Christianity began as a minority group within Judaism and within the Roman Empire. But from the time Constantine made it acceptable, christianity became the dominant religion, and Christendom was generally the dominant social force, in Europe and colonies in Africa, the Americas and the Pacific. Christianity was often the state religion, most people were nominally […]
Difficult issues series This has been perhaps the most difficult post I have written. I’ve avoided writing about this issue because it is so divisive, and because I wasn’t sure I had anything worthwhile to say. But while I don’t pretend to have a solution to the argument between the traditionalists and the progressives, I […]
This community-based social enterprise has something to teach christians. There are many Wild Rumpus organisations in the world, but this post is about Wild Rumpus in Wollongong, Australia.
It seems to be a paradoxical fact that there are so many more people around in big cities, and yet people are lonelier. The crowds tend to isolate us rather than force us together. Smaller communities generally have a greater sense of, well, community. Yet some people are trying new ways to break this down.
The dictionary defines an extremist as “a person who holds extreme political or religious views, especially one who advocates illegal, violent, or other extreme action.” Search for photos tagged as “extremist” (as I did for this post) and the majority of the photos are of Americans protesting against their government, especially their President. The one […]
I have several times posted here and elsewhere about relationships between christians and atheists, and my wish that we do better at this, for example: Listening to atheists The way we treat deserters Atheists vs christians: does it have to be war? Is anybody listening? So when I saw a book in our local library […]
Although I am rather straight and conservative, I have always appreciated those who are creative, alternative and ‘out there’. Recently I came across (on the web) someone who is all of those, and more. And loves Jesus too!
A few weeks back, influential New York minister Tim Keller spoke at a forum run by the US Ethics and Public Policy Centre, during which he made some comments on the issue of gay marriage. What he said attracted a lot of discussion, but was apparently misunderstood by some, and he subsequently issued an explanation. […]
This morning I attended the local Anzac Day dawn service, which commemorates the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who have died in battle. For many Aussies, this is the most sacred day of the year. I don’t feel that way, and I don’t usually attend, and it was a time of conflicting emotions and thoughts.
In October 2012, 14 eminent scientists, philosophers and other thinkers met for 3 days in a workshop entitled Moving Naturalism Forwards. What should we learn from this meeting?