Tomorrow, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams will be the featured guest on the Channel 4 series, ‘The Bible: A History.’ The series bills itself as, ‘the story of the most influential book ever written, interpreted by seven prominent figures from … Read more...
Category: Morality
Sex Abuse & the Irish Catholic Church: A Resounding Critique of Clerical Culture
Writing in today’s Irish Times, Dr Derek Smyth, a psychotherapist and a priest in Foxrock parish, Co. Dublin, offers a stinging critique of Irish Catholic clerical culture and asks, ‘Why were we so silent on child abuse? Why didn’t … Read more...
The Suspension of Bishop Paul Verryn & the Zimbabwean Refugees: Problems with being a Prophet?
Last month Bishop Paul Verryn was suspended from the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. Bishop Verryn was a prominent anti-apartheid campaigner and has in recent years become well-known for opening the doors of the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg … Read more...
Evangelicals & Gay Rights in Ireland: Evangelical Alliance’s Surprise Support for Civil Partnerships Bill
One issue that is sure to bring Christian voices out in the public sphere is gay rights. The overwhelming impression that one gets is that Christians are opposed to extending gay rights, particularly when it comes to marriage or civil … Read more...
EU Year Against Poverty & Social Exclusion: Social Justice Ireland Critiques the Irish Budget
Ireland’s economic miracle is over. And for those who were passed over by the Celtic Tiger, times could get even tougher.
That’s the analysis offered by Social Justice Ireland (the organisation formerly known as the Council of Religious in Ireland … Read more...
Church Action Poverty: Northern Ireland Launch and Call to Action
“The churches in Northern Ireland are too posh-looking, their hedges are too high.”
This was the assessment offered by Margaret Blair, a volunteer at The Gap Christian outreach project in Coleraine, speaking on BBC Radio Ulster’s Sunday Sequence. Blair’s interview … Read more...
Johnston McMaster Book Review: A Passion for Justice – Social Ethics in the Celtic Tradition
The ancient Celtic world and its larger-than-life inhabitants have too often been manipulated for political and religious ends. A glance at some of the gable walls of Northern Ireland’s cities make that all too clear.
But the Celtic tradition … Read more...
God & Guns, Dodging a Bullet On Thou shall not kill?
Pardon the pun, but a US gun manufacturer has just given more ammunition to those who think that religion is an inherently violent force for evil in the world.
The manufacturer, Trijicon, has inscribed “2COR4:6” and “JN8:12” on its … Read more...
The Iris Robinson Scandal and Evangelical Culture in Northern Ireland: Rejecting or Redeeming the ‘Sinner’?
Today’s Sunday Sequence programme on BBC Radio Ulster featured a segment by Malachi O’Doherty on the effect of the Iris Robinson scandal on evangelical culture in Northern Ireland. Amongst others, O’Doherty interviewed Dr Claire Mitchell of Queen’s University Belfast, a … Read more...
Pat Robertson on Haiti Earthquake: Knowing the Mind of God
American televangelist Pat Robertson has declared that the earthquake in Haiti was a direct result of a ‘pact’ Haitians had made with the devil. He also said it is a ‘blessing in disguise’ for the beleaguered nation.
Robertson, a … Read more...
Iris Robinson scandal – What now? Meaningful Change or Business as Unusual?
Last night’s BBC Panorama programme on the Iris Robinson affair, ‘The MP and the Whistleblower,’ followed much the same script as the original Spotlight programme. The Panorama showing, geared towards a wider UK audience, merely updated the on-going saga to … Read more...