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, …
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, …
Regeneration, retreat, or decluttering? The many faces of Lent
Ask people what they’re doing for Lent, and you’re likely to get a wide range of replies. Formally, Lent is a 40-day season in the Christian liturgical calendar intended to prepare the faithful to experience the ultimate meaning and resurrection joy of Easter. We take the word “Lent” from the Anglo-Saxon lencten, meaning “spring-time,” which in the …
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Mountains of Scripture (6): Mount Carmel
An address by Dr Rod Benson on 1 Kings 18:20-46 The Triumph of Elijah Over the Prophets of Baal (c. 1622)Domenico Fetti (c. 1589 - 1623) The story is one relished by Sunday school teachers and enjoyed by their students – although someone who supports interfaith dialogue might be less than enthusiastic about some elements of …
First steps: Letter to a young Christian
By John McCrindle Last month I shared the text of a pamphlet that my grandfather, John Cree McCrindle, wrote many years ago to commend and share his Christian faith with fellow workers in the coal mines in Ipswich, Queensland. That was one of two similar undated pamphlets I possess. In the other, in the form of a …
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