Almost all of the British papers carried the story about a new film claiming that Jesus visited Glastonbury as a young man. This story has turned up everywhere, from the red tops to the quality papers.

Apart from being an excellent example of how easy it is to win a lot of free publicity with a well-timed press release, the story also shows up two more depressing trends…

Did anyone see 'Revelations' on channel 4 last night? The programme – Talking to the Dead – looked at...

Hang on. This sounds familiar. And perhaps I do watch too much TV. But it has been a good series hasn't it? Last night they were looking at spiritualist churches and the people who attend them.

My thoughts about spiritualist churches before watching the program were not positive. A seriously ill and very trusting friend of mine was recently terrified by a spiritualist devotee who told her that she had seen an evil spirit on her, which was causing her disease. This led to weeks of worry by my friend, who was wracking her brain, trying to figure out how she had invited Satan into her life. I was not impressed. Downright furious in fact.

A couple of weeks ago The Washington Post ran a leader that was critical of the Methodist Church in Britain’s Conference resolution to ban BNP members from becoming members of the Church.

“If the Church is going to make gospel standards a requirement for membership, the BNP soon will be larger than the Church,” the article concluded cynically.

Here it is in full.

Today I came across a story online featured in the American publication, Christianity Today, bearing the news that United Methodists have defeated amendments which would have made Church membership open to all Christians regardless of sexual orientation.

So, should the observation be: “If the Church is going to make gospel standards a requirement for membership, homosexuality soon will be larger than the Church”?

Did anybody see 'Revelations' on channel 4 last night? The program - How to find God - observed a small group of agnostics (including an unemployed freegan, a comedy writer and a student) who were attending an Alpha course for the first time. The documentary followed them to see if any would embrace Christianity along the way.

In the initial stages, there weren't really any surprises: questions about the historical Jesus, asking why God lets people suffer, debating the literal truths of the Bible – all standard fare. But then, on a weekend away, the leader encouraged the (still unconvinced) agnostics to open themselves to speaking in tongues! And perhaps unsurprisingly, a few opened themselves to making a swift exit...

In 2007 an article by the Revd Howard Mellor suggested that numbers of active ordained ministers in British Methodism are likely to drop over the next decade by 40%, as a high cohorts of retirees are not replaced by sufficient new ordinands.

This projected loss, together with ageing congregations, will inevitably mean substantial changes within Methodism.

Planning to deal with this is already underway with investigations into potential amalgamations of circuits, with the prospect of a future reorganisation of districts.

The Shack is an unusual book. It is, first and foremost, a good read. We are drawn into the life and thoughts of Mackenzie Allen Phillips over an extraordinary weekend. Mack meets God, but in unexpected forms. Mack has to face his own grief, anger and loss of faith.

Basic questions like the problem of human suffering, the existence of a living, loving God and our individual responsibilities to ourselves and those around us are teased out in challenging terms.

I recently saw a TV programme on Christianity in Africa. In 1900 there were just 10 million Christians in Africa; today there are over 390 million. It was suggested that this great surge only came once the religion brought by western missionaries was Africanized.

The use of African music and incorporation into the faith of indigenous perceptions of the spirit world and local beliefs about witchcraft has led to a flourishing Christianity that fits the African psyche and culture. Are there lessons for European Christianity, I wondered?

There are probably at least as many answers to this question as there are hymns. The subject of hymns and religious music creates discussion, debate and even division.

In 1779 in the preface to the very first collection of hymns for the use of the people called Methodists, John Wesley identified the following points...

As I try to explain to my toddler what Christmas is, I find it hard and confusing to match the true events with what this celebration has become. "Christmas is the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ," I say proudly.

Then I have to correct myself, "Though Father Christmas is a Nordic tradition, still I am sure at least one of the three wise men wore a red robe and had a beard. Also, baby Jesus was not really born on the 25th of December..." I mumble on. Puzzled, my toddler stares at me blank. I would too.

I read a lot of newspapers and after a while you get a bit desensitized to it all - it's not easy to be shocked. Especially by the Church Times.

So I was surprised to find myself literally incandescent with rage over the headline Vatican to test for 'stable masculinity' in ordinands in last Friday's edition.

The story basically says that the Vatican is to endorse psychological screening to root out 'deep-seated homosexual tendencies' in ministerial candidates.

Gay men indentified by this process will be considered unsuitable for the priesthood, even if they are happy to remain celibate.