“Each member (of society) must be ever attentive to his social surroundings – they must avoid shutting themselves up in their own peculiar character as a philosopher in their ivory tower.” Frederick Rothwell (H.L. Bergson’s Laughter, 1911) For anyone who has ever attempted to learn a new language, you may have found that exercise both…Continue reading Dismantling Our Ivory Towers One Human Story At A Time
Category: History
In Hindsight: Reflections on Regret
“I see it all perfectly; there are two possible situations — one can either do this or that. My honest opinion and my friendly advice is this: do it or do not do it — you will regret both.” – Soren Kierkegaard – I still remember the first time I heard the notion of living…Continue reading In Hindsight: Reflections on Regret
Are We Better Together?
“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. This past weekend I had the privilege of attending the Better Together Conference at Melbourne Town Hall. It was a historic moment as 657 LGBTIQ…Continue reading Are We Better Together?
A Chat with Kathy Baldock: Ally and Advocate – Part TWO
Dear Reader, this BLOG post is the second part of an interview with Kathy Baldock. For Part One please see this link. 4. Many religious people have expressed their concern as they see ‘homosexual behaviour’ as a sin against God and against Scripture. In fact, the Bible has been used as one of the main tools of…Continue reading A Chat with Kathy Baldock: Ally and Advocate – Part TWO
A Chat with Kathy Baldock: Ally and Advocate – Part ONE
I was excited to meet Kathy Baldock in person last year when she visited Australia. Over the years I have admired her staunch support as an ally and advocate for the LGBTIQ community. Her writing is well-researched, articulate and informative (you can find more information about Kathy on this link). I am so pleased that…Continue reading A Chat with Kathy Baldock: Ally and Advocate – Part ONE
The Power of Yes
“Love is a place & through this place of love move (with brightness of peace) all places YES is a world & in this world of yes live (skillfully curled) all worlds” – E.E. Cummings – Yesterday was a Yes day. It was also a historic day in Australia. 79.5% of Australians took part in…Continue reading The Power of Yes
God on My Side?
I spent the first seven years of my life in a small village in Northern Germany. It was the sort of place where everyone knew each other and the children roamed the streets like herds of sheep. You had to be tough in those herds! Children aren’t always as nice as we like to imagine.…Continue reading God on My Side?
Maybe You Are Asking The Wrong Questions?
“Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.” – Primo Levi (Holocaust Survivor) – Primo Levi did not consider himself a hero for surviving Auschwitz. Like other survivors, he had seen and experienced…Continue reading Maybe You Are Asking The Wrong Questions?
The Stories We Tell Ourselves
“It’s like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.” – Patrick Rothfuss – Stories: they shape our world, they change our world, they are our world. We all live our lives to the rhythm…Continue reading The Stories We Tell Ourselves
Apartheid and the Ideas about God that Upheld It
This is a blog post from 2 years ago. As I travel Germany and am confronted by the many monuments that remember the holocaust and persecuted minorities, I am again aware of the fundamental role that dominant religions often play in oppressive regimes. May we never forget. I still remember the feeling of stifling hot air hitting…Continue reading Apartheid and the Ideas about God that Upheld It