Those responsible for bringing the Sunday Assembly to New Zealand are keen to dispel any preconceived negative ideas people may have about their movement. Just like any church service, there is singing, service sheets and meaningful readings. But unlike others, the Sunday Assembly is a godless congregation focussed on inspiring guest speakers. “We don’t say Read more
Now is not a good time to be a Christian – especially, if you are a Catholic. Read The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, listen to the ABC or read Irfan Yusuf’s recent piece and it’s obvious that the critics are on a roll. Wendy Squire’s op-ed in The Age provides a good illustration of Read more
Norman Vincent Peale, who wrote The Power of Positive Thinking, once said, “The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.” It’s hard to honestly face criticism, but it’s the only way we can grow as human beings, since we are notoriously good at deceiving Read more
Perhaps because of my visits to Tokyo I’ve been haunted by images from a film I saw some time ago. The multi-award winning Lost in Translation, starring Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson, displays a relationship that unfolds between two Americans – a middle-aged man and a younger woman – when they meet in Japan. Portrayed Read more
Tanksley has five tattoos, three of them with faith themes. A Greek Chi-Rho symbol can be found “hidden” on the inside of his left arm where the arm bends. The tattoo represents a time before Christianity was accepted and followers had to keep their faith a secret. Tanksley believes many still hesitate to express their Read more
A “meme,” as defined by Richard Dawkins in 1976, is an idea, belief or behaviour that is spread through a given culture or social system via social or information sharing. Internet memes generally take the form of an image over which text is written and are, for the most part, intended to be humorous, often Read more
An image of the Child Jesus stands in the midst of the rubble, leaning – naked and homeless – against a wall that is about to be torn down. Images of the Child Jesus, popularly known as the Santo Nino, have been dislodged from their altars as the shanties of slum dwellers in five villages Read more
I never knew my maternal grandmother’s father, but my mother told me three stories that shaped my view of him. One involved his being mugged by a hitchhiker to whom he had offered a ride. I think my mom related this tale as a warning against good-natured but borderline foolish benevolence. The second dealt with Read more
Bosses all over the Western world have been warned. Unless they make allowances for the religious faiths of their ever more diverse workforces, they will suffer lawsuits, official rebukes and protests from staff. Employees increasingly expect to be able, for example, to dress in accordance with their faith while at work, and be given appropriate Read more
As I have mentioned in a previous posting, there are many different sorts of martyrdom–in the broad sense of bearing witness, at a high or ultimate cost, to an awkward truth or passionately embraced cause. Independence movements, environmental campaigns, investigative journalism, humanitarian missions to war zones. They all draw inspiration from sons and daughters who perished in Read more