Here I go again – writing another blog post on Australia’s treatment of asylum-seekers. What can I say that I haven’t said already? Why bother? And yet, the situation keeps getting worse and Australia’s reaction keeps getting more and more callous.
Studies show that christians in the US and Australia are more likely than average to be sceptical about climate change. It appears that they think the scientific consensus is split between those who believe human-induced climate change is a major threat and those who think we just don’t know, and many suspect the scientists have […]
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?
Desperate people fleeing persecution in their home countries make long journeys, overland and by boat, to reach the safe haven of Australia, hoping to be granted refugee status and residency. They don’t receive a welcome. I have travelled a long journey in my thinking about asylum seekers, and it seems our country is on a […]
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 […]
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?
While we are on the subject of Australia’s attitude to refugees arriving by boat, here is a telling sketch by Aussie satirists John Clarke and Bryan Dawe. (Actually John comes from New Zealand, but works in Australia.) For those not familiar with Aussie politics, the sketch presents hardline Australian Government Minister for Immigration, Scott Morrison, […]
These are difficult times. For many in our world, the difficulty is surviving poverty, or escaping from a murderous regime. I live in Australia. I don’t live in poverty, and while our government has some very bad features, it isn’t a direct threat to my life. For me, some of the difficult issues are ethical. […]
Let’s start the year with a good news story! Since he was elected in March, Pope Francis has been making waves and charming friend and foe alike. It’s worth reviewing.
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 […]