Thursday, April 14, 2005
Today's blog reinforces the contention that ultimately culture and society values all have religion at their heart.
But first: New Zealand’s trading account with the rest of the world may be in record deficit, but there is no tone of concern in Treasury’s latest advice to Ministers. In its monthly economic update it told Ministers the current account deficit – at a bonerattling $9.4 billion, or 6.4% of GDP – ‘was mainly driven by profits of foreign owned firms in New Zealand being greater than profits of New Zealand owned firms offshore’. Well that’s alright then.
The Canadian Prime Minister, Paul Martin, is fighting to stave off the collapse of his 10-month-old minority Liberal government amid a financial corruption scandal described by some commentators as the worst in the country's history. The crisis worsened when one of Mr Martin's parliamentary members defected to become an independent. The main opposition party, the Conservatives, is now drawing greater support and its leader, Stephen Harper, has been huddling with advisers all this week to consider forcing a snap election.
A new report on the religious values of Generation Y has been made by Reboot, a US Jewish group that is examining generational issues. Reboot's study, "OMG! How Generation Y is Redefining Faith in the iPod Era," is based on a survey last year of 1,385 persons ages 18 to 25. Central is the theme that young Americans, raised in a world of choice, take a "mix and match" approach to religion.
The Archbishop of Canterbury (the first to attend a pope's funeral) has signalled that the rift between Anglicans and Catholics stemming from the Reformation could finally be healed, following the reconciliation between the churches during the reign of John Paul II.
And the Archbishop of Canterbury has criticised the UK Government's welfare-to-work programme and the emphasis on school testing for undermining the part parents are able to play in their children's upbringing. Dr Rowan Williams voiced his concerns that parenting skills are being lost under the pressures of modern society and the drive for economic productivity. He also attacked the consumer society's sexualisation of childhood and called on parents to become more involved in the development of their children's lives.
The Washington Times says the current secular assault on religion comes from a network of organizations that shares logistics, troops, board members and funding sources and includes radical feminists, humanists, atheists and liberal Jewish and Christian groups. Four organizations furnish most of the leadership. The oldest and best-known is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The others are Americans United for Separation of Church and State, People for the American Way (PFAW) and the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF).
France's parliament has approved a law that will allow terminally ill patients to opt for death instead of further treatment, but which supporters say stops short of permitting euthanasia.
And a bill to allow terminally ill Californians to end their lives with lethal prescriptions cleared its first legislative hurdle on Tuesday, amid controversy over privacy issues and potential abuse. The 5-4 vote in the Assembly Judiciary Committee puts California a step closer to becoming the second state in the nation, after Oregon, to allow doctor-assisted suicide.
Ron Sider has been a burr in the ethical saddle of the evangelical world for decades. His 1977 book, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, took fellow believers to task for materialism in the face of desperate global needs. Sider, who is professor of theology, holistic ministry, and public policy at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, has just released a new jeremiad: The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience (Baker Books, 2005). Sider says the heart of the matter is the scandalous failure to live what we preach. "The tragedy is that poll after poll by Gallup and Barna show that evangelicals live just like the world. Contrast that with what the New Testament says about what happens when people come to living faith in Christ. There's supposed to be radical transformation in the power of the Holy Spirit. The disconnect between our biblical beliefs and our practice is just, I think, heart-rending."
Tail-out: A talking Jesus doll is due to go on sale in May, along with versions of Moses, the Virgin Mary and David, as a teddy bear maker tries to find a market with churches and religious families. The foot-tall Jesus doll will be able to recite five Biblical verses at the push of button on its back, while the Moses doll will recite the Ten Commandments. The Mary doll will recite a long Bible verse.
But first: New Zealand’s trading account with the rest of the world may be in record deficit, but there is no tone of concern in Treasury’s latest advice to Ministers. In its monthly economic update it told Ministers the current account deficit – at a bonerattling $9.4 billion, or 6.4% of GDP – ‘was mainly driven by profits of foreign owned firms in New Zealand being greater than profits of New Zealand owned firms offshore’. Well that’s alright then.
The Canadian Prime Minister, Paul Martin, is fighting to stave off the collapse of his 10-month-old minority Liberal government amid a financial corruption scandal described by some commentators as the worst in the country's history. The crisis worsened when one of Mr Martin's parliamentary members defected to become an independent. The main opposition party, the Conservatives, is now drawing greater support and its leader, Stephen Harper, has been huddling with advisers all this week to consider forcing a snap election.
A new report on the religious values of Generation Y has been made by Reboot, a US Jewish group that is examining generational issues. Reboot's study, "OMG! How Generation Y is Redefining Faith in the iPod Era," is based on a survey last year of 1,385 persons ages 18 to 25. Central is the theme that young Americans, raised in a world of choice, take a "mix and match" approach to religion.
The Archbishop of Canterbury (the first to attend a pope's funeral) has signalled that the rift between Anglicans and Catholics stemming from the Reformation could finally be healed, following the reconciliation between the churches during the reign of John Paul II.
And the Archbishop of Canterbury has criticised the UK Government's welfare-to-work programme and the emphasis on school testing for undermining the part parents are able to play in their children's upbringing. Dr Rowan Williams voiced his concerns that parenting skills are being lost under the pressures of modern society and the drive for economic productivity. He also attacked the consumer society's sexualisation of childhood and called on parents to become more involved in the development of their children's lives.
The Washington Times says the current secular assault on religion comes from a network of organizations that shares logistics, troops, board members and funding sources and includes radical feminists, humanists, atheists and liberal Jewish and Christian groups. Four organizations furnish most of the leadership. The oldest and best-known is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The others are Americans United for Separation of Church and State, People for the American Way (PFAW) and the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF).
France's parliament has approved a law that will allow terminally ill patients to opt for death instead of further treatment, but which supporters say stops short of permitting euthanasia.
And a bill to allow terminally ill Californians to end their lives with lethal prescriptions cleared its first legislative hurdle on Tuesday, amid controversy over privacy issues and potential abuse. The 5-4 vote in the Assembly Judiciary Committee puts California a step closer to becoming the second state in the nation, after Oregon, to allow doctor-assisted suicide.
Ron Sider has been a burr in the ethical saddle of the evangelical world for decades. His 1977 book, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, took fellow believers to task for materialism in the face of desperate global needs. Sider, who is professor of theology, holistic ministry, and public policy at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, has just released a new jeremiad: The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience (Baker Books, 2005). Sider says the heart of the matter is the scandalous failure to live what we preach. "The tragedy is that poll after poll by Gallup and Barna show that evangelicals live just like the world. Contrast that with what the New Testament says about what happens when people come to living faith in Christ. There's supposed to be radical transformation in the power of the Holy Spirit. The disconnect between our biblical beliefs and our practice is just, I think, heart-rending."
Tail-out: A talking Jesus doll is due to go on sale in May, along with versions of Moses, the Virgin Mary and David, as a teddy bear maker tries to find a market with churches and religious families. The foot-tall Jesus doll will be able to recite five Biblical verses at the push of button on its back, while the Moses doll will recite the Ten Commandments. The Mary doll will recite a long Bible verse.
