Julia Gillard a “cultural traditionalist”

To the surprise of many of the Labor faithful, and indeed to the surprise and delight of many people of faith, Prime Minister Julia Gillard revealed to the nation this week that she is a “cultural traditionalist.” Ms Gillard said she was raised in “a quite conservative family” in Adelaide, and her parents instilled in …

Does Jesus love Osama?

By Rod Benson Scores of churches around Australia have been displaying large posters with the words, “Jesus loves Osama”. The poster is part of a series of advertisements designed by Outreach Media to promote what it sees as “the heart of the gospel”. But the notion that the Son of God would demonstrate affection for the …

Royal wedding sermon

Westminster Abbey - 29/04/11 (The sermon is available to watch on YouTube.) "Be whom God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire." So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day this is. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become …

ACL unleashes Anzac tweet firestorm

By Rod Benson This morning I was enjoying a quiet Anzac Day at home after watching the ABCnews24 coverage of the various civic gatherings over breakfast. Then, just before midday, several journalists contacted me via Twitter, seeking to verify the genuineness of the Twitter account @JimWallaceACL, since an interesting and newsworthy tweet had just appeared on its timeline. As it …

We need more conviction politicians

If I were to say to you that politics is an honourable and worthwhile vocation, you might think I'm mad, or simple, or you might just say, "Not in NSW!" But the fact remains that we need government, and laws, and regulations, and even politicians and elections, to maintain a prosperous, free and well ordered …