thinking honestly about life and faith
Today in Australia we commemorate a truly historic occasion: 40 years ago, on May 27th, 1967, Australians voted to change the constitution, to allow the federal parliament to make laws for the well being of the indigenous people, and to … Read More »
People everywhere are talking about Richard Dawkins’ argument about ‘the God delusion’.Dawkins has been a critic of religion for a long time now, but his recent work has gained a lot more public notice. Dawkins and a number of other … Read More »
The remainder of Luke 5 needs to be interpreted in the light of the end section.I say this, even though we know that the original texts did not have chapter divisions as we have them, so we can’t pretend that … Read More »
Luke chapter 5 has a series of incidents in the ongoing story of Jesus’ ministry.The beginning of the chapter presents the first of a number of boat stories: in this case, the story of Peter and his companions making a … Read More »
This week, in local politics, the Government parties have gone all out in their critique of the Labor policies announced last weekend.But the special brunt of their attack has been on the Deputy Opposition Leader, Ms Julia Gillard.One key government … Read More »
In drought-stricken Australia, the Prime Minister recently announced that soon our government may have to take drastic measures, to deny irrigation water to a huge region of the country which has been called the nation’s food-bowl. Many towns … Read More »
In today’s newspaper is the story of a young man who was injured in a fight in a pub. The leg of a chair was embedded in his face, right next to his nose. The picture is horrific.After amazing surgery … Read More »
Returning to Luke 4: but this is so very relevant!Again we see the immediate juxtaposition of the divine and the demonic. They are right there, mixed together: in this passage, in the same person.In the first part of the chapter, … Read More »
‘The Temptations of Religion’ is the title of a brilliant book by Charles Davis, but I am now using this title to introduce Luke chapter 4, and the temptations of Jesus.This chapter again shows how the Spirit is Luke’s focus.It … Read More »
Some time ago, a friend asked me whether I thought that it is possible to be ‘spiritually gifted’.He noted that people are gifted in many areas of life, such as in sport, in academic abilities, or artistic gifting. Is it … Read More »