Scripture teaching?

Michael Carden, a biblical scholar in Brisbane has been animated by the NSW Scripture/Ethics debate. His utopian vision of the place that the teaching of scriptures in schools might have is a reminder of what we might lack in our secular education system. Ancient stories from the ancestors should be a part of education. His blog is at http://michaelcardensjottings.blogspot.com/2010/07/another-what-if-using-scripture-to.html I do recommend a full reading.
Michael concludes with these wise words:

These are the stories of their ancestors, of our ancestors, even much moreso now that we are a multi-cultural, multi-faith, multi-lingual society. These stories bring contemporary young people into conversation with those ancestors across two to three thousand years. These stories reveal to them the imaginary framework of their culture/s and language/s. And these stories give them the opportunity to enrich, explore and expand both their imaginative horizon and their ethical framework. Thus, I would suggest, they may become more fully human, surely the prime goal of any meaningful education.

(Linda)

Annual Chaplaincy Lecture

ANU CHAPLAINCY ANNUAL LECTURE 2010

"Meaning in life: the spiritual journey"
Professor Elizabeth Mackinlay
Professor in the School of Theology, Charles Sturt University
Wednesday 28 July 2010 8 pm at Burgmann College Chapel (free).
followed by cake and coffee

Relationships and ecology

It is time to bring our ourselves into right relationship with this planet. (it is called "righteousness"!)
Knowing how we are related to everything around us is important. This research is a clue to what we need to do:
 http://news.anu.edu.au/?p=2115
Those of us who are surrounded by concrete and bitumen need to put our feet onto the earth.
Those of us who are "people of the book" need to read our religious texts with new eyes.
This research by Jessica Weir at the ANU is a wake up call to the way we view our world. "Philosophies of Water and Land"