Author: Mark Durie
24 Mar Who Are We?
I read a thought-provoking post this week by Orthodox Jewish savant and author, David Goldman. He was commenting on the death of a pedestrian, run over by an automated Uber self-driving car....
07 Feb Theology and Church Viability
Posted at 14:09h
in Discipleship, Faith & Worldview Blog, Faith and Culture, Restoring Worldviews 0 Comments
It is a cliché of our times that churches are declining. Dwindling membership is a fact of life for many congregations. But not for all churches. Certainly not outside the West, where Christianity is rising in many nations....
04 Jan A Letter from Patricia
Last year I received a hand-written letter from 'Patricia', responding to something I had written on changing Ausralia's marriage laws, in which I argued that society should support the norm of marriage as a couple raising their own biological children. I enjoyed reading Patricia's thoughtful letter, which was clear and well-expressed. Here is her letter and my reply.
22 Dec When the Church Loses its Way
In my devotional reading today I was reflecting on the career and fate of the sons of Eli. Hophni and Phinehas were religious leaders who were going very wrong, exploiting their priestly office for material gain and sexual favours. 1 Samuel 2: 25 reports that...
18 Nov After the SSM Party is Over: Troubles and Opportunities Ahead
This week Australia received the very unsurprising news that a majority of those who voted in the postal-survey supported Same Sex Marriage. Four out of five people voted, and of those who voted, three out of five voted 'yes'. No-one could say Australians are united on the SSM marriage issue, but it is clear that parliament must soon modify our marriage laws to degender marriage. In Australia's political system even 55% support from voters is considered a landslide. The 61.6% is being hailed as a crushing victory.
29 Sep Three more thoughts on the Australian Marriage Debate
The marriage survey keeps rolling on – Australians still have more than a month until the survey finished on November 7. I keep pondering which way Australia will go with marriage, and what difference it will make. I've always been intrigued by situations where people vehemently disagree with each other on important issues. Sometimes in such cases the two sides engage in real debate, but at other times it's a case of ships passing in the night. The not-so-great Australian Marriage Debate sits firmly in the second category.