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Section: Religion

  • RELIGION

    Culture warriors have no place in Catholic life (full version)

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 16 October 2006
    4 Comments

    The concept of Catholic Culture Wars is destructive, because it makes truth the slave of power. Its logic can be seen in a recent Quadrant review, which projects onto an art exhibition a preoccupation with the occult and sexually ambiguous.

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  • RELIGION

    Culture warriors have no place in Catholic life

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 16 October 2006
    1 Comment

    The concept of Catholic Culture Wars is destructive, because it makes truth the slave of power. Its logic can be seen in a recent Quadrant review, which projects onto an art exhibition a preoccupation with the occult and sexually ambiguous.

    READ MORE
  • RELIGION

    Pope's Islamic stumble baffles the experts

    • Daniel Madigan
    • 18 September 2006
    45 Comments

    Pope Benedict is learning the hard way that interreligious dialogue these days is a complex and delicate business. Though he has now affirmed his respect for Muslims, his decision to quote a polemical medieval text against Muhammad and the Qur’an during a lecture last week remains puzzling.

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  • RELIGION

    Religious freedom and the inflammatory power of the Cross

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 18 September 2006

    The unrelated cases of the Melbourne schoolgirl, and the Scottish goalie, both invoke two principles that are normally kept quite separate—the right of individual self-expression, and the right of religious freedom.

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  • RELIGION

    What makes a site sacred?

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 04 September 2006
    17 Comments

    Recently a group broke into the Redfern Catholic Church, and defied their parish priest by painting a large and splendidly executed mural that enshrined the words of Pope John Paul II in Alice Springs 20 years ago. The priest was left with an unpalatable dilemma—leave the mural there, or whitewash Pope John Paul II.

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  • RELIGION

    Is asylum seeker dumping usury?

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 21 August 2006
    3 Comments

    The new Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, has described IMF and World Bank conditional loans to Third World countries as usury.  

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  • RELIGION

    Lessons for Church in the new Ireland

    • Piaras Jackson
    • 21 August 2006

    History shows how Irish people have relied on the Church in coping with adversity. The 'official' church may now choose to follow where the people have led, into an Ireland that is more diverse, urban and secular than before.

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  • RELIGION

    Angels dance before our eyes

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 07 August 2006
    2 Comments

    Theologians have taken fire for asking how many angels can dance on the point of a needle. The image of angels on needles may take us closer to reality than it appears.

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  • RELIGION

    Why so little moral outrage at the destruction of Lebanon?

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 07 August 2006
    6 Comments

    Out of the passion of Lebanon, one hopeful image remains. It is the barely restrained rage of UN representative, Jan Egeland, at such unnecessary devastation. It made evident the general absence of moral passion or even reflection on the destruction in Palestine and Lebanon.

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  • RELIGION

    The World Game of ecumenical dialogue

    • Richard Treloar
    • 24 July 2006

    In the years ahead Faith and Order will address potentially church-dividing issues relating to biblical interpretation, theological anthropology, religious pluralism, mutual recognition of baptism, and other aspects of ecclesiology. The FIFA World Cup is an intrusion of the carnivalesque into ‘realpolitik.’ Richard Treloar muses on the intersection of these

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  • RELIGION

    The Anglican division: God's love lost?

    • Charles Sherlock
    • 10 July 2006

    'The Anglican Church' is dividing, according to recent media statements. Some Anglicans seem to be taking such extreme stances, at the risk of turning communion as divine gift into communion as reward for holding certain stances on lifestyle. What difference does all this make to the life of an Australian Anglican diocese or parish?

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  • RELIGION

    Does God have a sense of humour?

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 10 July 2006
    4 Comments

    Humour differs across individuals and cultures. I may switch off Funniest Home Videos to watch the hundredth rerun of Fawlty Towers. But should I imagine God congratulating me on my superior sense of humour?

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