“Public Answers to Private Questions” got off to a quick start as an anonymous audience member bluntly asked, “If God is supposed to be all-forgiving, why do some people end up in hell?”<\/p>\n
Shaw responded by saying, “I’m not sure that I believe in hell,” pointing out that there are places in the Scripture where no hell is mentioned and concluding that the subject is open to interpretation.<\/p>\n
Shaw also spoke extensively on the Lambeth Conference, a convention 10 years running that brings together Anglican bishops from all over the world.<\/p>\n
Shaw said that the next Lambeth Conference, to be held in 2008, will focus on world debt, an issue first brought to the attention of world leaders at the previous Conference.<\/p>\n
He also said that there will be discussion on issues relating to homosexuality, but it will not be the main topic of discussion.<\/p>\n
When asked about a potential split of the Episcopalian Church from the rest of the Anglican Church, Shaw said it would not happen and that things will get worked out in the long run.<\/p>\n
However, he did compare the controversy of the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopalian bishop, to the split of the Anglican Church from the Catholic Church during the 16th century. In both cases, Shaw said there was a fermenting of new ideas and a need for change.<\/p>\n