Israel’s Targets in Gaza by Ben White Republished, with permission, from the New Statesman, 6 January 2009 In just the first six days of ‘Operation Cast Lead’, the Israeli Air Force carried out more than 500 sorties against targets in the Gaza Strip. That meant an attack from the air roughly every 18 minutes for … Continue Reading
Dilemmas of the Law in a Multicultural Society Paper given at the Whitefield Institute Seminar, Oxford, 16 March 1998 Part 1 By Dr Jenny Taylor Introduction There exist in Britain now significant religious minorities seeking to live their lives in accordance with legal systems that have evolved in very different ways, and in a very … Continue Reading
Dilemmas of the Law in a Multicultural Society [part 2] by Jenny Taylor This principle is not only useless when it comes to protecting female citizens from religious exploitation by their unequal male relatives, it is more generally fallacious. Anthony Bradney based his doctoral research into the law’s purported neutrality by reference to the principle … Continue Reading
Dilemmas of the Law in a Multicultural Society [part 3] by Jenny Taylor 3. Some Twentieth Century Writers on the Religion and Law According to Phil Harris (1980), the law consists of rules that are normative, and invite official retaliation if broken. Ronald Dworkin (1985) defines the law somewhat loftily as ‘rule by a coherent … Continue Reading
Law, Faith and Freedom: a critical appreciation of Archbishop Williams’s lecture by Jonathan Chaplin The hysterical furore triggered by the ill-informed commentaries on Archbishop Rowan Williams’ lecture on ‘Civil and Religious Law in England’ is now subsiding and it is time to take stock. What has occurred is depressingly similar to an equally unedifying public … Continue Reading
Britain, Christianity and Islam by Ben White The differing responses to Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali’s interview with the Daily Telegraph on 6 January 2008 tended to focus on his claim that across Britain, “Islamic extremists have created ‘no-go’ areas” for non-Muslims. However, there is a different approach to a constructively critical engagement of Nazir-Ali’s … Continue Reading
Until recently, a large proportion of Christians in the West were unaware that Christian Palestinians even existed. While there may now be an increased awareness of the body of Christ in Palestine, when not being ignored (unintentionally or otherwise) by the majority, our Palestinian brothers and sisters are often either co-opted for anti-Islam propaganda or … Continue Reading
Christian responses to Islam, Islamism and ‘Islamic terrorism’ by Colin Chapman republished with permission from ‘Cambridge Papers’ June 2007, The Jubilee Centre, Cambridge Summary Why is it that some Muslims become Islamists and some Islamists turn to violence? A summary of some basic convictions held in varying degrees by all Muslims is followed by an … Continue Reading
by Colin Chapman What can one say that hasn’t already been said about the Pope’s lecture and the furore that has followed it? Probably very little – which is why I will confine myself to seven questions: 1. What was the lecture about? The title of the lecture was ‘Faith, Reason and the University: Memories … Continue Reading
Dear Fulcrum friends, Introduction The subject of Jesus Christ, salvation and people of other faiths is currently a key global theological issue, particularly in the wake of recent events. Following on from my comments in the first Fulcrum newsletter on the London Bombings, it may be helpful to consider Paul’s response in Acts 17:16-34. Paul … Continue Reading