I heard a talk last year by the managing director of the ABC, Mark Scott, in which he described the contemporary media landscape as a series of echo chambers. With so many sources of news available to them, people simply select those that reflect back to them what they already believe. Rather than...
If pornography is so bad,
why does the Bible give us the Song of Songs?
Christianity has a reputation for being prudish about sexual desire. Yet the Old Testament contains an extended erotic love poem in which two lovers anticipate their lovemaking. From the outset it is dripping with sexual desire: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth–for your love is...
Why Churches Should Be a Safe Place for LGBT Oriented People to Come Out
Young people who are same-sex attracted (SSA) experience victimisation, harassment and abuse because of their sexual identity. Those who are open about their sexuality frequently experience abuse and rejection by family and friends. Consequently they do not feel safe about ‘coming-out’ and instead...
Five New Year Wishes for the Church
1. A mature debate on same-sex marriage Within the Christian world there are a variety of principled perspectives on same-sex marriage, including diverse views within the conservative wing of the church. Yet it seems that this discussion is surrounded with hysteria. The moment anyone urges anything...
Joe Hockey ends the idea that Australia can help make poverty history
Yesterday Treasurer Joe hockey announced that next year’s international aid budget would be slashed by $1 billion. This decision marked much more than the cutting of the aid budget. It marked the end of the idea that Australia could play a significant role in bringing extreme poverty to a...
Don’t be fooled. Children will remain in detention.
In the wake of the agreement between the crossbench Senators and the government, many are under the impression that no children will be held in immigration detention into the future. This is a misunderstanding of what was agreed. Children are currently held in immigration detention centres on the...
What the changes to the migration act mean
This week the Senate passed the “Migration And Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment (Resolving The Asylum Legacy Caseload) Bill 2014”. The bill results in sweeping changes to Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers. Reintroduction of Temporary Protection Visas When asylum seekers...
Hugs from strangers
I was on the train from Newcastle to Sydney a few weeks back. It was a Sunday afternoon and the train was packed. I was sitting in one of the designated quiet carriages where conversations must kept to a minimum, phones are to be put away, and if you listen to music you must do so through...
Did you see the dancing bear? A reflection on the conclusion of Micah Challenge Australia
A few years back a brilliant tv ad was created which showed 2 teams of people passing a ball. You the viewer were asked to count how many times the white team passed the ball. And so you count…1,2,3,4,5. The ad ends, the correct answer is given and just as you are basking in the glory of getting it...
It Turns Out that Christian Attitudes to the Environment are Not So Christian
In 1967 a history professor from the University of California delivered a paper in which he argued the world’s environmental degradation had its roots in the Judeo-Christian notion of dominion. When the biblical text declared that humankind was to “rule” and “subdue”...