Scope of this, and a conversation after church last Sunday

You will see that I have been adjusting things here, moving things around, adding this and that. You may especially note the Vodpod which is unique to this blog. Its contents reflect my own interests.

I will be avoiding anything that separates one person unnecessarily from another, and the first casualty is the idea that any religion — and I mean any religion — has a privileged position on truth. While I believe God speaks to us in a variety of ways — what that means may become apparent in time — I do not believe he* has spoken to any people past or present exclusively. Yes, that does mean I do not accept the infallibility or unique authority of any scripture, which does mean I regard scriptures as inspiring and special, but also as human products, and texts that emerge as all texts do in contexts of culture and history. There are no exceptions to that. None. The idea that there are exceptions is powerfully uniting and community-building for those who accept the idea, but is also the most divisive and destructive idea humanity has ever subscribed to, especially in an inevitably pluralistic world.

While Australia slept

Great and terrible events often happen while we Aussies are sleeping; I speak literally, not metaphorically. I am not going to add my own two cents worth except to say that nuclear-armed Pakistan is in for a rough 2008, as is the world and the progress of peace in the world.

Better placed than I am to comment is Bilal Zuberi.