Instead of facing problems such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, and global conflict, Archbishop Desmond Tutu told the BBC that the Church, particularly the Anglican Communion, is
Is toleration and inclision the secret to a successful empire or hegemony? Yale Law Professor Amy Chau argues that all of the world-dominant powers in history — among them, Achaemenid Persia, imperial Rome, Tang Dynasty China, the Mongol empire, the Dutch commercial empire of the 17th century, the British Empire and hegemonic America — prospered by a strategy of tolerance and inclusion, the embrace (and exploitation) of diversity and difference.
Some significant voices on the right that are disillusioned about political engagement. David Kuo, former aide in the Bush White House, for example, talks about the need for Christians to “fast from politics” for a few years. David Helm, executive editor of the Christian Century disagrees.
For many urban churches, a social ministry naturally moves beyond feeding the homeless to offering housing and jobs to the neighborhoods they serve. Yet, few seminaries offer the clergy the coursework they need to be succcessful at this ministry. The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania hopes to fill this gap.
The Diocese of Niagara, which makes up the Southern part of Ontario, meeting at its annual synod, Saturday voted by large margins to allow civilly-married gay couples, “where at least one party is baptized,” to receive a church blessing.
Andrew Linzey, an Oxford professor, writes that the Church of England has an historic opportunity now that the Prime Minister has decided to pull the government out of the process used to choose British bishops. Prof. Linzey calls for the Church of England to follow the model used by the Episcopal Church and have the laity and clergy of each diocese directly choose their bishops by election.
David Kuo of Beliefnet suggests that the sporting public’s response to cheating is becoming increasingly ambiguous. And that’s bad.
We cannot recognize the legitimacy of recent actions by the Province of the Southern Cone in purporting to extend its jurisdiction beyond its own borders. We call upon the Archbishop of Canterbury to make clear that such actions are not a valid expression of Anglicanism and are in contravention of the ancient and continuing traditions of the Church. They aggravate the current tensions in the Anglican Communion
From the Associated Press: When some of the world’s leading religious scholars gather in San Diego this weekend, pasta will be on the intellectual menu. They’ll be talking about a satirical pseudo-deity called the Flying Spaghetti Monster, whose growing pop culture fame gets laughs but also raises serious questions about the essence of religion.
The Diocese of Washington’s fourth annual online Advent calendar will make its debut on December 1. Beneath each “window” in the calendar, visitors will find a photograph of one of the figures from the annual crèche exhibit at Washington National Cathedral and links to a daily meditation, a daily carol (courtesy of Trinity Church, Wall Street) and a giving opportunity (most of them culled from Episcopal Releif and Development’s annual catalog.)