Writing in the late 1990s in his book “From Dawn to Decadence”, a survey of the last 500 years of Western cultural life, a society which he saw as sliding towards decadence, Jacques Barzun wrote – “It takes only a look at the numbers to see that the 20th century is coming to an … Continue reading An Easter Reflection to the Sound of Angels Weeping
“You Don’t Get to New Places by Following Established Tracks” Carlo Rovelli At talks or seminars given on the ‘Unbounded Church’ concept there are regularly the same questions asked or issues raised. One of these is the issue of ‘Models’. Nearly always someone will say something like “Well give me some models so that I … Continue reading Mission in the Future that Turns Up When You Get There
The Cicadas are loud this year. The Gum trees surrounding my property on the Illawarra escarpment overlooking the Pacific are filled with a great chorus of sound. It is as if they are sounding out the joy of the coming King. Even the Kookaburra’s laugh seems to be one of joy and the Mopoke and … Continue reading Tears Falling On Joy
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre. The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world” W. Yeats ********************** In the University City of Oxford, England on October 16, 1555 the Anglican Bishops Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer were burned at the stake. Their … Continue reading The Light Flickers Lower, The Foundations Crumble and the Centre Will Not Hold
“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” This is a quote from Sir Winston Churchill who was paraphrasing a statement by the Italian philosopher and novelist George Santayana. Churchill went on to say- “We must always look forward, but we have to understand our history in order to not repeat … Continue reading The Square Wheel Delusion
While certainly being no expert I’ve always been interested in astronomy and the awesome panoply of the star-spattered night sky. With this interest has come some knowledge of the constellations one of which I always look for is the Hunter, Orion. One of the stars comprising Orion, Betelgeuse, is in the class of stars called … Continue reading Red Giants Fading
Prayer is, or should be, an everyday practice for Christians. It is our communication channel with God as well as being one of the essential disciplines for spiritual growth and health. The Bible exhorts us to pray “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), but that always raises the question of how does God answer prayer? One … Continue reading Mission Failure and God’s No
“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is the title of a book by the 18th century theologian Jonathan Edwards and deals with the plight of every human who stands before God in their natural state. The topic, that God can be angry, is something that many, including some Christians, find it hard … Continue reading “The Love of an Angry God-The Ultimate Paradox
Among the offerings in the ‘spiritual supermarket’ that is Australia today there can be found this very attractive and popular package called ‘Christianity-Lite’ (C.L.). A characteristic of this belief system or ‘faith’ is that it is an ‘easy’ faith, a ‘comfortable’ faith where the spiritual journey is smooth and not too stressful; one into which … Continue reading Christianity-Lite A Deadly Poison
