Articles in the Issues Category
Issues »
Issues »
Is the Church irrelevant today?
Let us know what YOU think!
Occasionally someone makes a provocative statement that really challenges people to think again about something they have previously taken for granted. Peter Riddell, a well known journalist and Christian writer said this:
“The greatest barrier to the Gospel in contemporary Western culture is the Church. The forms of the church, its life and pronouncements: these act to prevent people from hearing the liberating story of Jesus.”
Issues »
Self-sacrifice tale: one for the ages
Just after midnight on Feb. 3, 1943, an act of extraordinary unselfishness by a group of men became a legend of martyrdom and sacrifice.
When the Army ship Dorchester was torpedoed by the Germans just south of Greenland that night, its passengers and crew had 25 minutes to get off the boat. As 902 people went for the life jackets, it quickly was discovered there weren’t near enough. Of the 13 lifeboats, only two functioned.
In ..read more
Issues »
The latest artistic obscenity is to desecrate the Bible. This is the extent of the creativity of two resident artists at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) in Glasgow! An open Bible is a central part of their exhibition titled ‘Made in God’s Image’ and visitors are encouraged to deface the Scriptures. A note beside it says: “If you feel you have been excluded from ..read more
Issues »
So the National Secular Society is advocating the end of chaplaincy services in hospitals. Terry Sanderson, its president, argues that “most of us go to hospital for medical treatment not for church services”. The society – using the Freedom of Information Act – has learnt chaplaincy activities cost NHS trusts £32 million and believes it would be better spent to employ 1,300 extra nurses or 2,500 cleaning staff. Mr Sanderson wants a patient’s individual vicar or priest to provide spiritual ..read more
Issues »
At the 2007 Annual General Meeting the Revd Keith Horton gave a sobering talk on Climate Change – a concern which is often secondary to our daily lives.
He asked us to acknowledge the facts that there was evidence of an increase in temperatures in the Antarctic over the last fifty years with resultant rise in sea levels and melting ice caps. Earth’s resources were finite and we had to accept responsibility. ..read more
