Algernon Talmage RA, "The Founding of Australia. By Capt. Arthur Phillip R.N. Sydney Cove, Jan. 26th 1788," State Library, New South Wales. By Rod Benson If “Judeo-Christian values” inadequately describes a single religious tradition, it is more problematic as a definition of Australian national identity. Australia has unquestionably been shaped by Christianity, which carries an …
Light in the so-called “Dark Ages”
John Moore, "Lindisfarne Castle and Abbey, Holy Island, by Moonlight," oil on canvas, 1877. By Rod Benson When I was ten or eleven years old, Mrs Woodward, one of my teachers, asked us to “do a project” on the “Dark Ages.” I believe I had not heard of this mysterious concept, but I did my …
Whose wars? The Australian War Memorial and the colonial frontier conflicts
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has criticised the Australian War Memorial's approach to telling the story of historic conflict between Indigenous Australians and European invaders. Few Australian institutions carry more symbolic weight than the Australian War Memorial. It is at once a national shrine, a museum, an archive and a place where military service …
Continue reading "Whose wars? The Australian War Memorial and the colonial frontier conflicts"
On Brandi Carlile returning to herself
By Rod Benson Brandi Carlile’s Returning to Myself, her first solo release in four years, was recently named Song of the Year at the 2026 Americana Honors & Awards. It is not explicitly a Christian song, yet my friend and Baptist theologian Steve Harmon’s description of it as a work of “theological anthropology” is perceptive. In …
Should artists stay out of politics?
Macklemore performs on stage at the Goldencoast Rap Festival in Corcelles-les-Monts on 3o August 2026. Photograph: Arnaud Finistre/AFP/Getty Images By Rod Benson The controversy surrounding Macklemore’s recent removal from the remaining U.S. dates of Ed Sheeran’s 2026 Loop tour raises a question extending far beyond one rapper, one pop star or one geopolitical conflict. Should musicians use concert …
