Lebanon’s top Christian cleric berates politicians as deadlock drags on
Beirut, LebanonReuters Lebanon’s most senior Christian cleric on Wednesday bemoaned the inability of the country’s senior politicians to agree a government as the country sinks further into financial collapse. “We don’t have bread, we don’t have medicine, we don’t have fuel, what are they waiting for?” Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai said after a meeting […]
Pope Francis criticises “paternalism” of populist politicians
Vatican CityRNS In an online message to grassroots community organisers on Thursday, Pope Francis criticised a modern form of politician that he said “turns their back on the poor”, and he laid out his vision for a “politics with a capital P”. “Popularism,” what Pope Francis calls his alternative to populism, “is about finding the […]
Turning point
We usually read about turning points in history – those monumental moments when everything changes. You don’t want to live through them. A turning point? Demonstrators flee from teargas canisters during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on 28th February. PICTURE: Reuters/Stringer. We’re living through one right now. Global pandemic. Political pandemonium. Not just the US. […]
Black US churchgoers report powerlessness in politics, agency in Black congregations
RNS The majority of Black church attenders in the US say African Americans generally feel politically powerless, but those worshippers also see Black congregations as a source of comfort and control, a new Barna Group study finds. Three in four Black church attenders – defined in the study as African Americans who attend a majority […]
Ugandan election: Two prominent pastors enter presidential race as clergy flock to politics ahead of 2021 election
JOHN SEMAKULA reports how two pastors are hoping to bring Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s long rule to an end in next year’s presidential election…
Unlike most Christian women’s conferences in the US, the Ally Virtual Tour isn’t shying away from politics
RNS “This is not a normal white girl conversation,” said Lisa Sharon Harper, founder and president of Freedom Road. She’s referring to the topics being covered during the Ally Virtual Tour, which kicked off Monday and brings together a number of female Christian leaders online to discuss faith, gender, race and politics in the countdown to […]
Sight-Seeing: If you’ve got Jesus in your profile, don’t be nasty on your timeline
In an article first published on Religion News Service, DANIEL DARLING, senior vice president of National Religious Broadcasters in the US and author of ‘A Way With Words: Using Our Online Conversations for Good’, says if we claim to be a follower of Jesus in online profiles, our comments should reflect that…
Essay: American Christians need to reinvent their theology and practice of missions
In an article first published on Religion News Service, JOSEPH D’SOUZA, founder of Dignity Freedom Network, explores why the coronavirus pandemic represents a moment to “rethink” the traditional framework in which missionaries are sent overseas…
Not consulted – or campaigning?
Not consulted – or campaigning? PICTURE: Hussain Abd/Unsplash As a leader I sometimes hear people complain, after a decision, that they were not consulted. What makes this weird is that often this is after a broad consultation process in which they have had a big say. What is going on!? I now realise that this […]
POLITICS AND THE MEDIA
Politics in Australia has gone down a number of unexpected roads. PICTURE: Daniel McCullough/Unsplash The relentless 24-hour media cycle has promoted sensationalism over substance – three-word-slogans over policy, and trolling over discussion. You hear the politicians trying to deliver their 20 second soundbites during press conferences, such that their speeches become a collection of unrelated, […]