No. 4 of 47. First published 30 Nov 2007. War poetry. Something many of us wish we had no need for, but a literary genre of immense significance nevertheless. When you think of war poets, you might recall Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, John McCrae or others. In my view, one of the most moving poems …
Joseph Fletcher and situation ethics
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 …
Less power, more grace: final words on creeds
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 …
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Four more purposes of 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 …
Three core purposes of creeds
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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