Link highlights | March 2017

Monday, 3 April 2017 | Ethos editor

Link highlights – March 2017

Below is a selection of links to online news and opinion pieces from March 2017. 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.

Abortion

Simon Smart, Natasha Moore and Theresa Burke put aside the politics to talk about the real struggles some men and women face after abortion.

https://publicchristianity.org/library/healing-after-abortion

'I'd like to be called a feminist. But I don't think I'm allowed to be. You see, I also believe a baby is a person before she is born. And I believe that person has rights', writes Kate Moriarty.

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=50717#.WMiMLBKGP_R

Abortion services are not the solution to poverty and stability in our region, writes Lyle Shelton.

http://www.acl.org.au/abortion_services_are_not_the_solution_to_poverty_and_stability_in_our_region

THREE Northern Territory MLAs spoke of their decisions to terminate pregnancies in an emotional day in Parliament, as legislation was passed allowing the use of abortion drug RU486.

http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/ru486-abortion-drug-laws-pass-in-northern-territory/news-story/17be5725f4eb9ce6a11b09821678abe0

Anger

As people of faith, how do we respond to the rising sense of anger, both within and outside the church? Caryn Rivadeneira writes.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2017/march/how-to-escape-americas-anger-problem.html

Asylum seekers and refugees

The twenty-first century deportation assemblage, built by Democrats and Republicans alike, moves faster and involves more complex systems than its predecessors, writes Ethan Blue.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/02/27/4627152.htm

Scholars and public intellectuals must continue to stress the diverse nature of Islam, de-link Muslim, refugee, and terrorist in broader public consciousness, and remind people of the humanity of those who are currently displaced. And, we must push our politicians, policymakers, and media to do the same, write Erin K. Wilson and Luca Mavelli.

http://blogs.ssrc.org/tif/2016/12/01/the-refugee-crisis-and-religion/

A four-year study is beginning in Canada to assess the successes and failures under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's policy to welcome refugees from Syria, writes Zoe Daniel.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-26/will-canadas-welcomerefugees-policy-be-a-success/8383166

David Gushee analyses the premises of the Sanctuary Movement and concludes that, while God loves everyone and all people need a safe place to live, work and worship, this cannot mean that every human being has a right to live in any country that they might choose.

http://religionnews.com/2017/03/19/analysis-new-sanctuary-movement/

Child abuse

The ‘seal of confession’ between priests and their parishioners could be broken after WA’s main political parties said they would consider laws requiring clergy to report allegations and suspicions of child sexual abuse.

https://thewest.com.au/politics/state-election-2017/push-to-break-confession-seal-ng-b88401271z

The confessional box should never have meant invisibility from law, writes Jane Fynes-Clinton.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/rendezview/the-confessional-box-should-never-have-meant-invisibility-from-law/news-story/0681a8239ebf415b90a07eafa576f2e9

Australia's Anglican Church says the seal of confession does not extend to child sexual abuse if the offender won't go to police.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/anglicans-reveal-child-abuse-confessions/news-story/ab1cd712ff00d57ffed5c4d96d007ae1

Civil disobedience

Mordechai and Esther understood that what is right is also dangerous: disobeying the laws of a tyrant and seeking to change his mind brings great risk, writes Renee Kohler-Ryan.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/03/02/4629415.htm

Laws are not as neutral as we imagine them to be. They are constructed by individuals of immense power, with their own set of values and connections, writes Andrew Hamilton.

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=50962#.WNRuzxKGP_R

Ethos Director Gordon Preece responds to comments by ACTU boss Sally McManus that there is ‘rampant lawlessness’ in Australian workplaces.

https://vision.org.au/radio/2017/03/22/rampant-lawlessness-in-the-workplace/

In defence of civil disobedience: Sally McManus has stirred the dragon, writes Bob Brown.

https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2017/03/25/defence-civil-disobedience/14903604004405

Cosmopolitanism

The genuinely attractive ethical orientation toward a common human community of fate can be undermined by an unattractive self-congratulation and lack of self-critical awareness of privilege, Craig Calhoun. For his reason, nations still matter.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/03/16/4637108.htm

Crime & punishment

Putting 250 behaviourally-disturbed kids of different ages with different needs in one prison-like institution, as is being suggested in Victoria, is a recipe for further trouble. Terry Laidler offers a seven-point plan for reconstructing juvenile justice.

http://www.socialpolicyconnections.com.au/?p=11271

Drugs

The problem of ice is occurring despite it being illegal, and some drugs are less harmful than alcohol, which is legal, writes David Leyonhjelm.

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=18885

Economics

Forgiveness of financial debt has been part of the long history of the Lord's Prayer, not surprisingly, given Jesus's many teachings to give both spiritual and material aid to the needy, writes Marcia Pally.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/03/16/4637260.htm

How and why has the logic of the free market become so closely linked with evangelical religiosity? James G. Chappel reviews four books that explore the intersection between neo-liberalism and religion.

http://bostonreview.net/books-ideas/james-chappel-servant-heart-religion-neoliberalism

End of life

Opening the door a little is the key to opening the door a lot for assisted suicide advocates, writes Paul Russell.

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=18900

Margaret Somerville writes about her experience of being shut down during a 'debate' on euthanasia.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/03/16/4637497.htm

Environment

How to have a green vacation: Find a hotel that is environmentally friendly, try to bike or walk, eat local - and don’t buy plastic water bottles, writes Shivani Vora.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/travel/how-to-have-a-green-vacation.html

Even in eco-friendly Norway, only a minority of people realise that global warming is entirely due to our actions, survey of four European countries reveals, writes Michael Le Page.

http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/7703038536633435646

‘There are plenty of theologically and politically conservative reasons to care' for creation, writes John Murdock. 'Perhaps, in the wake of Trump, there will be a chance to piece back together a conservatism and a Christian worldview with something edifying to say about all of creation.

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2017/03/creation-careless

Why is Earth’s most intellectual creature destroying its only home? Jane Goodall, the world’s leading expert on chimpanzees, argues that there is a disconnect between the clever, clever, clever brain and the human heart’, writes Harold Reutter.

http://www.theindependent.com/news/local/goodall-why-earth-s-most-intellectual-creature-is-destroying-its/article_dcddcdc0-0550-11e7-9f6d-6bc30b44a48f.html

Evil

Just because it’s legal and permissible by government standards doesn’t mean that Christians should passively permit injustice and allow evil to happen, writes Stephen Mattson.

https://sojo.net/articles/sin-just-doing-our-job

Exclusion

It's often assumed that modern society has progressed far beyond the hysteria of Salem, but a brief glance at Twitter and international politics reminds us that society is always using heightened rhetoric to marginalise and persecute the perceived 'other'. Salem still has much to teach us, writes Joseph Hartropp.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/from.witches.to.refugees.centuries.after.salem.were.still.looking.for.someone.to.blame/105152.htm

Forgiveness

When Thordis Elva forgave her rapist, she broke a curse, writes Michael Jensen.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-11/when-thordis-elva-forgave-her-rapist-she-broke-a-curse/8342288

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/03/16/4637260.htm

Gender

At one end of the scale, men continue to dominate. But at the other end of the scale, men of all races and ethnicities are dropping out of the work force, abusing opioids and falling behind women in both college attendance and graduation rates, writes Thomas B. Edsall.

http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/7703038536633438094

Giving

Last week, Pope Francis recommended that we always give coins to people who ask for money on the street. He said we need to put aside our power over others and to focus, instead, on our shared human dignity and frailty.

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=50811#.WMHnERKGP_Q

Hope

For better or for worse, Jews are not prepared to be bystanders in this world or relinquish their agency. This is an inherently hopeful psychology, writes Alex Ryvchin.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/03/28/4643905.htm

Inclusion/exclusion

Today’s identity theology merely replaces northern European, male, cisgendered theology with another set of adjectives seeking to exercise power over others in the name of justice. Christians need a theology that prophetically denounces sexism, homophobia and racism - in the past and in the present - without the divisiveness inherent to identity theology, writes Case Thorp.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-seminary-snubs-a-presbyterian-pastor-1490309996

Indigenous affairs

‘I just wanted to make a change for people in this world’. Annie Lim writes about Aboriginal protest walker Clinton Pryor’s search for justice, which has taken him 5,500km through the Australian outback.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/his-search-for-justice-is-taking-him-5500km-through-the-australian-outback/

The western idea of private property is flawed and Indigenous peoples have it right, writes Julian Brave NoiseCat.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/27/western-idea-private-property-flawed-indigenous-peoples-have-it-right

It really isn't hard to incorporate Indigenous culture into our national identity, in an appropriate way. Myles Russell-Cook suggests a few simple ways that every Australian can weave Indigenous ways into their life.

http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/culture/article/2017/02/27/heres-how-every-australian-can-weave-indigenous-culture-their-identity

Nine years on and with Australia’s political atmosphere under constant change, the question is what have we actually done to right these wrongs of our past? Adrian Arndt writes.

https://independentaustralia.net/australia/australia-display/sorry--but-are-we-really,10160

Stan Grant's racial vilification. Too often we see Aboriginal activists making broad accusations that non-Aboriginal Australians are racist, writes Michael Keane.

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=18924

Islam

"Groups such as Hezb ut Tahrir try to present themselves as peaceful ... but the draft sharia constitutions Hezb ut Tahrir have drawn up for Australia and the UK very clearly state that anyone leaving Islam should be killed."

https://barnabasfund.org/news/Australian-Islamic-group-calls-for-Christian-converts-from-Islam-to-be-killed

http://blogs.ssrc.org/tif/2016/12/01/the-refugee-crisis-and-religion/

Delegitimising anti-Islamic speech is not only unjust, but also counterproductive, by confirming in the minds of many that Islamic immigration is an enemy of liberal democratic liberties, writes Stephen Chavura.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/02/14/4619728.htm

Justice

As people of faith, how do we respond to the rising sense of anger, both within and outside the church? Caryn Rivadeneira writes.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2017/march/how-to-escape-americas-anger-problem.html

Law, human rights and free speech

A confronting - and deeply personal - look at the roots of racial division in the US by Professor Alfred J. Raboteau, whose father was killed by a white man.

https://publicchristianity.org/library/the-long-shadow-of-slavery

Let's amend 18C to say what it means, writes Frank Brennan.

"It's common ground for supporters and opponents of 18C that applying the ordinary meaning of 'insult' and 'offend' results in the bar being set too low. Why not seek language which would result in the bar being set at the same level before the Human Rights Commission as it would be before the courts?”

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=50857#.WNpKSBKGP_R

In the context of One Nation’s rise, any weakening of 18C will be seen as the declaration of open season against immigrants from Muslim nations, writes Andrew Hamilton.

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=50860#.WMiKLhKGP_Q

Section 18C could be designed to target racial vilification, leaving offensive insults beyond the reach of the law in a robust democracy committed to freedom of speech, writes Frank Brennan.

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=50857

‘If implemented, the government’s proposals on section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act will weaken, perhaps emasculate, existing legal protections against racist hate speech.’

An overhaul of section 18C would articulate a new official position of laxity towards racism, write Peter Wertheim and Alex Ryvchin.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/mar/22/legally-practically-and-morally-section-18c-of-the-racial-discrimination-act-must-stay

'Turnbull’s proposal to replace the very subjective words "insult", "offend", or "humiliate" in the act with the new, clearer, offence of harassment draws a bright line for legislators to fall on one side of or the other', writes The Daily Telegraph.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/editorial-its-time-to-speak-up-for-free-speech/news-story/2d5fca50e13d697cccc492cb77c2873f

Ethos Director Gordon Preece responds to comments by ACTU boss Sally McManus that there is ‘rampant lawlessness’ in Australian workplaces.

https://vision.org.au/radio/2017/03/22/rampant-lawlessness-in-the-workplace/

In defence of civil disobedience: Sally McManus has stirred the dragon, writes Bob Brown.

https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2017/03/25/defence-civil-disobedience/14903604004405

Ideological odd couple Robert George and Cornel West issue joint statement in support of ‘truth seeking, democracy and freedom of thought and expression - attracting thousands of signatures – in the wake of shouting down of a speaker at Middlebury. By Colleen Flaherty.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/03/16/ideological-odd-couple-robert-george-and-cornel-west-issue-joint-statement-against

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-seminary-snubs-a-presbyterian-pastor-1490309996

As progressive Christians gain more cultural and religious influence, will they embody the Golden Rule and make space at the table for conservatives (as they once asked conservatives to do for them)? By Jonathan Merritt.

http://religionnews.com/2017/03/22/why-princetons-snub-of-tim-keller-should-outrage-progressive-christians/

Branding complementarian views as ‘toxic’ shows how intolerant the tolerant can be, writes Charles Redfern.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/58d446c7e4b0f633072b3601

Here is what started it all: https://www.christiancentury.org/blog-post/does-teaching-submission-encourage-abuse

Religious leaders have expressed concern over Labor’s plans to extend the reach of litigation based on section 18C, writes Rhian Deutrom.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/religious-leaders-reserve-the-right-to-call-homosexuality-a-sin/news-story/7cb99e1bbc4af12af58ccdd8b21627f2

Tony Morris The Turnbull-Brandis package of reforms to section 18C is a good middle path — it annoys everyone.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/turnbullbrandis-18c-amendments-the-right-middle-path/news-story/d89bda32361aa991441da31a0aed3d18

The government’s proposed changes to 18C are a welcome development, but it seems its heart is not in this fight, writes Scott Buchanan. And by staking so much of its resistance on spurious arguments, it has undermined its own political philosophy.

https://scottlbuchanan.wordpress.com/2017/03/29/free-speech-in-search-of-true-defenders/

By inadvertently calling for a national anti-blasphemy law, Labor’s Anne Aly has exposed the hollowness of her party’s opposition to constructive reform of section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, writes Tim Wilson.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/anne-aly-mark-dreyfus-selfwedge-on-figures-of-speech/news-story/3d1d65e73ccfea6697a00f40fddd3af6

Two Christian charities have been given permission to keep secret the names of their board members on the grounds of ‘public safety’, following a tweet by marriage equality advocate Michael Barnett.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/gay-activist-targets-high-profile-christians/

OutinPerth examines the ACL’s claims that its board members are under attack from members of the LGBT community who are endangering their safety.

http://www.outinperth.com/did-the-acnc-remove-the-details-of-the-acl-board-out-of-safety-fears/

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/02/14/4619728.htm

Materialism

Retail therapy is more religious than we realise, and Sheridan Voysey offers some suggestions for 'de-programming'.

http://sheridanvoysey.com/the-fastest-growing-religion-in-the-world-you-might-already-be-a-member/

Moral philosophy

What are the characteristics of ideology and how does it affect language? How is ideology different to 'principled position'? Randal Smith writes.

http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2017/03/18571/

In a world that exalts reality TV celebrities and egoistical leaders, those who are committed to bearing witness to our lack of wisdom are condemned to a thankless task, writes Laura D'Olimpio.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/03/07/4631811.htm

Why we believe obvious untruths: The problem is that the forces underlying bogus and real knowledge are similar, write Philip Fernbach and Steven Sloman.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/opinion/sunday/why-we-believe-obvious-untruths.html

Jesus said the truth really matters. Do our politicians agree? Andy Walton writes.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/jesus.said.the.truth.really.matters.do.our.politicians.agree/105768.htm

Too much bad news might push otherwise empathetic people towards compassion fatigue and one of four possible responses: disinterest; frustration and emotional desensitization; victim blaming; and empathetic distress, writes Alan Stokes.

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/its-hard-to-keep-reading-when-bad-news-stacks-up-20170320-gv2j7b.html

Multiculturalism

A shift from multiculturalism to interculturalism would help to re-orient our consultative structures so that we can engage directly with each other and navigate cultural difference, write Glenda Ballantyne and Amrita Malhi.

http://theconversation.com/interculturalism-how-diverse-societies-can-do-better-than-passive-tolerance-72874

Ethnic and migrant groups have backed the Turnbull government’s multicultural statement, which for the first time proposes “integration” as a bedrock of the national identity and social unity, writes Simon Benson.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/ethnic-migrant-groups-back-multicultural-integration-focus/news-story/3d7ae5b0972aca096645614de542326a

Nationalism, patriotism and extremism

The paired posts in this series were developed in connection with a workshop supported by the three-year Luce Foundation funded project ‘Politics of Religion at Home and Abroad’, directed by Elizabeth Shakman Hurd and Winnifred Fallers Sullivan. The one-day workshop which produced these essays focused on ‘Theologies of American Exceptionalism’, asking participants to expound on an exemplary text.

http://blogs.ssrc.org/tif/american-exceptionalism/

In other words, the genuinely attractive ethical orientation toward a common human community of fate can be undermined by an unattractive self-congratulation and lack of self-critical awareness of privilege, Craig Calhoun. For his reason, nations still matter.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/03/16/4637108.htm

For all the possibility of a religious coincidence with nationalism, the religious sense of purpose can still, in a more authentic form, transcend the tendency of nationalism to reduce to a shared pursuit of power and a dangerous surrender of the individual to the mass, writes John Milbank.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/03/14/4635520.htm

The Art of Living Together: A consociational conception of citizenship maintains that a shared political life is not discovered but made, and is thus open to numerous cultures and values being involved in its production, writes Luke Bretherton.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/03/17/4637743.htm

Politics, society & ideology

‘Long, uncomfortable conversations don't make for good social media content but that does not allow us to dispense with them’, writes Daniel Nicholson.

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=50656#.WLZdZhKGM6g

To improve our political climate, we must change the questions we ask, from ‘What do you want?’ to ‘What should we do?’

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/osu-tio022717.php

Recent events, and the sense of hopelessness that accompanies them, can easily be seen as markers of doom. But it's also possible to interpret them as indicators of the malaise that marks the very peak of life, writes Brigitte Dwyer.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=50661#.WLg6ChKGP_Q

Liberalism and Boredom: How Peace and Prosperity Precipitated a Populist Revolt.

It is because liberal regimes seem so robust, so good at making sure things turn out alright no matter what we vote for, that people today feel so free to vote against liberalism itself, writes Thomas Wells.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/02/08/4616603.htm

Progressives have been better at diagnosing the problem than charting a new course, and progressive parties have overwhelmingly failed to develop alternative policies, writes Josh Bornstein.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2017/feb/25/just-as-neoliberalism-is-finally-on-its-knees-so-too-is-the-left

In a world of ‘thin’ public discourse, there is little space for complex rhetoric, cultural reference, reflection on historical precedents or wondering, writes Andrew Hamilton.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=50661#.WLocZxKGP_S

Persecution

https://barnabasfund.org/news/Australian-Islamic-group-calls-for-Christian-converts-from-Islam-to-be-killed

Poverty & inequality

Our governments are elected by the middle class to serve the middle class, and no major political party is interested in winning the vote of Australia’s poor, writes David Leyonhjelm.

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=18854&page=0

Private property

The western idea of private property is flawed and Indigenous peoples have it right, writes Julian Brave NoiseCat.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/27/western-idea-private-property-flawed-indigenous-peoples-have-it-right

Quality of life

Australia has fallen two places, to eighth in the world, in a global survey of 21,000 people in 36 countries assessing nations on 65 attributes of liveability.

http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/2017/03/08/worlds-best-countries-survey/

Racism

A confronting - and deeply personal - look at the roots of racial division in the US by Professor Alfred J. Raboteau, whose father was killed by a white man.

https://publicchristianity.org/library/the-long-shadow-of-slavery

Two recent Australian documentaries on racism mistook symptoms for the cause, and turned people of colour into seekers of acceptance rather than full agents in pursuit of justice, writes Yassir Morsi.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/03/03/4630302.htm

Relationships

Intimate relationships are important parts of a flourishing life. But grief, and the helplessness it brings with it, are not well addressed by allowing anger to take centre stage, writes Martha C. Nussbaum.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/03/08/4632445.htm

With Relationships Australia's annual Neighbour Day just around the corner, how well do you really know your neighbours?

http://www.neighbourday.org/

Perhaps it's time we view relationships as we are now starting to consider sexuality – as more fluid than rigid, writes Wendy Squires.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/the-real-reason-people-cheat-monogamy-is-a-lie-20170316-gv07zi.html

Religion & spirituality

How can we live together, and live together well, in the context of deep, seemingly ineradicable moral and religious differences? Bryan McGraw writes.

https://www.cpjustice.org/public/page/content/pjr_dcc_flourishing_in_a_pluralist_world

Religion in society

Four ways to 'render unto Caesar' in the Trump-Brexit Era, by David Baker.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/4.ways.to.render.unto.caesar.in.the.trump.brexit.era/105146.htm

Is It Time for Evangelicals to Strategically Withdraw from the Culture? Four evangelical thinkers consider what Rod Dreher's Benedict Option means for the church.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/february-web-only/benedict-option-evangelicals-strategically-withdraw-culture.html

Stan Grant explores the role of faith in the lives of 21st century Australians.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-10/what-is-the-role-of-faith-in-todays-world/8343930

https://thewest.com.au/politics/state-election-2017/push-to-break-confession-seal-ng-b88401271z

The confessional box should never have meant invisibility from law, writes Jane Fynes-Clinton.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/rendezview/the-confessional-box-should-never-have-meant-invisibility-from-law/news-story/0681a8239ebf415b90a07eafa576f2e9

Australia's Anglican Church says the seal of confession does not extend to child sexual abuse if the offender won't go to police, writes Megan Neil.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/anglicans-reveal-child-abuse-confessions/news-story/ab1cd712ff00d57ffed5c4d96d007ae1

http://bostonreview.net/books-ideas/james-chappel-servant-heart-religion-neoliberalism

Behind the façade of tolerance there exists a tribalism that splits the church in two - liberal and fundamentalist – writes Peter Sellick.

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=18901

A global trend suggests that religion of any kind is less and less welcome in the public sphere.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/in-depth/danger-religious-displays-at-work-could-get-you-fired/

Michael Hewitt-Gleeson Pope Francis has shown a remarkable ability to create change in the oldest multi-national organisation that teaches the world how to think.

https://www.crikey.com.au/2017/03/20/the-pope-might-have-just-revolutionised-global-thinking-and-committed-heresy/

Sexuality and same-sex marriage

The Epidemic of Gay Loneliness: Why is it still dangerously alienating to go through life as a man attracted to other men? Michael Hobbes writes.

http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/gay-loneliness/

Transgender People - Should Christians Try To Convert Them, Heal Them - Or Celebrate Them?

Jesus proclaimed, 'the truth will set you free' (John 8:32). Gloria Steinem waspishly added (utilising somewhat earthy language) that first it will make you exceedingly annoyed, writes Brendan McCarthy.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/transgender.people.should.christians.try.to.convert.them.heal.them.or.celebrate.them/105356.htm

Churches should be 'more conscious' of the effects of Christian teachings on lesbian and gay people, and a ‘change of tone’ is needed.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/churches.should.be.more.conscious.of.the.effects.of.christian.teachings.on.lesbian.and.gay.people/105302.htm

Five Evangelical pastors who back gay marriage, writes Harry Farley.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/five.evangelical.pastors.who.back.gay.marriage/105321.htm

When a religious upbringing has taught you to see yourself as disappointing at best and dangerous at worst, it is hard to feel proud as a gay person, writes an anonymous gay Christian.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/11/gay-christian-what-im-really-thinking

Mike frost asks: Is the conservative arm of the church so focused on sexuality and marriage that being told to shut up about it is seen as tantamount to a complete public gag order?

http://mikefrost.net/homepage/silenced-sex-isnt-end-christianity/

http://religionnews.com/2017/03/22/why-princetons-snub-of-tim-keller-should-outrage-progressive-christians/

Let’s put an end to all the sermons denouncing same-sex marriage as though this is the key issue for the church on sexuality. The key issue for the churches is surely our failure to be places of grace and safety for LGBTIQ people, writes Scott Higgins.

‘I suggested that when he preached the sermon his target shouldn’t be the 55 year old man or woman who wanted to hear a strong condemnation of same-sex marriage, but the 15 year old kid who is homosexually oriented but terrified of coming out.

http://scottjhiggins.com/why-you-should-ask-your-pastor-to-should-stop-preaching-sermons-against-same-sex-marriage/

When a religious upbringing has taught you to see yourself as disappointing at best and dangerous at worst, it is hard to feel proud as a gay person.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/11/gay-christian-what-im-really-thinking

To extend to people – transgender and otherwise - the courtesy of being free to describe themselves as they are rather than as others might wish them to be is a simple application of the Golden Rule, writes Brendan McCarthy.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/transgender.people.should.christians.try.to.convert.them.heal.them.or.celebrate.them/105356.htm

A court has allowed a four-year-old girl to be adopted by a same-sex couple despite her birth parents' opposition on the basis of their Catholic faith, writes Louise Hall.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/adoption-by-samesex-couple-opposed-because-of-birth-parents-catholic-faith-20170323-gv4qdm.html

How should Christians apologise for contributing to the hurt, discrimination and exclusion of LGBTIQ+ people by the church and in society generally. What form should an apology take? Rosie Clare Shorter writes.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/03/30/4645646.htm

Now that marriage equality activists have the upper hand, it’s our turn to shut up, listen and try to understand, writes Mike Frost.

http://mikefrost.net/homepage/one-powerful-weapons-privilege-refusal-listen/

Sexuality and same-sex marriage - Bible Society / Coopers beer

A video issued by the Bible Society on marriage has led to a backlash against the Coopers beer company.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/bible-society-video-generates-backlash/

It seems Bible Society presumes a neutrality in the culture that is no longer there, at least it is not there among the cultural gatekeepers who control the narrative, writes Stephen McAlpine.

- https://stephenmcalpine.com/2017/03/14/the-hair-of-the-dog-that-bit-the-bible-society/

If Christians want to engage the public in useful dialogue on whatever issue, it’s a good idea to be astute about perception, writes Lance Lawton.

http://fullofgraceandtruth.net/2017/03/bibles-beer-and-blindness/

The Bible Society’s “keeping it light” video didn’t even offer an opinion on whether or not marriage should be redefined in law, writes Lyle Shelton.

www.acl.org.au/storm_in_a_beer_cup_intolerance_revealed_as_bible_society_tries_to_keep_it_light

The backlash has come, not from teetotaling Christians, but from the sexual fundamentalists.

https://stephenmcalpine.com/2017/03/13/it-was-always-going-to-end-in-beers/

The turning point for meaningful engagement by the Christian faith in the public square has been reached, and the cultural narrative no longer includes us in its story except as the villain in the piece, writes Stephen McAlpine.

https://stephenmcalpine.com/2017/03/15/christianity-in-the-public-square-bc-and-pc/

At what point does honest discussion turn into deliberate trolling? The Coopers beer marriage equality debate is one that we don't have to have, writes Andrew P. Street.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/view-from-the-street/the-coopers-beer-marriage-equality-debate-is-one-that-we-dont-have-to-have-20170315-guyhax.html

South Australian brewer Coopers learnt the hard way this week that business and sensitive political issues do not always mix, writes Michael Smith.

http://www.afr.com/brand/chanticleer/business-has-a-duty-to-speak-up-on-social-issues-20170316-guz9zv

Boycotts do not make for debate. Strangling free speech harms the same-sex marriage case.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/editorials/bullying-and-boycotts-do-not-make-for-civil-debate/news-story/358afb3632a17330b79a260d2135009f
Coopers critics should froth less, chill more, writes David Penberthy.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/david-penberthy-coopers-doesnt-deserve-flak-for-bible-societybacked-video-and-didnt-need-to-apologise-to-left-or-right/news-story/252f8112675046be50afd7446ec2d559

Mike frost asks: Is the conservative arm of the church so focused on sexuality and marriage that being told to shut up about it is seen as tantamount to a complete public gag order?

http://mikefrost.net/homepage/silenced-sex-isnt-end-christianity/

Many Christians have bemoaned ‘the culture’ as the source of the backlash against the Bible Society ad, but it takes two to polarise, writes Arthur David.

https://meetjesusatuni.com/2017/03/19/polarisation-takes-two-a-reflection-on-keeping-it-light/

Many in our society are not interested in a “civil discussion” on same-sex marriage, but it’s not because they hate Christians or despise religion. It’s because they see same-sex marriage as a human rights issue, writes Scott Higgins.

http://scottjhiggins.com/coopers-the-bible-society-and-what-christians-dont-seem-to-understand-about-same-sex-marriage-debate/

The Bible Society should be applauded for being willing to try constructive engagement with an issue many other Christian churches and groups shy away from. However, their blunder was excluding LGBTI voices writes, Rohan Salmond.

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=50890#.WM8cFhKGP_Q

The reaction to the video now shows pretty clearly what opponents of the plebiscite mean: not that they fear “hate speech” directed at gay people, but that they object to the very idea of a debate on any terms, writes Neil Foster.

https://www.mercatornet.com/conjugality/view/beer-bibles-and-free-speech-in-australia/19516#sthash.ACekxkJk.dpuf

http://scottjhiggins.com/coopers-the-bible-society-and-what-christians-dont-seem-to-understand-about-same-sex-marriage-debate/

Peril in the Public Square: Akos Balogh talks to Bible Society CEO Greg Clarke about The Coopers Affair.

https://australia.thegospelcoalition.org/article/peril-in-the-public-square-akos-balogh-talks-to-bible-society-ceo-greg-clarke-about-the-coopers-affair

Many Christians have bemoaned ‘the culture’ as the source of the backlash against the Bible Society ad, but it takes two to polarise, writes Arthur David.

https://meetjesusatuni.com/2017/03/19/polarisation-takes-two-a-reflection-on-keeping-it-light/

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Link highlights | March 2017

Monday, 3 April 2017 | Ethos editor

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