Thursday, November 17, 2011

Catching Up

The other day I bewailed the fact that among a plethora of commentators on Zac Guildford's public difficulties with alcohol no one seemed to be stepping up to the mark to say 'the solution is: stop drinking.' But now the Man Himself has stepped up. Graham Henry, All Black World Cup winning coach says (my bold),

"I like the young man and I think he has real potential to be a top international rugby player, but the reality is he has a problem with alcohol," Henry said yesterday.


"He is probably an alcoholic and, once he starts drinking, he finds it hard to stop. The obvious answer is he can't go there: he has to keep the cap on the bottle.

"I think his mates have to help him do that too and I think he will have the strength of character to get there in the finish.

"The ball is in Zac's court. He can't drink, simple as that. He has to make that decision and get the support to do that."
I also mentioned the saga about a secretly taped conversation between John Key and John Banks. What a sorry saga that is turning out to be, only we do not know who will be most sorrowful at the end of it, if it ever ends.

Then the matter of the billboard campaign organised by my friend and colleague. That is running out of puff a bit (though some lively correspondence continues on Facebook), partly, changing images, through the sagas above eclipsing it re public interest. But another friend and colleague has alerted me to a well written editorial on the matter in the Dominion Post. Get some perspective, folks, is the gist of it.

If you are looking for other matters to catch up on, then Thinking Anglicans has a round up on Covenant articles (one of which I would like to post on soon, also referring to this response), and VirtueOnline has an interesting interview with Richard Turnbull, Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.

2 comments:

Andy S said...

Saul Alinsky rules NZ politics which is why we focus on things that matter.

Just as well Anglicanism has been tamed by secularism and publicly conforms to the liberal agenda else Anglicans might find themselves described as "Chinless scarf wearers" or even a secretive sect in public discourse as a more conservative Christian group did not so long ago when they strayed into the arena of electioneering

Father Ron Smith said...

A very interesting interview of the Principal of Wycliffe College, Oxford, Dr. Richard Turnbull. His take on the situation in the Church of England is, indeed, enlightening - if correct.

Naturally, perhaps, he has a low view of the numerical participation of Anglo-Catholic and non-Evangelical theologs in the Church of England, but to write off their significance may be just a little premature.

Also, the slant of David Virtue's questions of Dr. Turnbull are a clear indication of the way the interview would progress - not necessarily objective, but certainly detrimental to the future health of the C.of E., and maybe the Anglican Communion.

Interestingly, Turnbull has a great regard for the capabilities of the former ABC, George Carey and the one-time Bishop of Rochester, Nazir Ali - both retired but certainly active on the pro-GAFCON, pro-ACNA scene around the world. Though what good that is doing for the cause of Unity within the Communion at this time is deeply questionable.