Michael Hill - Editor

a joy forever

The poet said to the almond tree: “Show me God” – and the tree blossomed. For many of us the appreciation of beauty is one of the most compelling experiences of the divine.

An inclusive community
Our other jubilarian is St Paul. Mike Riddell continues his series with a commentary on Paul’s doctrine of inclusiveness (p 15), in Galatians. No one has spelt it out more eloquently. Yet how hard it has been for even zealous Christians to practise it. The key is good communication, and Paul was nothing if not a brilliant communicator. To listen to the concerns of another is the first and essential step towards empathy; then to extend the hand of friendship; and that hopefully will lead to a broadening of one’s viewpoint.

People have written to us seeking enlightenment regarding the stand off between a Catholic pastor in South Brisbane and his Archbishop. In response, we publish the account from Australia by .... We make no judgment – except to wonder how communication could to have broken down so disastrously.

Sadly, the churches often give great scandal by a seeming lack of sympathy to the most afflicted members of society. Thirty years ago, Oscar Romero was shunned by his fellow bishops and received no support from Rome. Today we read of the scandalous excommunication of a 9-year-old child victim of rape in Brazil, because of the mindless application of a law which had no possible relevance to her case.

Meanwhile the Vatican is making every concession to woo back into communion a group of estranged Catholics who openly opposed the reforms of Vatican II and were viciously scornful of Paul VI – yet apparently are quite unrepentant. You wonder what Paul would say to these ‘Romans’, if he tore such strips of the poor Galatians!

M.H.

Plato equated beauty with goodness, and many Christians see natural beauty as a transcendental experience leading them to God. In music or poetry, in art or the beauty of nature they find an aid to prayer.

We should never be afraid to enjoy beauty – of nature or of art. Autumn is a special time and few places in the world can equal Central Otago for magnificence of colour and scenery at this time of year. Our cover pays due tribute to this – and the quotation from John Hunt makes a poignant connection with the autumnal phase of life’s journey.

Meanwhile, over a 100,000 New Zealanders have made the pilgrimage to Te Papa in Wellington to relish the genius of Monet. His delight was to represent nature with the greatest fidelity to colour, shade and light. Kathleen Doherty reports her experience for us (pp 16-17).

It is always an astonishment to me that scientists who study the harmonies of the natural world are not automatically drawn into a sense of reverence for the loving hand of the Creator. We have chosen in this issue to remember the double jubilee of Charles Darwin (pp 10-14). There is simply no conflict between what he proposed and the Genesis account of Creation. Indeed the theory of Evolution should serve to help people understand better the providence of the Creator and the beauty of the natural world and its laws.