Tag: western society

How can the kingdom of God be good news to those who don’t believe?
(July 8, 2013)

Last post I examined how Jesus said he came to establish the kingdom of God on earth, and that was good news for us. But how can this be good news for those who don’t believe? Aren’t they totally missing out?

Grief ….. shame ….. and anger
(June 24, 2013)

Yesterday I went to “A Christian Service of Commemoration for Those Lost at Sea”. It was a surprisingly moving experience for me.

Tim Keller, gay marriage and Bible interpretation
(May 12, 2013)

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. […]

Conflicting emotions on Anzac Day
(April 25, 2013)

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.

Naturalism – coming your way soon?
(March 29, 2013)

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?

Conversion & deconversion statistics
(February 10, 2013)

Recently I’ve discussed some stories of atheists who once were christians and christians who once were unbelievers. Here’s some statistics on how religious belief is changing in various countries.

Tony's Chocolonely – serious chocolate!
(January 8, 2013)

Regular readers will know that one of my ’causes’ is ethical chocolate – chocolate that is grown by free farmers who are paid a fair wage, and not by trafficked children working more or less as slaves. (For background, see Ethical chocolate update.) So it was with great delight that I received a weighty package […]

Guns and christians
(December 29, 2012)

Many people have commented these past few weeks on gun ownership in the US. As an Australian, I hesitate to enter into the debate, so I won’t discuss either of the key questions – whether a high level of gun ownership reduces or increases gun deaths, and whether the laws in the US should be […]

Contraception and abortion
(December 26, 2012)

I saw this story a while back but only got around to posting about it now – a study has shown how abortion rates can apparently be more than halved.

I'm a published author!
(November 29, 2012)

Or, to be more accurate, I soon will be. It is a phenomenon reported by pollster George Barna, observed by many of us and experienced by some – feeling dissatisfied with church. Not just complaining that something isn’t perfectly the way we like it, or disliking the people, but feeling deeply alienated from the church […]