By grappling with the history of the story of the adulteress, we are reminded to approach Scripture critically, aware of how it has been shaped and reshaped to suit power. In doing so, we ensure that its calls for justice, equity, and mercy are not silenced but remain central to our understanding of faith and humanity. (more…)
Category: Religion
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The Liberal party, Moira Deeming and political Christianity
In Australian politics at federal and state level, it is desirable and appropriate that politicians with a religious commitment are elected to office, while also at times keeping separate their professional roles from private convictions for the sake of constituents and members of the community who do not belong to that faith. (more…)
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End, end the Gaza genocide
Worshippers of Death, They will remain such, In the annals of human history. Never forgiven, Never forgotten, For the genocide, They perpetrated! … (more…)
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Hope: A shared responsibility
In uncertain times, hope can feel fragile, but it remains essential. It’s up to the adults in the room to foster resilience and take practical steps to inspire and support future generations. (more…)
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A (very) personal theology of disability
Who am I? I am an old man. I use a wheelchair. I had polio in 1948. I cannot remember a time when I could walk and run like other people, or when I wasn’t obviously and visibly different. I have lived with pain. But I have had a good and conventionally successful life – a long and loving marriage, two wonderful adult children, grandchildren and a rewarding career. (more…)
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Seasons: Telling stories of God and life through landscape painting
Dedicated to the memory of Susie Menadue
“Beale’s art has always combined lyricism with a marked technical competence. There is a close observation of the moods of nature, the patterns of light and a celebration of the miracle of life that pervades against the forces of darkness. In these late works, a quiet spiritualism creeps into his art like a flickering candle that continues to shine despite the gusts of wind. Posterity eventually sorts out the standing of artists, and I suspect that, in retrospect, Roger Beale will be remembered as an artist who possessed his own unique voice in his art, which differentiated him from many others of his generation.” – Professor Sasha Grishin (more…)
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A Christmas meditation: ‘Subtle is the Lord’
On September 16th, 1919, the already world-famous physicist, Albert Einstein, was conducting a seminar with graduate students at Princeton University in the United States. Suddenly one of his colleagues in the Physics Department burst into the room brandishing a telegram. It was from the Royal Society in London, from his friend and fellow physicist, Hendrik Lorenz. (more…)
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Killing one innocent soul is the same as killing all of humanity: Jewish and Muslim teachings against cosmocide
The below is an excerpt from my essay, “The Sin of Cosmocide,” for Renovatio, the literary magazine of Zaytuna, the Muslim liberal arts college in Berkeley, Ca. It underlines how both Jewish and Muslim spiritual teachings forbid the killing of innocents who are guilty of no crime, and equate this deed to killing all humankind — what I term cosmocide. (more…)
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Christmas: Beyond the fantastical
One of the fondest memories we carry is of how when we were young, the world was infused with magic, especially at Christmas. We would wake on Christmas Day surrounded by the gifts Santa Claus had mysteriously placed there. (more…)
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New cardinals, an aging pope and the upcoming conclave
Again, the question arises: could Francis retire? If he were to do so, it would make papal resignations normal. (more…)
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Every day is Christmas: A Quaker perspective
The peace, goodwill, and love of Christmas aren’t confined to December—there’s an opportunity to see the sacred in everyday moments, all year round. (more…)
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A Christmas message to the Catholic Diocesan Bishops of the local churches in Australia
Dear Diocesan Bishops, your collective inertia has been staggering. (more…)
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That Christmas Carols event and remembering the birth of Jesus
Is your local community, like mine, preparing for that enjoyable Christmas Carols event? Will there be a reference to the place where it all began and, if so, what will be said? Will there be any reference to the current plight of its citizens? (more…)
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A call to all Christians in Australia to strive for a just peace in the holy land
In the Name of Christ, Our Peace – The time has come for people of faith to hear the cries of the people of Palestine, Gaza and Lebanon and to do everything in our power towards the ending of the death and destruction they are suffering. (more…)
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Updates from Jerusalem, then and now
From the Committee to Protect Journalists: “The Israel-Gaza war has taken an unprecedented toll on Gazan journalists since Israel declared war on Hamas following its attack against Israel on October 7, 2023. As of November 26, 2024, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 137 journalists and media workers were among the more than tens of thousands killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon since the war began, making it the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.” (more…)
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Zionism: An existential threat to Judaism
When recently sacked by Netanyahu, Gallant, in an emotional speech said: “Israel has fallen into moral darkness”. This is what Zionism has internally inflicted on Judaism – moral decay. The security threat suffered by good Jewish people globally is what Zionism has inflicted externally. (more…)
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A blessed synchronicity: How even memories of war can give hope for peace
Remembrance Day, 11 November: our little Monday afternoon music group. After the
morning’s mournful recollections of war, cheerfully we’re comparing notes about our lives,
friends, upcoming events in town. Then we settle back in our armchairs, ready for the music.
Our hostess, Gretel Kempster, presses the button. (more…) -
At UNCOP29, improper dealings and safety concerns promise disaster
The chief executive of UNCop29 has been filmed apparently agreeing to facilitate fossil fuel deals at the climate summit. (more…)
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A controversial graduation address
On Monday, October 21st, Joe de Bruyn, trade union heavyweight, former National President of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, former member of the National Executive of the Australian Labor Party, committed Catholic, was awarded an honorary doctorate at the Australian Catholic University. As is customary, he was also invited to deliver the occasional address to the students, their parents and their guests at the graduation ceremony. (more…)
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To Jews and Christians of faith: you can’t sit out a genocide
This week I read an article in Al Jazeera describing the killing in one day of hundreds of Palestinian civilians. The same day I read a piece in CNN, “Israeli soldiers returning from war struggle with trauma and suicide”. The article tried to elicit sympathy for soldiers who were traumatised from bulldozing Palestinians. (more…)
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“The possessing of nuclear weapons is immoral”: Will US Bishops heed Pope’s pronouncement?
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Pope Francis and practising what one preaches
Pope Francis has called upon Church authorities to cooperate with civil authorities in relation to child sexual abuse by Church personnel. When it comes to the Vatican cooperating, it is a different story. (more…)
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How Zionism proselytises
In her recent acceptance speech as recipient of British PEN’s Pinter Peace Prize, writer Arundhati Roy made special note of President Biden’s words on his visit to Israel shortly after 7 October 2023. (more…)
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Pope Francis’ latest ‘creations’
Pope Francis has just ‘created’ (appointed) twenty-one new cardinals, twenty of whom under the age of 80 will elect his successor. Among them is a bishop in Australia.
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The ‘Haredisation’ of Israel and its demographic future: Is there a case for ringing alarm bells?
“Haredim, not Arabs or Iran, are the biggest threat to Israel’, Dan Perry, 2021 (more…)
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In a wheel chair to the peripheries
Eighty-seven-year-old Pope Francis’ trip to Indonesia, Papua-New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore shows he’s not slowing up. (more…)
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Pope takes refugee concerns on the road
Pope Francis’ milestone tour from 2-13 September includes Papua New Guinea, the nation that has long hosted the largest number of refugees in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as Indonesia, the country from which those asylum seekers fled. (more…)
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Mixed opinions about unproven Synod on Synodality
The Second Session of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality is now just weeks away. Opinions differ markedly among reformers about its trajectory so far. Some are deeply disillusioned and fearful. Others see evidence of real progress even if change is slow and incremental. (more…)
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Parliamentary prayers: are they legal?
The ritual reading of prayers at the start of every sitting day is offensive to many, and may even be a breach of the Constitution. (more…)
