NEWS ITEMS
25/03/09 13:07 Filed in: MINISTRY
Religious leaders answer Hawking
Britain’s top religious leaders have rebutted physicist Stephen Hawking’s assertion that God is ‘not necessary’ to explain the origins of the universe. The Archbishop of Canterbury told The Times, ‘Belief in God is not about plugging a gap in explaining how one thing relates to another in the universe. It is the belief that there is an intelligent, living agent on whose activity everything ultimately depends for its existence.’ The Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks, also rejected the suggestion that science has made God redundant. ‘Science is about explanation. Religion is about interpretation,’ he wrote. The Archbishop of Westminster and the chair of the Muslim Council of Britain also weighed into the debate sparked by Prof Hawking’s claim that it is now ‘not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.’
Sources: The Times (3/9); Daily Telegraph (3/9)
Bibles and rosaries lowered to Chilean miners
Rosaries blessed by the Pope have been lowered to each of the 33 Chilean miners trapped half a mile underground and Bibles were also delivered. Along with fresh clothing and other items, religious materials are being sent down narrow shafts to buoy up the miners’ spirits. The fact that the miners have survived and stayed mentally fit since the collapse in the San Jose gold and copper mine on 5 August has been dubbed the ‘Miracle of the San Jose mine’ by Chileans. ‘They have faced this challenge with such strength, discipline and faith,’ Chilean Cardinal, Francisco Javier Errazuriz, said when he held a mass at the mine head and sent the rosaries down to them.
Sources: The Times (3/9); Daily Mirror (30/8); The Tablet (4/9)
‘Explosive growth’ of Christianity is changing China
The meteoric growth of Christianity in China’s state-registered churches is beginning to affect society and industry, according to a BBC Radio 4 Crossing Continents report. The General Manager of an industrial valves factory run on Christian lines told Christopher Landau that Christian staff ‘have a much better heart’ and are more reliable employees. Landau learnt that over a hundred academics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences are studying the impact of Christian entrepreneurs in the Weng Jo area and at the role of Christianity in promoting China’s economic development. He also witnessed the contribution churches are making to elderly people’s care. Churches themselves, such as St Paul’s Nanjing, are growing at a phenomenal rate and impacting people of all ages, Landau found.
Source: BBC Radio 4 (2/9)
African bishops urge economic reform
Some 400 African bishops of the Anglican Communion last week urged the Church to help galvanise Africa in socio-economic and political reform and meet the pressing challenges faced by the continent. Meeting in Entebbe, Uganda, they recognised that, while ‘the centre of gravity of Christianity appears to be shifting’ to Africa, ‘the Church’s relevance’ on ‘social, economic and political transformation’ lags behind. The bishops called for concerted ‘proactive, practical engagement with good governance and infra-structural development’. They demanded an end to all forms of abuse and slavery, especially of women and children, and called for renewed emphasis on HIV/AIDS and mitigating the effects of climate change. The bishops identified the need for new forms of theological education that will engage with ‘the socio-cultural realities of the African Church’ more effectively.
Source: Church Times (3/9)
Emerging Church points the way
The reformation that today’s Church needs is likely to be found in the Emerging Church movement, according to Father Richard Rohr, a keynote speaker at last weekend’s Greenbelt festival. The Franciscan founder of the Centre for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico warned against reformations based on anger or on ‘dualistic’, ‘either-or’ thinking. He said that those who move away from traditional churches and become involved in ‘Emerging’ expressions of Church, should ‘keep one foot in the mother church’. Fr Rohr said the movement was happening spontaneously all over the world in many denominations. He outlined four ‘pillars’ that would keep it from making the mistakes of previous reformations: ‘honest Jesus scholarship’ that accurately reflects the range of Jesus’ teaching, ‘peace and justice issues’, ‘the contemplative mind’ and ‘finding appropriate forms of community’.
Source: Baptist Times (3/9)
French Church fury at Sarkozy’s Gypsy expulsions
Roman Catholic leaders in France have denounced President Sarkozy’s new anti-crime policy which is being used to expel foreign-born Gypsies and bulldoze their makeshift homes. The sharpest criticism came from Toulouse Archbishop Robert Le Gall who told Lourdes pilgrims that Gypsies are ‘our brothers’ just as Jews deported to wartime death camps had been. The Archbishop of Paris also said he would tell Interior Minister Brice Hortefaux that the government’s action had created an ‘unhealthy atmosphere’ and warned ‘there are some lines one does not cross’. Also during the week, Versailles Bishop Eric Aumonier visited a local Gypsy camp and told them he hoped his presence would allow their voice to be heard.
Source: The Tablet (3/9)
Rev to return?
Sightings of actor and Rev star Tom Hollander wandering around the Greenbelt arts festival with flowers in his hair pursued by a cameraman have prompted speculation that the BBC is set to bring back its acclaimed TV comedy next year. Also over the weekend, Hollander and series’ writer James Wood spoke to a packed Big Top audience. Hollander won warmth as he described his own faith position as ‘edging towards something’. Other high-profile names at the festival included former International Development Secretary, Clare Short, poet Roger McGough and comedians Milton Jones and Jeremy Hardy. Drama was spear-headed by a powerful prison drama Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train.The biggest cinematic coup was the UK premiere of Africa United, a tragic-comic family film about the hazardous journey of a group of children from Rwanda to South Africa for the World Cup.
Source: Church Times (3/9)
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