St Andrew's Trust for the study of Religion and Society
March events reminder

Tuesday 3 March, 12:15 at St Andrew's
How Free is Free Speech?

Mr David Rutherford, Chief Human Rights Commissioner will be holding an in-depth conversation on Free Speech.

The recent massacre of staff of the satirical magazineCharlie Hebdo in Paris has reminded us of the wide range of standards applied to the question of how free can free speech be, especially in the context of satire.

In an attempt to offer a balanced view, we have invited our Chief Human Rights commissioner, David Rutherford, to clarify for us the standards required by the lay in New Zealand.

The Human Rights Commissioner helps New Zealanders to know and realise the human rights of themselves and others. The first of its two main functions is to advocate and promote respect for human rights, of which freedom of expression is commonly seen to be one. The second function is to encourage harmonious relations between diverse people in New Zealand society.

Having established the New Zealand position, the Conversation will look at overseas conditions which include recent tragic events and to ask whether there can be reconciliation between human rights in general and free speech in particular.

The interviewer, Noel Cheer, is a long-term member of the Board of The St Andrew's Trust for the study of Religion and Society. He has recently completed a seven-year series of half-hour interviews on Auckland's Triangle Television.

Tuesday 10 March, 12:15 at St Andrew's

THEOLOGY IN PAINTING: Illustrated walk through and theology behind the Vatican's master artworks. Featuring Sistine Chapel, Stanze di Raffaello and Raphael's Coronation & Transfiguration by Dr Christopher Longhurst.

Dr Christopher Longhurst, works as a lecturer (operatore didattico) at the Vatican Museums, Rome, Italy, leading tours, lecturing, and conducting seminars. He will introduce us to the richness of some of the Vatican's art.

Dr. Longhurst originally hails from Napier, Hawke’s Bay. For the past two years he has been living and working in Morocco as Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Islamic Studies Program at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane. His field of study is theological aesthetics or the interdisciplinary study of religion and art.

ENDS

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