Christian schools across the country have begun to opt for ‘wellbeing’ as a replacement for what has traditionally been called ‘pastoral care’. the year 2012 saw the establishment in Australia of the Positive Education Schools Association (PESA) whose member schools, several of which belong to Christian traditions, aims to “lead and promote the science of wellbeing and positive psychology, enabling all students, schools and communities to flourish.” Alex Abecina evaluates the movement.

When I was growing up there were two pieces of wisdom frequently imparted to me: “the ends don’t justify the means” and “think about how you would feel if that were done to you”. These two pieces of ethical guidance were designed to help me act with clarity and correctness in difficult situations. Do we still believe in them? There's evidence otherwise...

The city is the heartland of humanity’s rebellion. And yet, astoundingly, in the strongest of language, God declares that he will come into the city, that he will join his work to humanity’s work and make it complete – he will make it holy. The ultimate Biblical vision for the city is for its redemption from a place of dislocation and destruction to a place of shalom, a place in right relationship with God, will all people and with creation. We are enjoined by the Biblical witness to stop being a part of the problem and to start being a part of the solution. And that requires living differently from the norm.

Gough Whitlam was a very unusual Australian leader: he had imagination, initiative, asked first order questions, thought outside of the box, and did things that were unprecedented. In short, he was an anomaly to the abiding Australian commitment to political caution, a stance which only trusts ‘safe hands’ with institutional power. Unsurprisingly, the political anomaly that was Gough did not last long.

Does Romans 13 prohibit the possibility of Christian nonviolent civil disobedience? Matt Anslow takes a closer look at a familiar proof-text.

How would you respond if you were to hear that this generation of Western Christians is the generation called to take the collective medicine of the sins of the past sixty years? The chastened generation called to tone down its voice, and tip-toe around sotte voce before handing on the baton to the next generation? Could you do that? Wander around in the desert outside the Promised Land, rather than rushing up against Jericho having been told “No!”?

‘The city is everywhere.’ However, there has perhaps never been a time in human history when we have more needed to think clearly about the city: about what it is; about how we live in it; and about what it could be.

With so many women studying theology, we might assume a similar percentage of women are employed in teaching positions in theological schools. This, however, is not the case.

One of the issues that has been relatively neglected in all the commentary about baby Gammy and commercial surrogacy is the implied assumption that while to abandon a Down Syndrome child after birth is disgraceful, it would have been completely morally acceptable for the child to have been aborted, even expected if the diagnosis had been made before birth. Frances Joynt, who has Down Syndrome, and her mother Helen have something to say about this aspect of the case.

Dr Barbara Hayes explains the aim of palliative care: to support the person with incurable illness to live their remaining life as well, and as meaningfully, as possible and then to support them as they eventually die from their illness.