Current Affairs
Editorial: Are we our own worst enemy?
The Editor: the Rev'd Dr. Nicholas Henderson writes in his Lent editorial: So, a potentially ‘level-3’ threat asteroid is heading towards us at 38,000 mph with a 3.1% chance of hitting the earth. Increasingly, sophisticated astronomical observations are spotting more potential rock-like visitors coming from the region between the planets Mars and Jupiter and sometimes further afield still. Dystopian disaster movies and a better understanding of the ancient ages of the earth, on news of space debris coming our way, are always mindful of the epoch and evolutionary changing possibilities of another Dinosaur like extinction event. These usually resolve the crisis by sending a rocket to blow the culprit to smithereens (not wise) or much better to nudge a change in its trajectory. Interestingly, this latter scenario has been tried out successfully raising hopes for a safer future. Safer for what, we might reply? Very likely the rocket rescue concerned might come from a multi-billionaire with seemingly a huge amount of non-elected power. The same kind of power that could potentially turn off satellite navigation on a whim and plunge nations of the world into even more chaos. ... CLICK ON PICTURE TO CONTINUE
Democracy a Fragile Flower?
The Editor, The Rev'd Dr. Nicholas Henderson writes in his Editorial: At the heart of any democratic system of government must lie the ability for the ‘will of the people’ to express their preferences in an orderly and fair election. This in turn should be followed by a smooth and peaceful transition of power from one leadership group to another. That’s the minimalist principle which vests state power in the people. However, it’s not always as easy as that and despite this being a year of elections in a host of countries we seem to be drifting towards elective autocracy ...
Rough sleeping in an election year
The Editor, The Rev'd Dr. Nicholas Henderson writes: Sleeping rough in our cities has become commonplace and is on the increase. For those unfortunates spending the night in little more than cardboard boxes or makeshift tents, it’s no joke to be on the cold streets at night and physically and mentally dangerous. Tragically, now included in this category, we must add over a million people displaced from their homes in Gaza. These can also join the list of those bombed out of everyday existence in Ukraine. ...
Addressing God … Guest Editorial
Guest Editor, Michael Collins writes: It has been well observed that fidelity to tradition must be a creative fidelity. That prompts me as an historian to reflect on what tradition really is and how it comes to be. This question is of fundamental importance to those Anglicans especially who locate themselves in the catholic wing of the Church, since Tradition along with the Bible and Reason, serves as one of the sources of Anglican theology supplementary to Scripture and hence to teaching and practice. Thus, we must ask what we are being faithful to, and what is its character? To what extent is Tradition a product of history and thus in principle mutable, and to what extent is it a source of revelation independent of the Bible? For many catholic-inclined Anglicans, the Bible indeed, rather than an ahistorical deposit, is itself part of Tradition. Anglicans assert that Tradition cannot be in conflict with Scripture and if it appears to be must be reconciled with Scripture or corrected by Scripture. That position in turn invites the question of what we take Scripture to be because at the root of all these discussions is the human quest for certainty in religion and hence of the locus of authority. ...
Dreaming of World Peace
Bishop Trevor Mwamba writes: In October 1962 the United States and the Soviet Union wobbled dangerously close towards a nuclear war caused by the Cuban Missile crisis. However, because of intelligent leadership the catastrophe was avoided. The Soviet Union had placed missiles in Cuba after the United States had placed Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Italy. To resolve the crisis a secret pact was agreed in which the Soviet Union removed their missiles from Cuba and the United States quietly from Turkey and Italy months later. Being a secret pact many in the West thought the Americans won the confrontation through an unrelenting display of power and the threat of nuclear escalation. To the contrary a nuclear war was prevented because of compromise on both sides. It was possible because both President John F. Kennedy and Chairman Khrushchev in good faith were able to negotiate with each. This good faith is reflected in a letter Mrs Jacqueline Kennedy wrote to Chairman Nikita Khrushchev on December 1st 1963. It was one of her last nights in the White House after the assassination of her husband. It’s inspiring, it’s elegant, it’s moving, especially in its idea of big men and little men and the consequences of leadership thereof. ...
… but will it snow this Christmas?
The Rev'd Dr.Nicholas Henderson - Editor writes: ... but will it snow this Christmas? This is … A perennial question, usually on the lips of children but also adults who long for the delight of a seasonal covering - as long as it keeps off the roads. These days it is more often the lack of weather conducive to snowfall that troubles us most. Melting glaciers, droughts, excessive rainfall, storms, heatwaves and slowing ocean currents, all associated indisputably with human induced climate change are more the problem that afflicts us. True there are some still left for whom this can be explained away as anything but our massive despoliation of the planet with excessive emissions largely down to the burning of fossil fuel. There are also those who argue enthusiastically, with great conviction that the earth is flat and for numerous other conspiracy theories, but it still doesn’t snow as often or as much as it used to. Beyond a wistful seasonal and festive Christmas card desire for snow, this winter will be extremely difficult for those suffering bombing and missile attacks in the European backyard of Ukraine. Pictures of families huddled in freezing makeshift shelters are stark evidence of an absence of the angels’ song ‘Peace on Earth, goodwill to all.’ ...
Is equality of opportunity ever achievable without tighter regulations on targeted marketing? – Is there more we can do to protect the vulnerable?
Nicola Hughes writes: For every student studying business since 1980 Kotler and Armstrong’s Principles of Marketing has been a necessary purchase – Marketing as an industry is constantly changing and in an unsurprisingly business savvy way K&A regularly updated the ‘’Marketing Bible” so students couldn’t borrow outdated copies from the library. I didn’t have the same problem while studying Theology!
Truth and Reconciliation for Today
The Rev'd Canon Dr. Richard Truss, Guest Editor, writes: Where is the church’s voice in public affairs? We do see occasional episcopal pronouncements, and occasional letters in the press. But most of the attention the past year, when any has surfaced at all, has not been on what the church and theology might have to say to the rest of society, but on what is seen as the dire state of the Church itself - the future of the parish, the financial crisis and even conjectures as to whether it can survive at all?
How Covid-19 may have Changed the Church Forever!
Rosalind Lund
For such a time as this: The call to a deeper solidarity
Guest Editorial - The Rev'd Duncan Dormor - Lent 2021