“Family values” have become synonymous with a Conservative Christian agenda. The family is boldly proclaimed the God-ordained and fundamental building block of society, which, given such a grand status, must be protected at all costs. The only problem with this is that Jesus seems to...
Rejecting The Resurgent Push for Patriarchy
The idea that women are to be submissive to male leadership seems to be having something of a renaissance in Australian Evangelicalism, or at least in Sydney/NSW and among those claiming to be “Reformed”. The year began with new Sydney Anglican marriage rites in which a bride promises...
How Would Jesus Vote? #2
At the end of a 3000 year old document I found the the advice that will shape how I vote in the upcoming Federal election. The words are attributed to the mother of a king named Lemuel. The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him. 2 Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb...
Must Women Wear Veils, Men Raise Their Hands and Young Widows Marry? How to Do Biblical Ethics.
Ethics can be confusing. Christians debate gender roles, sexuality, abortion, euthanasia and much more, and despite having the same Scriptures before us, still manage to disagree. What’s more, the bible we open contains some weird and wonderful teaching. Try these on for size: If my brother...
The Heart of the Gospel
In 1971 the Sydney Anglicans produced a report that revolutionised my understanding of the gospel. Now out of print, Move in for Action, a report of the Commission on Evangelism, contained a chapter by Paul Barnett that examined the preaching of the gospel by Paul and Peter as recorded in the book...
Dancing with the Devil. Nestle, Chocolate and Child Labour
The world’s largest food company, Nestle, does not have a good reputation with advocates for justice. For years the company has been accused of aggressively marketing infant formula to women in the developing world, leading them to preference formula over breast milk, at great risk to baby...
Contrary to Popular Opinion, the World is Becoming a Better Place
It is common for people to claim the world is becoming a worse place to live. But there is a good argument that, notwithstanding the presence of some awful things, that for most people the world appears to be a better place to live today than in most periods from the past. Technology allows us to...
The Dividing Line Between Good and Evil
When I was in my mid 20s a friend invited Sandy and I to his 40th birthday. He was a recovering alcoholic, as was everyone at the party, except Sandy and I. It was an incredible experience. Every person there had sunk as low as they could imagine going and were now climbing their way out, and that...
We Are Not a Christian Country. Never Have Been. Never Will Be. Never Want to Be.
As we move toward a federal election, there will be a group of Christians who declare “Australia is a Christian country” and want the law to reflect Christian values. Well intentioned they may be, but they are misinformed. Australia is not and never has been a Christian country. When...
God Didn’t Plan for Me to Have Parkinsons. Bad Stuff Just Happens
People sometimes wonder whether there is a grand purpose behind their suffering. For me that translates to whether there is some divine purpose behind my Parkinsons? I don’t think there is. I live in a world that is fractured and broken. That brokenness is, in part at least, the result of sin...