“There are few things more dangerous than inbred religious certainty.” – Bart D. Ehrman This is a REPOST of a blog I wrote a couple of years ago … most fitting at this time of Australian religious and political discussions! There is a danger in assuming that every Christian belief and practice that we adhere to…Continue reading A very brief Introduction to Christian Fundamentalism
Category: History
Life’s Most Ignored Partner: Death
“It is hard to have patience with people who say, ‘There is no death’ or ‘Death doesn’t matter.’ There is death. And whatever it is matters. And whatever happens has consequences, and it and they are irrevocable and irreversible. You might as well say that birth doesn’t matter.” – C.S. Lewis – My sprightly father…Continue reading Life’s Most Ignored Partner: Death
Scars Sealed In Gold
“To banish imperfection is to destroy expression, to check exertion, to paralyze vitality. All things are literally better, lovelier, and more beloved for the imperfections which have been divinely appointed, that the law of human life may be effort, and the law of human judgment, mercy.” – John Rushkin – It seems that “banishing imperfection”…Continue reading Scars Sealed In Gold
Are You Getting Your Beauty Sleep?
“Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone” Anthony Burgess I love my bed. There is something totally therapeutic and delicious about sinking into flannel sheets after a long day. As an introvert I have memories of being at those hideous children’s parties and counting down the minutes until I can…Continue reading Are You Getting Your Beauty Sleep?
Hildegard of Bingen and her Love Affair with Fennel
“Even eaten raw fennel does not harm the body in any way. In whatever form one eats fennel, it makes us happy, gives us a good skin colour and body odour and promotes good digestion.” – Hildegard – Fennel was a regular star in the meals consumed in my childhood. To this day I can…Continue reading Hildegard of Bingen and her Love Affair with Fennel
The Scarcity of Wonder in our Black-and-White, Know-it-All World
“If I had influence with the good angel who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world would be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life as an unfailing antidote against boredom and disenchantments of later…Continue reading The Scarcity of Wonder in our Black-and-White, Know-it-All World
Joy and the Narrow Path
This post is dedicated to the LGBTI community who were and are a prophetic voice in my life – I am forever grateful. On the 15th April it was two years since Dean Beck, Nathan Despott and I sat down at the Joy FM Radio station and recorded an interview to discuss the damage done to LGBTI…Continue reading Joy and the Narrow Path
Reflection on Rites of Passage
“Few of us go through life without taking part in some kind of rite of passage.” – Hank Nuwer – It was the French ethnographer and folklorist, Arnold van Gennep, who first coined the phrase “rites of passage”. It is the ceremonial event that exists in all known historical societies that marks a person’s passage…Continue reading Reflection on Rites of Passage
This Ancient Mountain
I acknowledge the original custodians of this land and pay my respects to the Elders both past, present and future for they hold the memories, the spiritual connections, the traditions, the culture and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia. Every morning when I step on to my front verandah I greet…Continue reading This Ancient Mountain
2017: The Year of Discernment
“Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you. Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live up to, let your life tell you what truths you embody, what values you represent.” Parker Palmer It is probably…Continue reading 2017: The Year of Discernment