“Portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche”, by Edvard Munch, c. 1906. I curated this list on 13 April 2025 to complement a sermon I preached on Psalm 14:1. The list presents brief biblical and theological responses to nine common reasons why people embrace atheism in the 21st century. 1. Scientific Understanding Atheist Claim: Science provides more reliable explanations …
When human rights fail us
Psalm 12:1-8 Australian navy personnel rescue asylum seekers from a sinking boat off Christmas Island in 2001. I have had the privilege of sitting with asylum seekers at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney, and at the Curtin Immigration Detention Centre in remote north-western Australia, as the asylum seekers shared their stories of oppression, fear, …
Questions for book club discussions
If you’re thinking about starting a book club, or you’re leading one where the conversation tends to go off-topic or you need prompts to extend the discussion, here are some sample questions. They are designed for literary fiction but will suit any kind of fiction, including children’s and YA literature, and I’ve added a section …
How to face the reality of evil
Psalm 4:1-8 Individuals associated with the federal government have, in defiance of a court order and without a trial or any form of due process, deported hundreds of people from the territory of the United States to El Salvador, where they will be held indefinitely in a concentration camp.[1] That was American historian Timothy Snyder, …
Was Jesus the first ecumenist?
The term 'ecumenism' as we understand it today did not exist in the time of Jesus. Yet his teaching and actions demonstrate a strong desire for unity. Three key biblical texts indicate this desire for unity and cooperation among those who followed Jesus. The first is a command for his apprentices to love one another as …
iDigress 