Perspectives on religion & politics
It’s been awhile since we’ve heard the Rev. Ian Paisley rail publicly against the pope, identifying him as an ‘anti-Christ.’ But in an interview with the BBC World Service, Paisley reverted to ‘anti-Christ’ mode as he voiced his opposition to the pope’s state visit to the UK in September.
On his blog, BBC religion correspondent William Crawley says that Paisley’s comments,
Continue reading ‘Ian Paisley and the Pope: The Return of Dr No?’
In its annual report, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) has noted that it received 392 complaints about the British Humanist Association’s campaign slogan: ‘There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.’ The presence of this slogan on city buses became almost iconic.
But what received the most complaints? It was the Christian Party’s counter-campaign, which read: ‘There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life.’ 1,204 people voiced their dissatisfaction with this campaign – presumably many atheists annoyed about the complaints registered against the humanist campaign.
Continue reading ‘Christians v. Atheists? The Battle for the Buses and the Ulster Museum’
Reflections on and results from my School’s major research project, ‘Visioning 21st Century Ecumenism: Diversity, Dialogue and Reconciliation,’ have become available in a variety of outlets over the last few weeks. The research team is hoping that the publication of these results will stimulate new conversations about faith and religion on the island of Ireland.
The May/June 2010 issue of Doctrine and Life (Vol. 60, No. 5) has published an article by me titled, ‘Visioning 21st Century Ecumenism: The View from the Pulpits, the View from the Pews.’ This article outlines the major findings from our surveys of faith leaders and laypeople. These are organised under the following headings:
Continue reading ‘Visioning 21st Century Ecumenism: More Research Results Now Available’
There’s not much in Philip Pullman’s latest book, The Good Man Jesus & the Scoundrel Christ, which would be new to anyone familiar with the Gospels.
Sure, his story has two characters, Jesus and Christ, in the place of a singular ‘Jesus Christ’ figure. In Pullman’s story, Mary gives birth to twins: Jesus and Christ. Pullman sets up the Christ character as a foil to Jesus: Christ wants to build a controlling church institution, while Jesus wants to free people from the shackles of moralism and soul-destroying religious obligation.
Continue reading ‘Philip Pullman Book Review: The Good Man Jesus & the Scoundrel Christ’
Prominent atheist campaigners Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have common cause with the Orange Order: Protesting against the Pope.
Dawkins was the subject of a splashy headline in this week’s Sunday Times: Richard Dawkins calls for arrest of Pope Benedict XVI. The article said Dawkins,
Continue reading ‘What Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and the Orange Order have in Common’
Are atheists marginalised in our public conversations, even in the largely secular West? Last week, atheists had their first ever official visit to the White House. Sixty representatives from the Secular Coalition for America met with officials and discussed issues ranging from child medical neglect, military proselytizing, and faith-based initiatives. USA Today reports that ‘this is the first time an administration has met with a non-theist community.’
This has, of course, prompted outrage from the expected quarters in the US, where there is a significant minority that believes that atheism and secularism will be the downfall of the country. USA Today quotes the chairman of a group called In God We Trust, who claims:
Continue reading ‘Atheism in the Public Square: Marginalised or Militant?’
Back at Christmas time, I reviewed Peter Rollins’ latest book, The Orthodox Heretic and Other Impossible Tales. With the traditional Christian season of Lent nearly upon us, Rollins’ publisher Paraclete Press has released seven additional parables, available to all those who have purchased the book.
Rollins’ tales are short and sometimes cryptic. In the book, he urges readers to digest them slowly, contemplatively, rather than rushing from one story to the next. With tidy symbolism, the seven new parables plus the 33 in the book bring the total available to 40 – one for every day of Lent. That gives you an entire day to ponder a single parable, or to discuss it with others.
Within 15 minutes of a post about the website http://blasphemy.ie/ on the Irish Times website’s breaking news section, visitors (like myself!) received the message: ‘The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.’
I saw the blasphemy site late last night, tipped off by a friend who knows of my interest in such things. Perhaps it will be resurrected shortly. (Yes, by the time I finished writing this post I could once again access the site.)
Continue reading ‘Atheist Ireland Group Challenges Ireland’s New Blasphemy Law’
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