Recently in Africa, I was passing by a furniture shop and there it was, painted across the front of the building, these words from the owner, “I take things personally”. Well, it didn’t seem like a warning (“Don’t get me angry”) so it falls into the category of “you know what I mean”. Or there’s…
Initially, I resisted going to see the movie, Chocolat, because it appeared to be just another romantic comedy. I was wrong. Last year, the Academy of Motion Pictures nominated Chocolat in the category of Best Film of 2001. This movie contains a serious and danger message, one the church should hear. The story is an…
On my last trip to East Africa, a particular church in Uganda was making front page news. Apparently, an electric shock machine was found in his possession of one Pastor Wayo which would allow a person to send an electrical pulse into the body of an individual whom they touched. This highlights a growing dilemma…
Culture is like the air we breathe; it’s all around us and so, it often times goes unnoticed. Take, for instance, a swear word. What makes one word “acceptable” and another word requires personal repentance? When it comes to English, would you believe that much of it goes back to a battle fought approximately one…
Do you remember the now famous scene from the Australian classic, The Castle? Good aussie bloke, Darryl Kerrigan, is fighting to retain his house, his castle, from being annexed into the expanding Tullamarine Airport. His lawyer, Dennis Denuto, attempts to argue the case in a court of law and finds himself way out of his…
The other day I came across a statement, “Theology never saved anyone, only Jesus will.” Okay, on the surface, this might seem accurate but what is it saying? For starters, theology in recent days has fallen upon hard times. Jesus good. Theology bad. Undoubtedly, a flawed theology can be an impediment to growing in Christ. …
When Jesus appeared on the scene, it is safe to say that he made a stir in the Jewish community. “Who is this person? What kind of teaching is that? Why doesn’t he follow our long held traditions?” were some of the complaints that rang out. Jesus explained his presence by illustrating that you do…
One of our times most enduring images of Jesus comes from the poem, Footprints, in which, Jesus is so near to us that when we can no longer advance, he carries us in his arms. In contrast to this image, the people of the Middle Ages build lofty cathedrals, impressive and awe-inspiring edifices to celebrate…
The past couple of years, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code has been a best-seller worldwide. People are fascinated by the speculation and conjecture the book raises as it seeks to revise historically the life of Jesus. For the uninitiated, the novel’s thesis proposes that Jesus marries Mary Magdalene and their daughter produces a line…
Imagine you are an Olympic swimmer representing Australia. You are required to put in long, hard hours of labourious lap swimming; a regimented diet of exercise and eating and being coached and critiqued on your stroke technique constantly. What drives this is the vision of standing on the podium, hearing Advance Australia Fair blaring over…