Author Archives: Schutz

I am at an interfaith conference at the moment on the theme of the environment. We just had a speaker who expounded a Sufi Muslim idea of creation as the “writing of God”. There seems to be some parallel here … Continue reading →

Pope Benedict has announced the following appointments Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops: Archbishop of Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation: Archbishop Rino Fisichella (previously president of the Pontifical Academy for Life) President … Continue reading →

Ignorance may be bliss, but it can also be pretty stupid at times. I had a phone call a couple of week’s back from a woman who was concerned about letting her children eat Cadbury’s chocolate. Why? Because it was … Continue reading →

I should have got the first prediction up and running on Saturday, but I was busy travelling (I’ve been in Queensland where it is a darn sight warmer than it is here in Melbourne – brrr). Now everyone is saying … Continue reading →

On the 9th of March, 2001, I and two other pastors of the Lutheran Church of Australia were summoned to St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Box Hill by the President of the Victoria District to give an account of our … Continue reading →

Just a few days after he launched the new book “Shitstorm” (an account of the first years of Kevin Rudd’s Government and how the faced the numerous crises that arose – especially the global economic crisis), a real “shitstorm” struck … Continue reading →

Click the picture to be taken to The Australian website to see the video   I have been reading The Australian lately as a change from The Age. The Australian has been full – day after day and in just … Continue reading →

The wonderfully named Dr Ben Witherington III is one of my favourite contemporary biblical scholars (he has a blogspot on Beliefnet here too – I should add it to my blogroll). Yes, I know I go on and on about … Continue reading →

On this blog, both I and most of our commentators have agreed that “defrocking” – or (more technically) “laicisation” – is not necessarily the best way to deal with a clerical abuser. Now, according to this report in Zenit, exactly … Continue reading →

I have received some criticism over the years for the work that I do. “Why do you talk to those people?”, they ask. “We have the Truth, what good is there in talking to them?” they say. “Their teaching is … Continue reading →