In their attempt to argue that effective and binding codes can be developed without a deity, atheists often mistake inferior codes – “common decency” – for absolute moral systems. The Golden Rule, or doing as you would be done by, is such a code. But the fact that men can arrive at the Golden Rule Read more
Bad religion. There’s a lot of it around still, though I am convinced there’s less of it (at least of the Christian variety) than there has been in the past. Even so, desperately bad religion dominates the daily paper, from Islamic fundamentalists filming grizzly decapitations, to the Catholic powers that be still trying to cover Read more
In Western Europe, politics and the media are still dominated by the liberal mentality that prevailed among European intellectual elites for most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and gave rise to various versions of the “theory of secularisation.” Some of those theories assumed, in the light of the changing role of the major Christian Read more
How many times in conversation do we hear ‘judge not lest you be judged’? Frequently this quotation from Christ is misapplied. When applied to gossiping or to a statement that is purely used to denigrate another it is most certainly correct. It should not however be seen as Christ saying we should not judge something Read more
Now is not a good time to be a Christian – especially, if you are a Catholic. Read The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, listen to the ABC or read Irfan Yusuf’s recent piece and it’s obvious that the critics are on a roll. Wendy Squire’s op-ed in The Age provides a good illustration of Read more
A former UK attorney-general has warned that an aggressive form of secularism is forcing British Christians to hide their beliefs. Dominic Grieve, an Anglican, told the Telegraph that this could see a nation that is “sanitised of faith”. Two years ago, the UK Government changed the law to ensure that local councils could not face Read more
An Iraqi priest from Nineveh says Christianity is finished in his homeland. “Today the story of Christianity is finished in Iraq,” the priest who identified himself as Fr Nawar told the Catholic News Agency on August 8. He is currently studying in Rome. His home city of Qaraqosh (Bakhdida) near Mosul fell to ISIS forces Read more
Tanksley has five tattoos, three of them with faith themes. A Greek Chi-Rho symbol can be found “hidden” on the inside of his left arm where the arm bends. The tattoo represents a time before Christianity was accepted and followers had to keep their faith a secret. Tanksley believes many still hesitate to express their Read more
In a few weeks, at the end of this month, Pope Francis will follow in the footsteps of his immediate two papal predecessors, by making a religious/diplomatic pilgrimage to the Holy Land to visit Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Pope John Paul II did so in March 2000, and Pope Benedict visited in 2009. Read more
British Prime Minister David Cameron has told a group of religious leaders that Christianity is the “most persecuted religion around the world”. Mr Cameron said the British government should stand up against such persecution of Christians and other faith groups. Continue reading