Practices and the Conversion of the Social Imaginary: On Marriage

Last updated on: December 15, 2007 at 6:51 am By Matthew Tan

Below is an excerpt from the American Deacon Keith Fournier of Catholic Online. The article, quoted in full, provides a response to the announcement by Bishop Gene Robinson of the Episcopal Church to participate in a civil same-sex union with his partner. The Bishop’s decision raises many key concerns, such as the acceptance of state authority over the ecclesial (explored in the previous post). But what the reader should pay attention to in Fournier’s response is the undercurrent that provides... Read more

Proposal for Australian 2 Child Policy

Last updated on: December 11, 2007 at 11:13 am By Matthew Tan

A 10th December edition of the Herald Sun reported on a proposal by Perth Associate Professor Barry Walters to tackle climate change: A baby tax. Walters is a clinical associate professor of obstetric medicine at the department of women’s and infants’ health at the University of Western Australia and the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Perth. In an article to be published in the Medical Journal of Australia, Walter’s has been noted to say: Every newborn baby in Australia represents... Read more

Why Altars and States Don’t Mix

Last updated on: December 7, 2007 at 6:31 am By Matthew Tan

A November 2007 edition of Catholic News had Bishop Kevin Manning of the Diocese of Paramatta reminding couples marrying in the Church of the Instruction of the Roman Missal forbidding the signing of marriage documents on the Eucharistic Altar. “At the Altar”, Bishop Manning said, “the Memorial of the Lord is celebrated and his Body and Blood given to the people. Therefore, the Church’s writers have seen in the altar a sign of Christ Himself”. As such, Bishop Manning... Read more

James K A Smith, Postmodernism and Radical Orthodoxy

Last updated on: October 25, 2007 at 11:21 pm By Matthew Tan

A October 24 2007 post of the the Church and Postmodern Culture blog featured an entry by James K A Smith, entitled Postmodern Liturgy? A Conversation About Christian Worship and Postmodernism. Smith is among the Evangelical members of the Radical Orthodoxy movement, and his Introduction to Radical Orthodoxy and Speech and Theology come highly recommended, especially for those those interested in postmodern theology and the philosophy of language in relation to the transcendent. The post featured a brief reflection of... Read more

Hail the New Caesar!

Last updated on: October 21, 2007 at 11:23 pm By Matthew Tan

On the 9th September 2007, a member of the episcopacy of the Underground Church, Bishop Han Dingxiang (韓鼎詳) of of the Diocese of Yong Nian in Hebei Province, died in the custody of the Chinese authorities, after 8 year’s inprisonment. Within 6 hours after his death, authorities cremated his body without ceremony. Only a few close relatives, summoned to his bedside before his death, witnessed his cremation. Because of this, no investigation can be carried out to as to the... Read more

Catholic Presidential Candidates: a View from George Weigel

Last updated on: September 27, 2007 at 5:05 am By Matthew Tan

George Weigel, Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Centre in Washington DC, in his weekly column provided an interesting critique of Christian, especially Catholic, politicians in light of the upcoming American Presidential election. The point of critique centres on the compartmentalisation of one’s faith when performing one’s functions as a public servant, despite the fundamental change to one’s ontology that entry into the Church brings about. It is worth quoting his Sept 21 column, Please Pass the Ontology,... Read more

Cloning, the Church and the State

Last updated on: September 20, 2007 at 11:16 pm By Matthew Tan

A 20th September reprt from The Age has provided a follow up on the recent ruckus concerning Cardinal George Pell’s “threat” to MPs should they vote in favour of the Bill to allow embryonic cloning for stem cell harvesting. The statement that voting in favour of the bill would have “consequences” for Catholic MPs sparked outrage amongst secular fundamentalists from both sides of the political divide, asserting once again the barrier where “religion” may not cross – namely, the Parliament... Read more

Blessed are the Chokeholders…

Last updated on: August 20, 2007 at 11:32 pm By Matthew Tan

A 20th Aug 2007 edition of Australia’s ABC Four Corners Program sought to provide an insight into the world of Evangelical Christians in the United States, covering what they believed, how the state of America fits into the Evangelical Weltenschaaung, and the methods used to bring the Gospel to the American public. The host of usual suspects of creationists, televangelists and megachurches featured in the program. But for the Author the most iconic representation of Evangelical America came in the... Read more

Faith, Fiction and the Need for Both

Last updated on: August 2, 2007 at 11:35 pm By Matthew Tan

The Author very recently took out Stranger than Fiction from the local video store. Having been told by friends that it ranked among the cleverest comedies ever made, the Author developed a curiosity that could only be satisfied by expending the necessary funds to hire the movie out. He was not disappointed.. Stranger than Fiction follows the story of Harold Crick (played by Will Ferrell), an IRS agent who very consciously orders his life around numbers (For instance, Harold must... Read more