Vaughan Roberts
LightNews LightNews
banner
vaughanroberts.bsky.social
Vaughan Roberts
@vaughanroberts.bsky.social
640 followers 670 following 140 posts

Writer and speaker; priest and canon emeritus, spouse, father and grandfather. Interested in sport, culture, religion and how organisations function.

Videos

Vaughan Edward Roberts is a Church of England clergyman. Since 1998, he has been the rector of St Ebbe's, Oxford. In 2009, he became Director of the Proclamation Trust.

Source: Wikipedia
Art 21%
Political science 18%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

churchtimes.bsky.social
churchtimes.bsky.social @churchtimes.bsky.social · 7h
That the AI app #Grok was able to generate #deepfake sexualised images of women and children, and post them on social media, was “truly appalling” and must be stopped, the Bishop of Oxford, Dr Steven Croft, said

#ai #Ofcom #KeirStarmer #churchnews #churchtimes
Bishop of Oxford condemns Grok and backs ban on ‘truly apalling’ AI deepfakes
‘I completely support the calls to X to withdraw the service and to Ofcom to investigate and to enforce the law’ Dr Croft says
www.churchtimes.co.uk

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

rupertread.bsky.social
Rupert Read @rupertread.bsky.social · 1d
My new piece for the Church Times argues, in these times of "civilisational unravelling", churches can become centres of community resilience. Read now 👇

www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...
Quote reads: “...if the Church leads with humility and boldness, then, amid the coming carnage, something great may begin: a renewal of Christianity as a dark-green, world-engaged faith, a bearer of prophecy and revelation, a keeper of awe - a faith that refuses to let this good earth go gentle into endless night.”

vaughanroberts.bsky.social
Vaughan Roberts @vaughanroberts.bsky.social · 1d
Excellent piece⬇️

Reposted by Patrick Dunleavy, Steve Peers, Andrew Scott , and 6 more

adilray.bsky.social
Adil Ray @adilray.bsky.social · 2d
Nadim Zahawi arrived in the UK from Iraq as a child refugee. His family claimed asylum once they were here. Today he has joined Reform who will stop all in country asylum applications. Under his new party, his own family fleeing persecution would be immediately deported.

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

churchtimes.bsky.social
churchtimes.bsky.social @churchtimes.bsky.social · 2d
"We know that Bowie’s spirituality was not some vague, feelgood affectation, but grounded, informed, and of the utmost significance"

#DavidBowie #music
How spiritual was David Bowie?
From his childhood experiences of Anglicanism onwards, faith and spirituality informed David Bowie’s work, says Peter Ormerod
www.churchtimes.co.uk

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

salfordrev.bsky.social
Andy Salmon @salfordrev.bsky.social · 4d
In any civilised country the proper response to a horrible incident like this is “there will be a full investigation and when we know the facts the right thing will be done” but sadly it seems the USA is no longer a civilised nation. www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...
How the ICE shooting in Minneapolis unfolded
BBC Verify breaks down how the shooting which killed a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis unfolded.
www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Nina Jankowicz, Peter Thorne, Euan G. Ritchie , and 12 more

bencollins.bsky.social
Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 5d
In America you drop your kid off at school, get your brains blown out on the ride home, then the Vice President drops everything for a week to call you a terrorist, to slander your family, to protect the circumstances that led to your death so they can do it again. It is government by Alex Jones.

Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky, Mark D. White, Iveta Silova , and 2 more

timothysnyder.bsky.social
Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 5d
The Trump administration is excusing murder by ICE using the same lies as those told by Maduro’s regime. These lies are part of the logic of death squads. Govt controls the story & the next murder is easier. And suddenly this is normal and people simply disappear.
snyder.substack.com/p/maduro-in-...
Maduro in Minneapolis
Murderous Lies
snyder.substack.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, John McLaren, Christopher Wright , and 14 more

radleybalko.bsky.social
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 5d
Yes, JD. Let’s ask them if they think a stay at home mom, avowed Christian, and widow of a veteran deserved to be shot in the face and left to bleed out in her own car after dropping her 6-year-old off at school, for the crime of looking out for her neighbors. Let’s ask everyone running for office.

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

davidallengreen.bsky.social
dag @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 6d
We are Christopher Isherwood, watching the scenes in the Berlin street below from our apartment window above

Watching from afar further shifts in a worsening polity

By me

Substack: emptycity.substack.com/p/we-are-chr...

Personal Blog: davidallengreen.com/2026/01/we-a...
We are Christopher Isherwood, watching the scenes in the Berlin street below from our apartment window above.
Watching from afar further shift in a worsening polity
emptycity.substack.com

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

lbcwatchuk.bsky.social
LBC Watch @lbcwatchuk.bsky.social · 6d
Saw this on X.

Merlin Strategy, run by Scarlet Maguire (formerly of JL Partners) is Farage's favoured polling company. Until very recently, registered at the same address as the Brexit Party's old one.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

Reposted by Tom Shakespeare, Raffaella Ravinetto, Vaughan S. Roberts , and 4 more

georgemonbiot.bsky.social
George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 9d
I'm writing about the Palestine Action hunger strikers at the moment, any of whom could die at any moment, and the astonishing media and government silence surrounding them. The Establishment seems to have become even crueller than when Thatcher was PM.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Vaughan S. Roberts

lewisgoodall.com
Lewis Goodall @lewisgoodall.com · 9d
You'll be amazed to hear that on the stock market

Chevron ⬆️9%
Halliburton ⬆️10%
Exxon ⬆️4%
ConocoPhillips ⬆️8%

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

davidleavitt.bsky.social
David Leavitt @davidleavitt.bsky.social · 9d
Trump claims it "won't cost us anything" to run Venezuela.

He also said Mexico would pay for the wall.

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

jonburkeuk.bsky.social
Jon Burke🌍 @jonburkeuk.bsky.social · 9d
Almost five years to the day since Trump tried to overthrow the U.S Government, people are expressing surprise that he’s overthrown another and is threatening to overthrow more.

All those ‘don’t take him seriously’ journalists and ‘commentators’ should hang their heads in shame.

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

mehdirhasan.bsky.social
Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 11d
Elon Musk has proudly built an AI that can be exploited for what is basically child pornography.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk is calling for the execution of his political opponents.

And people are… ok with this?

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

lizwebster.bsky.social
Liz Webster 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇬🇧🇪🇺 @lizwebster.bsky.social · 17d
🚨 James Dyson backed Brexit believing it would protect British 🇬🇧 enterprise, but now Brexit reality threatens Dyson.

Leaving the EU gave ministers freedom to gut APR & BPR, protections designed to stop productive businesses being broken up to pay tax.

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

sueric.bsky.social
Tooey @sueric.bsky.social · 23d
Former President Bill Clinton calling for transparency.

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

parodypm.bsky.social
Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 23d
As a man of the people, I will always defend trail hunting, which I know is a top priority for all my working class constituents who own horses and enjoy simple pleasures like ripping foxes apart for laughs.

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts, Christina Pagel

chadbourn.bsky.social
Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 23d
In a joint statement, the prime ministers of Greenland and Denmark urged the US to show respect, saying annexation is not an option.

Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Jens Frederik Nielsen stressed that Greenland belongs to its people, not the United States.

Reposted by Graham Dutfield, Mark Priestley, Vaughan S. Roberts

josiahmortimer.bsky.social
Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 23d
There's a word for selling political influence for cash... (sadly Reform aren't the first to do so)

Via Private Eye
FOLLOW THE LEADERS REFORM UK's 2024 general election manifesto, titled "Our Contract with You", promised the party "will end the corruption of our government and politics" and thereby "make Britain a more democratic" and "accountable" country. So, how is it going about bringing in this new era of ethics and accountability? Earlier this month it emerged that the party has set up a "Leaders' Club", for those donating at least £10,000 a year. Attempting to convince prospective wealthy donors to sign up, it describes the club as "Reform UK's most exclusive inner circle" and reveals that "members gain exceptional behind-the-scenes access... As a recognised Leader of Reform UK, your support becomes a defining force in shaping our strategy, amplifying our impact, and Image 2: steering the party's future direction." So, completely different from the Tories' "Leader's Group" for wealthy donors in the days of David Cameron, Boris Johnson and others, then!

vaughanroberts.bsky.social
Vaughan Roberts @vaughanroberts.bsky.social · 24d
A really theological/ecclesiological film ...
dshervington.bsky.social David Shervington @dshervington.bsky.social · 24d
Just seen the new Knives Out. Fun film but the way all the action comes to a sudden pause, and we all have to wait for a while as Father Judd quietly prays over the phone with Louise is probably the most unexpected and exquisite and profound movie moment I've come across all year. Beautiful.

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

dshervington.bsky.social
David Shervington @dshervington.bsky.social · 24d
Just seen the new Knives Out. Fun film but the way all the action comes to a sudden pause, and we all have to wait for a while as Father Judd quietly prays over the phone with Louise is probably the most unexpected and exquisite and profound movie moment I've come across all year. Beautiful.

vaughanroberts.bsky.social
Vaughan Roberts @vaughanroberts.bsky.social · 25d
My recent review of "The Church Must Grow or Perish: Robert H Schuller and the Business of American Christianity" by Mark T Mulder & Gerardo Marti (Eerdmans, 2025) for the Journal of Contemporary Religion is now available here as an eprint:
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/SIDKN...

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

en.france24.com
FRANCE 24 English @en.france24.com · 27d
US 'pressuring' EU not to use frozen Russian assets for Kyiv, Ukraine official says
US 'pressuring' EU not to use frozen Russian assets for Kyiv, Ukraine official says
The Trump administration is seeking to discourage European countries from using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine's war effort, a senior Ukrainian official said Wednesday, adding that President Volodymyr Zelensky would lobby Kyiv's European allies to tap the Russian assets at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday.
f24.my

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

bbcstever.bsky.social
Steve Rosenberg @bbcstever.bsky.social · Dec 12
One Russian paper today sees "a split in the Western camp. This is objectively good for Russia.” Other papers: “crisis” in metals industry & “more than 40% of working Russians surveyed have barely enough/not enough money before payday for food & essential goods.” #ReadingRussia
Russian paper: "We see a split in the Western camp. This is objectively good for Russia."
YouTube video by Steve Rosenberg
youtu.be

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

davidatkinsonpoet.bsky.social
David Atkinson @davidatkinsonpoet.bsky.social · Dec 10
No better time of year to contemplate the world’s incorrigible plurality, than Christmas. The haves & have nots, the spiritual & secular

Under this sits MacNeice’s agnosticism & his father’s profound faith

'more than glass between the snow & the huge roses'

#poetry
#poemoftheday
#christmas

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 5 more

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Dec 9
Wow -- Russia reportedly plotted last year to plant bombs on US-bound flights (gift link) giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Reposted by Vaughan S. Roberts

markjacob.bsky.social
Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · Dec 7
Only 2.6% of the people picked up in Homeland Security’s latest immigration crackdown in Chicago had criminal records.
Meanwhile, 100% of the people who are currently president are convicted felons.

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Peter Thorne, Thomas Backhaus , and 19 more

amonck.bsky.social
Adrian Monck @amonck.bsky.social · Dec 7
From the @wsj.com chief foreign correspondent