Ethos Blog

Articles for Engage.Mail are generally from within a broadly Evangelical perspective. Ethos does not necessarily endorse every opinion of the authors but promotes their writing to encourage critical thought and discussion.

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Review of The Frog and the Fish

Wednesday, 8 August 2018

| Bruce Wearne

This well-crafted book is for young people making the transition across ‘the blurry cusp from school and life after school’. Parker’s aim is to encourage a creative, bold and careful response to the culture we live in, not just by students, teachers and parents, but also by Christian schools.

Money: tool or master?

Thursday, 12 July 2018

| Hannah Weickhardt

Money is a touchy topic and one we avoid in polite company. But money is not something to fear, nor is it something to pursue at all costs. It is simply a tool, a way to simplify trade. What is its place for us, as Christians?

Link Highlights | June 2018

Tuesday, 3 July 2018

| Ethos editor

Highlights of links to online news and opinion pieces from June 2018.

Review: Turn the Tide: Reclaiming Religious Freedom in Australia

Thursday, 21 June 2018

| Gordon Preece

This timely booklet raises important issues about freedom of religion in Australia in a succinct way. However, it sometimes succumbs to over-simplification in interpretation of Scripture and the Constitution. And whether persecution is an appropriate word for the situation of the Australian church compared with that of the majority world church is open to debate.

Link Highlights | May 2018

Friday, 1 June 2018

| Ethos editor

Highlights of links to online news and opinion pieces from May 2018.

Dear Col: letter to a good mate re: 'same-sex', 'not cricket' and all that

Thursday, 31 May 2018

| John Kidson

Are we failing at Jesus' serpent and dove philosophy? In the same-sex marriage debate, we have been sucked in by either power or heat. Wisdom and gentleness are relegated to a back seat. But Jesus calls us to think and vote as he would: in Grace and Truth. As we accept Truth, Grace sets us free.

Women of Gilead: oppressing and oppressed

Thursday, 31 May 2018

| Sarah Judd-Lam

Rather than condemn religion itself, or even male-dominated systems, this series highlights the power that women of faith have to influence their environment. It encourages us to use that power for good, like the rabbi who blesses the unwomen, and not for harm, like the hard-hearted Gilead matriarchs.

Prayer and unprayer: the practice of faith amidst the terror of Gilead

Thursday, 17 May 2018

| Megan Powell du Toit

In season 2, The Handmaids Tale examines prayer in a depth often missing from Christian discussions of the topic. Real prayer has been contrasted with unprayer. Prayers we want answered seem almost mocked by God. Yet the object of prayer, Jesus, is remarkable in his absence from Gilead.

Reflection on Sabbath Time by Charles Ringma

Thursday, 17 May 2018

| Karina Kreminski

Sabbath Time is not a recipe book about ‘how to get the most you can from God during a Sabbath rest’. It offers an honest and vulnerable witness to Ringma’s experience as he openhandedly wrestles with God, finds peace, is disturbed, encounters more unanswerable questions and, finally, wonders about how he can live out a daily ‘hermitage of the heart’ after his return.