Five years ago we attended a service of lament and support for indigenous christians who cannot celebrate Australia Day with the rest of the country. The service highlighted issues that I think we all wish weren’t there, or would go away. Last night we watched an online prayer service conducted by Aboriginal christians seeking to […]
Clever signs at the Global Climate Strike in Sydney.
This is the Ministry (the main decision-makers) in the Australian Government. These people lead the Government, develop policy, plan legislation and lead the various Government Departments which have responsibility for (among other things) trade, commerce, agriculture, social services and foreign affairs. The Government also has a role in health and environmental issues (which are more […]
Just over a week ago was election day in Australia. After being behind in the polls for years, the Government was returned with a small majority. This was seen by most pundits as an important election, charting a course for Australia’s future. Christians seemed to be more active than in any previous election that I […]
It is no news that people seem to becoming more polarised politically these days. But it is sad, unhelpful and unnecessary. It is particularly sad when christians fall into this. And it seems to be particularly common when discussing issues relating to terrorism and Islam. Like this last week …..
Last week Fariborz Karami committed suicide. And I don’t think many Australians noticed. He was just 26 years old, and he had been held behind bars for 5 years without any hope of safe release. His mental health had been deteriorating for years. But I don’t think many Australians cared. Worse still, I don’t think […]
It hasn’t always been comfortable being a man during these #metoo days. Men we might have thought could be trusted have been accused, and often admitted to, all manner of unacceptable, sexually predatory and abusive behaviour, mostly against women. For me, it became most pointed when this last weekend I read a long article in […]
I went on a political demonstration today. Well, it was called a vigil, and it was quiet, peaceful and non-confrontational, but it was a protest. It was expressing concern about Australia’s treatment of asylum-seekers, specifically several hundred man on an island in Papua New Guinea, Australia’s northern neighbour. Realistically, there is very little prospect, right […]
Photo: Slaves Waiting to be sold in Richmond, Virginia, painted in 1861 from an 1853 sketch. Wikipedia. The world has changed enormously in my lifetime. One thing that I never knew as a child but which seems to characterise the present age, is international terrorism. Terrorism, via car bomb, motor vehicle driven into crowds, gun […]
Truth and love are both basic virtues for christians. The Bible tells us God is love, and Jesus is the truth (1 John 4:8, John 14:6). But sometimes truth and love seem to get in each other’s way. Or maybe it is what we think is the truth and what we think is loving. But […]