Religion
Religious epithets like the “mad monk” and “captain Catholic” are routinely applied - usually as negatives - to Tony Abbott in coverage of the alternative Prime Minister. So we wanted to find out if they resonated with voters.
A Punch poll of 100 voters across Sydney found that Labor and Green voters despise the way Abbott injects religion into his political campaign and policy. On the other hand, Liberal voters respect Abbott as a ‘conviction politician’ who is firm on his beliefs.
But critically for the electoral arithmetic the poll also found undecided voters don’t care about religion and politics. You can see some of the responses in the video below, but here’s what else we found.
Continue reading "What voters really think of Tony Abbott’s religion" »
If there is a God, he’d be rubbing his hands with glee at the rise of radical atheism.
The pompous pronoucements of Professor Richard Dawkins reinforce the image of atheists as intellectual snobs who look down on those who believe.
Now – I, too, view the Bible as a fantastical fairy tale. But to denigrate those who gain succour from their faith is, at best, patronising and, at worst, counter productive.
Continue reading "Atheists can do better than saying believers are stupid" »
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Timmo says:
It’s all about what it means to you. It may not mean anything to others. Everyone has some belief in these things even athiests. Gathering together may seem to solidify belief but belief is not necessarily true. It may be more to do with the belief that gathering in large… Read more »
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Dianne says:
Jason Ball wrote an excellent blog entry about the journalism around Dawkins’ presentation at the Atheist Convention. http://www.youngausskeptics.com/2010/03/nazis-earthworms-and-dodgy-journalism/ Read more »
Update 12.35pm: Stephen Fielding has just told The Punch that he was mistaken when he claimed on Q&A that Kevin Rudd did not believe in evolution. A number of commenters have attacked the PM below off the back of Fielding’s claims but the Senator says: “I made a mistake. I thought I had read it somewhere but obviously I didn’t, I apologise to the Prime Minister for the mistake.”
We now know courtesy of Monday’s excellent episode of Q&A that when Stephen Fielding and Kevin Rudd first met the PM pulled a Bible out of his top pocket and gave an impromptu sermon. It’s not clear which passage Rudd read although we can presume it wasn’t Ezekiel 25:17 - “I will strike you down with great vengeance and furious anger and you will know then that I am the Lord” - tempting as it may have been for the PM to pass the ETS by popping a cap in the Christian Senator’s ass.
I am not a violent person either but there was something about the creeping Jesus quality of Monday night’s show that had me wanting to kick a hole in the plasma, wondering angrily whether anyone can remember the French Revolution and the quaint conviction that the Church is over there, the State is over here, and never the twain shall meet.
Continue reading "For God’s sake, can our MPs just stick to their day jobs" »
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the apologist says:
@iansand: Well, I did accurately predict you’d think me ignorant. Regrettably. I didn’t claim that the Bible was a scientific source (I’d argue it’s consistent with science truly understood, but that is another matter). But you have rejected something without understanding it – the epitome of ignorance as you say.… Read more »
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iansand says:
The Bible is not a legitimate scientific source. Unless your level of scientific knowledge is that of a bronze age nomad. Perhaps that is your problem. As for development of various structures I commend to you a book called Climbing Mount Improbable by Richard “The Antichrist” Dawkins. Fascinating stuff. Read more »
Angie Jackson, otherwise known as Angie the Anti-Theist, looks defiant in her latest Youtube video.
In case you don’t know Angie, she rocketed to fame a few weeks ago when she had an abortion live online. She twittered it. This week she went online again, to defend her decision – both to abort and to broadcast – in the wake of the backlash.
In the original video, she says: “I’m having an abortion… right now. It’s not that bad, it’s not that scary… I’m at peace with my decision.” “It’s just not that bad.”
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Eleanor says:
My apologies Helen, I’ve since come into work and it shows that you were in fact, quoting Disgusted. For some reason, the quoted text did not show up as italics. Instead, please re-direct my tirade to Disgusted. Read more »
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Eleanor says:
I don’t personally know anyone, Helen. I think you’ll find a lot of people wouldn’t know any women who have had a late term abortion, since they are actually quite rare. However, if you’d have cared to use Google, you’ll discover that the overwhelming majority of women who undergo late… Read more »
It’s the time of year to make the claim that Jesus is gay. It seems to happen semi-annually. A few years back, a Queensland academic made the claim that Jesus had sex with his male disciples and a special relationship with ‘the beloved’ disciple, John.
This year it was the turn of another John, Elton John, to raise the topic of Jesus’ sexuality, adding the new element that Jesus was a “super-intelligent” gay man.
The famous singer’s admiration of Jesus extends beyond his claim that Jesus was gay and smart: Elton admires Jesus’ compassion, naming the forgiveness of sins that Christ achieved on the cross as a key element of the Christian message, and something worthy of emulation.
Continue reading "Gays and Jesus: The Gospel According to Elton John" »
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Daddio D says:
I haven’t checked in on this debate in a while, pardon me. Heather might like to look at the links I’ve posted for the answers she asks for. I didn’t produce them btw. Read more »
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omegaman says:
News flash to gays: Not everyone centres their existence around whatever it takes to achieve orgasm. Jesus’ message is clear, we are not animals and can transcend our carnal bodies if we use our brains. How do you extrapolate that this means he got off on gay sex? Gay people… Read more »
It took a couple of calls to get through to Sister Mary Ellen O’Donoghue, but when I listened to her phone message I knew it was going to be worth it.
“Sorry to be so late getting back to you Lucy,” she said, “But I can’t be in two places at once.”
A sister of St Josephs, the order of nuns established by Mary MacKillop in 1866 Sister Mary Ellen is also the CEO of not-for-profit organisation Good Grief and a terrific conversationalist.
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6clegs says:
“Gavin” - the thousands of abused innocent children didn’t deserve the catholic churches “scorn”, either. The Sister is at least an adult, one that has chosen to be there. You carry on sticking ya head in the sand if that’s what works for you. It won’t change the documented (modern)… Read more »
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Peolpe want more proof. says:
SK Yes indeed, I do believe in the power of unexplained miracle that could only be considered to be the work of a divine agency. Only just recently the media have covers a story about ‘the weeping walls’. I believe that if such god liked events happen they should be… Read more »
For as long as I can remember I have been asked how tall I am at least once every day. I can understand why. I am six foot seven inches tall, towering over most people.
My exact height is not the only thing I am regularly asked by complete strangers, they often ask whether my parents fed me Weetbix as a child (they did) and how the weather is ‘up there’ (it is invariably the same).
But something strange has been happening lately. For the first time in my life, questions relating to my height, its causes and its metrological consequences have been diminishing. A new line of enquiry dominates the minds of the people I meet.
Continue reading "How I found out I’m no relation to Mary MacKillop" »
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francesca says:
Great piece. You are I have a lot in common Scott, I’m not related to Mary either. The only miracle I can see in this age of proven science and technology and against all the evidence, is that there are people who still believe in miracles and saints who facilitate… Read more »
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Joe says:
I recently saw a great documentary on Mary Mackilop done by Canadians after they discovered her when they were out here for World Youth Day in 08. I even went to a Joyes school and had images of Mary Mackillop staring down on us in every classroom, but it wasnt… Read more »
No matter what you think of Islamic veiling one thing is for sure – criminalising the women who wear the burqa or niqab is only going to render them more invisible.
France looks set to pass legislation that bans Islamic face covering. The discussion over how this law could be enforced has centred around punishing the veiled woman. She will be taken home, or fined.
This belies the true intentions of those calling for a ban – banning the burqa is less about liberating oppressed muslim women and more about making white people feel more comfortable.
Continue reading "Burqa ban is about our fears not their oppression" »
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Ken says:
Dan In Australia we use terms like “mate” to refer to other people in general conversation. When you come to Australia you will learn things like that, and many other great things about our culture. If you look for the worst, as with anywhere, I am sure you will find… Read more »
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Timmo says:
Agblaster, I do agree with you that we have to keep it clean but the words used are in common use and it was Imran who accused me and I just put his or her words back to him or him or whatever. Chuzoo was also called infidel by imran… Read more »
If Green Day sang that the Jesus of American suburbia is a lie, Chris O’Doherty (aka Reg Mombassa) offers a surreal Aussie equivalent: the Jesus of our suburbia is a regular guy, eating a pie, wearing a tie, with a third eye.
Mombassa was a member of iconic Australian rock band Mental As Anything before becoming one of Australia’s most recognisable visual artists and helping to establish the fame and fortune of the Mambo surfwear brand.
The release of Murray Waldren’s beautifully-produced biography of Mombassa, The Mind and Times of Reg Mombassa, highlights just how prominent Christian, or ‘neo-Christian’, themes are in his artwork.
Lauded as a pop culture artist, Mombassa self-identifies in a more religious fashion: “It’s like being a priest. To some extent, it’s a calling”, he tells Waldren. His “Self portrait with beard and plastic ring”, painted last year, is an obvious Christ-figure, with the ring as a halo.
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Liz says:
Yawn, tell us something about a real artist. Read more »
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Jethro says:
Jeebus loves you. Yes he do. Read more »
I’ve had the last quarter of Marilynne Robinson’s 2004 novel, Gilead, waiting patiently for me on the bedside table for a year or so, hoping to be granted the honour of completion (I often struggle with the reading endgame).
Now, transported away from the bedside table on holidays, I’ve at last reached the end of this exquisitely poised depiction of a dying preacher recording a memoir for his young son.
The book is replete with theological and anthropological gems, the fruit of the author’s deep knowledge of the Bible, of ministry life, and of the significance of the shape of our close relationships on our sense of life’s meaning.
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colleen says:
Gilead sounds like a good read -thank you for drawing it to my attention. Read more »
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Jasper says:
As the early Christian church gained ground they did not throw out the baby with the bath water of paganism and classical culture was kept alive by theologans in both Christianity and Islam. They recognised that even if they did not believe the religious underpinings, the tales told by the… Read more »
A second miracle has been confirmed for Mary MacKillop, and she is now on her way to becoming Australia’s first saint in 2010.
But who was she?
Mary MacKillop’s was a life of struggle and passion that was underpinned by integrity.
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abucs says:
Thanks for the article on MM. Good to see an Australian politician brave the tired rhetoric and discuss the contribution of a famous Australian of a religious persuasion. The declared miracles make interesting reading and it will be interesting to study the matter further. Read more »
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Chris Smyth says:
What’s worst? (1) The ridiculouslessness of the notion that a dead nun (who may or may not have done good deeds in her lifetime, or who may or may not have been a morally exemplary person - but that’s all quite irrelevant) is responsible for the remission of someone’s cancer?… Read more »
As an open minded ‘ Evangelical Christian’, I have a lot of sympathy with the complaint by Ross Fitzgerald in The Australian that religion is making too much inroad into Australian politics and society.
Let me try and explain my understanding of the phrase ‘ Evangelical Christian’.
I believe in Jesus Christ, not only as the Son of God , but, note, The Word of God ( not the Bible – we judge the Bible by Jesus, not Jesus by the Bible). However, The Bible does contain the Word of God, as does life’s experiences.
Continue reading "The Right shouldn’t take the Christian vote for granted" »
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Luke says:
Right = Christian more in USA i think… In Australia i think we have a better separation of church and state… The religion of our leaders means nothing… but there actions must keep churches out… and everyones best interests in… Kevin Rudd once called himself a “christian socialist” Tony Abbot… Read more »
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Mickey says:
Steve, it is quite simple. There is no proof. Lots of stories, but no tangible proof. There is proof however of the counterpoint. Evolution for example. I think it pretty clear that the earth is more than a few thousand years old. Religion requires blind faith, and a good number… Read more »
I was raised a tyke in the 60s. The key role models who gave my life direction when I was young were strong men committed to the service of others: Brothers Dacian, Dionysius, Nicholas, Xavier, John (the Baptist), Ronald and Ernest at Marcellin College Randwick.
Cardinal Pell hopes the soon to be sainted Mary Mackillop can be a much needed role model for ordinary Australians today.
I value the lessons I was taught by the religious brothers, and admire the strength and legacy of Mackillop. But I think the average Australian needs different role models: men and women who have stayed faithful to their partner and who have raised their kids to be good citizens whilst coping with the all the challenges of working life.
Continue reading "Would it be too much to ask to have a saint with a family" »
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Lisa says:
For most people, a functional family is as close as is possible to get to God: God in action, in a way. But truly religious people see family as a kind of tribalism, ultimately, that must also give way for a broader serving of the people. I agree, though, that… Read more »
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cats says:
I agree that role models need to be people we can relate to. They need to be all-rounder generous people who do not screw around other people, and who care about the environment and the animals we share the world with. I think that society needs to shun selfish, arrogant… Read more »
The 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche put before people a choice: Dionysos or the Crucified?
He saw with clarity that there were two starkly opposed views of life being lived out around him. One followed Dionysos, or Dionysius, the Greco-Roman God of wine, who championed hedonism. The other was the Christian way, the way of the crucified saviour who gave his life for others. God taking on flesh to save the world — that’s crazy, said Nietzsche. Many today seem to agree with him.
A new book called The Atheist’s Guide to Christmas (Ariane Sherine (Ed), The Friday Project, 2009) agrees with Nietzsche, but wants to tell even him to chill out a bit when it comes to Christmas.
Continue reading "Nietzsche and Simon Le Bon: Do they know it’s Christmas?" »
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Libby says:
Hey I_Exist, Many of us form our views on God as children: Christians, Atheists and others. An informed view can not be developed on such a thin layer of information. I wonder why you are so moved to read and then comment something that is a ‘waste of human effort?’.… Read more »
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Bwian says:
No Ben, I don’t assume that nature is all there is. If you can provide me with sound evidence for the existence of something supernatural, I’ll believe it. I accept that there are phenomena not explained by science and perhaps inexplicable to science – that which existed prior to the… Read more »
There are few modern politicians enthusiastic about using the powers of parliament to interfere in religious belief.
And there is a good reason for this. Politicians have no role to play in people’s personal belief systems and most agree with this.
If members of a church are seen to have offended against the laws of society, then society has ways of providing redress through the institutions of the law.
Continue reading "Counterpunch: Church of Scientology on Xenophon" »
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Mark says:
Also I know of this other crazy religion where the “priests” molest children and another where members fly planes into buildings. Any religious people criticizing Scientology are hypocrites. As ridiculous as you may see Scientologists, Atheists view you. And as far as Im concerned scientologiests have a long way to… Read more »
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Dean Fox says:
How does the organisation milk money out of its followers? The organisations’ current cash reserves are around $1150 million US. It is a very cash rich organisation with even more money stored up in buildings and other less liquid assets. All of this money comes from “donations”; where else does… Read more »
Everyone has the human right to freedom of religion and belief. But often religion and belief can be used as grounds for discrimination and as weapons of division and hate. As a nation, we need to make sure that this does not happen.
Over the next three weeks there are two very different religious conferences being held in Australia. One is the Parliament of the World’s Religions conference in Melbourne, with the theme, ‘Making a world of difference: Hearing each other, Healing the Earth’. The other, this weekend, is the National Conference for all Concerned Christians in Sydney, themed ‘Australia’s Future and Global Jihad’.
Australia is a nation of many religions and beliefs. Some people say we are a Christian nation. More often than not, we are described as a secular nation. But which is true? And why, if at all, does it matter?
Continue reading "Are we really the secular nation we think we are" »
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Sam says:
@Dan, Islam opposes self-examination. It says “if the Quran says it, then that’s what the prophet meant, and if it doesn’t say it then it’s not part of Islam”. Nowhere does Islam encourage interpritation in the context of the day. However, with regards to Judaism, interpritation and contextual understanding is… Read more »
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Adam says:
Amber, as an atheist and a secuarlist I completely agree with you that Islam is not a religion like Christianity, Hinduism etc. Islam and its followers are the biggest threat to our secularism in the long-term, not Christianity. I think honest and rational opposition to Islam is something that the… Read more »
The Federal Government should immediately remove the Church of Scientology’s tax-exempt status. Why on Earth (or anywhere else in the Galactic Confederacy) should taxpayers be supporting the dream of a wacky science fiction author? Why, when governments are struggling to adequately fund emergency departments, should it be neglecting to collect a share of money from this pseudo-scientific behemoth?
This outrageous loophole for religions must be closed. For all religions. The Government should bite the bullet and take tax-free status away from the Catholics, the Christians, the Muslims, the Buddhists. It must start taxing religions.
South Australian senator Nick Xenophon and a bunch of brave ex-Scientologists have made some allegations of appalling behaviour by the Church of Scientology under the protective blanket of Parliamentary privilege.
Continue reading "Scientology scandal shows we should tax all religions" »
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Mary Laloyianni says:
The best way for religions to be charitable to the community is for all of them to be taxed and the money used for public services, such as housing, dental, medical, education. Tax-free rules were introduced to help struggling not-for-profit organisations pay their bills and keep afloat. When introduced no-one… Read more »
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Rick. says:
Religious bodies should be taxed the same as any other hobby group, but with all the usual deductions for their defined charity activities. Read more »
The Wayside Chapel in Sydney’s King Cross has always been something of an “edgy” place.
In the 1960s when Australia was very different, The Wayside Chapel was about the only place in Australia where a Protestant could easily marry a Catholic, Hindu or Atheist without much fuss or where you could get a cup of coffee at 3am.
It was a place you could wait for some poet to walk in the door and address a ready crowd with some words that reached beyond the confines of a high structured, fairly unimaginative world; and you never had to wait for long.
Continue reading "Big-hearted Church that’s crumbling around the edges" »
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Daniel says:
Its a grimy lane way but the wayside chapel does such great work for these people that really need it. Read more »
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Henry says:
If your local member is a seat warmer from the wrong party or has views somewhere right of Adolf Hitler (oops), as mine does, then I suppose you could write to Tanya Plibersek, who is the local member for the seat in which the Wayside Chapel is located. Her electorate… Read more »
There is a tendency, in profiles of Christopher Hitchens, for the bestselling atheist and militant author to be defined solely in relation to his high-profile targets and the high-velocity force at which he hits them.
Very rarely is it elucidated anywhere – except, of course, by Hitchens himself – precisely why he has gone after such perennial favourites of the general populace as Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, and Bill Clinton.
That he took exception to the first’s acceptance of money from the Haitian dictator “Baby Doc” Duvalier, the second’s support for thermonuclear testing in India, and the third’s opportunistic decision to authorise the execution of a mentally retarded death row inmate in the middle of the 1992 Presidential election campaign, well, none of this ever really gets a look-in.
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Andrew says:
I think you’d find gay Iraqis would argue that their lives were comparatively freer under Saddam Husein, as would many women, Sunnis and secular Iraqis and the country’s religious minorities (Christians, the Peacock Angel worshiping Yazidis, Mandaeans), though obviously not the Shiites or the Kurds (regardless of faith). Saddam Husein… Read more »
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Matthew Clayfield says:
I have read Hitchens claim that experience for US troops was a beneficial side-effect of the war, Dan, but I haven’t read him claim it as a reason for invasion. Perhaps you could direct me to the piece where does so? (I’m not saying it doesn’t exist. Only that I… Read more »
The confession box may be losing favour, but when it comes to the ballot box your idea of God still has big impact on how you vote.
If you are Catholic you are nearly twice as likely to love Kevin, if you are an Anglican you can still stomach Malcolm and if you believe in nothing, then you’re more likely to believe in Bob.
That’s the conclusion to the Punch’s first installment in our Taboo-Busters series, where we look at politics through the prism of topics that are off limits to polite society.
Continue reading "God at the ballot box: how your faith affects your vote" »
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Phil says:
Ben… The fact that you defend them just proves my point. No Charity, No compassion. Only in the words, not the deeds. As for Fr. Bob, it’s about time someone in the Christian Church became media savvy and showed a human face. Your Archbishops certainly don’t. Read more »
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jose says:
One cross-tab does not an analysis make. There is no information in that table about how many Australians affiliate with any of the categories, and there is no information about how many people were surveyed. As such you cannot say that any of the “analysis” above means anything. Read more »
David Cappo is a priest.
But he is one of the most powerful South Australians. Sure, he’s Vicar-General of the Catholic Church, a Monsignor and Dean of the Cathedral. He’s also our State’s Social Inclusion Commissioner, with a free range over social policy.
Monsignor Cappo is a member of our powerful Economic Development Board, and - most importantly - sits on “Ex-Com”, the Executive Committee of Cabinet, which includes me, the Deputy-Premier, and senior Ministers. Cappo has clout, and in order to get things done he sometimes has to act more like the Inquisition than a confessor.
Continue reading "A priest with punch: social inclusion explained" »
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Dissident says:
David Cappo is an unelected and unaccountable person appointed to a position of so-called power by a politician who is bereft of ideas and the capability to actually do things as a way of abrogating his responsibilities. Read more »
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Rob says:
I give Mike Rann credit for getting Cappo on board and letting him get some things done. In a political world dominated by dreary party hacks and ex-journalists, it is refreshing to see the impact that a leader with vision & verve can still make (I’m talking about Cappo in… Read more »
First it was the Police Bible; now it’s the Poverty and Justice Bible. The market segmentation of the Bible reading audience knows no bounds. It’s easy to be cynical about ‘trendy’ versions of the Good Book – are they not merely publishing manoeuvres designed to flog a dead religious horse?
Well, yes and no. Of course, repackaging and relabelling an old product is a time-honoured way of making more sales and expanding markets.
Some Bibles, like the various Teen Study Versions, just seem to add to the Scriptures dubious cultural commentary about wearing make-up, handling break-ups and pursuing middle-class-ness. But there is a more useful, corrective side to the specialist Bible industry.
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Gibbot says:
I suggest we just agree to disagree on this, Nicholas. I have substantiated my original statement. I’ll leave it at that. Regards to you & yours. Read more »
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Nicholas James says:
@Gibbot To tell you the truth, this is far from a fair debate but the truth is you really left yourself open for this one. But first, just to clarify; Australia is my home and thus I am in fact also Australian and was simply giving my opinion, not judging.… Read more »
Has anyone else noticed there was something missing from the reaction to last week’s failed terrorism plot to stage a Last Stand at Holsworthy?
I pricked up my ears and sniffed the air but try as I might I could no longer detect a dog whistle, that barely audible call to channel justified fear into something altogether more ugly.
In a sign that the Howard era is finally over, both the Prime Minister and the besieged Opposition Leader exhibited a fundamental decency in playing the men and not the race.
Continue reading "Down boy - no more whistling to tune of terror" »
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Dan says:
R.E.L. Your talk of Islamicism taking over by winning eharts and minds is absolute nonsence. Burt even if it were true, there’s nothing wrong with attempting to win hearts and minds. Also, Howard played the man, not the ideology. He dog-whistled so much that he might as well have had… Read more »
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Aaron says:
Spot on Peter. There’s a stack of good (but detailed non-headline grabbing) work the Rudd Government (especially McLelland and Evans) have done on civil liberties and refugee/immigration reforms etc etc. They appear to have intelligently restrained themselves from blowing their own trumpet on a lot of these progressive reforms. The… Read more »
From my observation it is never Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims or even Scientologists who get upset when a nativity scene goes up in a chicken shop at Christmas.
I am not surprised, because as people of faith they understand that their religious freedom is only as safe as it is for those who hold a different belief.
For this reason I have always been perplexed as a professed Christian by objections to Australian women wearing a hijab in public. I recently walked the Kokoda trail with one young Australian woman who wore it the entire way – quite an effort.
Continue reading "The rightful place of God(s) in Australian society" »
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Mr Pastry says:
I’m sticking with the Dream Time and the Rainbow Serpent, more believable than the Bible and no doctrines strapped on by evil church bureaucrats. Read more »
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Al says:
Its such a pity and loss that Australia hasnt become a religion free country. That would have been mans greatest achievment in history and the first step towards a peaceful world. I simply cant respect people of religion, I’m sure there are some religious people who do good things, but… Read more »
WHITE supremacy is so yesterday, don’t you think?
But the skinheads are using a modern medium for their oh-so-1950s messages. And, as with so much online, it’s a rare chance to see inside a different world. A strangely amusing world.
I came across a couple of sites by accident, and before I knew it I was Googling around checking out the rantings of racists. With each new site, I was mentally preparing myself to be outraged, appalled. Filled with a towering sense of injustice.
Continue reading "If the sheet fits wear it: white supremacy is, like, so passe" »
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19yearold says:
if you understood the voting system, youd realise that the only people that voted for John Howard were those that were in his electorate, the rest voted for their local minister. and when you take into account preferences, the numbers drop even more. Read more »
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PROUD WHITE AUSSIE says:
what a load of shit. Everyone is so busy trying to be politicly correct that they forget where they are. we fought and died to protect the Australian way of life and this scum who’s parents and grandparents tortured and raped Australians during expect us to welcome them with open… Read more »
The Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow with a local community church has opened a new exhibition that originally aimed to “reclaim the Bible as a sacred text”.
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In a somewhat unorthodox way of achieving this end they have left a Bible open at the exhibition inviting people to write whatever they want in it.
“If you feel you have been excluded from the Bible, please write your way back into it,” asks the gallery.
Continue reading "Bible bashing is easy, but would artists touch Islam?" »
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DG says:
In the interests of intellectual honesty - Hitchins does not make the like between Islam and the crusades that was my own take on why Islam is at that phase now, while Christianity has moved to a more liberal approach. Hitchins went no further than observing that the media tend… Read more »
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Basher says:
I can’t speak for the artists, merely for myself. I don’t have much to say about the Koran because I don’t know much about it. On the other hand, I have plenty of criticism to level at the bible because I’ve read it. Cover to Cover, contrary to Mr Klitzke’s… Read more »
Writing on The Punch yesterday David Gazard bemoaned the left-winged over-righteousness of some parts of the Christian church, who get all hot under the collar about political stuff rather than sticking to the spiritual. This is, I suppose, a change from the attacks on the right-winged over-righteousness of the other parts of the Christian church.
Of course, problems emerge when God and the Church are captured by just one side of politics. The Church may be vulnerable to such temptations in the wildernesses of power, but any God worth his name surely isn’t. It’s a lesson the followers are still learning.
Continue reading "Heaven help us if churches don’t speak about politics" »
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Kevin says:
Phil you make me laugh with your so simple view of life, your the exact example the article relates to Dawkins being theologically sound. Your ‘superior’ attitude that you display indicates a complete bias and non understanding of anything outside your own little bubble. And yet you are evolving???? Interesting… Read more »
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Payton L. Inkletter says:
There is a compelling reason why religious establishments should keep out of politics in their own names, and rather focus exclusively on trying to be good at spiritually catalysing their members – who then as individuals can choose to morally and ethically enliven their families and the other people and… Read more »
I keep waiting for the traditional church to launch its campaign against the government’s treatment of boat people.
After all, boats carrying asylum seekers keep entering Australian waters in greater numbers, there are allegations that boats are left to drift and, worst of all, some have perished along the way.
I glance skyward in Melbourne, looking for the immense banner hanging from the spire St Paul’s Cathedral, like there was a few years ago. Instead of “Justice for David Hicks”, it will read “Justice for SIEV 624”.
Continue reading "Churches pray for terrorist and ignore a businessman" »
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Simon H says:
“And then, of course, the traditional church can’t even agree on its social agenda.” Gee, the church (really dozens of churches) being politically split and all over the place: that’s a massive change of pace from what’s been happening for most of the last 2000 years. And your point is?… Read more »
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Payton L. Inkletter says:
Institutionalised religions in general are still very poor performers at even what should be their core business – assisting voluntary members to make spiritual progress – and have no place at all in any political arena. We likely agree on this latter point, David. Spiritual progress is progress in becoming… Read more »
One of the logical difficulties in being an atheist is the body of well-documented cases where individuals have used faith and prayer to defy the odds when science and reason suggested that all hope was truly lost.
Atheism holds that all religion is fantasy and that its adherents have deluded themselves into believing in the existence of an all-powerful being with whom you can communicate via prayer.
On paper it sounds absurd. The only difficulty is – and I write this as a non-believer – it sometimes seems to work. If I were Sophie Delezio’s Dad I would probably regard the fact that this poor little girl had been hit not once but twice by a car as an argument against the existence of an all-powerful, all-loving God. But for the Delezios, whose faith was already strong before these two crashes, their convictions were strengthened by their ordeal.
Continue reading "Sorry PM, who are we trying to canonise here?" »
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John says:
“...the body of well-documented cases where individuals have used faith and prayer to defy the odds when science and reason suggested all hope was lost.” Really? What a load of rubbish, please use some thought and reason before you write anything so stupid again. There have been several studies that… Read more »
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B.wendt says:
The oldest trik in the spy game.tell the double agent what to tell the enemy so the enemy ends up with eggs on the face Read more »
You have to hand it to the Pope. He’s got ticker. This week he asserted science had provided proof of a key plank of the story of the Catholic Church - a test on bones from a Roman tomb “seems to confirm” they belonged to St Paul the Apostle.
Calling on scientific evidence to prove Church teaching is grounded in historical fact is a staggeringly high-stakes game for the Pope to play. As technology advances, archaeologists will only build an ever-clearer picture of the past. As in the case of St Paul - who along with St Peter was instrumental in founding the modern Church - there may be evidence along the way that suggests certain people lived and died precisely as the Church says.
But what happens when the science calls it into question? What happens if scientists produce convincing evidence that certain things didn’t happen, or someone didn’t exist?
What if that someone was, say, Jesus?
Continue reading "Poker-faced Pope plays high stakes against science" »
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Cherub says:
Ben, have you really been that brainwashed? You talk about truth but then revert to slogans and assertions. Get a grip. You cover so many subjects superficially with one-liners you indicate that yu are not reeally interested in the truth at all. You begin with assumptions which you refuse to… Read more »
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Ben Payne says:
Cherub, have you really been that brainwashed? The church has opposed every scientific advance throughout all history, and it continues to do so. Stem cells anyone? I agree, the church has shaped western culture, and I don’t like it. We are economic slaves, kept in debt to a system that… Read more »
It’s everywhere: God, the Bible, sinners, commandments, the fires of judgement. The whole theological lot is currently centre-stage in pop culture, news media and university lecture halls across the nation. You can’t even escape religious discussion at the two-star-review end of the cinema.
And that (possibly lower down) is exactly where you find the new Jack Black comedy, The Year One. I haven’t endured such a dense smog of sexual stereotypes, fart jokes and poo-eating since Year 8 sailing camp.
But the film’s real subject matter is religion, ancient and modern and your need to be set free from it. Religion is not only ridiculous but also corrupt, and you must pursue your own destiny, whatever you think that might be.
Continue reading "Year One: a parody of biblical proportions" »
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Steven says:
I agree Greg. As a product of the Catholic education system, I have a fair understanding of biblical stories (some would say that is a stretch). However, the movie mashes the crap out of them and they were hard to plot and understand. I was looking at my iPhone halfway… Read more »
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stephen says:
I actually like the Old Testament for what it does NOT say. (Is this a definition of metaphor?) And as for Abraham, well, he’s got to be a fictional character ! Otherwise, I think there’s value in the Old “girl” yet. P.S. ‘look forward to the film. Read more »
Flicking through the daily papers over a bowl of cereal is my usual morning routine. One recent morning I nearly choked on the cereal as I read in the Daily Telegraph of the Prime Minister’s morning routine, which apparently involves starting each day by reading from a prayer book.
Now, just as I wouldn’t like someone telling me which cereal I should eat in the morning, I am not about to dictate to the Prime Minister how he should start the day. However, I do question why these details end up in the newspaper on my kitchen table.
Don’t get me wrong, religion and faith are important. Members of Parliament, like all Australians, are influenced by a wide variety of personal principles and beliefs. Australians, mostly, cast their vote for a particular person or party based on policies or ideologies that are informed by the values or beliefs of those people or parties.
Continue reading "Keep the faith in the chapel, and out of the newspaper" »
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Grace says:
Seeing the PM wondering around a church every week makes me want to spew. It’s a worry when we let people who believe in supernatural beings being in conrol of our lives, to run the country. Get real Rudd. Anything to stay Mr Popular! Read more »
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Ben Payne says:
I am embarrassed that the Prime Minister of Australia openly expresses belief in ludicrous bronze-age fairy stories, every tenet of which has been scientifically disproved (where any kind test is possible), and which has created more human suffering and misery than any other cause throughout known history. Why do we… Read more »
THE ambition for this column, when it was first published in The Daily Telegraph about three years ago, was that it should be the starting point for discussions about the things – the fundamental things – that people believe, or profess to believe.
To give you a bit of guide, there’s this bloke I know who once said to me that he “believed” in two things; the first was that you should always make sure your shoes are good, and the second was that a well-sprung bed was essential. And yes, they’re pretty important beliefs. You don’t want to wake up with a bad back, and bunions are definitely not a good look.
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Beverley says:
Spot on regarding politicians. After a week of hospital visiting, getting a year older and having to attend a requiem mass for someone close, separate to the ill family member,I could not believe the standard of debate between Bill Shorten and Christopher Pyne on Lateline last night. One participant in… Read more »
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iansand says:
It is the universal rule of meetings. Time expended is inversely proportional to the expense of agenda items. And end over/end under. There has been genuine research on this in the hospitality industry. Less paper is used if the end is under, but it looks less stylish. You can assess… Read more »
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