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.” […]
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 […]
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 […]
My earlier post asked the question did Jesus exist? This post addresses a slightly different question. Did the historical figure Jesus whose existence is attested by secular history resemble the Jesus which is described in the Christian Scriptures? We could ask this question in several different ways. Is the New […]
I was hoping Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s comments on Q&A Monday night would be forgotten and we could all pretend it didn’t happen. Not because it wasn’t important. It was. Rather because it isn’t helpful. I’ll explain in a moment. First, allow me to make a few comments on what […]
ABC NewsRadio Drive host Glen Bartholomew interviewed the Roman Catholic Father Bob Maguire yesterday about his support of the Live Wire for Refugees 24-hour speak out at Federation Square in Melbourne today. Maguire argued that it is a Christian duty to welcome the stranger and compared illegal immigration in Australia […]
On the night of 26 June, I was riveted to the TV screen just like most of you. I admit though that my interest in the (tragic) State of Origin II was dwarfed by my interest in what was happening in the halls of Parliament House that night. I spent […]
War is hell. At least that’s what those who’ve seen it say. If my vicarious experiences of war via Hollywood are anything resembling realistic, I’m inclined to agree. Many Christians over the years have considered themselves pacifists. I do not count myself among them. Still, there is something fundamentally broken […]
We all know intuitively that there is a line between giving your child a smack and physically abusing him. While we may draw our lines in slightly different places, all decent people understand that there is a line and crossing it is evil. Church discipline is similar, but when it […]
Just over a week ago, on 12 November, 2012, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that she will request the establishment of a Royal Commission into child sexual abuse, particularly institutional responses to child sexual abuse. Subsequently, a formal website was set up as a hub for the Royal Commission […]
