Link Highlights | May 2019

Tuesday, 4 June 2019 | Ethos editor

Link highlights – May 2019

Below is a selection of links to online news and opinion pieces from May 2019. To keep up-to-date with our posts, ‘like’ us on Facebook and/or follow us on Twitter.

The articles below are selected by the editor, Armen Gakavian, at his discretion. Neither the editor nor Ethos necessarily endorse the views expressed in these articles.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Celeste Liddle writes: We can tell the Morrison government has no interest in Indigenous affairs because, apart from some money for suicide prevention programs (albeit less than half that requested), its budget showed a series of cuts. There is a lot of unfinished business to be addressed before it makes sense to adopt a voice to Parliament in the Constitution.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/aboriginal-issues-are-still-not-a-vote-winner

Kate Galloway writes: As we will be asked to participate in a referendum on the issue within the next couple of years, each Australian needs to inform themselves of the facts about the proposal and the design process.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/where-to-next-for-the-uluru-statement

Emilia Terzon writes: A long-running battle to get Aboriginal politicians speaking their own language on the floor of an Australian Parliament has finally been won today, at least partially.

https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/pm/aboriginal-politician-to-speak-own-language-in-parliament/11092966

Julie Edwards writes: Almost two years have passed since the youth justice royal commission prompted by the abuses at Darwin's Don Dale youth detention facility. Yet many of its recommendations remain unrealised, largely due to a lack of federal funding support. In the meantime, youth justice has remained at the crossroads in many parts of Australia.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/youth-justice-blueprint-is-in-front-of-our-noses

Adam Gowen, a Wiradjuri man and Christian Leader, shares of the importance of Country to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the consequences of terra nullius and stolen land.

https://www.commongrace.org.au/reconciliation_week_2019_stolen_land

Mariela Powell Thomas writes: Aboriginal Deaths in Custody are a reminder of the devastating impact that systemic racism and institutional brutality have on the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

https://www.commongrace.org.au/reconciliation_week_2019_aboriginal_deaths_in_custody

Anne Lim writes: Christians have been urged to be more courageous and walk more closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders at the beginning of Reconciliation Week.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/take-courage-and-walk-closely-with-first-peoples/

Mark Brett writes: The idea of sovereignty as a "spiritual notion" means that the First Nations cannot, and should not, ever be absorbed into a single nation-state.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/sovereignty-is-a-spiritual-notion-the-freedom-of-religion-debate/11163062

Byron Smith writes: Unpaid labour is an obvious injustice, especially where it leads to genuine hardship. But in the history of this land, this great evil was inflicted upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people not for a month, but for many, many decades.

https://www.commongrace.org.au/reconciliation_week_2019_stolen_wages

Abortion

Jim Wallis writes: Instead of reducing abortion access to a political football, we all should seek to expand and deepen the conversation, especially Christians, who should not be beholden to right or left but rather to a consistent ethic of life for women and children.

https://sojo.net/articles/common-ground-abortion-possible

Four leaders share their vision for what demonstrating pro-life convictions really looks like. Compiled by Kate Shellnutt.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/may-web-only/under-discussion-pro-life-christians-build-trust.html

Aid and Development

Aid for the world’s most poor, vulnerable and oppressed is not only the right thing to do as a blessed nation, but it’s the smart thing to do, Matt Darvas from Micah Australia writes.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/5-reasons-the-worlds-poor-should-factor-in-your-vote/

Apologies

Kate Douglas writes: From Steve Smith's tearful apology to anonymous apps like Whisper, public confessions can be therapeutic, emancipatory, or potentially exploitative.

https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-youtube-apologies-and-reality-tv-revelations-the-rise-of-the-public-confession-114970

Architecture

Daniel Coyne writes: Cathedrals are simultaneously sacred Christian spaces and secular sites of interest. Yet in historic moments of cultural importance, the religious and the secular intertwine in the public sphere.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/europes-cathedrals-as-enduring-sacred-spaces/11085568

Art and Culture

Janna Thompson asks: If it is wrong to censure art or refuse to display it because of its content, how can it be right to shun it because of the behaviour of the artist?

https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-separating-the-art-from-the-badly-behaved-artist-a-philosophers-view-116279

Artificial Intelligence

Michael Guihot writes: There are plenty of guidelines, policy documents and reports on how best we should use AI and avoid unethical practices. So how about we agree on one set of rules?

https://theconversation.com/will-we-ever-agree-to-just-one-set-of-rules-on-the-ethical-development-of-artificial-intelligence-117744

Bob Hawke

Roy Williams writes: 'Bob Hawke, then, grew up in a thoroughly Christian home. Yet he lost his personal faith in his early twenties and described himself ever since as an agnostic. Even so, he wrote in his memoirs that it was his parents’ “basic Christian principles of brotherhood and compassion” that drove his public life.’

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/farewell-bob-hawke-son-of-the-manse/

Tom Switzer writes: The tributes have stressed his many personal virtues: his larrikinism, his optimism, his union background, his skills as a great orator and his record as our nation’s longest serving Labor prime minister. But Hawke was the most consequential prime minister in the post-World War Two era because of his economic ideas.

https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/articles/a-tribute-to-bob-hawke/

Frank Bongiorno writes: From doted-on child to Rhodes Scholar, ACTU president and ultimately prime minister, Robert James Lee Hawke had a significant impact on Australian life.

https://theconversation.com/vale-bob-hawke-a-giant-of-australian-political-and-industrial-history-93719

Chaplaincy

Matthew Guest writes: Chaplains do a huge amount of varied work for universities, which makes a major difference to the lives of students. And this demand for pastoral support is likely to increase with rising levels of mental health and pastoral problems within the student population.

https://theconversation.com/students-are-increasingly-turning-to-religious-leaders-for-mental-health-support-116755

Child sexual abuse

John Warhurst writes: Those holding church authority should show the Catholic community that they have learnt the lessons offered by the royal commission by undertaking reforms as soon as possible and by telling us all about them in a spirit of transparency.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/church-reform-must-increase-transparency

Tracey Edstein writes: There are guidelines, rules and laws galore. None of these stopped clergy and church personnel abusing children, or necessarily led those in authority to act. The community could therefore be forgiven a certain scepticism. Legislative changes, stronger governance and mission statements mean little without a change of heart.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/more-than-rules--church-needs-a-change-of-heart

Civil disobedience

Morgan Lee describes how the church played a role in the fight for voting rights in Hong Kong.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/may-web-only/christian-backstory-of-hong-kongs-anti-government-protests.html

Civil society and discourse

Christianity Today's Persuasion podcast co-host Erin Straza spoke with author James E. Beitler about the power of rhetoric to bind our worship with our witness in a world that’s desperate for both.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/may/seasoned-speech-james-beitler-rhetoric.html

Jutta Beher, Darren C Fisher, Leonie Seabrook and Winnifred Louis write: To solve our global problems we must learn to think beyond our tribes.

https://theconversation.com/comic-how-to-have-better-arguments-about-the-environment-or-anything-else-98554

Tony Holmwood writes: In Australia, our political system promotes all the wrong childhood, competitive behaviours like tactical play, groupthink, manipulating, and even backstabbing over our more mature adult behaviours.

www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=20327

Cheryl McGrath writes: We often talk about polarisation like this, as though it’s a cultural phenomenon that we just have to deal with. But is polarisation just something that’s happening to us?

http://twentysixletters.org/polarisation-australia-psychology/

Death and Dying

Medical practitioners have spoken out against Victoria’s assisted suicide legislation ahead of a training session to show doctors how to best carry out euthanasia.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/leading-doctors-attack-victorias-euthanasia-laws/news-story/b1c706af2728b780d6ac089502264366

Economics, finance and inequality

Luke Bretherton writes: A view of humans as autonomous who must be freed from any and all social obligations undergirds numerous modern projects of emancipation. Such a vision gives rise to a false binary between debt and freedom.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/the-ethics-of-debt/11116028

Election 2019

Emily Millane writes: Demographics are making elections about tax concessions, and soon there will be no turning back.

https://theconversation.com/the-newest-election-faultline-isnt-left-versus-right-its-young-versus-old-and-its-hardening-116079

Andrew Hamilton writes: The Australian bishops' statement on the federal election is significant as much for the fact it was made as for its argument. Given the polarisation of public debate, they might well have thought it wiser to remain silent. For them the greatest success of the statement may be that, when they spoke of public issues, the sky did not fall in.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/parsing-the-catholic-bishops--election-advice

Aid for the world’s most poor, vulnerable and oppressed is not only the right thing to do as a blessed nation, but it’s the smart thing to do, Matt Darvas from Micah Australia writes.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/5-reasons-the-worlds-poor-should-factor-in-your-vote/

Akos Balogh asks: So should Christians avoid political discussions? Or is there a way of engaging in these discussions in a way that doesn't divide your church?

http://akosbalogh.com/2019/05/10/how-to-talk-politics-without-dividing-your-church/

Carol Johnson writes: Social democracy in Europe is struggling to come to terms with the more complex equality agenda of today - to which its Antipodean counterparts are however offering some answers.

https://www.socialeurope.eu/crisis-of-equality

Andrew Donegan and Emil Jeyaratnam write: With the election less than a week away, here is a quick guide to the major policy announcements and promises from the two major parties.

https://theconversation.com/compare-the-pair-key-policy-offerings-from-labor-and-the-coalition-in-the-2019-federal-election-116898

Karen Tong writes: The religious left may not wield the same political power as the Christian right, but it is emerging as a diverse, passionate and active voting bloc in Australia.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-11/thea-ormerod/11104110

The Australian Christian Lobby compares of each party's policies on a selection of issues in the lead-up to the 2019 Federal Election.

https://www.acl.org.au/2019_fedelect_policy

The Guardian compares policies of the major political parties around tax, climate change, industrial relations, education, health, immigration and foreign affairs.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/ng-interactive/2019/apr/15/who-should-i-vote-for-policy-guide-to-the-2019-australian-election

Joe Kelly writes: The exchange between the leaders elevated religious freedoms and LGBTI rights as flashpoint issues and came after Christian leaders wrote to Mr Morrison and Mr Shorten seeking clarification on their policies to protect people of faith.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/shorten-ignites-unholy-war-by-targeting-morrisons-religion/news-story/81db40d09c08f86b39f1ebd6e63d7ab0?fbclid=IwAR0E_gJLy2J9461w7jz9fz25nQ63bGlMi2K-W8nF9W7_jCC7usr-tyHbiJY

What does each party say they’ll do? Get Eternity’s Election Guide Summary and be sure to scroll down for a topic-by-topic detailed guide.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/election2019/

Hope 103.2 talks to key influencers from all sides of politics and explores some of the most compelling questions for Christians to think about.

https://hope1032.com.au/stories/faith/2019/how-in-gods-name-should-i-vote-podcast-available-friday-3rd-may/

Anna Patty writes: Parents with children at Christian schools are being urged to consider the protection of religious rights when they cast their vote on Saturday in the federal election described as "the most critical for religious freedom in living memory".

https://www.smh.com.au/federal-election-2019/christian-schools-urge-parents-to-vote-for-religious-freedom-on-saturday-20190514-p51n6c.html

People who identify as Christian should vote in a way that is informed by their faith, whatever decision they finally make, writes John Dickson.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/the-vote-2019/how-to-vote-christianly

Bob Dreher, currently in Australia, said Mr Shorten had set a dangerous precedent by putting religion centre stage in a close campaign a few days before the election and that the move risked making controversial faith issues part of future campaigns.

http://cathnews.com/cathnews/34978-shorten-sets-dangerous-precedent-on-faith-in-politics

John Sandeman writes: It seems that, in the last week of the election campaign, three stories serve to underline the issue of religious freedom – Folau, Scott Morrisons’ faith, and religious freedom - have become one.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/the-vote-2019/folau-the-pentecostal-pm-and-religious-freedom/

Patrick Parkinson writes: Both major political parties have uneven records on religious freedom and will need to work hard in this election campaign to win the votes of people of faith.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/courting-religious-voters-in-the-2019-federal-election/10966804

Peter Kurti writes: By declaring that Scott Morrison’s religious beliefs made him unfit to be a “prime minister for all people”, Bill Shorten deliberately flouted one of our key Aussie principles of fair play and decency.

https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/articles/religion-test-out-of-line/

Neil James Foster provides recent information about the views of the major political parties on religious freedom, and to report an important study of public opinion on the topic.

https://lawandreligionaustralia.blog/2019/05/15/religious-freedom-and-the-federal-election/

How did the numbers of election 2019 fall across the country? And what seats are still in play? The Conversation's Amanda Dunn, Emil Jeyaratnam and Shelley Hepworth report.

https://theconversation.com/infographic-what-we-know-about-the-results-of-election-2019-so-far-117083

Stephen McAlpine writes: 'If politics is everything – and increasingly it is the only game in town in a secular society – then there are only two groups – winners and losers. But as God’s people we don’t believe politics is everything. Or at least we don’t believe earthly politics is.'

https://stephenmcalpine.com/shortenfreude/

Stewart Jackson writes: The result in Warringah can be seen as being fought on local issues, where the former prime minister had come to be out of step with his constituents.

https://theconversation.com/abbotts-loss-in-warringah-shows-voters-rejecting-an-out-of-touch-candidate-and-a-nasty-style-of-politics-117379

Rob J Hyndman and Dianne Cook write: How much does your socio-demographic background such as income, type of work and where you were born affect who you vote for? Quite a lot.

https://theconversation.com/you-are-what-you-vote-the-social-and-demographic-factors-that-influence-your-vote-116591

While the statewide swing towards the Coalition in NSW was less than half a per cent, key seats in western Sydney recorded swings above 5 per cent towards the government, overlapping with areas of high religious observance, migrant population and majority “no” votes during the same-sex marriage survey.

http://cathnews.com/cathnews/35000-religious-electorates-come-out-swinging-against-labor

Geoffrey Robinson writes: Labor's defeat revives a familiar problem in Australian political history: the left's inability to show how its policies can improve people's material conditions.

https://theconversation.com/labors-election-defeat-reveals-its-continued-inability-to-convince-people-it-can-make-their-lives-better-117082

Ross Gittins writes: The election is a great win for the Coalition, but a loss for economic policy. The voters’ "revealed preference" is for more personality, less debate of the tough choices we must make to secure our future in a threatening world.

https://www.smh.com.au/federal-election-2019/morrison-s-miracle-election-may-turn-out-to-be-the-easy-bit-20190519-p51owo.html

Patrick Parkinson writes: The 2019 election showed that policies that appeal to affluent, irreligious, university-educated activists in the inner cities do not resonate with voters across the country. Labor needs to appeal to mainstream values ― this may mean seeking to understand afresh religious voters.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/what-role-did-religious-faith-play-in-the-2019-federal-election/11129446

Kate Galloway writes: Queenslanders are subjected to the imposed norms of southerners all the time. And similarly, those in central and north Queensland are imposed to the same kind of disdain from Brisbane. Until we listen to the people so that we effectively grapple with this question, the country will remain divided. In the meantime, please stop your abuse.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/don-t-denigrate-rational-regional-queensland

Chris Uhlmann writes: Morrison's enthusiastic brand of Christianity was mocked by his opponents. It turns out most normal people weren’t bothered because they accepted it was part of the character of the man.

https://www.smh.com.au/federal-election-2019/a-brutally-effective-campaign-ruthlessly-exploited-labor-s-mistakes-20190521-p51pjg.html

Lyle Shelton writes: We’ve begun draining the swamp but instead of a narcissist with a womanising past, our disrupter is a daggy dad who loves the wife of his youth and goes to a Pentecostal church.

https://www.lyleshelton.com.au/reflections_on_what_just_happened

John Sandeman writes: Whether your prayers were answered in the election result or not, I hope you continue to believe in miracles. Be sceptical. Test them. Examine them closely. But believe in them.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/opinion/yes-i-believe-in-miracles/

Eliza Berlage writes: While Morrison's win seemed amazing to those reporting on it, a look at a deeply divided and change-adverse Australia suggests the Coalition getting over the line should not have been so unexpected.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/dissecting-australian-media-s-trump-moment

Many Australians of faith believe Labor does not care about them and the party must address the sentiment urgently, frontbencher Chris Bowen believes.

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/people-of-faith-feel-like-labor-has-abandoned-them-warns-bowen

Farrah Tomazin writes: Scott Morrison’s overtly religious language - coupled with his support for religious freedom - is re-energising religious communities and turning them to the Liberal Party.

https://www.smh.com.au/federal-election-2019/i-ll-burn-for-you-pentecostal-pm-energises-christian-voters-20190521-p51prq.html

Philip Almond writes: Along with a belief in miracles, other key aspects of Pentecostal doctrine – from divine providence to pietism – will likely shape the actions of our re-elected Prime Minister.

https://theconversation.com/five-aspects-of-pentecostalism-that-shed-light-on-scott-morrisons-politics-117511

Rodney Croome writes: The re-elected Coalition government did not seek, and was not given, a mandate to undermine LGBTI equality by "protecting religious freedom."

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/why-2019-was-not-a-religious-freedom-election/11139472

So how does the ALP deal with this fractured relationship with some religious voters, not just Christians? Radio National talks to Deborah O’Neill.

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionandethicsreport/australian-elections-labour-loss/11138380

Eliza Berlage writes: Morrison heralded his win as a 'miracle' and the media ran with it, leading to headlines like 'Messiah from the shire'. But while it was unexpected to those reporting on it, a look at deeply divided and change-averse Australia makes the Coalition win seem less remarkable.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/dissecting-australian-media-s-trump-moment

In the wake of the federal election, Steve McAlpine and Tim Patrick offer complementary reflections from different sides of the political fence. For Christians, they conclude, the election has brought to the fore questions that should engage across all polarisations and even rise our sights above the temporal domains into eternity.

https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/article/way-australia-two-perspectives-election-result/

Kaley Payne writes: Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called his federal election victory “a miracle” and many of his fellow Christians would agree with him. But not all.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/like-the-rest-of-the-country-christians-are-divided-on-election-outcome/

John Sandeman writes: There was a triumvirate of religious issues in this election – religious freedom, the controversy over rugby player Israel Folau and the hangover from the plebiscite. Australians are not used to religion playing a role in election.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/revenge-of-the-plebiscite-no-voters/

Anny Patty writes: Christian leaders believe religious freedom was among "sleeper" issues that influenced votes for the Coalition in marginal seats across the country.

https://www.smh.com.au/federal-election-2019/christian-leaders-say-religious-freedom-was-among-factors-that-influenced-voters-20190519-p51oyn.html

Marion Maddox writes: Christian leaders warned of 'persecution' with a Labor government. Now that the Coalition has won the election, conservative Christians may demand Morrison deliver on more of their agenda.

https://theconversation.com/after-his-miracle-election-will-scott-morrison-feel-pressure-from-christian-leaders-on-religious-freedom-117798

John Sandeman writes: A combination of “battlers” – low-paid workers without university degrees – and Christians may have delivered Scott Morrison his miracle victory, according to ANU Professor Ben Phillips.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/christians-and-the-low-paid-won-it-for-morrison-anu-professor/

Greg Foyster writes: There's a lot to say about the election, and much nonsense doing the rounds. Here's a summary of what went wrong and some ideas for communicating climate change over the next three years. The first thing to note is that the election probably wasn't won or lost on climate.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/new-ways-forward-for-climate-action

Lyle Shelton writes: The war within the Liberal party over freedom of religion will be a defining issue of the Coalition’s third term.

https://www.lyleshelton.com.au/why_the_morrison_miracle_does_not_mean_religious_freedom_is_in_the_clear

Russell Powell writes: Christians should continue to press for religious freedom after an election in which the issue appeared to play a significant part, according to the Bishop of South Sydney, Dr Michael Stead.

https://sydneyanglicans.net/blogs/election-over-what-now-for-religious-freedom

John Yates writes: If the dreaded “Assyrians” have just suffered electoral defeat, without a much deeper repentance amongst Christians the Babylonians will soon be upon us.

http://cross-connect.net.au/a-political-tale-assyria-and-babylon-today/

Peter Kurti writes: The election shows that, in its calls for compassion, defence of human dignity, and protection of the vulnerable, Labor has actually lost touch with vast areas of Australia — including its historic heartlands.

https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/articles/sorry-bill-you-misjudged-australias-religious-faith/

Michael Koziol writes: Conservative Coalition MPs emboldened by strong support from religious voters at the election are pushing the Morrison government for more radical and far-reaching religious freedom provisions in forthcoming laws.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/folau-s-law-coalition-mps-push-for-bolder-action-in-a-new-dawn-for-religious-freedom-20190529-p51s9m.html

Simon Cowan writes: As the shock of the election result recedes, more comparisons are being made between Morrison’s triumph in Australia and Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the 2016 US Presidential election. However, these comparisons are only valid at the most superficial level. Morrison is not Trump, and Australia is not America.

https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/articles/scomo-is-not-the-donald/

Environment and Nature

Michelle Lim writes: The Global Assessment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has some sobering news.

https://theconversation.com/revolutionary-change-needed-to-stop-unprecedented-global-extinction-crisis-116166

Amy Frykholm interviews Katharine Hayhoe 'My message is that you don't have to change who you are to care about this issue.'

https://www.christiancentury.org/article/interview/climate-scientist-talks-respectfully-climate-change-skeptics

Mick Pope writes: Regardless of whether or not the planet is warming, to value the creation and to look after it is not to worship the creation but the creator. And the earth has a future.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/opinion/a-letter-to-my-fellow-evangelicals-about-the-environment/

Cristy Clark writes: Researchers have been documenting the rise of 'eco-anxiety' or 'eco-angst' for some time, and these feelings of despair and powerlessness are common. But we need to become the heroes of this dystopic film plot. Somehow, in the face of all our anxiety and despair, we need to locate our capacity for hope and our courage to take action.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/living-with-dystopia

Wendy Boyd and Ann-Christin Furu write: The global environmental crisis is overwhelming, but showing children how they can take care of their immediate environment can empower them to feel like they can make a difference.

https://theconversation.com/children-are-our-future-and-the-planets-heres-how-you-can-teach-them-to-take-care-of-it-113759

Byron Smith suggests ten practical ways to put our faith into action to protect the environment.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/world/ten-ways-my-family-tries-to-love-the-planet

Sarah Bachelard writes: Our ecological crisis has its roots in a shared "cultural and spiritual crisis": we've lost our sense of being-in-relation to the larger web of life.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/christianity-and-the-climate-crisis/11107880

John Wiseman writes: A new movie highlights the importance of radical hope and courageous action in responding to the climate crisis.

https://theconversation.com/2040-hope-and-action-in-the-climate-crisis-117422

Humanity’s assault on the diversity of species is more than self-destructive. It is a denial of creation’s intrinsic worth and of humanity’s fundamental vocation of wonder and praise.

https://www.christiancentury.org/article/editors/extinction-whales-birds-and-other-creatures-once-praised-god

Anne Lim writes: Helping parishioners to take action against climate change may be a best practice method for pastors to help church members with climate anxiety, according to Uniting Earth Ministry advocate Jessica Morthorpe.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/helping-pastors-alleviate-climate-anxiety-the-cold-war-of-our-times/

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/new-ways-forward-for-climate-action

Equality

https://www.socialeurope.eu/crisis-of-equality

Everyday living

Kate Douglas writes: From Steve Smith's tearful apology to anonymous apps like Whisper, public confessions can be therapeutic, emancipatory, or potentially exploitative.

https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-youtube-apologies-and-reality-tv-revelations-the-rise-of-the-public-confession-114970

Human beings are ‘hardwired with an unquenchable appetite to see glory’, says Tony Reinke. The problem with spectacles, then, is not that we crave them but that we look for glory in all the wrong places.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/may-web-only/tony-reinke-competing-spectacles-media-age.html

Genocide

Alex Ryvchin writes: It may be that, just as the Holocaust is not a single story but a collection of millions of individual moments of trauma, horror and pain, there is not a single lesson to be drawn from it.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/the-memory-of-the-holocaust-and-the-mystery-of-unfathomable-evil/11090240

Homelessness and housing

Alison Young and James Petty write: Media coverage often uses the label 'homeless' in ways that link the plight of tens of thousands of Australians to criminality. But a homeless person is much more likely to be vulnerable than violent.

https://theconversation.com/carelessly-linking-crime-to-being-homeless-adds-to-the-harmful-stigma-117834

Sharon Parkinson, Deb Batterham and Margaret Reynolds write: Homelessness in Australia is increasingly concentrated in the capital cities, where nearly two in every three people without a home are now found. That's the finding of a study of the data since 2001.

https://theconversation.com/homelessness-soars-in-our-biggest-cities-driven-by-rising-inequality-since-2001-117833

Jean Varnier

Jean Vanier, the founder of the L’Arche movement who followed Jesus into the world of those living with intellectual disability, has died aged 90.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/in-depth/the-life-of-jean-vanier-gives-us-a-glimpse-of-heaven-on-earth/

Bethany McKinney Fox writes: The late founder of L’Arche showed the church how disability, vulnerability, and weakness bring us closer to one another and closer to Jesus.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/april-web-only/jean-vanier-died-larche-community-tribute.html

Stanley Hauerwas writes: Jean Vanier exemplified a way to be with one another, to overcome our walls of protection, we could never just 'think up'.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/jean-vanier-and-the-politics-of-gentleness/11096980

Yonat Shimron writes: Jean Vanier’s ministry to people with developmental disabilities began with a simple gesture: He invited two men who had spent the majority of their lives in a large institution to come and live with him.

https://religionnews.com/2019/05/07/intrinsically-worthy-jean-vaniers-legacy-to-people-with-disabilities/

Justin Glyn writes: Jean Vanier (1928-2019), sailor, academic, companion and man of boundless hospitality, died on 7 May, leaving behind him not only many communities in grief but also a model for how a world free of discrimination might look.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/jean-vanier-s-model-for-inclusiveness

Martin E. Marty writes: Vanier served God’s most marginalized children by reorienting not only his vision but also his posture “downward” so that his “looking down” turned into a dwelling and identifying with them.

https://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/exemplars-if-not-saints

Justice

Rebecca Abbott writes: Most Christians care about slavery, poverty, child labour, gender equality and climate change, but often feel powerless to make any meaningful difference. And yet a few simple changes to our daily habits will, collectively, create a real and lasting impact.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/cmon-church-its-time-to-get-fair/

Law, human rights and free speech

The Institute for Civil Society reports: A new YouGov Galaxy opinion survey shows that Australians strongly support the need for legal protections for freedoms of thought, conscience and belief (including religious belief) and that support has risen sharply in the last two years.

www.i4cs.com.au/poll-shows-strong-support-for-protecting-freedoms-of-thought-conscience-belief/

Mark Fowler asks: Should a charity lose its tax exempt status if it engages in political activity?

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/opinion/the-bounds-of-religious-charitable-speech/

Law, human rights and free speech – Israel Folau

Paul Clark writes: We have adopted an ethic based on the fear of being outed on social media, and it has no substance. The emperor has no clothes, and Folau’s tweets have pointed this out.

https://www.sightmagazine.com.au/12094-essay-israel-folau-the-emperor-has-no-clothes

Jenny Noyes writes: Both leaders were asked to weigh in on religious freedom and the question of Folau's breach of contract during the final leaders' debate on Wednesday night.

https://www.smh.com.au/federal-election-2019/folau-shouldn-t-suffer-an-employment-penalty-for-views-shorten-says-20190508-p51lgf.html

Ben McEachen writes: Israel Folau’s “high-level breach” of Rugby Australia’s code of conduct could impact your job, warn several experts in religion and law.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/why-israel-folau-verdict-effects-all-of-us/

Darren Kane writes: Given how utterly fascinating and apparently polarising this whole Folau case is, is it really fair, balanced, reasonable and proportionate that Folau’s contract be guillotined?

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/an-abhorrent-post-but-proverbial-folau-death-penalty-a-step-too-far-20190510-p51lz0.html

Peter FitzSimons refutes six claims made by those who support Folau.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/six-of-the-worst-fallacies-surrounding-the-israel-folau-case-20190508-p51let.html

Anthony Forsyth writes: Courts and contracts have given employers greater power to control the private or out-of-hours conduct of employees.

https://theconversation.com/egging-the-question-can-your-employer-sack-you-for-what-you-say-or-do-in-your-own-time-116880

Simon Smart writes: I wish Israel Folau had been more thoughtful and sensitive to how his words will be heard. But an authoritarian atmosphere of silencing people who hold views that we find ludicrous, objectionable, or even hurtful, can become dangerous for all of us.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6120908/what-i-wish-i-could-have-said-to-folau-before-he-took-to-instagram/

Neil James Foster provides recent information about the views of the major political parties on religious freedom, and to report an important study of public opinion on the topic.

https://lawandreligionaustralia.blog/2019/05/15/religious-freedom-and-the-federal-election/

Chris Middleton writes: Folau is a lay minister in his church. There is no doubt that he, as an evangelical Christian with a literal understanding of the text, believes a whole lot of people will go to hell unless they repent. His sacking raises questions around important issues in a society that values diversity and that promotes inclusivity and tolerance.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/wrestling-with-the-sacking-of-israel-folau

Graham Young writes: John Howard would have grabbed the ball and run with it - and Kim Beazley would have been wrong-footed.

www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=20290

Early in the Israel Folau controversy, Simon Smart spoke to Bill Crews about how Christians should talk about their faith in public.

https://www.2gb.com/podcast/expressing-your-faith-in-public/

Jed Lea-Henry writes: The details of what was said, what was breeched, who was offended, and what freedoms are protected, just don't matter when it comes to the question of what should be done about Israel Folau.

www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=20303

The rugby players’ union (RUPA) is to set up a committee to review how players can express their faith and beliefs after the Israel Folau sacking saga.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby/rugby-to-undergo-unprecedented-faith-review-after-israel-folau-sacking/news-story/4367f6a9165a4819059d1cdb1186f77e

David Ould writes: I keep seeing some Christians not only find it hard to say anything positive about Folau but also distance themselves from his words. What a mistake for us to make.

http://davidould.net/folau-the-gospel-and-the-foolishness-of-eloquence/

Nathan Campbell writes: I’m not sure you can say someone ‘quotes’ the Bible if they take a message from the Bible written to Christians, that has a particular context within a letter, and then turn it around to say something else to non-Christians, in an apparent direct contradiction with the verses from right next door.

http://st-eutychus.com/2019/folau-did-not-quote-the-bible-and-who-actually-made-the-content-that-izzy-shared/

Tim MacBride writes: 'Lost in much of the discussion about Folau’s post is an awareness of how the rhetorical setting of a Biblical text – i.e. the situation into which it speaks – is integral to its rhetorical strategy. Or to put it in more everyday terms: it matters who the original audience was, and how they were open to being persuaded.'

https://coffeewiththeking.org/articles/israel-folau-rhetorical-setting/

Rick Lewers writes: I want to suggest that Israel's list, while consistent with what God has made known to our world, was not inclusive or specific enough.

https://www.armidaleexpress.com.au/story/6102052/criticism-of-israel-folau-fires-directly-at-christianity/

Rob Inglis writes: 'Tasmanian Liberal Senator Eric Abetz has signalled his intention to push for religious freedom reforms in the new parliament, saying that freedom of speech and freedom of religion are "in the DNA of every true Liberal".'

https://www.examiner.com.au/story/6194199/abetz-calls-for-folau-sacking-probe-says-true-liberals-value-freedom-of-religion

Literature

Ben McEachen writes: Sydney Writer’s Festival is no stranger to strange ideas. Or dangerous ideas. Or “I can’t believe anyone believes that” ideas. But get a load of a SWF panel this Sunday: four Christian authors, talking about their writing and “What’s God got to do with it?”

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/culture/whats-god-got-to-do-with-the-sydney-writers-festival/

Tracey Edstein writes: I asked Les then what he anticipated at the end of what was for him a very earthed life. Les was phlegmatic — he imagined a reunion with his parents (his mother died when he was 12) but was content to 'wait and see ... we are on certain post-mortem promises after all'.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/my-moments-with-catholic-les-murray

Marriage and divorce

Justine Toh hosts this episode of God Forbid that explores the stigma around singleness in faith communities, and why being single doesn't mean going it alone.

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/godforbid/singled-out-being-unmarried-and-religious/11020382

Notre Dame fire

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/europes-cathedrals-as-enduring-sacred-spaces/11085568

Politics, society and ideology

https://www.socialeurope.eu/crisis-of-equality

John Falzon writes: I do not believe that most people do accept these violations of dignity, these instigations of shame. But the fact that we as a nation have tolerated these settings for so long makes it look like neoliberalism has crept into our souls, that we accept the institutionalisation of fear and shame.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/politics-of-shame

Race and racism

Jemar Tisby writes: White nationalism is on the rise, and white Christians are susceptible to this ideology. But the rigid exclusion of discussions of racial injustice from the regular preaching and teaching in these churches means that white nationalists are seldom challenged in their beliefs.

https://www.sightmagazine.com.au/12133-essay-why-white-nationalism-tempts-white-christians

Rachel Held Evans

Ed Stetzer writes: Watching the reaction to Rachel Held Evans' death has reminded me that we need to be a safe place for people who wander, and for people who wonder.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2019/may/reflecting-on-rhe.html

Mark Galli writes: Rachel Held Evans continues to be a force to reckon with even after her untimely death - such is clear after the reactions to John Stonestreet’s tribute that appeared on CT on Monday. We acknowledge that our process in publishing was flawed.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/may-web-only/re-rachel-held-evans.html

Kylie Beach writes: Progressive Christian voice Rachel Held Evans passed away on early Saturday morning, to the shock of friends and fans worldwide.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/world/rachel-held-evans-dies-at-37/

Question: Is this a fair assessment? If so, what will it take to change things?Elesha Coffman writes: Unfortunately, there is no precedent for an American evangelical woman, however deserving, to secure such a prominent place. Rather, evangelical history has a propensity not merely to forget women but to erase them.

https://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/rachel-held-evans-gone-and-soon-forgotten

Cheryl McGrath writes: My faith would look very different without Rachel Held Evans. Whether implicitly or explicitly, She encouraged countless people to write, speak and deepen their theological knowledge.

http://twentysixletters.org/rachel-held-evans-helped-me-blog/

Religion in Politics

Akos Balogh asks: So should Christians avoid political discussions? Or is there a way of engaging in these discussions in a way that doesn't divide your church?

http://akosbalogh.com/2019/05/10/how-to-talk-politics-without-dividing-your-church/

Greg Sheridan writes: 'He left politics 12 years ago, but the former deputy PM’s surprise comeback to the national consciousness merits investigation.'

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/weekend-australian-magazine/second-coming-john-andersons-new-venture/news-story/2221a61a7329912c005b3dcdffdebb6f

Megan Lee describes how the church played a role in the fight for voting rights in Hong Kong.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/may-web-only/christian-backstory-of-hong-kongs-anti-government-protests.html

Religion in Politics - Scott Morrison

Michelle Grattan writes: If someone asked the “real Scott Morrison to please stand up”, two men might rise to their feet. The uncompromising, don't-give-an-inch hard Scott, and a more conciliatory, flexible character.

https://theconversation.com/against-the-odds-scott-morrison-wants-to-be-returned-as-prime-minister-but-who-the-bloody-hell-is-he-116732

http://cathnews.com/cathnews/34978-shorten-sets-dangerous-precedent-on-faith-in-politics

https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/articles/religion-test-out-of-line/

https://www.smh.com.au/federal-election-2019/a-brutally-effective-campaign-ruthlessly-exploited-labor-s-mistakes-20190521-p51pjg.html

Religion in Society

https://theconversation.com/students-are-increasingly-turning-to-religious-leaders-for-mental-health-support-116755

CPX talks with author and social critic Os Guinness about religious freedom, the public square, and whether we're living in a post-truth world.

https://www.publicchristianity.org/discomfort-zone-os-guinness/

Richard A. Rosengarten writes: How to talk about religion as a force for good and for ill in the world, in particular how to do so while one holds a religious perspective, is one of the more pressing challenges of our cultural moment. Rupert Shortt is to be commended for taking on such an essential task.

https://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/new-global-faith

Tim Lindsey writes: While the riots in Jakarta have been brought under control, the deeper religious tensions that have polarised Indonesia will present a major challenge for Jokowi’s second term.

https://theconversation.com/jakarta-riots-reveal-indonesias-deep-divisions-on-religion-and-politics-117818

Graham Hill asks: So, what does a generous, loving, humble and holistic evangelicalism look like? Or, to put it more crassly, how can evangelicals avoid being fearful, moralistic, politicised jerks?

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/opinion/12-ways-to-be-a-true-evangelical/

Religious Freedom

www.i4cs.com.au/poll-shows-strong-support-for-protecting-freedoms-of-thought-conscience-belief/

http://cathnews.com/cathnews/34978-shorten-sets-dangerous-precedent-on-faith-in-politics

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/the-vote-2019/folau-the-pentecostal-pm-and-religious-freedom/

Rod Dreher writes: The future of Christianity depends on the ability of believers to construct effective ways of living out the faith in a hostile and chaotic culture.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/dreher-religious-liberty-under-attack/11117618

Lyle Shelton writes: The war within the Liberal party over freedom of religion will be a defining issue of the Coalition’s third term.

https://www.lyleshelton.com.au/why_the_morrison_miracle_does_not_mean_religious_freedom_is_in_the_clear

https://sydneyanglicans.net/blogs/election-over-what-now-for-religious-freedom

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/folau-s-law-coalition-mps-push-for-bolder-action-in-a-new-dawn-for-religious-freedom-20190529-p51s9m.html

Stephen Pickard writes: Australia stands at a cultural and social moment in which the question of religious freedom is less about religious traditions feeling threatened, and more about our various faith communities working together with civil society for the common good.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/the-question-of-religious-freedom-in-a-post-secular-society/11088574

Mark Fowler asks: Should a charity lose its tax exempt status if it engages in political activity?

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/opinion/the-bounds-of-religious-charitable-speech/

https://www.examiner.com.au/story/6194199/abetz-calls-for-folau-sacking-probe-says-true-liberals-value-freedom-of-religion

Paul Karp writes: Labor senator Deborah O’Neill has accused the Coalition of botching religious freedom reform while profiting from faith-based communities’ fears about Labor.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/may/31/coalition-delayed-religious-freedom-reform-and-exploited-fear-labor-senator-says

Sexuality

Barry E. Bryant asks: Is the issue of homosexuality to be seen as one that merits status confessionis, justifying schism, or is it a matter of adiaphora, something non-essential and indifferent?

https://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/“and-child-shall-lead-them”

Social media

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/may-web-only/tony-reinke-competing-spectacles-media-age.html

Women

Margaret Mowczko looks at what Acts 16 tells us about Lydia and the important part she played in the Philippian church.

https://margmowczko.com/lydia-of-thyatira-philippi/

Work

Martin O'Brien writes: Australia's Fair Work Commission concluded that cutting penalty rates would create more jobs. Our research suggests it was wrong.

https://theconversation.com/cutting-penalty-rates-was-supposed-to-create-jobs-it-hasnt-and-heres-why-not-117178

Youth

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/youth-justice-blueprint-is-in-front-of-our-noses