Who gets to name the world? By Rod Benson Imagine a government announcing that it will “right-size” a service. The phrase sounds responsible, yet tells us little. Will people lose their jobs? Will a hospital close? Who decided what the “right” size is? The wording has not concealed every fact, but it has delayed the …
The future of public theology
Francis Hoyland, The Life of Christ 71: Christ foretells the destruction of the Temple The case for ecumenical collaboration and engagement By Rod Benson Public theology has a future wherever Christians take responsibility for the public consequences of their faith. Its task is to bring theological convictions into critical conversation with the institutions, practices and …
Selective compassion: How would Jesus respond?
Ed Sheeran By Rod Benson The controversy surrounding Macklemore’s removal from Ed Sheeran’s tour eventually reaches a question deeper than celebrity politics: can compassion remain morally credible when it becomes selective? Public culture is saturated with the language of kindness, inclusion, empathy and love. Yet those virtues are tested not when they are universally applauded …
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When artists speak: Moral responsibility and the limits of celebrity activism
Ed Sheeran and Macklemore. Image Credit: Christopher Polk By Rod Benson If artists possess the freedom to address political questions, what responsibilities accompany that freedom? The dispute surrounding Macklemore’s removal from Ed Sheeran’s American tour illustrates why the answer cannot simply be that celebrities should speak whenever they possess strong convictions. Public platforms magnify both …
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Beyond Habel: Creation, eco-justice and Christian discipleship
The Season of Creation Part 3 By Rod Benson Norman Habel’s Earth Bible project and Australian Season of Creation teach Christians to notice dimensions of Scripture that anthropocentric habits of interpretation often obscure. Yet Habel’s work leaves unfinished questions. How should ecological interpretation lead to discipleship? How should Christians committed to biblical authority and the …
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