The best ideas are common property
No. 1 of 47. First published 28 Nov 2007 In December 2007, an official delegation of Australian Christian leaders will visit Israel and Palestine. The purpose of the delegation’s visit is to meet with and express friendship and prayerful support for its Christian counterparts in Palestine and Israel. During the visit the delegation will also …
Continue reading "Australian Christian leaders to visit Palestine"
By Rod Benson In 1966, American episcopal moral theologian Joseph Fletcher published a popular book titled, Situation Ethics: The New Morality. In the book he advocated a ‘new’ approach to Christian ethics and moral decision-making which occupied a middle way between the two extremes of legalism and antinomianism. For Fletcher, this approach, labelled ‘situationism,’ was …
A pilgrim in Castile and León, en route to Santiago de Compostela. In J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Two Towers, the hobbits Frodo and Sam attempt to cross a treacherous swamp called the Dead Marshes. Their guide is Gollum, who murderously craves the Ring of Power that Frodo carries. Apparently reformed, Gollum has promised to lead the …
Continue reading "Less power, more grace: final words on creeds"
Delegates celebrating unity at the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Karlsruhe, Germany, September 2022. In my last post, I outlined three core purposes of creeds. Here, I outline four more purposes of creeds that guarantee their enduring relevance for the church. First, creeds serve an apologetic purpose. While Judaism has the Shema, Muslims have the Shahadah and Tashahhud, and some …
House of St Ananias, Damascus, said to be the place where Ananias baptised Saul who became Paul the Apostle. Creeds should not be forced upon people nor used for leverage in power disputes. Yet they have the potential to do much good. Creeds are public statements of biblical doctrines through which Christians and churches affirm …
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