Religion in Australia: Statistics from the 2011 census
Data from the 2011 Australian national census has been released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. There are many who may find the data on religious affiliation useful. In this series, I'll be attempting to outline the basic data as well as doing some minor analysis and drawing some conclusions. The data First, the census outlines the major religions represented in Australia. Additionally, the Christian religion is broken down into denominational affiliation. Analysis
Cycle of abuse
Learning of the existence of this well-known pattern of behaviour is often a shock down to the very core of the abused's soul. When that passes, a wave of immeasurable relief sweeps over this wife feeling uniquely alone, isolated, and trapped. It is the confirmation of her sanity after all. Let's take a closer look at how this works. The incident Life's routine is flowing when the abuser starts getting more demanding, belittling, and selfish
Defining domestic violence
We all occasionally lose our tempers, but within a short time we realise the damage we've done and broken-heartedly ask for forgiveness and a restored relationship. Marital abuse is in a completely different universe. It is not an anger-problem, submission issue, or lack of good communication skills. Emotional/mental abuse is just as painful and will be covered later. Using physical force to harm or endanger another is assault (attempt/threat of violence) and battery (unlawful/unpermitted touching,
No one knew
For the whole month of November, missionaries Jeremy and Liz Pinero and I took my four little "grand-angels" and lived up in the mountains of Big Bay in Vanuatu doing all the... well... jungle-stuff—like washing our clothes in the river, crouching over a fire to cook, doing without power or running water or (gasp!) internet, riding in the moonlight frantically hanging on in the back of a truck fish-tailing through deep muddy ruts, taking cold
When you’ve been hurt: Common confusions
It would be imprudent of me to conclude this series without making some important clarifications to what I have said up to now. There are, unfortunately, a number of teachings about forgiveness in the modern church which do grievous harm. Several come to mind that I address here. Releasing vs. forgetting Forgiveness is letting go. It is not forgetting. I know this contradicts the practically canonical "forgive and forget," but it's true. In fact, the
When you’ve been hurt: The results of right choices
Healing. Sweetness. Joy. Edification. Humility. If you try to make this stuff happen, you will fail. The stuff I talk about here is the fruit. The root is the forgiveness, compassion, benevolence, and prayer we looked at in part one. Part one is the means. Part two is the ends. If you focus on pursuing the ends as an end in itself, they will elude you. But a biblical response to hurt leads to increasing...
When you’ve been hurt: Making the difficult choices
It might be as simple as an insulting comment or as complex as childhood sexual abuse, but whatever we're dealing with, one thing is clear: We all get hurt at times. Sometimes we can overlook and move on. The damage is minimal. But when the hurt is too deep for that, it's easy for the wound to become infected. In fact, it's almost guaranteed. We come to hate the person who hurt us, we look
Is giving to my church tax deductible in Australia?
Believe it or not, there are some places in the world where your offerings at church are tax deductible. This has resulted in a steady stream of searches coming through to our website with people trying to find out if this is true in Australia. The simple answer is "no." While the Australian Taxation Office grants tax deductible status to some organisations, churches are not normally one of them. The exception to this is when
Reformation Day
It was on this day in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Saxony. Little did he know that day what God was about to do. The poem above is something I wrote for Reformation Day last year. Rejoice with me in all that God did and is still doing through those events! Sola fide.
How “(500) Days of Summer” could help you make sense of the gospels
It may be classified as a "romcom," but the subtitle corrects any such misconception: "This is not a love story. This is a story about love." The 2009 film, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, is indeed an odd commentary on love. I say "odd" because the "(500) Days" of their relationship that the film covers aren't in order. The film starts on day 290 when [SPOILER ALERT!] main characters Tom and Summer break off