Those early Christian missionaries certainly did an impressive job in Samoa. Christianity remains the backbone and strength of the Samoan culture – every village has at least one church and sometimes up to four, with about 10 denominations represented across the islands. Samoa’s motto says: “Samoa is founded on God” and the locals’ strong religious Read more
The chief ecumenical official of the Russian Orthodox Church says “secularisation in disguise of democratisation” is leading Western nations toward totalitarianism. “This powerful energy today strives to finally break with Christianity, which controlled its totalitarian impulses during 17 centuries,” said Metropolitan Hilarion in an article quoted by a Russian news agency. “Eventually, it unconsciously strives Read more
Ronald Knox once quipped that “the study of comparative religions is the best way to become comparatively religious.” The reason, as G. K. Chesterton says, is that, according to most “scholars” of comparative religion, “Christianity and Buddhism are very much alike, especially Buddhism.” But any Christian who does apologetics must think about comparative religions because Read more
Shrewsbury Bishop Mark Davies is of the view christianity will shortly be the faith of a “significant minority” in Britain, but he doesn’t necessarily think it is an entirely negative position. Speaking, Sunday, in a homily at the Northern Catholic Conference at Liverpool Hope University, Bishop Davies said the twilight of christianity is not “entirely Read more
PNG MP Wera Mori wants parliament to pass a law banning non Christian religions so as to maintain the country’s stand as a Christian nation. “PNG is a Christian country’” he said. “Like other countries, we must be strict and put into our Constitution that we worship the God of Israel,” Opposition MP Tobias Kulang Read more
The first words of the prologue to the Catholic Church’s catechism express the purpose of faith: “Father … this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Cultivating that relationship with God is the purpose of faith and the mission of the Catholic Church. Read more
Brand Christianity seemed to be male, didactic and interested in power at the recent Recovering the Common Good Conference in Wellington. The experience stirred something deep so that many days later my internal world is still bubbling. A wide range of people gathered at Parliament Buildings to reflect on the place of Christianity in discussions Read more
HA, what a laugh! Maori singing songs to rivers and claiming they have a special right to water and wind. Let’s charge them every time there is a flood. How about those Muslim women? Won’t let men see them out of veil. Take them to the Human Rights Commission! As a non-believer, I don’t have Read more
Given the Judeo-Christian origins of our long-held tradition of caring for the frail, census data indicating the demise of Christianity and the ageing of Australia’s population could herald a perfect social storm. The 2011 census makes clear that Christian affiliation is diminishing, falling 7 per cent over the past decade to 61 per cent. The Read more
America’s annual celebration of Independence Day was accompanied this year by the U.S. bishops’ Fortnight for Freedom, a round of prayer and advocacy dedicated to the preservation of religious liberty. The exercise renewed debate over whether there is or isn’t a war on religion in America, fueled, of course, by the politics of the 2012 Read more