The so-called ‘train crash’ of international Anglicanism has happened, but according to the Archbishop of Canterbury the trains are now on separate tracks.

1. A major statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury this week, confirming two central things about the US Episcopal church: a) The TEC is, on any ‘realistic assessment’ determined to push ahead with their own agenda despite the rest of the Communion and b) the US church is now on a different track to the rest of the Communion. This is not just about actively homosexual bishops and same-sex blessings but at least on that score the Archbishop has put it succinctly - “The question is not a simple one of human rights or human dignity. It is that a certain choice of lifestyle has certain consequences. So long as the Church Catholic, or even the Communion as a whole does not bless same-sex unions, a person living in such a union cannot without serious incongruity have a representative function in a Church whose public teaching is at odds with their lifestyle”.

2. Peter Costello is the latest to raise a question about anti-discrimination legislation, human rights charters and their adverse impacts on Christians. He wrote a piece for the SMH and the Age and argues with a great deal of credibility when he says “The human rights industry begins with grand promises and ends up intervening in non-problems. We are led to believe that the purpose of such charters is to stop arbitrary arrests, guarantee a free press and guard against dictatorship. In practice, what does it do? It complicates the life of religious schools and open lawsuits against the churches”.

3. The fear about the proposed state and federal legislation on freedom of religion, discrimination and human rights is that Australia will end up like modern-day Britain with its equality laws causing havoc for Christians. I’ve highlighted many examples in recent months and there’s more in an article by Rod Dreher of the Dallas Morning News. I met Dreher two years ago and always read his ‘Crunchy Con’ blog with interest. He’s in Britain at the moment and talks about touring Salisbury Cathedral and the tour guide didn’t once mention God. His American take on modern British life is summed up in one line: “Many of the Christians I’ve spoken to are bitter about what they regard as the moral cowardice of the clergy in the face of the social crisis overtaking Britain”. There are some notable exceptions to that, but I know what he means.

4. A reminder to pray for persecuted brothers and sisters this week. Where? For a start, North Korea, where one man was executed for his faith and Eritrea where another person imprisoned for their faith has died in jail. North Korea, Eritrea and Somalia get little attention on the world stage, but they should be the target of our prayers because that is where our family is suffering.

5. If you are a regular reader of this column you will know I always like to highlight stories which go under the radar. In the US, there is some rumbling in the scientific community over Francis Collins, President Obama’s pick to be director of the National Institutes of Health. The problem is, not only is he a well-respected and brilliant scientist, he is also a Christian. And from what I can tell, a well thought-out evangelical. Since he was once head of the Human Genome Project, his scientific credentials are hard to criticise. But in this piece for the New York Times, atheist Sam Harris argues Collins should not be appointed. Because Collins believes science does not answer the biggest question of life. In Harris’ words, “Must we really entrust the future of biomedical research in the United States to a man who sincerely believes that a scientific understanding of human nature is impossible?”. It’s a fascinating insight into the atheist world view that only they are neutral and only they have a right understanding of the world. The letters that followed are also worth reading.

Some hard-edged stories this week but they may put steel in our spines.