Roger Payne – författare

There is an urgent need for more debate and discussion in our churches because the integrity and credibility of our faith is at risk. Our integrity is at risk because it is not clear that we understand what it is that we profess. Our credibility is at risk because we seem unable to communicate it. We need to engage more actively at the intellectual level and to be willing to examine the fundamentals of our faith more critically. And such discussion must start with a human rather than a divine perspective. It is as human beings that we are embodied as persons, it is as human beings that we engage with the world around us, and it is as human beings that we form relationships with the rest of the created order. And it is as a human being that that which we understand as God was embodied in the form of Jesus of Nazareth, thereby placing humanity at the pinnacle of creation and giving humanity the responsibility for the stewardship of the created order.

The challenge to all forms of authority has become particularly acute since the middle of the twentieth century and has had a profound impact on all aspects of society. It has affected relationships in the home, in local communities and in the world at large. It has tested parents as they seek to nurture their children. It has undermined the ability of teachers to manage their classes. It has forced the police to change their tactics. It has required hospitals to engage with patients. It has caused local and national politicians to amend legislation. Many of these changes have had positive outcomes but many others are negatively charged and some remain unresolved. Some issues of authority are not recognised or are simply ignored. Others are carelessly or insensitively handled. Some groups are in turmoil amongst competing voices of authority. Other groups suffer from arbitrary and imposed authoritarian solutions. This whirlwind of change has been rightly called a 'crisis of authority'. Religious communities have not been immune from all this and in some ways the 'crisis of authority' has been more acute for those with a religious disposition.Although the crisis applies to all religious groups, the purpose of this book is to consider the problems facing the Christian community in particular and to offer some thoughts on possible solutions.

These proceedings contain the refereed Invited and Full Contributed papers from the COMPSTAT conference.Statistical computing provides the link between statistical theory and applied statistics. The scientific programme of COMPSTAT ranges over all aspects of this link, from the development and implementaion of new computer-based statistical methodology through to innovative applications and software evaluation. The programme should appeal to anyone working in statistics and using computers, whether in universities, industrial companies, research institutes or as software developers.The Proceedings thus provide a broad overview of all currently-active research areas in statistical computing.