Book review: God doesn't do waste
How important should it be for christians to care for God’s world? Are ‘spiritual’ things more important? Does caring for the earth get in the way of christian ministry? This book offers some useful insights.
Category: Behaviour
Test yourself: are you more like Jesus or more like the Pharisees?
It was done more than a year ago but I’ve only just seen it – a survey by the Barna Group about whether US christians more resembled Jesus or Pharisees. Like Hans Solo said: “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” [Note: A reader has pointed out that using Pharisees as a point of comparison […]
Christians, non-violence and the Middle East – some random thoughts
The world seems to be beyond horrific at the moment. Civil wars in Nigeria, Sudan and Ukraine as well as fighting in the Middle East in Syria, Gaza and Iraq. Grossly inhumane treatment of ordinary people by militias, rebels, terrorists and governments. Surely there is something for christians to learn from all this?
Gender equity?
Two recent experiences led to this post, which takes up one of the issues I raised in The New Reformation. Two weeks ago I attended the TEAR Conference in Sydney. TEAR Australia is a movement of Christians responding to the needs of poor communities around the world. One of its major emphases is raising the […]
Easter Saturday prayer vigil for refugees
9 of 12 members of our church who attended the vigil. I have blogged before on the plight of refugees from war-torn or unstable countries like Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iraq and Iran arriving in Australian waters by boat and Australia’s somewhat callous attitude to them – see links below this post. Australia outsources some of […]
A christian response to refugees seeking asylum
Two posts back I wrote about my feelings of shame regarding Australia’s treatment of refugees seeking asylum who try to reach Australia by boat. But what is a ‘right’ christian response? Is there any ‘right’ response?
Christians, prejudice and love for 'enemies': living in the opposite spirit
Last post I looked at how some studies show that many christians are prejudiced towards groups such as gays, atheists and Muslims, and are less likely than other people to show love to members of these groups. How can we start to bring about change?
Christians, prejudice and love for 'enemies'
Jesus told his followers, quite definitely, to love their enemies, and warned them against hatred. Yet today, the public image of christians is somewhat tarnished – some christians are seen to be loving and caring, but others are seen to be prejudiced and intolerant, especially towards groups like gays and Muslims. What is the evidence […]
Wealth, poverty, inequality …. and Jesus
Try this brief quiz (if you haven’t seen my other blog): Which country is the richest in the world in terms of median wealth? Which countries come close? Which countries have the greatest and least disparity between the rich and the rest? In the richest country, what percentage of people live in poverty? Have a […]
Learning how to live
Some people just seem to know how to behave and what to say in every situation. And others have to learn the hard way – they need to learn how to live. I am more like the second type, and so I welcome it when someone teaches me a new simple way to understand how […]