Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, will step down later this year. He is described as “Britain’s foremost theologian” in an article by Toby Helm and Julian Coman in the Guardian. “In an incendiary book”, called Faith in the Public Square, the Archbishop is forthright in his views about such topics as the Big Society: “‘Big Read more
Monsignor William Lynn was convicted for child endangerment on June 22. For the Catholic Church in the US this conviction shows that “that the courts will not afford clergymen a version of the Nazi’s Nuremburg defense that they “were only following orders”,” according to Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo, writing in the Washington Post. According to Stevens-Arroyo, “The big loser Read more
In the Gifford Lectures given last month, Diarmaid MacCulloch, professor of the history of the church at Oxford University, reflected on the notion of silence. Mark Vernon considers that “The lectures present a lively history of silence in the church, and left me with a clear sense that this is a history that affects us all Read more
On Eureka Street TV a few weeks ago Judge Michael Kirby introduced and launched Five Uneasy Pieces (FUP), a book about Scripture and sexuality. Australasian Anglican scholars responded to FUP with a collection of writings called Sexegesis: An Evangelical Response to Five Uneasy Pieces on Homosexuality, Gordon Preece being one of the co-editors. He writes that “Sexegesis is Read more
The chief executive of the Southern District Health Board has ‘stated that “abortion services would be provided closer to home”, no doubt meaning at Southland Hospital’, according to Norman MacLean, who opposes the introduction of such services. He says that the introduction of abortion services brings a “conflict of conscience” for many staff members, is opposed Read more
We can take pride in the fact that New Zealand is a democratic society and our freedom is guaranteed. So what was Sky City thinking of when it threatened to dismiss an employee for having a small pocket sized Bible on her at work? “If the reading of her bible took place in those times Read more
The imminent selection of Mormon Mitt Romney as the Republican Candidate in the next presidential election in the USA has given rise to the so called “Mormon Moment”. Suddenly Mormons and Mormonism is in the news. This is “a strange convergence of developments offering Mormons hope that the Christian nation that persecuted, banished or killed Read more
Rio plus 20 is upon us – 20 years after the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro agreed on Conventions to keep our planet sustainable. They were more honoured in the breach than the observance, but at least they exist. Is this our last chance to implement them and save our God-given world? One Read more
If the the law is changed to allow same sex adoption will the new law treat female couples and male couples equally? Under existing law it is illegal for a single male to adopt a female. If the law is changed to allow same sex couples to adopt, will a male couple be allowed to Read more
As the support for same-sex marriage grows stronger I’m realising what a great treasure civil unions are. Central to their value has been the ability to subvert thinking about how and with whom we can be intimately bound to one another. To point out that loving relationships are many and varied. To show that same-sex Read more