By Rod Benson You know how it is. It's Saturday arvo, the mowing is done, and you pull in to the Bunnings car park with the fam. And what happens? The unmistakable aroma of caramelised onions and fat-seared sausages hits the old olfactories, reminding you that you came for a tap washer but you might …
Snow on the mountain: Welsh gnomic poetry and the practice of attention
By Rod Benson Recently, I have been reading a lot about Celtic history and spirituality. For someone like me, who identifies as a follower of Jesus, the most compelling feature of Celtic Christianity is arguably its integration of biblical faith, disciplined prayer, missionary adventure, poetry and attachment to place. It invites us to explore a Christian …
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Drill, baby, drill: Noahโs Ark, fundamentalism, and the search for evidence
The Durupฤฑnar site on the border between Tรผrkiye and Iran, showing the structure claimed to be Noah's Ark, in 2007. By Rod Benson According to the Book of Genesis, Noahโs Ark once saved the worldโs animals from extinction. Today, in the latest of many archaeological expeditions to the region, a dry sonic core drill is …
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Fiction and the language of power
Who gets to name the world? By Rod Benson Imagine a government announcing that it will โright-sizeโ a service. The phrase sounds responsible, yet tells us little. Will people lose their jobs? Will a hospital close? Who decided what the โrightโ size is? The wording has not concealed every fact, but it has delayed the …
The future of public theology
Francis Hoyland, The Life of Christ 71: Christ foretells the destruction of the Temple The case for ecumenical collaboration and engagement By Rod Benson Public theology has a future wherever Christians take responsibility for the public consequences of their faith. Its task is to bring theological convictions into critical conversation with the institutions, practices and …
