a problem admitting into the country these days.'

, who won the 2007 Man Booker Prize for her novel The Gathering, offers a reading of the Robinson Affair in s.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair gave more than six hours of evidence to the Iraq Inquiry today. Mr Blair told the Inquiry that about removing Saddam Hussein and said "I do genuinely believe the world is a safer place as a result."

Mr Blair argued that the war was lawful, notwithstanding claims to the contrary by some of the government's legal advisors, and he was questioned about the controversial claim 20002 dossier which held that Iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction at 45 minutes' notice.

Mr Blair said the 45-minute claim "assumed a vastly greater significance" afterwards than it did at the time, and conceded that it "would have been better if (newspaper) headlines about the '45-minute claim' had been corrected" in light of the significance it later took on.

He also denied that any "covert deal" to invade Iraq had been struck with the US president George W. Bush in 2002.

You can watch Tony Blair's evidence, in full, on the Iraq Inquiry website. (Watch .)

Visit the e.

What is your analysis of Tony Blair's arguments for going to war?

It's that time of the year again. Just as we were getting used to one Moderator -- and just as he was getting used to being Moderator -- the Presbyterian Church is about to vote on his replacement.

Next Tuesday evening, all 19 presbyteries will vote on a shortlist of six candidates. Each presbytery will register their preferred candidate with Church House (one vote per presbytery), and the candidate with the most votes will be elected. We should know the identity of Dr Stafford Carson's successor by about 9.30 pm. The new Moderator will be installed at the church's General Assembly in June. In the event of a tied vote, all those sharing the same number of votes will be voted on again at the March Presbytery meetings.

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Religious language inevitably angles its way into political debates these days, and few global debates are being fought quite to vociferously as the climate change controversy. While some commentators appeal to God-talk to bolster their environmental arguments, others say God has been abducted for ideological purposes. In this week's Radio 4 Analysis programme, the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s 'Ethical Man' Justin Rowlatt asks, "Are environmentalists bad for the planet?". (Listen here).

In , Analysis producer Helen Grady wonders why do so many green campaigners rely on the language of religion.

Last week, I posted details of introductory courses in biblical studies now offered online, and free of charge, by Yale University. I suggested that the Will & Testament community might engage in an online experiment by taking the courses together and exploring the theological, moral and political implications of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. That experiment begins today.

If you've ever wondered what serious biblical scholars think about the Bible, this is your chance to find out. Yale University's project has given the web access to courses taught by Professor Christine Hayes and Professor Dale B. Martin, distinguished academics and very skilled communicators who bring a lifetime of expertise to their classes. To say the least, we are in their debt.

We begin with the Old Testament course. There are 24 lectures in this course (see Outline ); I'll be posting a new lecture every Friday on Will & Testament, giving you a weekend to read, watch or listen to the lecture, then five days for detailed discussion of the themes explored in the class. When we've completed the Old Testament course, we'll take the New Testament course.

Each accompanying thread will function as the tutorial for the topic at hand, and I will try to focus and re-focus the group on the material under discussion that particular week. You are free to watch other lectures and read ahead, but please maintain the focus of the thread on the class in question. Those joining our discussion will bring a variety of religious perspectives and post-religious or non-religious attitudes. All I ask is that we listen to each other carefully, engage respectfully, and avoid personal attacks or .

to Lecture 1. You can also download the handout for this lecture on the same page.

Copyright: Materials from the Open Yale Courses are used here under the provisions of the and in accordance with the Open Yale Courses .

It started last July, when a Christian artist created an artwork in which people who felt marginalised from biblical Christianity were encouraged to write their names and stories into the margins of a Bible. The artwork was hosted by Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art, as part of an exhibition exploring sexuality. The artist, Jane Clarke, who is also a minister with the pro-gay Metropolitan Community Church, said, "Writing our names in the margins of a Bible was to show how we have been marginalised by many Christian churches, and also our desire to be included in God's love."

But Ms Clarke later from the display an placed in a glass case, because it was being defaced by visitors to the exhibition. That was last August.

Now the head of the charity which funded the exhibition says she has been subjected to a "personal witchhunt". Dr Bridget McConnell (pictured) is head of Culture and Sport Glasgow.

According to , "She has received up to 2,000 letters, e-mails and phone calls attacking her and objecting to the art show. There have been petitions and personal visits to her office. Her office has been routinely picketed by groups with a loud hailer, calling upon her to repent, and her staff have been harassed."

Dr McConnell says some Christian campaigners have vowed to have her removed from her job. She says: "Some days you come in and ... you have to respond to a really abusive letter, of which there have been hundreds, if not thousands, and you're thinking: who is it they are writing about? I'm just a human being and if only I had the time to be as wicked as you suggest I am."

She added: "But people do not have a right not to be offended, and arguing that this debate involves an attack on Christianity is, in effect, an argument against pluralism and free speech."

On today's Sunday Sequence, the Presbyterian Moderator, Dr Stafford Carson, said that a government-backed resolution to the Presbyterian Mutual Society crisis would be a confidence-building measure for the Protestant community. I asked him directly if he was saying that the PMS issue, which has no direct relation to the devolution of policing and justice, could be seen as a "community confidence" issue in respect of policing and justice, and he said it could certainly be seen that way.

Our discussion on today's programme included John McFall MP, chair of the Treasury Select committee, Sir George Quigley, who is advising the Presbyterian Church, and the Rev Dr Stafford Carson.

We've heard some controversial theological answers to this question, but there are other answers that may seem more persuasive. In this radio interview, Jared Diamond, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs & Steel (and Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed), tries to explain "why Haiti, once a fairly prosperous country, has sunk into enduring poverty -- a condition not comparatively shared by its neighbor on the same island, the Dominican Republic. According to Diamond, Haiti's environmental conditions offer a partial explanation. But you will also find clues in the country's language, and in the legacy of slavery that has shaped Haiti's economic relationship with Europe and the US."

Listen .

Ian Paisley has spoken for the first time about praying in private with Martin McGuinness while they served together as joint heads of the Northern Ireland Executive. Dr Paisley made his comments in a public interview with me earlier this week at Queen's University. The interview is now available online. He said:

'[Martin McGuinness] took some risks. For a Sinn Fein leader to call other Republicans traitors when there was the shooting of the two Army men, I mean that was a very tough thing to say... We got on well together because we had a good foundation, and as long as we kept to that foundation all was well... There were some individual matters that he had, home matters of people being ill and his mother being ill, and we prayed together. Well, I did the praying and he did the listening, but he wanted me to do it... I offered prayer for him, and I think that was the right thing to do, and I don't care what people say. I hope that I have the same heart that Christ had, a love for others who needed help at times of need.'

I asked Ian Paisley about the irony of journalists writing stories, at the time, noting that he had failed to shake Martin McGuinness's hand in public, while they were praying together in private. Dr Paisley said he has never been impressed by staged handshakes in public.

You can listen to the whole interview on the .

Update: My interview with Ian Paisley is the front page lead in , and also makes the front page.

The current edition of the Church of Ireland Gazette published more correspondence from church members upset that , chairman of the Church of Ireland working group tasked with submitting a response to the Eames-Bradley Report, has declined to be interviewed about the group's submission.

One correspondent writes: "It is a very sad indictment on the Church and the Working Group referred to in the Gazette that Bishop Jackson has declined to give an interview about its submission to the Northern Ireland Office on the recommendations of the Consultative Group on the Past. If he did not want to take responsibility for answering questions and queries about the recommendations made, then he should never have become involved in the process at all."

The current edition of the Gazette also carries an interview with , who is also critical of the interview-shy bishop of Clogher.

You can download the Working Group's response to the Eames-Bradley report .

Update: Slugger O'Toole on the Sunday Sequence coverage of the Jackson constroversy.

This may become an online experiment for the Will & Testament community. Why don't we take a college course together? Since there is so much discussion on this site about how to read the Bible and how to apply the moral and political implications of the Bible to the contemporary world, it may be helpful to take a university course on academic biblical studies.

If you have the time, you may consider auditing the Old and New Testament introductory courses offered online, entirely for free, by Yale University. teaches the Old Testament course, and teaches the New Testament course.

You can watch each lecture in the Old Testament course , in addition to reading , and download the full .

Watch the New Testament course , and read full , alongside the syllabus.

If theology is not your thing, you can browse the other offerings from the Yale Open Courses -- from astronomy to modern languages -- .

Feel free to use this thread to record your insights, comments, and questions as you listen, watch or read the lectures on the Bible.

Some US and British soldiers are said to be unhappy about . Trijicon, a US-based manuafacturer, , says the inscriptions reflect the company's commitment to biblical values. The company's website includes: "We believe that America is great when its people are good. This goodness has been based on biblical standards throughout our history and we will strive to follow those morals."

The inscriptions on gunsights refer to these New Testament passages:

'For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.' (2 Corinthians 4: 6).

'When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."' (John 8: 12)

Update: Following the public controversy "triggered" (I know, I know ...) by this story, Trijicon has announced that i.

Savers with the Presbyterian Mutual Society are looking for further developments this week, after Presbyterian leaders met yesterday with John McFall, the Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, at Stormont.

Dr Stafford Carson, the Presbyterian Moderator, presented the select committee with a memorandum outlining their concerns about the PMS (printed below the fold).

The representatives of the Church said, "The case for the PMS savers is very simple. They are the only savers in a distressed financial institution in the UK who, during the worst post World War II recession, have been denied access to their savings for nearly 15 months. It has been the Government's proud boast that 'throughout this whole crisis, everyone that has been saving in a UK institution has been protected whenever there has been a difficulty in that institution'. That has been so regardless of the culpability attaching to the institution for its failure. It is a monstrous injustice that a small group of savers (some 10,000) in this part of the UK should be treated differently from the great mass of their peers".

A spokesman for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland added, "The Church's memorandum made it clear that the only solution which can produce (at least cost to Government) the same outcome as was achieved for other savers in the UK is for the assets and liabilities of the PMS to be absorbed by a substantial existing financial institution. The Church had made a proposal to this effect to the Government early in August. The Government was extremely dilatory in adopting the proposal and then in pursuing it, bearing in mind the remarkable expedition with which it rescued the UK¹s biggest financial institutions."

Read on for the full Presbyterian Memorandum.

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This is the latest from :

Thousands of churches in the UK are set to spend this Sunday (17 January) praying and giving offerings for people affected by the huge earthquake that devastated Haiti this week. The president of Haiti says he fears that tens of thousands of people have died but the full extent of the suffering remains unclear. Oenone Chadburn, Head of Tearfund's Disaster Management Unit, said today: 'My husband is half-Haitian, and we have spent the last few days praying and searching online for news of family and friends. We have lost one person, and we're grieving that loss. We're very encouraged that our fellow Christians will be praying and giving to the DEC Appeal this Sunday, as we stand with our brothers and sisters in Haiti at this time.'

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Joseph Serge Miot, the , of the Haiti earthquake.

His body was found crushed in the ruins of his office. The magnitude 7 quake, which hit south of the capital Port-au-Prince, wrecked the Presidential Palace, UN HQ, the Cathedral and Archbishop's Residence.

It also appears that the , along with other churches, with some worshippers killed while a service was in progress.

See for updates on Haiti crisis from aid workers and journalists.

TV evangelist , , has offered a theological explanation for the which is estimated to have taken more than 100,000 lives so far.

He :

'They were under the heel of the French, you know Napoleon the third and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the prince.' True story. And so the devil said, 'Ok it's a deal.' And they kicked the French out. The Haitians revolted and got something themselves free. But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after another.'

Pat Robertson is no stranger to controversy. He was widely criticized for claiming that , and for calling for the .

Meanwhile, actual reports from Haiti describe the devastation in the most heart-wrenching terms. , 'Joseph Delva, a reporter in the affluent suburb of Petionville, described the scene as one of total chaos, and said he had seen dozens of casualties. "I saw people under the rubble, and people killed. People were screaming 'Jesus, Jesus' and running in all directions.'

Tonight, the Disasters Emergency Committee announced that its .

Debate is raging about , which came into effect at the start of the new year. has published a list of which, they claim, would be in breach of the law. These include the words of Jesus and Muhammad.

Some media experts say the law is . Other , 'Who wanted this law in the first place?'

David Quinn, former editor of The Irish Catholic, says, ""My own personal theory is that it actually had to do with the Danish cartoon controversy of about four years ago. That there was a fear that we might get a Danish cartoon-style controversy in Ireland -- that some newspaper might publish something that Muslims found highly offensive -- and it might have repercussions for Irish trade in the Muslim world."

Evangelical Christian critics fear the law could restrict their freedom to defend the uniqueness of the Christian witness in a global religious context.

, 'One of the world's most beautiful and best-loved countries, Ireland has recently become one of the most respected as well: dynamic, go-ahead, modern, civilised - a green and pleasant silicon valley. This preposterous blasphemy law puts all that respect at risk.'

It is very difficult to find anyone willing to step forward and defend the new law. On last week's Sunday Sequence, Fianna Fail Senator Jim Walsh .

Your thoughts?

On this week's Sunday Sequence: fallout from the sex and money scandal that has shocked people in Northern Ireland. A ´óÏó´«Ã½ Spotlight investigation revealed that Iris Robinson, the wife of the First Minister, had obtained £50,000 from two property developers, which was paid to a , to help him launch a cafe, and by not declaring her financial interest in a business deal.

Iris Robinson has announced that she is to resign from all her political positions within the next few days, including membership of the party, and withdraw from public life. Now facing questions about his own involvement in the affair, her husband, First Minister Peter Robinson, is fighting for his political life, and .

As the political consequences of the scandal unfold, Sunday Sequence will be assessing the impact on Northern Ireland's religious culture. Free Presbyterian minister David McIlveen will join James McConnell, pastor to the Robinsons, the theologian Dr Gladys Ganiel, and former editor of the News Letter Austin Hunter.

Read of the Robinson scandal.
Read coverage.
Read coverage.
Read coverage in .
Read coverage.
Read The coverage.
Read coverage.

Watch the Spotlight Special.
Watch extended Newsnight coverage.
Listen to coverage on Radio 4's The World Tonight.

A Requiem Mass for Cardinal Cahal Daly was held today at Saint Peter's Cathedral, Belfast. Bishop Noel Treanor's homily is reproduced in full below the fold.

Cardinal Daly's remains now lie in state at St Peter's Cathedral, and mourners are invited to pay their respects from 9 am until 3pm tomorrow. They will arrive in St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh at 5.30 pm on Sunday, and will lie in state there ahead of the Requiem Mass at 12 noon on Tuesday, which will be broadcast live on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Ulster Medium Wave.

Pope Benedict has sent this telegram to Cardinal Brady, the Arbishop of Armagh:

DEEPLY SADDENED TO LEARN OF THE DEATH OF CARDINAL CAHAL DALY, I OFFER HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES TO YOU AND YOUR AUXILIARY BISHOP, TO THE PRIESTS, RELIGIOUS AND LAY FAITHFUL OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF ARMAGH AND TO ALL THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND. I RECALL WITH GRATITUDE CARDINAL DALY'S LONG YEARS OF DEVOTED PASTORAL SERVICE TO THE CHURCH AS PRIEST, BISHOP AND PRIMATE OF ALL IRELAND, HIS ASSISTANCE AS A MEMBER OF THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS, AND ESPECIALLY HIS SUSTAINED EFFORTS IN THE PROMOTION OF JUSTICE AND PEACE IN NORTHERN IRELAND. IN COMMUNION WITH YOU IN THE HOLY SPIRIT I PRAY THAT, THROUGH THE GRACE OF CHRIST, GOD OUR MERCIFUL FATHER MAY GRANT HIM THE REWARD OF HIS LABOURS AND WELCOME HIS SOUL INTO THE JOY AND PEACE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. TO ALL GATHERED FAR THE SOLEMN RITES OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL AND ESPECIALLY TO CARDINAL DALY'S RELATIVES AND FRIENDS, I CORDIALLY IMPART MY APOSTOLIC BLESSING AS A PLEDGE OF CONSOLATION AND HOPE IN THE LORD.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

On tomorrow's Sunday Sequence, we will look back on Cardinal Daly's live, his commitment to peace in Ireland, his relationships with politicians and other church leaders, and his contributions as a theologican and philosopher. I'll be joined by his successor as Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Sean Brady, his former colleague and brother bishop Edward Daly, Presbyterian minister Dr John Dunlop, former Church of Ireland primate Lord Eames, historian Dr Eamon Phoenix and and former deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon.

We'll also have commentary on the religion and news stories likely to dominate the news agenda in the next twelve months from Ruth Gledhill of The Times, Patsy McGarry of the Irish Times, and Alf McCreary of the Belfast Telegraph. And we'll look at some of the major issues facing our society and our world at the turn of another decade with Victims Commissioner Brendan McAllister, social commentaror Elish Rooney and sustainability expert John Woods.

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Most of the to Cahal Daly focus on his work as a peace advocate, as a staunch opponent of physical force Republicanism, and as a campaigner for Christian unity.

My memories of Cardinal Daly are less political. I interviewed him a number of times on a variety of subjects and he was never more animated than when talking about philosophy, the subject he taught at Queen's University for many years. While Reader in Scholastic Philosophy, Cahal Daly served as a peritus (a theological adviser) at the Second Vatican Council. Other periti at the Council included Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), Hans Küng, and Karl Rahner.

The first time I heard Cahal Daly speak in person was a lecture he gave as part of a symposium on Wittgenstein at Queen's in the late 80s -- which effected a neoscholastic encounter between Aquinas and Wittgenstein if I recall correctly. His Moral Philosophy in Britain from Bradley to Wittgenstein, written in the late 60s but published in the 90s, still finds its way onto syllabi in the historiography of ethics. In retirement, he continued to write on philosophical topics, and gave the occasional lecture. He collected his unpublished philosophical papers, written over many decades, for publication, and became increasingly interested in environmental ethics. That interest produced a book, The Minding of Planet Earth, that made a case for a rapprochement between faith and science, and was regarded by many environmentalists as a thoughtful attempt to do theological justice to our present ecological crisis.

Obituaries: , , , .