“Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.” Bertrand Russell Myth, legend and superstition: the stuff of my childhood. Those familiar with Norse and Germanic mythology will know some of the popular Icelandic sagas like The Saga of Volsungs, with…Continue reading Reflections on Faith & Superstition
Category: Religion
Breaking News: Kathy Baldock to Visit Australia
The Brave Network Melbourne, an advocacy and support group for LGBTIQ people of faith, is bringing one of the US’s foremost LGBTIQ faith advocates, Kathy Baldock, to Melbourne in August 2016 for the first time ever – I am so excited! Kathy Baldock, a published author and expert speaker, heads her own organisation Canyonwalker Connections…Continue reading Breaking News: Kathy Baldock to Visit Australia
Reflections from Shabbat: A Call to Rest
“Our relentless emphasis on success and productivity has become a form of violence. We have lost the necessary rhythm of life, the balance between effort and rest, doing and not doing.” Wayne Muller If you happen to find yourself in Israel on a Saturday you may encounter this peculiar phenomenon when using the elevators: they…Continue reading Reflections from Shabbat: A Call to Rest
A Tribute to Elie Wiesel
On Sunday, I woke up to several unpleasant realities: Australian politics was in chaos, Pauline Hanson had been returned to power, just like Voldemort, and the world has lost one of its most profound voices of conscience – Elie Wiesel. Eliezer Wiesel was born to Shlomo and Sara Wiesel, on the 30th September, 1928, in…Continue reading A Tribute to Elie Wiesel
Thin Places: Where Heaven and Earth Embrace
“Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Exodus 3:5 Last year I visited Elk, or Lyck as it was known to my family. The town of my ancestors. I stood on the shores of the lake that held so many of my childhood fantasies. Fantasies that were fed…Continue reading Thin Places: Where Heaven and Earth Embrace
Leap of Faith? It’s Easier to Talk about It!
“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.” – Soren Kierkegaard For most of us, life is often a fairly mundane rhythm of existence. Weeks go by before we notice how much time has actually elapsed. Now and then we have an unexpected visitor: Risk! Situations or moments…Continue reading Leap of Faith? It’s Easier to Talk about It!
Scapegoats: Our Desperate Need to Blame Others
“The search for scapegoats is essentially an abnegation of responsibility: it indicates an inability to assess honestly and intelligently the true nature of the problems which lie at the root of social and economic difficulties and a lack of resolve in grappling with them.” – Aung San Suu Kyi – We find our Scapegoats at a young…Continue reading Scapegoats: Our Desperate Need to Blame Others
Mama Mia! God as Mother?
“Mother is the name of God in the lips and hearts of little children” – William Makepeace Thackeray The retail machine is gathering speed with the approach of Mother’s Day. If you have stopped by the consumer caverns recently you might have been overwhelmed with the amount of beautiful cards, fluffy toys, enough slipper options to…Continue reading Mama Mia! God as Mother?
Inside Ex-Gay: A Year On
It was on the 8th April 2015 that I sat down with Nathan Despott and Dean Beck at JOY FM and discussed my observations about the difficulties faced by LGBTI Christians as they interact in an often conservative religious world that, by and large, sees them as anomalies around the table of Christ. The programme…Continue reading Inside Ex-Gay: A Year On
The Disappointing Messiah
There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. – Martin Luther King, Jr. Several years ago, we had the opportunity to visit beautiful France. Our time in Paris included a trip to the famous Louvre Museum. It was everything I imagined. Every step left me stunned and mesmerised. I do confess…Continue reading The Disappointing Messiah