In the lead-up to the recent Victorian election, Premier Daniel Andrews announced grants of more than $8 million to the Victorian Islamic community. A social media video posted by his office celebrated this news in a way that can only be described as joyful. In the...
Last week’s resignation of Andrew Thorburn from his newly acquired role as CEO of Essendon Football Club raises deep concerns about the ability of Christians to serve in high-profile positions in business and government. Thorburn’s resignation came after the club became aware that City on a...
The following is an edited version of a ‘Political Animals’Podcast with Jonathan Cole Cole: Welcome to the Political Animals. I am your host, Jonathan Cole. I am an academic writer and translator, specializing in Political Theology, the intersection between religion and politics. Joining me in this episode...
This article was published in the Middle East Quarterly, 29(3): 1-8. An underestimated, unappreciated, and oft-denied driver of the Arab-Israeli conflict is Islamic religious antisemitism. How deeply entrenched is this religious bigotry, and can it prevent, or slow down, the nascent reconciliation between Israel and the...
In an episode of the Political Animals Podcast Jonathan Cole talks to Mark Durie. They explore the theological relationship between Christianity (and Judaism) and Islam, with a particular focus on explaining the large presence of Biblical material in the Qur'an and whether this constitutes theological...
ABSTRACT How should we as Christians position ourselves in the swirling political currents of the age? Is it Christian to be on the right or on the left? In any case, Christians must engage in the political process, even though it be from a minority position....
A Divided Church This week the General Synod of the Australian Anglican Church has been debating what its stance is to be on human sexuality. A vote to affirm the church’s traditional position on marriage was strongly supported by clergy and laity but was narrowly rejected...
Two horrific acts of murder took place in Europe in October 2021, within a few days of each other. One was the stabbing of English MP David Amess by a UK citizen with a Somali heritage, Ali Harbi Ali. The other was the killing of...