Anglicans may not have a Pope, but it did have Henry Chadwick until he died last week at 87. He is remembered as church historian, scholar, ecumenist and person of deep faith.
About seven in 10 of those surveyed said they believed that many religions can lead to eternal life and that there is more than one true interpretation of the teachings of their own religion. A majority of the members of almost every religious tradition agreed with those positions — including Southern Baptists and Catholics.
If Ruth Gledhill has it right, the leaders of GAFCON have embraced a strategy aimed at creating “change from within.” This is a significant, encouraging, and, for them, no doubt galling development because Peter Akinola, Martyn Minns and Co., had previously argued that the sins of those who support the blessing of same-sex relationships were so great that true Christians could not keep company with them.
The GAFCON leadership has a list of eight people who are not welcome to observe the proceedings under any circumstances. The ban makes sense considering the refusal of the Primates at the conference to acknowledge and condemn violence against LGBT persons.
Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe hates the British, is violently homophobic and will do anything, including political assassination to stay in power. The Anglican Church is paying the price for standing with the people of Zimbabwe.
Today today was a big day for pronouncements in the Anglican Communion, including publication of a statement about the Archbishop of Caterbury’s hope for Lambeth, an adress aby the Bishop of Jerusalem asking GAFCON participants to show humility and seek unity, and an adress by Archbishop Peter Akinola that was included pointed attacks on the Archbishop of Caterbury.
Jesus said that we should give alms in private rather than when others are watching. A substantial body of current psychological research points against Jesus’ advice. One of the most significant factors determining whether people give to charity is their beliefs about what others are doing. Those who make it known that they give to charity increase the likelihood that others will do the same.
Relying on statements from his “friends”, the Sunday Telegraph reports that Rt. Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester will decline an invitation to attend Lambeth next month, and that others will join him.
In a way, the world is a great liar. It shows you it worships and admires money, but at the end of the day it doesn’t. It says it adores fame and celebrity, but it doesn’t, not really. The world admires, and wants to hold on to, and not lose, goodness. It admires virtue. At the end it gives its greatest tributes to generosity, honesty, courage, mercy, talents well used, talents that, brought into the world, make it better. That’s what it really admires.
Where you live is partly determined by where you can afford to live, of course. But the “Big Sort” does not seem to be driven by economic factors. Income is a poor predictor of party preference in America; cultural factors matter more. For Americans who move to a new city, the choice is often not between a posh neighbourhood and a run-down one, but between several different neighbourhoods that are economically similar but culturally distinct.