Link Highlights | October 2019

Friday, 1 November 2019 | Ethos editor

Link highlights – October 2019

Below is a selection of links to online news and opinion pieces from October 2019. 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.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Carlina Black, Margarita Frederico and Muriel Bamblett write: Many Aboriginal survivors of sexual abuse find mainstream counselling inappropriate. But there is a way to help them heal that respects a collective culture, with strong community ties.

https://theconversation.com/my-mob-is-telling-their-story-and-it-makes-me-feel-good-heres-what-aboriginal-survivors-of-child-sexual-abuse-told-us-they-need-122645

Philip Mendes writes: Andrew Bolt wrote that the murder of Aiia Maasarwe could have been prevented had Codey Herrmann been removed from his parents. The problem with Bolt’s argument is that he targets an individual case in isolation, and then proposes a set of simplistic policy solutions based on a superficial analysis of that outlier.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/andrew-bolt-and-aboriginal-disadvantage/11589720

Michelle Grattan writes: Two prominent indigenous Australians have been appointed to chair a senior advisory group to oversee an extensive process for developing options for an indigenous "voice to government".

https://theconversation.com/proposed-indigenous-voice-will-be-to-government-rather-than-to-parliament-126031

Megan Davis writes: Law reform is not for the meek. Theorising is for the meek. Change requires breaking bread across the political divide. But a few, powerful elites fail to see what the rest of Australia can see.

https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2019/october/1569370776/megan-davis/no-time-meek

Jacinta Price writes: Progressives have been celebrating the closure of the Uluru climb as a triumph for Indigenous rights. But such politicisation detracts from the deep spiritual significance of the closure for the current Traditional Owners. As Australians, we are not strangers to acts of politicisation; but ultimately all it contributes to is further divide and less understanding.

https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/articles/uluru-spotlights-prosperity-question/

Brooke Prentis travels to Uluru and calls us to walk softly, gently and slowly on these sacred lands as we listen to the Creator’s story.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/opinion/a-pilgrimage-to-uluru/

Barry Judd, Amanda Kearney, Chris Hallinan, Christine Schlesinger, Joseph M. Cheer and Keir James Reeves write: There's a need to develop new tourism activities at Uluru, especially more educational and immersive experiences that would entail interacting respectfully with traditional owners.

https://theconversation.com/after-the-climb-how-new-tourism-opportunities-can-empower-the-traditional-owners-of-uluru-125929

Addiction

Tara Schultz writes: To me, quarantining my welfare payments feels similar to the economic abuse I suffered in my violent relationships. The bottom line is this: I feel vulnerable to exploitation."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-27/australia-talks-tara-schultz-drugs-abuse-welfare-quarantine/11639602

Advocacy

Andrew Hamilton writes: If we wish to persuade the public that a group of people is being treated unjustly, we portray them as innocent victims. We represent them as a class and as virtuous in order to change public opinion. Stories of violent behaviour by members of the group, however, reveal the reality that no group is uniformly composed of the virtuous and innocent.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/advocacy-for-people-who-do-bad-things

Child sexual abuse

Tara Schultz writes: To me, quarantining my welfare payments feels similar to the economic abuse I suffered in my violent relationships. The bottom line is this: I feel vulnerable to exploitation."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-27/australia-talks-tara-schultz-drugs-abuse-welfare-quarantine/11639602

Children

Amanda Jackson writes: We can have babies and love and work and LIFE, especially if we let a moral code and ethics guide us. We just can’t have it all, all the time. Sacrifice and patience are life lessons that can, surprisingly, bring personal fulfilment.

https://amandaadvocates.blog/2019/10/16/confused-com/

Civil society and discourse

Christianity has also been marshalled in the cause of anti-slavery, anti-racism, women’s suffrage and workers’ rights. But is the democratic impulse waning among Christians? Radio National talks to Luke Bretherton.

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionandethicsreport/luke-bretherton/11572486

Crime and Punishment

Nicola Heath writes: For a nation with such a significant convict history, Australians take a peculiarly puritanical approach to prisoner welfare. Punishment, not rehabilitation, is often viewed as the point of the justice system. We take a very dim view of anything that could be construed as a prisoner perk - such as the internet.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/inmate-internet-access-more-than-a-prison-perk

Dementia

Jill Sutton writes: When we are losing our memories, we need more and more people who have learned to love us to help us, not fewer. This means that we need, more than ever, to remain in the community which has known us. How can we learn to accommodate these people whose conversational and independent living skills gradually but surely fade?

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/building-a-dementia-tolerant-society

Disability

Ian Birrell writes: When your child is born profoundly disabled, it forces you to see everything differently.

https://unherd.com/2019/10/how-my-daughter-disrupted-my-politics/

Domestic violence

Erica Hamence writes: It’s like as the church we’ve discovered we have cancer. There are treatment options available. In one sense, this is good news. But it’s only really good news if we make use of them and they actually heal us. Until then, it’s a devastating diagnosis.

https://www.commongrace.org.au/hey_we_are_back

Economics, finance and inequality

Barry Gittins writes: If our Prime Minister’s theological name dropping rings true, his life is guided by the life and teaching of Jesus Christ – the one who said: 'Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation’. Yet it remains a vote winner, this business of punishing poor people for being poor.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/woe-to-those-who-punish-the-poor

Daniel Sleiman writes: Adam Smith wrote 'no society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable'. Whatever your take on Smith, this is undoubtedly true. Poverty and inequality lead to non-participation in work and inhibit social mobility, which negatively affects economic growth. The concentration of economic power is bad for democracy.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/sympathy-for-the-poor-or-bunyip-aristocracy

Mike Bruce writes: The marginally attached is a group that is counted among neither the unemployed nor the underemployed. They are people who would like to work, and are available to work, but aren’t looking, mainly because they think there are no jobs for them.

https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/work/2019/10/17/unemployment-figures-marginally-attached-australia/

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/advocacy-for-people-who-do-bad-things

Tara Schultz writes: To me, quarantining my welfare payments feels similar to the economic abuse I suffered in my violent relationships. The bottom line is this: I feel vulnerable to exploitation."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-27/australia-talks-tara-schultz-drugs-abuse-welfare-quarantine/11639602

Education

Catholic universities should try to do more than run an assembly line of information for students who never learn to think, says a prominent Australian scholar Tracey Rowland.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/would-newman-recognize-todays-catholic-universities-77694

Environment and Nature

Mal Fletcher, writing from London, looks at the impact of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg and her position at the forefront of what he calls 'Generation Edge’.

https://www.sightmagazine.com.au/13486-essay-understanding-the-greta-effect

Elizabeth Oldfield writes: This issue of the impending climate catastrophe is one that can and must unite people across the political spectrum if we are going to pull back from the brink.

https://unherd.com/thepost/you-dont-have-to-be-lefty-to-love-extinction-rebellion/

Samuel Alexander writes: Democracy is not perfect. Sometimes it produces policies that are undemocratic and unjust. In those cases, breaking the law may be justified.

https://theconversation.com/extinction-rebellion-protesters-might-be-annoying-but-they-have-a-point-124490

Deep Saini and Michelle Grattan discuss the acts of civil disobedience by climate activist group Extinction Rebellion - including the harsh bail conditions faced by protesters, and whether the tactics they use will be helpful to their cause.

https://theconversation.com/video-michelle-grattan-on-the-extinction-rebellion-protests-and-australias-responsibility-at-the-turkish-syrian-border-125136

Katherine Richardson writes: Ruling out an individual's efforts simply because they aren't perfect seems to be a fantastic way of discouraging people from joining what is an incredibly important movement. But climate action doesn't have to be about perfectionism — it's about doing the best you can, and sometimes even small changes can make a big difference.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/small-impactful-climate-action-for-the-rest-of-us

Douglas Murray writes: There is human solidarity in such moments, at first, as there was at XR’s protests, despite the extraordinary inconvenience it caused. But though it all seemed to point to one purpose, it wasn’t the one that those involved claimed.

https://unherd.com/2019/10/extinction-rebellion-fanatics-have-empty-lives/

Evan F. Kuehn writes: To what extent do the prophetic voices within the climate crisis claim to supersede earlier theological narratives about the ultimate meaningfulness of history?

https://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/articles/climate-crisis-secular-eschatology

Shawn Whelan, a Melbourne-based Christian, took part in an Extinction Rebellion action last weekend. He told Eternity why he got involved with XR as a Christian and whether he believes XR can achieve meaningful change on climate action. Kylie Beach writes.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/why-im-part-of-extinction-rebellion/

The climate debate isn't just about science; it's also about gender and power. Ecofeminism takes this seriously, and ecofeminist philosophy is uniquely positioned to help us reimagine our place in the world and the ways in which we can care for the environment. But does it also perpetuate negative stereotypes about women's supposedly "natural" connection to the earth and to nurturing?

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/philosopherszone/feminism,-ecology,-motherhood/11590230

Mary Harrington writes: A study shows that perhaps ‘Skeptics’ might be "motivated to report behaving pro-environmentally for other reasons that they did not associate with climate change, such as reducing pollution or waste accumulation.

https://unherd.com/thepost/will-climate-sceptics-save-us-from-global-warming/

Everyday living

Michael Jensen writes: Gentleness is not the opposite of strength or passion. The truly gentle person is the person who is strong, but who treats the weak and vulnerable with care and protection.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/the-power-of-gentleness/

Evil

When unreasonable, unremitting human sin is something I expect, then I can face the headwinds of evil without despair, writes Heidi Haverkamp.

https://www.christiancentury.org/article/first-person/how-i-learned-love-doctrine-total-depravity

Ajay Skaria writes: It is often claimed that the heart of Gandhi’s message was nonviolence. That is not wrong, but it is not enough. We must instead ask: what is the nature of his nonviolence? If we think with Gandhi, we can arrive at nonviolence only after passing through two other concepts first: courage and evil.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/gandhi-moral-courage-and-the-evil-of-inequality/1158196

Feminism

Meagan Tyler writes: Many feminists are now decrying the individualisation of identity, and the erasure of analytical links between identity and social structures of power and oppression. Once ‘identity’ is divorced from all social and political meaning, as separate from structures and institutions, it gets reduced to personal choice, feelings and an individual sense of self.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/can-feminism-be-saved-from-identity-politics/11646084

Food

On God Forbid: Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins. So in Australia are we all guilty? Science says Earth's resources should be used sustainably, and religions say we should live lives of moderation. What can they learn from each other?

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/godforbid/how-your-diet-reveals-what-you-believe/11613422

James O'Brien writes: The rise of the vegan movement challenges us to reflect ethically on food, and to attend more carefully to how it arrives at our table. Writing in the 16th century, Ignatius Loyola prompted his readers to practise reverence in the moment and gratitude for the gifts received when eating. For an age of food and drink on demand, heeding his prompts could help us to balance our inner and outer lives.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/mindful-eating-in-a-foodie-culture

Foreign policy

Michelle Grattan writes: The prime minister's recent appearances at home and abroad suggest he is tracking to the right, and the lack of nuance in the positions he takes is worrying.

https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-morrison-needs-to-avoid-the-conveyor-belt-of-trumpism-124709

Forgiveness

Shane Claiborne writes: We don’t have to choose between forgiveness and justice. In fact, we dare not choose between them as if they are mutually exclusive. We can decry police violence and a broken, racially biased criminal justice system and at the same time celebrate an act of Christian love and forgiveness.

https://www.sightmagazine.com.au/13569-essay-let-s-not-ask-botham-jean-s-family-to-choose-forgiveness-over-justice

Historical injustice presents a complex problem for descendants of the original victims and perpetrators. When individuals and communities today still suffer the consequences of past wrongs — slavery, dispossession, invasion, the theft of land and resources — what exactly is owed to them, and who should pay? Radio National talks with Janna Thompson.

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/philosopherszone/reparation/11634958

Freedom

Monica Wilkie writes: Businesses have “gone too far” in telling people how to live their lives, according to Attorney-General Christian Porter. His comments were sparked by the debate about religious freedom; but the problem of paternalistic employers goes much deeper.

https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/articles/coddling-of-the-workers-mind/

Halloween

Robyn J. Whitaker writes: While some conservative Christians view Halloween as "devil worship", finding a way to honour the dead is an important tradition in our generally death-denying society.

https://theconversation.com/hell-no-halloween-is-not-satanic-its-an-important-way-to-think-about-death-118391

Chris Pappalardo writes: There are still spirits of darkness at work in this world. And they do not limit their activity to one evening in late October. But God has armed us with a stronger Spirit, and it is not a spirit of fear.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/october-web-only/halloween-demons-ghost-stories-spiritual-world-silver-linin.html

Horse racing

Andrew Hamilton writes: It may seem paradoxical that one of the most effective ways of imposing silence is by imposing noise. The Romans did it with bread and circuses. More modern totalitarian regimes have done it with military processions and massive rallies. Governments in contemporary democracies do so by controlling what is fed to the media.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/silence-has-two-faces

Jordan Peterson

Patricia Marcoccia writes: Many people don't like seeing the human side of the polarising professor. The Rise of Jordan Peterson reveals both the specific and the universal. And yes, Peterson is both, and so are we all.

https://unherd.com/2019/10/whats-so-unethical-about-my-jordan-peterson-movie/

Justice

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/philosopherszone/reparation/11634958

Kanye West

Ashon Crawley writes: What is urgent for us is to consider is what the use of this music, what the use of religion and the individual conversion narrative, wants us to misremember. What the declaration of salvation is supposed to make us forget.

https://www.npr.org/2019/10/23/771864891/forgotten-the-things-we-lost-in-kanyes-gospel-year

Global celebrity rap artist Kanye West is confessing Jesus as Lord, and has just released an album entitled 'Jesus is King'. How might Christians think about this, and about celebrity Christians in general? We might tend toward excitement or cynicism, but here are my thoughts, writes Akos Balogh.

https://akosbalogh.com/2019/10/29/the-dangers-and-opportunities-of-a-christian-kanye/

Patrick Schreiner writes: Long before Kanye, even the most unexpected believers—like Paul himself—point us toward acceptance over suspicion.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/october-web-only/new-testament-celebrity-conversions-kanye-paul-simon.html

Nathan Campbell writes: Kanye's conversion is a miracle because any time any body — rich and famous, or poor and downtrodden — puts their faith in Jesus Christ we are witnessing early onset resurrection.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/opinion/jesus-is-lord-and-the-danger-of-fame-adjacent-christianity/

Law, human rights and free speech

Neil James Foster writes: Two cases have been highlight overseas recently where a Christian employee has been fired for declining to use the "preferred pronoun" of a person who identifies as a different gender to their biological sex.

https://lawandreligionaustralia.blog/2019/10/06/fired-for-using-the-wrong-pronouns/

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/advocacy-for-people-who-do-bad-things

Literature

Michael Jensen writes: The theological frameworks transmitted in literary genres say things about what the ideal human life is, and about how human beings can flourish or wither. It’s no wonder literature provides such rich occasions for serious reflection on meaning, morality and justice.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/roald-dahl-and-the-theology-of-literary-genres/11594900

Mental health

Bree Alexander writes: There is still a long way to go before Australian society is free of mental health stigmas and adequate services are funded and accessible. But there has been progress, as a number of recent initiatives illustrate.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/small-steps-toward-better-mental-health

Music

https://www.npr.org/2019/10/23/771864891/forgotten-the-things-we-lost-in-kanyes-gospel-year

Parenting

https://amandaadvocates.blog/2019/10/16/confused-com/

Politics, society and ideology

Ian Birrell writes: When your child is born profoundly disabled, it forces you to see everything differently.

https://unherd.com/2019/10/how-my-daughter-disrupted-my-politics/

Simon Cowan writes: Of all the ways we have tried to organise society in the thousands of years of human existence, nothing has come close to the creating the happiness and abundance of our capitalist meritocracy.

https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/articles/meritocracy-is-not-the-enemy/

Luke Bretherton writes: When understood as a way of fostering a shared realm of meaning and action through the quality of our relationships with others, then democratic politics can be conceived of as a work of love.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/luke-bretherton-democratic-politics-as-a-work-of-love/11605020

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionandethicsreport/luke-bretherton/11572486

Giles Fraser writes: Eugene McCarraher's latest book argues that 'Capitalism doesn’t rid the world of magic. Instead it replaces good magic with bad magic'.

https://unherd.com/thepost/how-capitalism-replaced-religion/

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/silence-has-two-faces

Rob Harris writes: Labor must reach beyond social media hysteria and develop a new narrative on the economy, next-generation frontbencher Clare O'Neil says, claiming the traditional Right and Left battle is no longer a defining political division.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/our-voters-hear-sanctimony-labor-mp-on-progressives-and-political-correctness-20191030-p535wa.html

Jesuit and lawyer Fr Frank Brennan has warned that Western democracy is in a “precarious condition” and proposes three key changes to help strengthen trust in Australia’s system of government.

https://cathnews.com/cathnews/36503-reform-needed-to-save-democracy-fr-brennan

Ed Mazza writes: Former President Barack Obama says “compromise” shouldn’t be frowned upon and described Twitter outrage as “not activism”.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/barack-obama-twitter-activism_n_5db9292ee4b0bb1ea3716bb7

Pornography

Catholic theologian Matthew Tan offers a theological take on the phenomenon of porn - and how the insatiable desire for 'more' isn't simply a feature of porn, but permeates modern life.

https://www.publicchristianity.org/theology-in-pornland/

Privacy

Peter Dutton has confirmed that a plan to create new powers to spy on Australians – which sparked police raids at the centre of the press freedom row – is still on the table.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jun/16/peter-dutton-confirms-plan-to-create-new-spying-powers-still-being-considered

For those who can get past the paywall, see also https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/law-crime/2019/10/26/duttons-plan-surveillance-state/15720084008972.

Religion in Politics

Kate Shellnutt writes: Recognized for stewarding a breakthrough peace agreement with Eritrea with a “revivalist” spirit, Abiy Ahmed also helped end a historic church schism among the Orthodox.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2019/october/nobel-peace-prize-abiy-ahmed-ethiopia-evangelical.html

Religion in Politics - Scott Morrison

Philip C. Almond writes: Prime Minister Scott Morrison has asked Australians to pray for rain, but can God answer prayers? And if He can, should He?

https://theconversation.com/thoughts-and-prayers-miracles-christianity-and-praying-for-rain-125066

Religion in Society

Federal MP Andrew Sleigh says that 'If you’ve just taken communion next to somebody who’s unemployed, it’s far less likely you will go out into the world and stigmatise or demonise somebody who is jobless.' Kayel Payne writes.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/podcasts/the-church-is-good-for-social-connection-says-federal-politician-and-atheist/

Akos Balogh writes: Federal Labor MP Andrew Leigh believes Australia could do with more churches. He believes churches are good for society. And yet Leigh is an Atheist.

https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/article/atheist-wants-churches-australia/

Peter Ellerton writes: Pope Francis continues to champion the importance of science in our world. Having the head of the Catholic Church support various scientific movements is a win for us all.

https://theconversation.com/pope-francis-and-the-catholic-church-continue-to-look-towards-science-and-that-can-only-be-a-good-thing-123640

Mark Jennings writes: While some of the media’s commentary on Pentecostalism has been insightful, some “expert analysis” has been busy tearing down strawmen that don’t reflect the history and lived reality of Australian Pentecostalism.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/academic-misrepresentation-of-australian-pentecostalism/11605668

Gareth Wearne writes: From its stances on slavery to sexual ethics and gender equality, the Bible contains much that could be considered problematic. Yet as recent debates about freedom of religion or same-sex marriage show, the Bible is not going away any time soon.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-21/understanding-the-diversity-within-the-bible/11593834

Will Jones writes: The godless, materialistic order that has emerged from the wreckage of Christian civilisation stands incoherent and discredited. A return to God and his created order is urgently required.

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/only-god-can-save-western-civilisation/133497.htm

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionandethicsreport/luke-bretherton/11572486

https://www.npr.org/2019/10/23/771864891/forgotten-the-things-we-lost-in-kanyes-gospel-year

Giles Fraser writes: Eugene McCarraher's latest book argues that 'Capitalism doesn’t rid the world of magic. Instead it replaces good magic with bad magic'.

https://unherd.com/thepost/how-capitalism-replaced-religion/

Tony Coady writes: Religion cannot be considered in isolation from political, social, sexual, racial and ideological outlooks. This has implications for how we understand terrorism in the name of religion.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/terrorism,-war-and-the-problem-of-religious-violence/11656464

Religious Freedom

David Phillips writes: The federal government’s proposed Religious Discrimination Bill fails to recognise religious belief and expression as intrinsic to being human and inalienable. Instead, it proposes to fetter religious belief and activity by legislating conditions that would be enforced by federal courts.

https://www.spectator.com.au/2019/10/scomos-religious-freedom-plans-may-be-worse-than-doing-nothing/

Akos Balogh writes: Educated secular commentators have much to say about religious discrimination. Many of them are nervous about the Federal government's proposed Religious Discrimination Bill, saying it gives religious organisations a 'licence to discriminate', particularly against LGBTI employees. But many such commentators have a warped view of religious discrimination.

http://akosbalogh.com/2019/10/06/the-big-mistake-secular-people-make-about-religious-discrimination/

https://lawandreligionaustralia.blog/2019/10/06/fired-for-using-the-wrong-pronouns/

Michael Koziol writes: The Catholic Church says the Morrison Government’s draft religious discrimination laws are “problematic” and require major changes to avoid unwanted “lawfare”.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/catholic-church-calls-for-overhaul-of-problematic-religious-freedom-bill-20191004-p52xpn.html

Peter Sherlock writes: The debate around the religious Religious Discrimination Bill has largely overlooked two aspects of religious liberty: harassment and power. The debate seems more concerned with the rights of “noisy Australians” to speak whenever and wherever they wish, free from responsibility for the consequences.

https://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/religious%C2%A0discrimination-australian-debate

AiGroup, which represents more than 60,000 small, medium and large businesses, said in its submission it could not support the bills in their current form.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/bosses-sound-alarm-over-religious-rights-bill/news-story/798278c79d9c91a4348dd5e2381b49aa

Sydney Morning Editorial: Submissions on a draft religious freedom bill reveal how complicated the issue is and how it could easily turn into a lawyer’s picnic that goes way beyond what the wider community wants.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/religious-freedom-should-not-be-an-excuse-for-social-engineering-20191008-p52ysf.html

Calvin Freiburger writes: A British court ruled against a doctor working for the government who was fired for refusing to use transgender pronouns, declaring in the process that a Christian understanding of sex is inherently unjust.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/british-court-declares-biblical-understanding-of-sex-incompatible-with-human-dignity

John Sandeman writes: Staffing for Christian schools is the top issue for a flood of submissions hitting the Attorney-General’s inbox, in response to the religious discrimination draft bill released last month.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/heres-how-to-fix-your-religious-discrimination-bill/

Erin Wilson writes: Many scholars agree it is impossible to have a clear, universal definition of religion. Given this ambiguity, passing new laws using a specific concept of religion can have serious repercussions.

https://theconversation.com/the-biggest-hurdle-for-the-coalitions-religious-discrimination-bill-how-to-define-religion-125214

Simon Rice writes: Rather than asking, "How can we best address religious discrimination in Australia?", Christian Porter is saying, "This is what we’re doing about religious discrimination; any objections?".

https://theconversation.com/the-coalitions-approach-to-religious-discrimination-risks-being-an-inconclusive-wasteful-exercise-125486

The hot-buttons in the religious freedom debate are the right of faith-based schools and agencies to insist on staff who follow their ethos – but also the right of LGBT staff not to lose their jobs. Andrew West sat down with Philip Ruddock and tried to press some of those buttons.

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionandethicsreport/religious-freedom/11631332

Freedom for Faith‘s executive director Michael Kellahan is in the hot seat, as Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen throw some contentious questions at him about the Religious Discrimination Bill.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/podcasts/is-religious-freedom-a-good-thing/

Science

Peter Ellerton writes: Pope Francis continues to champion the importance of science in our world. Having the head of the Catholic Church support various scientific movements is a win for us all.

https://theconversation.com/pope-francis-and-the-catholic-church-continue-to-look-towards-science-and-that-can-only-be-a-good-thing-123640

Sexuality

The Archbishop said: “My own view is that if people wish to change the doctrine of our Church, they should start a new church or join a church more aligned to their views – but do not ruin the Anglican Church by abandoning the plain teaching of Scripture. Please leave us."

https://sydneyanglicans.net/news/guarding-the-faith-in-a-changing-world

Joel Hollier writes: For years I believed and taught the same thing as the Anglican archbishop of Sydney, buying into the false narrative of ‘gay v God’.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/17/im-gay-married-and-not-leaving-my-church

Glenn Davies writes: When I said "Please, leave us", my words were directed at bishops of the church, and those who wish to change our doctrine, and I stand by those words. The words were not directed at members of our congregations, especially those who identify as gay, whether single or married.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/my-words-were-for-the-bishops-and-i-stand-by-them-20191018-p5323u.html

Michael Paget and Erica Hamence write: It is one thing to be a church member. Each of us has things that we are learning and unlearning. Each of us needs grace for that. But a leader in the church – and especially a bishop – is to be a guardian of the faith.

https://michaelpaget.org/2019/10/18/please-leave-or-please-stay/

Scott Higgins writes: This is then not a time for drawing lines in the sand but for the church to listen to the stories, experiences and insights of LGBITQ+ Christians and to seriously engage with the challenges to traditional readings.

https://scottjhiggins.com/this-is-a-time-for-listening-not-leaving/

Murray Campbell writes: Predictable parts of the media and progressive Christians are today fuming at Sydney’s Anglican Archbishop because he believes Anglicans should be Anglican. The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney is acting with pastoral awareness of the churches and is using commonsense.

https://murraycampbell.net/2019/10/16/anger-at-archbishop-glenn-davies-for-saying-anglicans-should-believe-what-anglicans-believe/

Dorothy Lee writes: Recent remarks by the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Glenn Davies, reflect the Dioceses’ ongoing inability to discern what is central and what is peripheral, its refusal to hear voices from the margins and its dogmatic authoritarianism. There is nothing new here. What is tragic is to see other Dioceses, such as Melbourne, following suit.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/the-sydney-diocese-and-the-division-of-the-anglican-communion/11624734

Ilana Pardes writes: Nowhere else in the Bible are the sensual pleasures of love relished with such joy; nowhere else is sexual desire spelled out with so much verve. And yet sexuality is never blatant in the Song.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/poetry-sensuality-and-artistry-in-the-song-of-songs/11594800

Slavery

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/philosopherszone/reparation/11634958

Spirituality

Philip C. Almond writes: Prime Minister Scott Morrison has asked Australians to pray for rain, but can God answer prayers? And if He can, should He?

https://theconversation.com/thoughts-and-prayers-miracles-christianity-and-praying-for-rain-125066

Terrorism

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/terrorism,-war-and-the-problem-of-religious-violence/11656464

Transgender

https://lawandreligionaustralia.blog/2019/10/06/fired-for-using-the-wrong-pronouns/

Truth and lying

Are white lies always harmless? And do lies have to be big to matter? Simon Longstaff and Dallas G. Denery try to get to the truth behind lying.

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/the-people-vs/the-people-vs-lying/11616582

US politics

Daniel Owings writes: With each new soundbite about impeachment we all too easily allow ourselves to forget the systemic and very deliberate inequalities and oppressions at the foundations of those institutions that we wish to return to normalcy.

https://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/articles/blinding-idol

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionandethicsreport/luke-bretherton/11572486

War, peace and nonviolence

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/gandhi-moral-courage-and-the-evil-of-inequality/1158196

Welfare

Legislation underpinning the Morrison Government’s drug testing of Australians on welfare has passed the first parliamentary hurdle, writes The Australian.

https://cathnews.com/cathnews/36368-welfare-drug-test-bill-on-way-to-senate

Tara Schultz writes: To me, quarantining my welfare payments feels similar to the economic abuse I suffered in my violent relationships. The bottom line is this: I feel vulnerable to exploitation."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-27/australia-talks-tara-schultz-drugs-abuse-welfare-quarantine/11639602

When is welfare empowering and when is it just a poverty trap? And what are our fundamental obligations to our fellow citizens? Radio National talks with Simon Cowan and Roland Manderson.

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/the-people-vs/the-people-vs-welfare/11639096

Western civilisation

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/only-god-can-save-western-civilisation/133497.htm

Women

https://amandaadvocates.blog/2019/10/16/confused-com/

Work

Isaiah knew from personal experience that a genuine vision of God changes our lives, including how we live as Christians in the workplace. But how does this work?

https://www.theologyofwork.org/old-testament/isaiah#worship-and-work-isaiah-1ff

https://amandaadvocates.blog/2019/10/16/confused-com/

https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/work/2019/10/17/unemployment-figures-marginally-attached-australia/

https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/articles/coddling-of-the-workers-mind/

Nicholas Smith writes: There's much to be said for the campaign to reduce weekly working hours. But the ethics are more complex than often assumed.

https://theconversation.com/the-ethics-of-the-4-day-work-week-its-not-just-about-the-hours-124418

Adam Joyce writes: The faith and work movement not only discounts the lack of agency and inherent hardship baked into capitalism, it cannot account for working class solidarity that helps build a better world.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/theology-for-the-one-percent-the-evangelical-faith-and-work-mov/11625040

Jeff Haanen writes: Blue-collar labor often goes unappreciated and under-rewarded. How can that change?

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/july-web-only/oren-cass-once-future-worker.html