Articles

Facing up to Richard Dawkins and the New Atheism

01 Oct 2010  |  Author: Fr Scott Cowdell  | Theme: The Arts, Sciences and Culture; Public theology and ethics

For many of us we have no problem reconciling our religious and spiritual vision with the world according to modern science. But many religious people are very anti-science, and very anti-much-else about the modern world, too. In many places, human freedoms that we enjoy are denied in the name of religion, while religious ideology is taught in place of proper science and proper history. Richard Dawkins condemns such bad religion, in company with a great many of the faithful. But his critique of bad religion becomes a critique of all religion, and his scientific vision is used to justify militant atheism, turning science into an all-encompassing ideology leaving no room for religion in general and for Christian faith in particular. This is a highly contentious view and I reject it outright.
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Nuclear weapons and other cheerful things

07 Aug 2008  |  Author: Dr Sue Wareham  | Theme: Civil society and politics; Public theology and ethics

I chose the title partly because we seem to be bombarded with not very cheerful things in the news every day, so much so that it’s very tempting to switch off totally, even for people of faith for whom hope is, or should be, a driving force. But if we do switch off from the burdens and problems that this world is currently carrying, then those problems will become even more entrenched, and our children and grandchildren will inherit a fairly messed up planet. That is not an option, so we have no choice but to turn things around. To do that we need hope that it’s possible, and I believe there exists good reason for us to hope. I’m going to focus mostly on the issue of nuclear weapons, but also broaden the scope a little.
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Islam and Christianity: Can the two live in peace?

01 Apr 2008  |  Author: Rev'd Prof James Haire  | Theme: Religions and dialogue; Indigenous reconciliation;

This public lecture deals with the inter - relationship of Christianity and Islam in the search for the creation of communities of peace around the world. It begins by looking at the violent worlds in which the two religions, particularly Christianity, began, and then goes on to look at the transformed communities of peace in the development of both religions...
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Opening of George Browning House

09 Feb 2008  |  Author: Archbishop Francis Carroll  | Theme: Religions and dialogue; Indigenous reconciliation;

Today marks a significant step forward in the Centre’s own pilgrim journey. We pray for God’s blessing on this building and the future of the Centre “that your eyes may be open night and day towards this house”...
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Public theology: A Latin captivity of the Church?

01 Aug 2007  |  Author: Rev'd Prof James Haire  | Theme: Religions and dialogue; Civil society and politics

This lecture looks at the development of Public Christian Theology in Asia. It asks two major questions. First, to what extent are the assumptions of Public Christian Theology actually the assumptions of Post-Enlightenment Western Christian Theology? This is a pressing issue for the methodologies in the Public Theology of Asian Christian theologians. Does the agenda of much Public Christian Theology actually address the situation of Christianity in Asia, for example, or only seek to address the internal Angst of Western Christianity? Second, where Christianity is a minority (albeit, large minority) faith, what is the contribution of a Public Christian theology to the debates of civil society? This is especially pressing where the cultural aspects of a world religion other than Christianity (e.g., Islam in Indonesia, Buddhism in Thailand and Hinduism in India) heavily influence the agenda of the discourses of civil society. In addition to an overview, this lecture draws on the praxis of theology in Indonesia, especially during the reconciliation process (2001 – 2005) after the violence between Muslims and Christians in the Molucca Islands.
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