LIVERPOOL'S Anglican Cathedral will tonight provide the setting for a debate which asks: Is Christianity still relevant?
The event is the first in a series of "Big Questions" debates being staged as part of the Cathedral's Centenary (1904-2004).
Each debate will feature a major issue facing society.
Tonight's eagerly-awaited event will examine the relevance of Christianity in the 21st century and will also investigate whether or not the Church commun ic ates effectively with the world today.
The keynote speakers will be philosopher Lady Mary Warnock and the Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Rev James Jones.
There has been massive demand for tonight's debate with more than 940 tickets having been requested.
* The debate starts at 7pm. For further details and tickets Andrea Davis on 0151 702 7274.
No . . . dogma damages Church
LADY Mary Warnock, 79, is a crossbench life peer, moral philosopher and author of a number of books on philosophy, including The Intelligent Person's Guide to Ethics.
She believes Christianity is out of touch with the realities of modern day life and says it needs to change radically if it is to survive.
She said: "I am not hostile to Christianity but I do think it has to do something in order to avoid the charge of being irrelevant. One of the things it has to do is stop trying to make people believe things that are simply not possible. For example, post Darwin, people cannot be expected to believe the world was created in seven days.
"But this does not mean Christianity has nothing to say. Much of the stuff in the Gospel cannot be translated into the 21st century, but some of it can. It seems to me very important that we all should accept morality but, equally, our sense of morality should not depend on Christianity or any other religion.
"One can accept the messages of Christianity as metaphors which have stood the test of time, but we can't be expected to give them any more relevance than that.
"My biggest problem with Christianity is when it is used dogmatically - whether it be the dogma of the Pope or of Christian fundamentalists - it is totally unacceptable.
"The recent debate on homosexuality has done the church enormous damage, and I can't imagine anyone being enamoured by
Christianity while this was going on.
"It will be astonishing to see so many people at the cathedral.
"It just goes to show the importance of the debate going on."
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