Scripture in schools

My letter in today's SMH:

A number of letter writers seem to think scripture in schools is all about ethics. I have been helping teach school scripture for five years, and I can confidently say there is almost no ethical instruction involved. What we teach is that when we fail ethically - as we all do - forgiveness and change are possible through the power of the risen Lord Jesus. That is a far more potent message than any ethical instruction can give.

But if the community decides ethical instruction in schools is necessary, there is a problem. If that instruction is given at the same time as scripture, children in scripture classes will miss out on something people seem to think is important. That is hardly fair, as even someone with my limited command of ethics can see.

Reverend Gordon Cheng

Gladesville

See more letters here.

For sure there will be more letters on this tomorrow. So if you feel like writing, then write!

Codex Sinaiticus

Be amazed.

Here's the SMH report. The tech pages of the SMH are the best bit, they tend to drop the otherwise necessary ideological sneer and do some real reporting.

Buddhist police (my letter in SMH)

Got a letter in today's SMH:

Police karma

Police officer Jason Puxty ("Between Buddhism and hard yards of police work", March 12) does some good evangelism. But does he really believe that if he uses force in policing "there will be a karmic price to pay"? If so, why take the job on in the first place? Far healthier for a career in policing is an actual belief in integrity and justice. So let's hear from some Christian police as well.

Gordon Cheng, Gladesville

From here

Slim majority support Kirby

Each Saturday the SMH letters editor has a go at summarizing the week's doings (see here, scroll down to the bottom.) From the summary:

The other big topic this week was the dust-up between Justice Michael Kirby and the Reverend Richard Lane, which provided about one in every four letters over the past two days, with a slim majority supporting Kirby.

That's interesting isn't it. The impression you would get from the way the SMH reports it is that basically, any right-thinking person will support the gay cause. But maybe the readers aren't as persuaded as the journalists about the way they should be thinking. Given that Kirby was essentially handed a free kick, and that the readership of the SMH tends left, this is a somewhat revealing straw in the wind.

Back when the Australia republic debate was being reported, you'd have thought that the republican cause was a lay down misere, if you only read the SMH. We're still a constitutional monarchy. This reminds me a bit of that, for the same reason—the tone is so biased that if you were not careful, you would be completely misled from the reality.

Lily and fifi in the paper

Adele Horin from the Sydney Morning Herald rang to ask fifi some questions.

Here's the link, they're in the paper!

No photo unfortunately, you have to buy the actual physical paper to get that. How last millennium is that!?