Ethics and Climate Change

By | Past Forums

MONDAY 14 OCTOBER 2024 at 7:00 PM

Chambers Pavilion
Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture
15 Blackall Street Barton

Ethics and climate change

Ethical theories aim to guide us towards the right course of action. They do so based on explicit or implicit conceptions of the nature humans and how they relate to their worlds.

An ethics for an Earth transformed by climate change must account for the fact that technological humans have become so powerful that we have shifted the Earth irreversibly from its geological trajectory. What we have done and will do changes the habitability of the Earth. Equally, the Earth can no longer be understood as the passive victim of our exploitation and carelessness but is an increasingly unpredictable and uncontrollable entity “fighting back”.

These facts transform the landscape for ethical judgement. Mainstream ethical theories (consequentialist, deontological and virtue ethics) are ethics for relations between humans and are a poor guide to how to think ethically about the big dilemmas of an Earth transformed by us. Is it enough to take one of them and extend moral considerability to other animals, ecosystems or the Earth itself?

 

▼ DOWNLOAD FLYER

Professor Clive Hamilton AM

Professor Clive Hamilton AM

Clive Hamilton is Professor of Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University in Canberra. He has held visiting academic positions at the University of Oxford, Sciences Po, and Yale University. He was the founder and for 14 years the executive director of the Australia Institute.

Clive’s books on climate change include Requiem for a Species: Why we resist the truth about climate change (Earthscan), Earthmasters: The dawn of the age of climate engineering (Yale UP), and Defiant Earth: The fate of humans in the Anthropocene (Polity).

His most recent book, written with George Wilkenfeld, is Living Hot: Surviving and thriving on a heating planet (Hardie Grant). His opinions have been published in the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Scientific American and the Guardian, among others.

 

VIDEO RECORDINGS OF THE FORUM

(total size 228MB)

hamilton-0.mp4


hamilton-1.mp4


hamilton-2.mp4


hamilton-3.mp4

CES Annual Dinner 2024

By | Blog, Past Forums

TUESDAY 20 AUGUST 2024 at 6:00 pm for 6:30 pm

Hellenic Club
1 Matilda Street Phillip ACT (Google Map location)

Social Welfare and the Church

Lin Hatfield Dodds will reflect on the role of the churches in the alleviation of poverty from the first years of colonisation through the development of the welfare state, the outsourcing of human service delivery to non-government organisations and the entry of profit driven enterprises into the system to today’s increasingly consumer directed care environment.

What is the role of faith-based service provision now and into the future?

What should the church’s role be in shaping the systems that either trap people in poverty or enable them to thrive?

If we are serious about communities in which everyone can connect, contribute, belong and be valued, what’s the role of the church in that, and what’s our role as people of faith ourselves?

DOWNLOAD FLYER

Lin Hatfield Dodds

Lin is the CEO of The Benevolent Society, a charitable organisation that has been providing support services to Australians and advocating for positive social change for more than 200 years.

She has extensive experience in social policy, systems leadership, and cross sector social innovation, as well as a wealth of operational expertise.

Lin’s previous roles have included Associate Dean at The Australia and New Zealand School of Government, Deputy Secretary, Social Policy, in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet from 2016 to 2019, and National Director of UnitingCare Australia.

She has also worked as a counselling psychologist with families and young people at risk. Recognition of Lin’s contributions include, ACT Australian of the Year, a Churchill Fellowship to study anti-poverty strategies, and an ACT Chief Minister’s International Women’s Day Award.

The Voice: Where to from here?

By | Blog, Past Forums

TUESDAY 18 JUNE 2024 at 7:00 PM

Chambers Pavilion
Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture
15 Blackall Street Barton

The Voice

Where to from here?

“There was a resounding ‘No’ from last year’s Referendum. That signalled to First Nations Peoples that many Australians don’t care about them. The toxic views expressed by some politicians, Christians, and minority groups were racist and vile – a slap in the face for First Nations people.

However 6 million Australians voted ‘ Yes’.  This gives us hope . It is the ‘Yes’ voters that First Nations people want to walk with as agents of change. Love transforms and it transforms human hearts. We need to see the image of God in each other.

Aboriginal theology provides hope. It also provides for justice, holding people accountable to each other, country and the whole creation. It requires us to be innovative , and inspires us to be transformative seeing the good in each other. There is no methodology, other than theology that can bring about transformation, justice, reparation and genuine reconciliation.” — Professor Anne Pattel-Gray

DOWNLOAD FLYER

Professor Anne Pattel-Gray PhD DDi, Head of the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Divinity

Professor Anne Pattel-Gray

Professor Anne Pattel-Gray PhD DD is head of the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Divinity. She is a recognised scholar, theologian, activist, and prolific writer.

Professor Pattel-Gray is a descendant of the Bidjara Nation in Queensland. She has held many significant positions both nationally and internationally including Executive Secretary of the Aboriginal and Islander Commission and on the National Council of Churches. She was recently appointed to the WCC Commission on Mission and Evangelism.

Professor Pattel-Gray is a recognised expert in de-colonising biblical narratives, developing Indigenous theology, and bringing her cultural understanding to biblical hermeneutics. She also brings to the fore women’s perspectives and exposure to the truth about the colonisation of Australia.

VIDEO RECORDINGS OF THE FORUM

(total size 332MB)
vwt-0s.mp4
vwt-1s.mp4
vwt-2s.mp4
vwt-3s.mp4

The AI Revolution: Benefits, Harms and the Fate of Human Existence

By | Blog, Past Forums, Uncategorized

TUESDAY 23 APRIL 2024 at 7:00 PM

Chambers Pavilion
Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture
15 Blackall Street Barton

The AI Revolution

Benefits, Harms and the Fate of Human Existence

Recent breakthroughs in AI technology, such as ChatGPT, have prompted furious public discussion about the potential benefits and harms of humanity’s rapid adoption of new AI technologies. There is much speculation, as well as prophesying, that humanity is nearing the dawn of epoch-making artificial general intelligence. Some fear that AI will eventually reach a level of superhuman capability that could pose an existential threat to human existence itself.

With enormous investment and intense competition in the development of AI technologies, the one certainty is that AI will become a greater and greater part of human life, impacting all important dimensions of human existence, from entertainment and work to education and politics.

Will humanity’s AI revolution propel humanity to a higher level of civilisation, as techno-optimists believe? Or will it result in a techno-dystopia that threatens human existence, as pessimists fear?

DOWNLOAD FLYER

Dr Jonathan Cole is Interim Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture.

Dr Jonathan Cole

Jonathan Cole is Interim Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture. He has a PhD in Christian political theology (Charles Sturt University, 2019), an MA specialising in Middle Eastern politics and Islamic theology (Australian National University, 2007) and a BA Hons in Modern Greek language and history (La Trobe University, 2000).

Prior to embarking on an academic career in 2014, Jonathan worked as an intelligence analyst for the Australian government, first at the Defence Signals Directorate and then at the Office of National Assessments, where he worked on Islamist terrorism.

He is a co-author of the discussion paper “How AI Is Changing Democracy” published by Maxim Institute in August 2023.

VIDEO RECORDINGS OF THE FORUM

(total size 395MB)
ai-0.mp4
ai-1.mp4
ai-2.mp4
ai-3.mp4

The ethics of modern warfare: Some of the challenges for Australia and its allies

By | Past Forums

WEDNESDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2024 at 7:00 PM

Chambers Pavilion,
Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture
Blackall Street (corner of Kings Ave) Barton

Some of the challenges for Australia and its allies

The nature of warfare is changing rapidly not only because of rapidly changing technologies and operational concepts but also because many of the West’s current and potential adversaries have markedly different conceptions of what constitutes war and how it should be fought.
Australia faces serious ethical questions about whether a war should be fought, the aims of any war, the strategies that should be employed, how combat should be conducted and, not least, how democracies should prepare for such eventualities. This discussion will highlight some of the dilemmas faced by decision-makers.

DOWNLOAD FLYER

Dr Ross Babbage AM

Dr Ross Babbage AM

Ross Babbage has worked on Australian and international defence and security issues for over four decades. He has held senior positions in the Department of Defence, the intelligence community, at ANU and also in the corporate sector.
Ross currently leads two companies that work on the tough security challenges confronting Australia and its allies and is also a Non-resident Senior Fellow at a leading think tank in the United States. His latest book is entitled: The Next Major War: Can the US and its Allies Win Against China?
Ross and all members of his immediate family are active in their respective churches. Ross was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2011.

video recordings of the forum


babbage-0.mp4


babbage-1.mp4


babbage-2.mp4


babbage-3.mp4

‘A Voice Crying in the Wilderness’: The fate of truth in public discourse

By | Past Forums

FORUM DETAILS  [NOTE CHANGE OF DATE]

FORUM CANCELLED

We are sorry to advise that the forum has been cancelled due to the illness of the speaker, Prof Pickard.

A copy of his paper encompassing his intended talk is at

http://ces.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Voice-crying-in-the-wilderness-6-theses.pdf

Download pdf flyer

The Rt Reverend Professor Stephen Pickard

When a society is driven by the desire for power the consequences are disastrous. Lying becomes our stock in trade and loving truth above all else is consigned to the field of dreams. Such is the fate of truth in contemporary public discourse today. 

The Referendum of the Voice to Parliament is an important case in point. The voice that cries for recognition struggles to be heard In a modern wilderness marked by a cacophony of competing voices, sounds, noise and static.

How might we hear a true voice in such times? What must we do to act truthfully? What may we hope for?

The Rt Revd Professor Stephen Pickard

Stephen Pickard was Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture Charles Sturt University, and Assistant Bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn 2013–2022. 

Since retiring in 2022, he continues as an adjunct Professor of Theology at CSU. He has exercised ministry in Australia and the UK in theological education, ministerial formation and pastoral ministry. In 2011 he was installed as a Six Preacher at Canterbury Cathedral.

In March 2022 he received, from the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Cross of St Augustine in recognition of his service to the Anglican Communion as a theologian, teacher and bishop. He is the author of 4 books.

Annual CES Dinner 2023 with speaker Dr Sarah Bachelard “Forging a counter-story: the work of hope”

By | Past Forums

Tuesday 22 August 2023

6.00 pm for 6:30 pm | Bella Vista Restaurant, 84 Emu Bank, Belconnen ACT 2617

  • Register by emailing admin@ces.org.au and include any dietary requirements.
  • Cost: $60 per head
  • Payment (Electronic Funds Transfer) Account Name: Christians for an Ethical Society | BSB: 325–185
    Account no: 03310199 | Reference: Your_Surname/Dinner
  • RSVP 15 August 2023

Forging a Counter-Story: The Work of Hope

Dr Sarah Bachelard

In movements for justice and social change, inspiring and maintaining hope is seen to be vital.

Hope is a source of energy, keeping us connected to possibility, holding open the space for action that might otherwise be closed by cynicism and despair. But where is hope itself sourced?

In Christian understanding, hope is not a natural phenomenon. It’s not optimism, the tendency to anticipate that things will just get better, or naturally improve. Rather it has to do with the nature of the future that calls us and commitment to participate in its realisation. Hope is both gift and practice, a fruit of prayer.

In this talk, Sarah Bachelard will reflect on the ground and work of hope from a Christian perspective, and explore what might be the distinctive contribution of this quality of hope to the needs and possibilities of our time.

Dr Sarah Bachelard is a theologian, author and leader of Benedictus Contemplative Church, based in Canberra.

Dr Sarah Bachelard

Sarah Bachelard is a theologian, author and leader of Benedictus Contemplative Church, based in Canberra.

She is a teacher with the World Community for Christian Meditation and a Circle of Trust facilitator.

Her books include Experiencing God in a Time of Crisis, A Contemplative Christianity for Our Time and Poetica Divina: Poems to Redeem a Prose World.

Sarah loves to discern connections between the wisdom of tradition, spiritual practice and our lived experience.

Download pdf flyer

Governing with integrity: A failed project struggling to be revived

By | Past Forums

Tuesday 20 June 2023 — 7:00 pm

The Chapel, Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture,
15 Blackall Street, Barton (cnr with Kings Avenue).

Governing with integrity: A failed project struggling to be revived

The Robodebt Royal Commission has given Australians dramatic evidence that the very underpinnings of our system of government have been trashed at great cost to the country. The erosion of the Westminster system of government with its requirements that the public interest be served at all times with transparent accountability has too often been distorted and ignored. The Australian Public Service has been degraded and compromised. A culture of secrecy and whatever it takes to gain power and retain it has set Australia on the path of Banana Republic style corruption.

The last election may well prove a watershed moment the nation craves. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is promising his government is committed to integrity, honesty and accountability, then again the preceding Morrison Coalition government consistently denied it had failed in this regard.

 

Paul BongiornoAbout the speaker

Paul Bongiorno has been a member of the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery for thirty-five years. He is a columnist for the Saturday Paper and The New Daily and a regular 7AM Podcast contributor. In 2014 Paul was made a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia for significant services to the print and broadcast media as a journalist, political commentator and editor. For seventeen years he was Network Ten’s political editor and bureau chief as well as the host of the network’s weekly political program “Meet The Press.” Paul began his career in television journalism in 1974. He started out with the Seven network in Melbourne. He is married with two daughters and has a Master’s Degree in Theology from the Pontifical Urban University in Rome.

Download pdf flyer

VIDEO RECORDINGS OF THE FORUM

(total size 285MB)
integrity-0.mp4
integrity-1.mp4
integrity-2.mp4

Practising Christian discourse: Addressing ethics in divisive times

By | Past Forums

Tuesday 18 April 2023 — 7:00 pm

Chambers Pavilion, Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture,
15 Blackall Street, Barton.

“How can Christians authentically address ethical issues today?”

Mobile phones. Email. Social Media. Zoom.

Communication has never been more accessible or abundant. But never has public discourse seemed more divisive or polarised.

How can Christians remain true to the rich heritage of their tradition while offering a constructive voice into some of the most pressing and antagonistic ethical issues of our time?

The answer may have less to do with the ethical positions Christians take than in the habits of discourse that they practise. Such an approach isn’t to render Christian ethics relative but to discover that the source of Christian speech shapes not only its content but also its contours.

Dr Amy EricksonAbout the speaker

Amy Erickson (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is Lecturer in Theology and Ethics at St Mark’s National Theological Centre and the author of Ephraim Radner, Hosean Wilderness, and the Church in the Post-Christendom West (Brill, 2020). Amy is an exciting, interesting speaker. She has taught students in Texas USA and Fuller Theological Seminary. She lectures at St Mark’s in Theological Ethics, Old Testament History and Narrative, Hermeneutics, and Spirituality and Contemporary Engagement.

 

Download pdf of flyer

 

Report of the forum

by Robbie Tulip, member of the CES committee, is available here

BEYOND SELF-CENTREDNESS: IS ECONOMICS BUILT ON THE RIGHT FOUNDATION?

By | Past Forums

TUESDAY 21 FEBRUARY 7:00 PM

If people are compassionate, where does that leave economics?

Economics is built on the assumption of a “rational economic man,” a being that is said to make decisions solely on the basis of maximising “utility”.

But there’s an awful lot of evidence that people aren’t like that, being generous to others in ways that couldn’t possibly advance their own interests, and being prepared to harm their own interests rather than be party to arrangements they don’t think are fair.

It has sparked debates in economics about how much the profession will have to change to incorporate reality, or whether it should.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER


Peter Martin AM

Peter Martin is a member of the Holy Cross Anglican Church at Hackett and is and Business and Economy Editor of The Conversation.

A former Commonwealth Treasury official and former economics editor of The Age, he has reported economics since 1985.

Peter was the ABC economics correspondent from 1985 to 2002 reporting for the flagship programs, AM and PM.

He was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2019 for significant service to multi-platform and print media as an economics journalist.


Forum Chair: Mr Clive Rodger, Chair, Christians for an Ethical Society

CHAMBERS PAVILION (NB – this time, not the chapel)
AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR CHRISTIANITY AND CULTURE
15 Blackall Street (near Kings Ave) Barton

TUESDAY 21 FEBRUARY 7:00 PM

Here is the pdf flyer about the forum

The forum will seek to encourage discussion from the floor.
A donation would be appreciated.

Christians for an Ethical Society (ces.org.au) is a Canberra-based ecumenical forum which seeks to engage with the ethical challenges of the contemporary world, locally, nationally and internationally.

Contact: Ann Skamp – secretary@ces.org.au www.ces.org.au

VIDEO RECORDINGS OF THE FORUM

(total size 198MB)
economics-1.mp4
economics-2.mp4
economics-3.mp4

REPORT OF THE FORUM

by Robbie Tulip, member of the CES committee

Is Economics Built On The Right Foundation?

Economic journalist Peter Martin AM addressed this topic in discussion with Christians for an Ethical Society in Canberra on 21 February. Peter is well known for his insightful economic commentary for The Conversation, The Age and the ABC. Christians for an Ethical Society (ces.org.au) is a Canberra-based ecumenical forum which seeks to engage with the ethical challenges of the contemporary world, locally, nationally and internationally.

Economics as an academic discipline encourages the self-centred outlook known as homo economicus, founded on allegedly rational self-interest. Yet a better foundation is possible. We see this from the observation that people are generous to others in ways that couldn’t possibly advance their own interests, and are prepared to harm their own interests rather than accept arrangements they see as unfair.

The problem Peter raised is that so-called “Rational Economic Man” behaves contrary to our basic recognition that we live together with other people in social networks of care and concern. We do not exist as disconnected and isolated individuals. As the renowned Australian researcher Hugh Mackay has observed, the whole field of sociology is based on human interconnectedness. Yet the training of ‘homo economicus’ encourages a heartless attitude, based on wrong assumptions about perfect competition, and increasingly ignoring the problems of concentration of power and wealth. Traditional economics allows the market failure of growing inequality. Allowing self-centred views to dominate society, as seen especially in the USA, has fostered growing inequality that threatens social cohesion and wellbeing.

In the Ultimatum Game, designed to test views on fairness, a person is given $100 on the basis that they must share it with someone else. Only if the second person accepts the offered amount does either get anything. Peter explained that people readily see equal sharing of such a windfall as fair and acceptable. But tests of this game have found on average that the second person would prefer nothing rather than an offer below $30. When our innate sense of dignity and equality is affronted, we reject the supposedly rational idea that a derisory gift is better than nothing. Generosity and fairness are basic human values.

Audience discussion with Peter further explored ethical problems of inequality. The core Christian ethical principle that what we do to the least of the world we do to Jesus Christ (Matt 25:40) is a call to promote equality, connection and respect. An economy that allows the wealthy to impose monopoly and cartel corporate structures creates a political climate where decisions are based on corruption, avoiding regulation. It is difficult to fix this problem because incentives for politicians often put vested interests before the public good. Australian superannuation funds make investment decisions and CEOs enjoy bonus systems that skew corporate incentives to focus on short term profit rather than longer term results. We see increasing domination by the top 1%, risking a breakdown in our social contract.

Peter suggested one option to help reduce inequality would be to tax capital gain profits from investment property at the full rate. He commented that the concept of wellbeing can guide economic policy in government decisions. We can enhance overall wellbeing through actions on sustainability – looking to the long term; complexity – simplifying public interaction with government; and risk – ensuring vulnerable people are protected.

Economics tends to assume a high discount rate, leaving future generations to look after themselves. Peter noted that this attitude fails in relation to climate change, given the high risks from global warming, but economic policy can help solve this problem by pricing carbon emissions as an externality.

Christians for an Ethical Society seeks to increase public understanding of how we can improve wellbeing. Peter Martin commented that our political system often ignores policy options that could best achieve such ethical goals, due to a lack of public engagement seeking to influence government decisions. While the economics profession has highly contested views and values, it is essential to encourage more debate and discussion of economics, in order to give more prominence to the findings of research and encourage more ethical policies.