Link Highlights | January 2018
Monday, 5 February 2018
| Ethos editor
Link highlights – January 2018
Below is a selection of links to online news and opinion pieces from January 2018. 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.
Art & Culture
Mark Greene writes of Star Wars: No other movie franchise better understands this elemental truth of the universe – there is a reality deeper than our senses can apprehend, a reality that underpins everything, and impinges on everything.
https://www.licc.org.uk/resources/galaxynear/
In a world of screen entertainment that often can be disturbing, offensive or challenging, seeking something different can prove near impossible. Whether you are young, old or somewhere in between, 2018 offers a bunch of options for all ages. Ben McEachen found these five highlights from the upcoming year at the cinemas.
https://www.eternitynews.com.au/culture/the-best-movies-for-everyone-in-2018/
Asylum seekers, refugees and migration
Julian Burnside writes: Abbott, Morrison, Turnbull, Dutton and others claim to be Christians, but they seem to forget the fundamental tenets of its teaching: compassion and treating others as you would want to be treated. To say they are worried about boat people drowning is a lie. For them to mistreat asylum seekers in the way they do is a betrayal of the Christian values they cherish.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/30/when-it-comes-to-refugees-abbott-turnbull-morrison-and-dutton-are-hypocrites
Jim Wallis writes: There are fundamental Christian issues that cause Christians to vote against political candidates — and being opposed to immigrants should become one of those issues. We need to fight for the Dreamers because they are the people Jesus literally commands us to treat as we would treat him.
https://sojo.net/articles/christians-daca-our-fight
January 26th (Australia Day)
Why acknowledge? Common Grace has put together a set of excellent resources for January 26th, including the history of January 26th, reflections about ‘changing the date’, church resources and more.
http://www.commongrace.org.au/jan26_acknowledge
Kristyn Harman writes: That colonial wars were fought in Tasmania is irrefutable. More controversially, surviving evidence suggests the British enacted genocidal policies against the Tasmanian Aboriginal people.
https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-evidence-for-the-tasmanian-genocide-86828
Fatima Measham writes: States other than NSW, having been founded on various dates, regarded 26 January as a Sydney thing until 1935. In 1938 it was declared an Aboriginal Day of Mourning. To press the point, the current momentum against Australia Day is not some newfound 'political correctness', not least because it predates the term.
https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=54558
Scott Higgins writes: January 26 is therefore doubly inappropriate as the day to commemorate Australia Day. On the one hand it is a date that has no correlation with the birth of the modern Australian nation-state, and on the other it commemorates a date in our history that marked the beginning of the decimation of our indigenous nations. So why don’t we just get on with moving the day?
http://scottjhiggins.com/why-dont-we-simply-change-the-date/
Frank Bongiorno writes: As it becomes ever more entangled in battles over the meaning of our history, Australia Day will find it difficult to foster common belonging and social cohesion.
https://theconversation.com/why-australia-day-survives-despite-revealing-a-nations-rifts-and-wounds-89768
Michael Frost writes: Why is it so difficult to see how offensive it is to force indigenous Australians to just get over the past, to smile along with us on January 26, to listen to an Australian music countdown, to enjoy the annual lamb ad, and to celebrate ‘all of the things we’ve achieved’?
http://mikefrost.net/stole-land-language-wages-hey-lets-celebrate/
Maggie Walter writes: If we can’t work out that we need to complete the peacemaking between Indigenous Australians and those whose ancestors arrived at or post-1788, we are not ready to be a republic. Changing the date of Australia Day is the first tiny step for Australia, both as a nation and a society, to begin the reckoning with its origins.
https://theconversation.com/first-reconciliation-then-a-republic-starting-with-changing-the-date-of-australia-day-89955
Sherry Sufi writes: Whether Australia's colonisation by the British Empire should be classified as an invasion or settlement is not a question of mere semantics. It's a question that holds serious legal and political consequences for our country. Native title can only exist if Australia was settled, not invaded, because international law recognises all territories acquired through invasion and annexation by force, prior to World War II, as lawful conquests. This invalidates any claims to separate land rights under the same jurisdiction.
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=19529
Kate Galloway In an article published in the lead up to Australia Day, WA Liberal Party policy committee chairman Sherry Sufi said ‘native title can only exist if Australia was settled, not invaded’. Is that right?
https://theconversation.com/factcheck-can-native-title-only-exist-if-australia-was-settled-not-invaded-90540
Bob Ryan writes: There is a compromise that could satisfy both sides of the dispute and not add to the number of national holidays. Wait till we become a republic and replace Australia Day with Republic (or Remembrance) Day. And replace the queen’s holiday in June with Mabo Day. Neither would impinge on the existing holiday regime. Which is, after all what most Aussies really care about.
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=19521
Russell Grenning writes: The problem faced by the Change the Date campaigners is that whatever alternative date is chosen it would be welcomed by some and derided by others. It would probably face the same fate as the ill-fated Republic referendum in 1999 when a major reason for that failure was a failure by pro-republic campaigners to agree on how a future President would be elected or selected.
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=19519
Indigenous leader Warren Mundine supports changing the date from January 26. But he has pleaded for an end to the 'disgraceful' debate over Australia Day, echoing the prime minister's worry that it is dividing the country.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/disgraceful-australia-day-debate-needs-to-stop-warren-mundine
Pastor Ray Minniecon, one of the organisers of Sydney's Invasion Day rally, said Mr Abbott was 'an idiot' after the former Prime Minister said the arrival of the First Fleet was a 'good thing' for Indigenous Australians. Nakari Thorpe reports.
https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2018/01/22/hes-idiot-abbotts-first-fleet-good-aboriginal-people-comment-met-outrage
Joshua Robertson writes: Northern Territory chief minister Michael Gunner has called for changes to Australia Day celebrations to highlight ‘the Aboriginal contribution to our national identity’ and acknowledge the lasting trauma of Indigenous dispossession. He said the Territory Labor government would also move to elevate the use of Indigenous place names and official recognition of frontier atrocities committed against Aboriginal Australians.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/27/australia-day-a-date-of-mourning-and-should-be-changed-nt-chief-minister-says
Mark Kenny writes: A hole in the argument to moving Australia Day from January 26 has been the absence of a logical alternative – or any consensus for same. So why not consider May 9th?
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/australia-day-the-case-for-may-9-20180122-h0m65w.html
Jack Latimore writes: 26th January is steeped in the blood of violent dispossession, of attempted genocide, of enduring trauma. And there is a shared understanding that there has been no conclusion of the white colonial project when it comes to the commonwealth’s approach to Indigenous people. Our sentiment in regards to 26 January a recent phenomenon.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/22/its-convenient-to-say-aboriginal-people-support-australia-day-but-its-not-true
Tom Calma writes: Can our national day ever be truly inclusive if it is celebrated on a day that represents the physical and cultural dispossession of the First Australians? The current choice of date for Australia Day is symbolic of the country we used to be – not the one we hope to become.
http://theconversation.com/a-modern-and-united-australia-must-shift-its-national-day-from-january-26-90385
Glenn Loughley writes: Yes, 26th January is invasion day. It is the day when life changed dramatically for people who were used to great challenges and the hardships of living in this brutal country. It is the day that brought a seemingly endless genocide as many of our people died in those early days from war and disease, and many continue to die from neglect and poverty. This is undeniable. But for Aboriginal people this day is much more than that.
https://www.redshoeswalking.net/2018/01/16/australia-day/
Tim Dean writes: Debates around changing the date of Australia Day tend to run afoul of our sense of social identity, but there are ways to cut through and have a good conversation.
https://theconversation.com/how-to-have-a-better-conversation-about-australia-day-90457
How to have a better conversation about Australia Day
Geoffrey Blainey writes: For many Aborigines the year 1788, in retrospect, was a tragedy, and for a long period of time they continued to suffer. But sections of the media, universities and schools exaggerate the bad news. This is a powerful ingredient in the present criticism of Australia Day. These critics, putting on their black armbands, now imagine that before 1788 the Aborigines lived in a kind of paradise, from which later they were brutally and deliberately expelled.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/australia-day-doubters-misreadour-past/news-story/a4ffd4e49074343a7c24fb1eb120e127
The Project asks if January 26th really is the best day for all of us to celebrate Australia Day. With Hamish Macdonald and Tom Whitty.
https://www.facebook.com/TheProjectTV/videos/10155264581733441/
Simon Longstaff writes: What are we to make of 26 January? If it a time of reflection and self-examination, then 26 January is a potent anniversary. If, on the other hand, it is meant to be a celebration of and for all Australians, then why choose a date which represents loss and suffering for so many of our fellow citizens?
http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2018/01/25/4794608.htm
Gemma McKinnon asks: Is it morally wrong to celebrate Australia Day on 26 January? Without doubt. By choosing that particular date, you're valorising an invasion - the beginning of mass slaughter, dispossession, genocide and land theft. Yet so many seem incapable of recognising that their privilege is built upon wealth gained from stolen land and genocide.
http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2018/01/23/4793085.htm
Kanishka Raffel writes: The suggestion that Australia Day celebrations should begin with a time of mourning in acknowledgement of the suffering caused to indigenous people through European settlement reflects the Christian pattern of frank admission or confession of sin.
https://sydneyanglicans.net/blogs/god-history-and-australia-day
John Yates writes: There is something deeper in the debate over the date for Australia day than politics and human emotion. We need ‘the mind of Christ’ about Australia’s Day.
http://cross-connect.net.au/saving-australias-day/
Calendar
Margaret Clunies Ross writes: The origins of our days of the week lie with the Romans. Three are named for planets, the other four gods.
https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-gods-behind-the-days-of-the-week-87170
Alice Gaby and Tyson Yunkaporta write: In the seasonal ‘calendars’ of Indigenous Australia, there is no beginning or end, and as such, there is no ‘New Year’. Seasons do not serve as a basis for linear metaphors of new life in spring to death in winter. Instead, both seasons and humans are viewed as components of cycles.
https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-seasonal-calendars-of-indigenous-australia-88471
Child sexual abuse
Angela Shanahan writes: The church in Australia has changed. The Royal Commission’s demand for changes in church culture and governance has been superseded. It has already happened, especially in Catholic schools. Some sensible recommendations of the Commission should be adopted, but the Commission’s thundering about priestly celibacy and the seal of the confessional are pointless distractions.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/catholics-have-already-addressed-many-royal-commission-concerns/news-story/a90fd7a48ab78afe1fe6214391069c7a
After five years, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse concluded with volumes of stories and a set of recommendations. Yet Francis Sullivan, CEO of the Truth Justice and Healing Council, believes the work hardly seems done. What lies ahead for the Catholic Church, against which so many claims of abuse and cover-up were made?
https://eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=54577
Crime & violence
Troy Pittaway writes: I have been working with Sudanese youth for over eight years and never encountered anything like the gangs of youths that are being talked about. To try and distill an entire culture, with various sub-cultures and values, into a media soundbite about hordes of African gangs, insults not only the Sudanese community, but every Australian.
https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=54517
Rachel Eddie writes: Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency said the Commonwealth Joint Committee on Migration's Inquiry into Migrant Settlement Outcomes accurately reported that 807 Sudanese people allegedly committed crimes in 2016. However, it miscalculated the percentage of offenders as 1.4% instead of 1%.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/vic/2018/01/22/african-youth-gang-crime-statistic/
Drugs
John Ryan writes: The war on drugs is a failure and the focus must be on treatment and harm minimisation for a real and lasting victory.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/treatment-is-a-better-use-of-tax-dollars-than-war-on-drugs/news-story/bc62a8c2945ed1a870f5e4f91c0356ec
Economics & inequality
Patrick Carey writes: While most of us have an intuitive understanding of social class, we often struggle to define it beyond simple financial metrics. The three-stratum model, which splits all of us into either the working, middle or upper class, is a mainstay of 20th century sociology. But a recent report out of the Australian National University posits a more nuanced approach.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-24/six-class-system-dispelling-myths-of-a-classless-australia/9339532
Kasy Chambers writes: The government is proposing to classify most major charities as ‘political campaigners’, allowing it to audit their advocacy work and sources of income. It suggests an impurity of motive, yet nothing could be further from the truth. By attacking charities and their ability to advocate, we’re creating a society where only those with power and access to start with have the ability to influence policy.
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/01/silencing-the-poor/
Gareth Hutchens writes: Top 1% of Australians own more wealth than bottom 70% combined Australia now has 33 billionaires, up from 14 since before the global financial crisis in 2008.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/22/top-1-per-cent-of-australians-own-more-wealth-than-bottom-70-per-cent-combined
David James writes: A visitor from an earlier time would be stunned to see how much we understand the world using monetary measures. Finance has come to be considered the first reality, not defined by, or reflecting, reality. To see how this creates distortions, consider GDP, which is taken to be a measure of national wellbeing, but is anything but.
https://eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=54569
End of life
Daniel Sinclair writes: Under Jewish law the preservation of human life is a cardinal commandment: both suicide and self-endangerment are forbidden.
https://theconversation.com/what-jewish-law-says-about-suicide-and-assisted-dying-88687
Michael Cook writes: Canada legalised euthanasia and assisted suicide less than two years ago, but already there are complaints that the legislation is not flexible enough and allows faith-based facilities to stymie the intent of the legislation.
https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/some-canadians-unhappy-with-restrictions-of-euthanasia-legislation/12560
Matt Reynolds writes: Spend enough time arguing against abortion, and you're certain to deal with accusations of hypocrisy and inconsistency. If you were really pro-life, critics say, there are other, outside-the-womb causes you would champion just as ardently.
But does the pro-life movement have too narrow a focus?
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/december/in-defense-of-pro-life-hypocrisy.html
Kate Shellnutt writes: Are pro-life and pro-choice women any closer to finding common ground? A year after the first Women's March, politics continue to splinter the women's movement.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2018/january/pro-life-pro-choice-women-womens-march-common-ground.html
Karen Swallow Prior writes: Advocates for legal abortion might march, they might chant, they might shout their abortions, but as their own poets say, beneath it all is a desire for mercy, justice, and love big enough to welcome and affirm all life. We need to listen to these poets. As we converse with them and other pro-choice advocates, we can draw on the moral desires latent in their imaginations. Only then we can point them to the One in whom we all - as the Greek poets themselves wrote – ‘live and move and have our being’, born and unborn.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2018/january/poetry-change-pro-life-debate-abortion-roe-versus-wade.html
Environment
Fighting pipeline construction, reaffirming commitments to the Paris accord, and suing the EPA were among many acts of defiance: Vive la résistance: 10 ways people stood up for the planet in 2017
http://grist.org/article/vive-la-resistance-10-ways-people-stood-up-for-the-planet-in-2017/
The past year may have seemed like doom and gloom for the environment, but there was plenty to be thankful for. Shreya Dasgupta presents ten happy environmental stories of 2017: rediscoveries of species, local communities being granted land rights, and new technologies to boost conservation efforts.
https://news.mongabay.com/2017/12/top-10-happy-environmental-stories-of-2017/
Kylie Beach talks to meteorologist Mick Pope about climate change and the gospel: ‘I didn’t want to do ‘Christianity and’. I wanted to avoid bolting on environmentalism. So I went back and looked at the entire sweep of scripture again and concluded that I don’t need to, it’s all there.’
https://www.eternitynews.com.au/in-depth/meteorology-and-mere-christianity/
Marc Hudson writes: Last year was a vicious one for climate and energy politics. And with a South Australian election and various other federal decisions in the offing, 2018 looks like being similarly rancorous.
https://theconversation.com/climate-politics-in-2018-another-guide-for-the-perplexed-89970
In some parts of the evangelical world, climate change has become politically heated and divisive. But, explains Katharine Hayhoe, ‘Climate change is exacerbating everything that is already affecting us today’.
http://www.arocha.org/en/resources/jsll2017/
Globethics.net, in collaboration with CITVN, has produced a 36-part webcast series on the reading of Pope Francis' environmental encyclical Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home, featuring 56 experts from churches, NGOs, businesses, governments and academia. For info and to register, visit the website.
http://www.globethics.net/-/save-the-dates-january-30-2018-webcast-series-on-sustainability-ethics-and-action-what-can-we-do-
In some parts of the evangelical world, climate change has become politically heated and divisive. But, explains Katharine Hayhoe in the John Stott 2017 London Lecture, ‘Climate change is exacerbating everything that is already affecting us today’.
http://www.arocha.org/en/resources/jsll2017/
Everyday living
Douglas Groothuis writes: It seems like a small thing, but it really isn’t. How we greet - or fail to greet - others says much about our character. But in the power of the Holy Spirit, we may practice the presence of people by acknowledging and recognizing them for who they are: creatures made in God’s image.
www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/january-web-only/learning-to-say-hello-again.html
Marilynne Robinson explores the history of freedom and the sovereignty of individual conscience, from Old Testament times through Romans 14 to the present. What role do these principles play today, in a world where cost-benefit analysis is now used to explain everything?
https://theamericanscholar.org/what-is-freedom-of-conscience/#
Evil
Nils von Kalm writes: I was watching an old episode of the TV show, NCIS, tonight. At the end of course, Gibbs and his team once again solved the crime, put the bad guys away, and right won out. It reminded me that, as we enter a new year, I am convinced that the Christian story is still needed for our society. We need to be constantly reminded of the story that good wins in the end, where evil is never worth it and where we know it in our bones, just like we know that we need air to stay alive.
http://soulthoughts.com/how-ncis-restored-my-hope
History
History Margaret Clunies Ross writes: The origins of our days of the week lie with the Romans. Three are named for planets, the other four gods.
https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-gods-behind-the-days-of-the-week-87170
Hypocrisy
Nick Miller writes: ‘Hypocrisy is the dud grenade, endlessly tossed between the trenches of the culture wars, with nobody apparently ever realising that it's never going to go off.’
‘To find hypocrisy is to find the ‘gotcha’ moment, the superficial win. … You don't need to debate the issues if you have your ‘gotcha’ moment. You don't need to ask if someone's actions are more moral than their words, or vice-versa, if you can show they don't match up. Which is much easier.’
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/head-20180102-h0cc7c.html
Identity
Klyne R. Snodgrass writes: We have been sold a cheap gospel without demand and without content, as if faith were a short transaction, a prayer, or a decision, to get security taken care of so we can go to heaven, but the New Testament is far less concerned with going to heaven than people think.
www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/january-web-only/who-are-you-without-your-props.html
Andrew Errington writes: Our lives are lived as a contest of identifications. The phrase ‘I identify as ...’ can be a refusal of the adequacy of the names I have been given, a plea to others to identify me rightly. In the end, though, what we need is to hear another, who we know speaks the truth, say, ‘I identify you as ...’.
http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/09/05/4729503.htm
Indigenous affairs
Kristyn Harman writes: That colonial wars were fought in Tasmania is irrefutable. More controversially, surviving evidence suggests the British enacted genocidal policies against the Tasmanian Aboriginal people.
https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-evidence-for-the-tasmanian-genocide-86828
Dominic O'Sullivan writes: Turnbull’s is a classical liberal position: one may participate in public affairs, but only as an individual and only if one’s individual perspective is not developed through a distinctive cultural lens. In this, there is a fundamental clash with the Referendum Council Uluru Statement from the Heart.
https://theconversation.com/indigenous-recognition-in-our-constitution-matters-and-will-need-greater-political-will-to-achieve-90296
Michelle Kerrin writes: Indigenous students are continually bombarded with ideologies and stereotypes that they are failures and are positioned in a narrative of negativity and deficiency - the toxicity of low expectations. But educational spaces such as the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School show that young Indigenous people can be supported in white systems.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/23/the-toxicity-of-low-expectations-limits-indigenous-students
Sherry Sufi writes: Whether Australia's colonisation by the British Empire should be classified as an invasion or settlement is not a question of mere semantics. It's a question that holds serious legal and political consequences for our country. Native title can only exist if Australia was settled, not invaded, because international law recognises all territories acquired through invasion and annexation by force, prior to World War II, as lawful conquests. This invalidates any claims to separate land rights under the same jurisdiction.
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=19529
Kate Galloway In an article published in the lead up to Australia Day, WA Liberal Party policy committee chairman Sherry Sufi said ‘native title can only exist if Australia was settled, not invaded’. Is that right?
https://theconversation.com/factcheck-can-native-title-only-exist-if-australia-was-settled-not-invaded-90540
Simon Longstaff writes: What are we to make of 26 January? If it a time of reflection and self-examination, then 26 January is a potent anniversary. If, on the other hand, it is meant to be a celebration of and for all Australians, then why choose a date which represents loss and suffering for so many of our fellow citizens?
http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2018/01/25/4794608.htm
Gemma McKinnon writes: ‘If Indigenous Voices Can't Even Be Heard on Australia Day, What Hope Have We Got?’
Is it morally wrong to celebrate Australia Day on 26 January? Without doubt. By choosing that particular date, you're valorising an invasion - the beginning of mass slaughter, dispossession, genocide and land theft. Yet so many seem incapable of recognising that their privilege is built upon wealth gained from stolen land and genocide.
http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2018/01/23/4793085.htm
Kanishka Raffel writes: The suggestion that Australia Day celebrations should begin with a time of mourning in acknowledgement of the suffering caused to indigenous people through European settlement reflects the Christian pattern of frank admission or confession of sin.
https://sydneyanglicans.net/blogs/god-history-and-australia-day
John Yates writes: There is something deeper in the debate over the date for Australia day than politics and human emotion. We need ‘the mind of Christ’ about Australia’s Day.
http://cross-connect.net.au/saving-australias-day/
Bridget Brennan writes: The removal of children from Indigenous communities is skyrocketing and has become a ‘national disaster’, according to a Australia's first and only Aboriginal children's commissioner.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-31/removing-children-indigenous-communities-national-disaster/9374866
International affairs
Where will the global political hotspots be in 2018? Tony Walker argues that, from an Australian perspective, shifting power in the Indo-Pacific will be of primary importance in 2018 and beyond.
https://theconversation.com/where-will-the-global-political-hotspots-be-in-2018-spoiler-alert-its-not-all-about-donald-trump-89912
Jordan Peterson
Douglas Murray writes: Jordan Peterson has become a mixture of philosopher, life-coach, educator and guru. He has the kind of passionate, youthful, pedagogical draw that the organised churches can only dream of. Anybody interested in our current culture wars, not to mention the ongoing place of religion, should head to YouTube, where his classes have been viewed by millions.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/01/the-curious-star-appeal-of-jordan-peterson/
If you want to know what the culture war is about, look no farther than the spectacular eruption in Britain during the past few days over Jordan Peterson, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/the-times/young-men-have-a-new-defender-in-jordan-peterson/news-story/00ed04e7efb705ad03fed57f02b3c0f3
David Robertson writes: When asked in an interview in The National Post, 'Are you a Christian? Do you believe in God?' he responded, 'I think the proper response to that is No, but I'm afraid he might exist’. He is not a Christian but he is a sincere, intelligent, compassionate, human being who in his search for the truth sometimes gets closer than many professing Christians.
https://www.christiantoday.com/article/is-jordan-peterson-the-new-messiah/124312.htm
In his new book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, Peterson draws on everything from neuroscience to the Old Testament to his well-known controversial views. He talks with Christie Blatchford, who has been known to court controversy herself, and who once referred to Peterson as ‘a warrior for common sense and plain speech’.
http://nationalpost.com/feature/christie-blatchford-sits-down-with-warrior-for-common-sense-jordan-peterson
Alex Smith writes: Jordan Peterson is the most thought-provoking person I’ve come across in a long. To some, he is a bigoted extremist, propagating harmful lies; to others he’s a profane heretic, undermining the inerrancy of Scripture. Yet to others, he is a brave hero; a prophetic genius daring to speak the truth. One thing is clear, he’s gaining followers and enemies at an exponential rate.
https://reforminghell.com/2017/12/18/jordan-peterson-hero-or-heretic/
Michael Frost writes: In the era of Beyonce, Hillary and #MeToo where men feel emasculated and think the only way to respond to thriving women is to call them she-devils, Peterson adopts a subtler approach: he’s telling frightened, struggling men that the deck is stacked against them, that the system is weighted in favor of women and the only way to restore the balance is to wage a “non-violent war” on this Marxist conspiracy to destroy your way of life.
http://mikefrost.net/really-need-war-manophobic-hell-bent-feminist-devils/
Justice
Wissam al-Saliby, a Lebanese human rights expert, has joined the World Evangelical Alliance’s (WEA's) Geneva team as its Advocacy Officer. The following is a brief interview.
Background: Since 2012, the WEA has had a permanent presence at the UN Human Rights institutions in Geneva, Switzerland. Its main focus is to work with National Evangelical Alliances to ensure their voice is heard by their governments when social policies and human rights are reviewed.
http://worldea.org/news/4835/wea-welcomes-new-advocacy-officer-to-strengthen-human-rights-mission-in-geneva
Martin Luther King
Daniel Jose Camacho writes: Despite being suppressed and domesticated, King's radical politics are more relevant than ever. It is long past time for his political vision to experience a resurgence and an extension.
http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2018/01/15/4790224.htm
Media
Radio National's God Forbid podcast asks: can popular media be redeemed? And why is there so much religion in a media that we’re told has never been more secular? With Justine Toh and Mark Hadley.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/godforbid/2017-12-03/9215756
Money
‘It's possible for a church with deep resources for doing good to get co-opted by nationalism. I don't want that to happen now.’ Sarah Kate Neall talks with Tim Keller and Michael Gerson about their moral vision, the nationalism which threatens benevolence and foreign aid.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/january-web-only/tim-keller-michael-gerson-united-states-budget-foreign-aid.html
Politics, society & ideology
Yaroslav Trofimov writes: The longer-term challenge for Europe’s historically preponderant faith is to find a language which asserts its right to exist, even in locations where it is now an unpopular minority, but does not demand any unearned privileges.
‘Across Europe, parties on the political right and far-right are talking the language of Christian nativism. But in many cases their strongest adversaries include the clergy and bishops of the continent’s Christian churches, whose political pronouncements on matters like welfare and migration generally hew to the centre-left. And, in the pews, most European churchgoers are a lot more moderate and sensible than the far-rightists who are trying to woo them, but also stand a bit to the right of their own clergy and bishops.’
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/european-christianity-divided-along-political-lines/news-story/93994b02fb0f0339f3a26c97da4c8591
Harriet Sherwood writes: Active Christianity is deemed dangerous and offensive, according to Tim Farron, who quit as leader of the Liberal Democrats last July saying he was impossible to be both faithful to the bible and a political leader.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/28/christians-deemed-dangerous-tim-farron-speech
In November, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, called for Christians to be more accepting of the ‘reality’ of modern families. Will Jones argues that the absence of any theological, biblical or ethical evaluation of these realities is very striking and deeply concerning.
https://faith-and-politics.com/2017/11/29/why-is-the-archbishop-of-canterbury-challenging-the-church-to-conform-to-society/
Will Jones writes: The attempt to purge public life of all social conservatism and all social conservatives is no less illiberal and draconian than social conservatism is alleged to be. Farron has now been lynched by the very mob he and his party have helped to arm.
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/farron-secret-conservative-classic-goal/
Mark Christensen writes: There is no appeasing the Culture War factions because, at the end of the day, the progressive left and conservative right are marching down the same track.
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=19503
James W. Skillen writes: Politics should always be thought of in relation to public governance. But what do governments govern? One of the central problems underlying American politics and government is that the what is undefined or overlooked. For this reason, the American political system is not functioning well. Unfortunately, overcoming the malfunctions is very difficult, and charting a course for constructive Christian political engagement is almost impossible.
http://www.respectfulconversation.net/rpd-conversation/2017/11/29/overlooking-the-polity-idealizing-the-nation.html
In responding to James W. Skillen, Harry Boyte writes: Skillen rightly identifies the problem, but the solution lies in renewing the idea of citizens as co-creators. This is the way to overcome radical individualism, rebuild civic culture and revitalise democracy in a time when it has never been more crucial.
http://www.respectfulconversation.net/rpd-conversation/2017/12/9/toward-a-civic-ecclesiology-a-response-to-jim-skillen.html
Peter Harrison writes: The specific concept of ‘Western values’ is not itself part of the tradition to which it putatively refers. In fact, no one thought there was such a thing as ‘Western values’ until the middle of last century.
http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2018/01/17/4790945.htm
Timi Olotu writes: We make the terrible mistake of attaching supreme moral value to causes with which we identify, then pressuring everyone else to agree with them. Things are sometimes as simple as right and wrong — but often, they aren’t. And a failure to acknowledge this complexity, in my experience, comes from a failure to understand the difference between knowing what to think and knowing how to think.
https://extranewsfeed.com/why-i-live-by-ideas-not-isms-adc0aecdd732
Irfan Yusuf writes: The antecedents of Right-White Nationalism have, over three decades, entered mainstream Australian discourse. In Romper Stomper, it is represented by far-right group Patriot Blue, and a TV shock jock resembling those that Peter Dutton speaks to. But Romper Stomper doesn't pretend violence is the monopoly of the right.
https://eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=54575
Racism
Anson Cameron writes: Ethnic groups and dominant nationalities alike use the cry of ‘racism’ as a sort of Star Wars missile defence these days. But the continual cry of ‘racism’ hides the true causes of any number of societal problems. Cultures are a collection of practices and ideas and as such need examination and criticism.
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/racism-what-we-have-is-not-racism-20180103-h0cyk6.html
Peter Martin writes: Melbourne is supposedly in the grip of a crime wave. But while politicians and the media refer to ‘gangs’, police refer instead to low-level crime. Words like ’gangs’ are used carelessly by newspapers and ‘leaders’ to fill space and score points.
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-gang-crime-our-leaders-help-create-20180112-h0hgvf.html
Benjamin Millar writes: Some reports on the ‘African gang crisis’ have handled the situation sensitively and cut through the chest-thumping political rhetoric. Others have poured further fuel on the flames, generating undue heat for African communities Australia-wide and emboldening sickening racist attacks. From a purely pragmatic perspective, backing people into a corner at times of heightened tension and outrage simply doesn't work.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-gang-crisis-backing-people-into-a-corner-simply-wont-work-20180112-h0hf5u.html
Troy Pittaway writes: I have been working with Sudanese youth for over eight years and never encountered anything like the gangs of youths that are being talked about. To try and distill an entire culture, with various sub-cultures and values, into a media soundbite about hordes of African gangs, insults not only the Sudanese community, but every Australian.
https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=54517
Rachel Eddie writes: Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency said the Commonwealth Joint Committee on Migration's Inquiry into Migrant Settlement Outcomes accurately reported that 807 Sudanese people allegedly committed crimes in 2016. However, it miscalculated the percentage of offenders as 1.4% instead of 1%.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/vic/2018/01/22/african-youth-gang-crime-statistic/
Troy Pittaway writes: I have been working with Sudanese youth for over eight years and never encountered anything like the gangs of youths that are being talked about. To try and distill an entire culture, with various sub-cultures and values, into a media soundbite about hordes of African gangs, insults not only the Sudanese community, but every Australian.
https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=54517
Rachel Eddie writes: Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency said the Commonwealth Joint Committee on Migration's Inquiry into Migrant Settlement Outcomes accurately reported that 807 Sudanese people allegedly committed crimes in 2016. However, it miscalculated the percentage of offenders as 1.4% instead of 1%.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/vic/2018/01/22/african-youth-gang-crime-statistic/
Irfan Yusuf writes: The antecedents of Right-White Nationalism have, over three decades, entered mainstream Australian discourse. In Romper Stomper, it is represented by far-right group Patriot Blue, and a TV shock jock resembling those that Peter Dutton speaks to. But Romper Stomper doesn't pretend violence is the monopoly of the right.
https://eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=54575
Religion in Society
Stephen McAlpine writes: ‘The church is always political. Always. The state is always religious. Always.’
As political liberalism uses up the shrinking pile of borrowed capital from the Christian formative practices, becoming increasingly bad, ugly, treacherous and dishonest in the process, yet increasingly grasping at an ultimate vision because ‘this’ is all there is, the church as an alternate polis, must offer what Mackay desires; a city of refuge for spiritual refugees whose citizenship in the earthly city has not delivered the good life that it promised.
https://stephenmcalpine.com/2018/01/04/the-church-is-always-political-always/
Justin Smith writes: For people of real faith, the diminished influence of the church is a good thing. They can now be Christians without the institution using their beliefs to float empires. And for the rest of us, debates can now be held without the murky input of the church.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/justin-smith-2017-was-an-annus-horribilus-for-the-church/news-story/971ed327261e9ab2245a201cd725e919
Melissa Davey writes: The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher said people of faith might describe 2017 as ‘annus horribilis’ because of euthanasia laws in Victoria, the exposure of child sexual abuse in the Catholic church and the legalisation of same-sex marriage were failures that challenged ‘our Christian conceptions of life’.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/24/same-sex-marriage-and-euthanasia-mean-annus-horribilis-catholic-bishop
Yaroslav Trofimov writes: Across Europe, parties on the political right and far-right are talking the language of Christian nativism. But in many cases their strongest adversaries include the clergy and bishops of the continent’s Christian churches, whose political pronouncements on matters like welfare and migration generally hew to the centre-left. And, in the pews, most European churchgoers are a lot more moderate and sensible than the far-rightists who are trying to woo them, but also stand a bit to the right of their own clergy and bishops.
The longer-term challenge for Europe’s historically preponderant faith is to find a language which asserts its right to exist, even in locations where it is now an unpopular minority, but does not demand any unearned privileges.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/european-christianity-divided-along-political-lines/news-story/93994b02fb0f0339f3a26c97da4c8591
Harriet Sherwood writes: Active Christianity is deemed dangerous and offensive, according to Tim Farron, who quit as leader of the Liberal Democrats last July saying he was impossible to be both faithful to the bible and a political leader.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/28/christians-deemed-dangerous-tim-farron-speech
In the run-up to last year’s UK election, Tim Farron, leader of Britain’s Liberal Democrat party, was asked by the BBC whether gay sex was a sin. He now regrets his election statement about sexuality. John Sandeman reports.
https://www.eternitynews.com.au/world/i-should-have-said-gay-sex-is-a-sin/
Michael Frost writes: At Christmastime, two very public Australian Christians made ham-fisted statements about their faith and both were taken to task for it. But interestingly, the reactions of journalists and social commentators to those statements showed the range of understanding of the Christian faith in our so-called post-Christian society.
http://mikefrost.net/misspeaking-post-christian-culture/
Christopher Knaus and Noor Gillani write: Experts say prison conversions can be a positive force, giving inmates hope, structure and a pathway to rehabilitation. It’s when harsh conditions and segregation are introduced that radicalisation becomes a danger.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/06/theres-a-lot-of-repenting-why-australian-prisoners-are-converting-to-islam
Peter Sellick writes: Nihilism has become the order of the day. Death, the enemy of the eternal, has become the final and omnipotent power.
‘When we are ruled by death we are ruled by impermanence. The symptoms of this rule may be seen all around us in shallow cynicism and self-constructed hope. Such concepts as the bucket list, of living for the moment, of a life that is defined by style otherwise known as lifestyle, of a pervading obsession with food and drink and celebrity and, dare I say it with the never-ending rounds of sport.’
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=19495
Stephen McAlpine writes: Cathy Newman’s aggression and attempts to dismiss Jordan Peterson were nothing compared to the unregenerate Saul of Tarsus’s attempts to wipe out this fledgling Jesus movement. But the light shone down from heaven, knocked him from his horse, reached his heart and changed him. And us. So be realistic. Don’t angst when people get angry, or dismissive, or reduce your gospel presentation to a non-sequitur argument.
https://stephenmcalpine.com/2018/01/25/what-to-say-when-someone-says-so-youre-saying/
Stephanie Summers spoke with James K. A. Smith about his newest book Awaiting the King: Reforming Public Theology, covering the deformative powers of culture on us as Christians, our society’s move away from a sense of a shared life together, and how the church can be a community of political formation in which worship is central.
https://cpjustice.org/index.php/public/page/content/pjr_vol7_no1_smith_awaiting_the_king_interview
Science
Jennifer Powell Mcnutt writes: The story of enmity between Christianity and science has often been distorted and overstated, leading us to forget some of history’s most influential science advocates and fueling a false dichotomy that unnecessarily polarizes scientific debates today.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/december/clergy-behind-science-as-we-know-it.html
Sexual abuse
Kate Galloway writes: Many claim it is inappropriate for media to report these stories. The concept of justice at law depends upon systems designed to weigh evidence, affording the parties the opportunity to tell their stories. But what if these systems are inadequate to expose the abuses of power evident in the recent disclosures?
https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=54519
In an interview with Christianity Today, Denhollander shared more details about her break with her church community, how poor theology causes many churches to poorly care for sex abuse victims, how she found God's perspective on sexual abuse in Scripture, and about her convictions that forgiveness and justice are both biblical and must go hand in hand.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/january-web-only/rachael-denhollander-larry-nassar-forgiveness-gospel.html
Sexuality
Dennis Altman writes: The current Melbourne Midsumma Festival program refers to ‘LGBTQIA+’. But there is a risk of becoming so inclusive that the term loses all meaning. Adding letters to the acronym simply hides the complex interconnections of desire, behaviour and identity in everyday life.
https://theconversation.com/the-term-lgbti-confuses-desire-behaviour-and-identity-its-time-for-a-rethink-90175
Sexuality and same-sex marriage
If we want to understand the challenge of disintegrating sexual norms and the culture wars surrounding them, one of the most important things we need is history. This crisis did not just explode out of nowhere in the 1990s or even the 1960s. Greg Forster reviews R. Marie Griffith’s Moral Combat.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/january-web-only/religious-conflict-at-heart-of-our-culture-wars.html
Greg Forster writes: How theological differences over sex have fueled some of the bitterest political fights of the past century and more.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/january-web-only/religious-conflict-at-heart-of-our-culture-wars.html
Technology
Ross Garnaut writes: Will we have the policies that support the rapid introduction of the technology to achieve the rapid transformation of our economies to make economic growth consistent with stability in the climate? The technologies are there, and the policies are available and known to people who work on these things. But in many countries - worst of all, in Australia and the United States - established interests are resisting that change that could be economically as well as environmentally advantageous in the longer term.
http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2018/01/15/4790155.htm
US politics
Kumuda Simpson writes: After one year in office, President Donald Trump has not made America great again. Instead, he has presided over a country that is more deeply divided. Yet it seems that Trump’s base is unlikely to abandon him, no matter what.
https://theconversation.com/trumps-first-year-in-office-bizarre-and-sometimes-alarming-89913
Cameron Stewart writes: Many of Trump’s critics, including in the mainstream US media, cannot bring themselves to look past his character flaws and the lurid tales of White House dysfunction to see that he is, in fact, turning out to be a much more traditional and conservative Republican president than his fiery populism during the 2016 campaign trail suggested. Yet alongside Trump’s conservative victories there have also been stumbled.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/trumps-first-year-conservative-feats-despite-chaos/news-story/d85fab1a9ef422a0b888d8685aa27fc8
Volunteering
Catherine Walsh writes: Looking for a New Year's resolution? Stop volunteering. We all accept the received wisdom that volunteering helps our communities. But does volunteering really help, or does it simply prop up broken systems? Is there a better way?
www.smh.com.au/comment/volunteering-doesnt-make-the-world-a-better-place-20180104-h0dd25.html
Stephen McAlpine responds to Catherine Walsh: I guess in a world of resumes and cocktail parties and superannuation figures volunteerism is a dirty word. But in a jobless world, a world of drug cocktails and Centrelink queues, it’s a lifeline for many.
https://stephenmcalpine.com/2018/01/05/peak-stupid-has-been-reached-and-its-only-january-5/
Women
Sarah Judd-Lam writes: Again and again in 2017, women in Australia and abroad rose up to expose toxic cultures of sexism, sexual harassment and domestic and family violence that had been protected for too long in a range of institutions.
https://sarelisabeth.com/2017/12/31/2017-a-year-for-women/
Work
Kara Martin writes: Here is a challenging new year’s resolution for 2018: How can you transform your workplace to give people the fragrance of God’s kingdom?
https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/a-different-sort-of-new-years-resolution/
World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) News
Wissam al-Saliby, a Lebanese human rights expert, has joined the World Evangelical Alliance’s (WEA's) Geneva team as its Advocacy Officer. The following is a brief interview.
Background: Since 2012, the WEA has had a permanent presence at the UN Human Rights institutions in Geneva, Switzerland. Its main focus is to work with National Evangelical Alliances to ensure their voice is heard by their governments when social policies and human rights are reviewed.
http://worldea.org/news/4835/wea-welcomes-new-advocacy-officer-to-strengthen-human-rights-mission-in-geneva
Year in Review / New Year
Fiona Kate Barlow writes: Usually our resolutions are related to our physical health: going on a diet, joining a gym or drinking less. But what about our mental health?
https://theconversation.com/new-years-resolutions-for-better-mental-health-87255
Fighting pipeline construction, reaffirming commitments to the Paris accord, and suing the EPA were among many acts of defiance: Vive la résistance: 10 ways people stood up for the planet in 2017
http://grist.org/article/vive-la-resistance-10-ways-people-stood-up-for-the-planet-in-2017/
The past year may have seemed like doom and gloom for the environment, but there was plenty to be thankful for. Shreya Dasgupta presents ten happy environmental stories of 2017: rediscoveries of species, local communities being granted land rights, and new technologies to boost conservation efforts.
https://news.mongabay.com/2017/12/top-10-happy-environmental-stories-of-2017/
2017 was the year of Trump, Twitter, terrorism, Yemen, Libya, Rohingya and environmental degradation. But, writes Mark Rice-Oxley. the big, bold headlines tell only half the story – perhaps not even that much. Away from the hysteria of daily news, it is possible to discern progress, joy, breakthroughs and that rarest commodity of all: optimism.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/26/2017-annus-mirabilis-all-the-things-that-went-right
Matt Wade writes: In this season of year-end reviews it is easy to overlook one major achievement: the world managed to stave off four famines in 2017.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/how-the-world-staved-off-four-famines-in-2017-20171229-h0bcet.html
Neil Levy writes: Every year, millions of people around the world make New Year’s resolutions. And every year, the great majority of us break and abandon those resolutions. Psychology research can help.
https://theconversation.com/four-psychological-tricks-to-help-stick-to-your-new-years-resolutions-52145
Justin Smith writes: For people of real faith, the diminished influence of the church is a good thing. They can now be Christians without the institution using their beliefs to float empires. And for the rest of us, debates can now be held without the murky input of the church.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/justin-smith-2017-was-an-annus-horribilus-for-the-church/news-story/971ed327261e9ab2245a201cd725e919
Melissa Davey writes: The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher said people of faith might describe 2017 as ‘annus horribilis’ because of euthanasia laws in Victoria, the exposure of child sexual abuse in the Catholic church and the legalisation of same-sex marriage were failures that challenged ‘our Christian conceptions of life’.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/24/same-sex-marriage-and-euthanasia-mean-annus-horribilis-catholic-bishop
From little things, big things grow. Jemima Skelley suggests 26 tiny changes that will make your life a lot better in 2018
https://www.buzzfeed.com/jemimaskelley/tiny-changes
Heidi Wheeler writes: Most of us have attempted resolutions and failed. With dismal statistics and sobering self-reflection, it’s hard not to wonder: Is real, sustained change possible?
http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2018/january/5-ways-to-fulfill-your-new-years-resolutions.html
Stacey Parker writes: Research has shown that the benefits of a holiday tend to last only two to four weeks. After that, you’re left just as burned out as you were before your holiday.
https://theconversation.com/overworked-good-habits-not-holidays-are-the-answer-17744
Amanda Jackson writes: Belief in our own powers to live a good life did not achieve much in 2017... I still lose my temper and eat Amanda Jackson writes: too much. And really, is life all about me? When did self-sacrifice and patient contentment get thrown away?
https://amandaadvocates.blog/2018/01/08/new-year-new-me-really/
Andrew Hamilton writes: The beginning of the year is a time to look beyond the messiness of the past year, to imagine a larger and more generous life, and to make good resolutions. It is also a time for reflecting on the character of public life and to ask whether we find there any large vision of a better world. And, indeed, to ask whether we should look for one.
https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=54510
Young people
Bernard Salt writes: Millennials are usurping baby boomers as the anthropological tectonic plates shift.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/census-2016-welcome-to-the-decade-of-intergenerational-tension/news-story/16cca04204a80b11419910cb25787546
Jin S. Kim writes: Today, we are seeing growing impatience with the institutional church’s accommodation to temporal power. Younger generations, no longer willing to give the church the benefit of the doubt, are driving the mass exodus out of the Western church, which they see as a primary source of pain and abuse in the world. But for those who have not given up on the church as a vessel of God’s grace and transformation, the contours of a new reformation are beginning to surface.
So what is it that our young people don’t buy anymore? And what do they want?
https://www.plough.com/en/topics/community/intentional-community/time-for-a-new-reformation
Jia Tolentino writes: The idea that millennials are capriciously wrecking the landscape of American consumption grants quite a bit of power to a group that is still on the younger side. But the popular image of this generation - given its name, in 1987, by William Strauss and Neil Howe - has long been connected with the notion of disruptive self-interest.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/12/04/where-millennials-come-from