Category: Views
Original contributions from ARC members
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Are we misinterpreting the parable of the wedding feast?
The pairing of the Gospel reading for this Sunday with the passage from Isaiah about the feast to be provided by God naturally leads us to think of the king in Matthew’s parable as representing God. A commentary by Tobias Winright on the Catholic Moral Theology site cites one source that makes the alignment explicit:…
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Changing emphases in papal visits
This commentary from the Global Catholic website contrasts the different emphases that can be seen in the itineraries of Pope Leo’s travels. It can be seen as a consistent core message directed toward different audiences. In the Middle East and Africa he spoke to encourage the faithful in loving Christians lives in societies that sometimes…
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What Jesus Actually Said About Hell
“Mistranslation is only part of the reason we think today that Jesus preached about an eternal hell. The rest comes from cultural traditions both before and after him.” It is likely that Jesus saw it differently. It is also difficult to reconcile a notion of eternal damnation with the infinite love of God.
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ARC member survey
Australian Reforming Catholics (ARC) seeks to enhance communication with its members. To assist our efforts, the ARC Secretariat has developed a short online survey. The questions are intended to help gauge interest in, and value placed on, current communications including the quarterly ARCVoice, weekly mailings from the website, and opportunities members have for comment and…
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Would a different question yield a different answer on the ordination of women?
This piece, Ordination of women: the Church is asking the wrong question, on the Global Catholic site is interesting reading. Essentially the argument is that when we ask “Can the Church ordain women?” we put the Church at the centre of discernment and immediately narrow the investigation. It goes on to suggest that a better,…
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The overlooked contradiction in Vatican II’s baptism rules
This article looks at the implications of various church statements about the administering of the sacraments, following them to their logical conclusion. If a woman can validly represent Christ in baptism, why not in the Eucharist?
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Does the Spirit speak in every heart?
“We all think about the questions of religion – but usually do so in a very confused manner. Theology can help us do it better – and the more ably we think about religion, the more we can replace discord with discourse.”
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Join the conversation
Members unfamiliar with ‘blogs’ may not have noticed interesting comments that have appeared on items posted in previous weeks. Hence this alert. Creating opportunities for ARC members to engage with each other around topics of mutual interest was an important element in the redesign of the ARC website. Links to recent items on the News…
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Living with AI
Pope Leo’s encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, continues to provoke reflective commentary from multiple perspectives. A recent article, Magnifica Humanitas: Beyond the “Planet of the Apes” syndrome, by Joseph Borg on the Global Catholic website concludes that “Magnifica Humanitas is therefore not a lament but a summons. It calls humanity to engage AI without fear or naïveté,…
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Images of God
St Lucia Spirituality has announced the next of its Butterfly Series Reflections. The topic is Images of God: The changing images of God over time can lead us to wonder if we have been created in the image and likeness of God or if we have manoeuvred God into the image and likeness of ourselves.…