One of my gifts (or vices as some might say) is to avidly devour a number of news feeds and newsletters to which I subscribe. At the Ethics Centre we’re charged with the responsibility to keep up to date on issues of moral and social import, and that gives me the opportunity to scan a [...]
One of the inescapable realities is that we presently live in a secular, pluralist, post-modern … what? I want to say “society” or “culture,” but part of the challenge is that society and culture imply a cohesiveness that we don’t know exists any longer. So, let’s settle for “milieu” or “environment.” Whatever it’s called, and for better or worse, Christian communities and organizations in the West now live in a milieu that no longer takes Christian values, forms and structures to be “the” way to live. What does grace have to say about this?
Secularism
To begin with, secularism refers to a belief in the separation of church and state. At one time many Western countries had a state church. While this has never been true in Canada, even some of the original states of the United States had “established” churches. This meant that kings and governors had a role in appointing bishops and other church officials, and in turn those church officials had a role in legitimizing the kings and governors. We can’t imagine this happening nowadays. Places in the world that are experimenting with it―especially “fundamentalist Islamist states”―are reported on with some fear and enormous incredulity. Whether we come at it from the side of ordinary citizens and elected politicians or from the side of ordinary church members and ecclesiastical authorities, we will defend a division of power between state and church.
In this Talking it Over series, Dr. James Read, Executive Director of The Salvation Army Ethics Centre in Winnipeg, and Captain Amy Reardon, Editor of Young Salvationist, U.S.A. National Headquarters, dialogue about moral and ethical issues. The current conversation is about ethical distribution of food.
Let’s celebrate the amazing news that by the end of summer 2009, Cadbury’s Dairy Milk bars can be part of our diet again! We congratulate Cadbury on their commitment to justice and now look to their policy being adopted across their entire product range. Cadbury’s decision demonstrates the power of ordinary consumers in bringing change [...]
One year from now, people from around the world will gather in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics. But as the final plans for Thursday’s countdown celebrations are ironed out — some fear Vancouver will be welcoming more than just athletes and fans. There is a concern that human trafficking is set to increase. And [...]
