The Irish bishops are to travel to Rome to face the man in charge, Pope Benedict, and discuss possibilities for the church in the aftermath of the clerical sex scandals.
The talks are scheduled for the 15th and 16th of … Read more...
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2010: Is Ecumenism Boring?
Ecumenism is boring. In the same journal article I discussed in yesterday’s post, Dr Andrew Pierce quotes Archbishop Trevor Huddleston, who called ecumenism the ‘great yawn of our time,’ and H.A. Williams, who dismissed ecumenism as the ‘last refuge … Read more...
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2010: A failure of the ecumenical imagination?
My colleague Dr Andrew Pierce has identified a failure of the ecumenical imagination in an article, ‘Re-imagining Irish Ecumenism: Enlarging a Sense of the Possible,’ in the journal Doctrine and Life (2008). It seems that ecumenism, both in Ireland and … Read more...
The Iris Robinson Scandal and Evangelical Culture in Northern Ireland: Rejecting or Redeeming the ‘Sinner’?
Today’s Sunday Sequence programme on BBC Radio Ulster featured a segment by Malachi O’Doherty on the effect of the Iris Robinson scandal on evangelical culture in Northern Ireland. Amongst others, O’Doherty interviewed Dr Claire Mitchell of Queen’s University Belfast, a … Read more...
Maria Power Book Review: From Ecumenism to Community Relations & The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2010
The week of prayer for Christian Unity begins next week, 18-25 January 2010, with activities planned throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland. Christian unity and ecumenism have always been touchy subjects on this island, given the sectarian nature of Northern Ireland’s … Read more...
Pat Robertson on Haiti Earthquake: Knowing the Mind of God
American televangelist Pat Robertson has declared that the earthquake in Haiti was a direct result of a ‘pact’ Haitians had made with the devil. He also said it is a ‘blessing in disguise’ for the beleaguered nation.
Robertson, a … Read more...
Peter Rollins: Re-emergence Conference (Belfast) & Book Review
Trinity College Dublin’s Belfast campus (the Irish School of Ecumenics) will host a conference called ‘Re-emergence: The Church is Dead, Long Live the Church’, 16-18 March 2010. It will feature input by Phyllis Tickle, Dave Tomlinson and Peter Rollins… Read more...
Iris Robinson scandal – What now? Meaningful Change or Business as Unusual?
Last night’s BBC Panorama programme on the Iris Robinson affair, ‘The MP and the Whistleblower,’ followed much the same script as the original Spotlight programme. The Panorama showing, geared towards a wider UK audience, merely updated the on-going saga to … Read more...
The Robinson Scandal, Evangelical Pietism and Waiting for God to sort things out?
On today’s BBC Radio Ulster programme, Sunday Sequence, I discussed with Free Presbyterian minister Rev. David McIlveen, and former editor of the News Letter Austin Hunter, how the Robinson scandal may change Northern Irish social, political and religious culture.… Read more...
The Robinson Affair: DUP’s Evangelical Constituency May Find it Easier to Forgive than to Trust
In yesterday’s Irish Times, Fionola Meredith wrote that folks might be surprised that Protestant fundamentalists seem willing to forgive Iris Robinson. Meredith notes that this constituency (I prefer to refer to them as conservative evangelicals) has been quick to condemn … Read more...
Iris Robinson Scandal, Episode II – Dodgy Loans with a side of tea and scones…
Wednesday we found out about the sex, yesterday we found out about the money.
Last night the BBC ran the Spotlight programme that is assumed to have prompted First Minister Peter Robinson’s interview on Wednesday about his wife Iris’ marital … Read more...