To say that the Bible is a very patriarchal book would be stating the obvious.  But if I tried to unravel that it could get me into serious trouble.  For example, if I said anything in defence of the Bible’s patriarchal slant I could get a lot of women offside.  I don’t want to do that.  Some of my best friends are women – in fact, I’m married to one of them.  On the other hand, in our culture there’s an extreme view that almost assumes that masculinity is toxic by definition.  So if I’m not careful in my critique of...

My daughter complained the other day about some difficulties with a person she had always considered a close friend.  I said to her, “You need to remember that relationships require effort and sometimes they’re simply hard work.”  Most of us are aware of that truth.  Some of us learnt that the hard way – we gave up on a relationship because it became too difficult.  Starve the lizards... how on earth can you expect a relationship to flourish if you don’t make the effort?  Okay... granted... some relationships are easier to maintain than others.  But the truth is that relationships shrivel...

Whenever I read the first two chapters of Genesis in the Bible, with its story of the creation of the first two human beings, I can’t help but think of the typical and persistent stereotypes of our first ancestors.  You know the kind of cartoon images I’m talking about: Adam, with a huge club over his shoulder, dragging Eve along by the hair, grunting out primitive sounds that hardly pass for language as he makes his way back to his cave. Why do people persist with that sort of caricature of our earliest ancestors?  If God made us good, if He...

It’s rather difficult not to be upset, disappointed, and even frustrated about what is happening between Russia and the Ukraine and in many other warring places around the world.  And then we need to deal with the terrible floods we see in Australia, and the loss of homes, goods, and livelihoods. We also see unrest in many cities where people are protesting about government mandated vaccinations.  And if that isn’t enough, some of us need to constantly deal with personal illness and other tragedies in our lives.  As we contemplate these difficult things, we need to be careful about making broad...

In 1901 the Italian inventor and engineer, Marconi, broadcast the first transatlantic radio signal.  The first successful long-distance wireless telegraph was actually linking continents together.  Some twenty years later the question was asked whether this new invention might possibly listen in on signals from outer space – to see if we humans on planet earth are perhaps, after all, not alone in the universe. So it’s about a hundred years ago that SETI commenced.  SETI, of course, stands for Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence.  Marconi had stated his belief that radio could be used to send signals to Martians.  Indeed he...

Humans are basically good.  That myth is often trotted out to make us feel good about ourselves.  The newspapers lead me to question that.  A recent front-page article reported that our Deputy Prime Minister sent someone a text message claiming our Prime Minister is a hypocrite and a liar.  That message, apparently sent some years ago when the deputy PM had been consigned to the backbenches, was leaked to the media.  The deputy PM had to eat humble-pie and apologise.  Humans are basically good, we’re told... but even our society’s elite, those in national leadership roles, often trip up badly. In...

Normal? Last week in this blog I wrote about current attempts to provide some medical relief from problems such as depression and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome through treatments based on medication derived from psychedelic drugs.  The newspaper article that I then referred to pointed out how important this research is, in view of the fact that here in Oz, on average, one person in eight now struggles with some form of mental health issue. Well, I don’t know how reliable that figure is but in some respects it’s a rather staggering figure when you stop and think about it.  Just count...

One of the many blessings for Christians is the freedom to attend worship each week where we can, amongst other things, sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16), hopefully making a joyful noise unto the Lord.  When one reads the Old and New Testament Scriptures, God’s people were encouraged to write and sing about God’s wonderful acts of deliverance and providence.   Moses, Miriam, and Israel sang a new song about God’s deliverance (Exo 15). Moses was commanded to write a new song in Deut 31:19ff that would bear testimony to God and His work in future days (cf Psa...

A lift-out magazine in a recent weekend newspaper contained an article on the search for a “psychedelic” medical solution for a range of mental health issues. It is not uncommon, of course, for people to self-medicate with mind-altering substances: everything from alcohol and LSD or Ecstasy to magic mushrooms and marijuana.  A drug-induced high is an attractive solution for someone struggling with the black-dog of depression.  This article however pointed out that recent medical tests with psychedelic substances (such as psilocybin) had proven effective in treating people with clinical depression and even folk with Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD).  The author argued...

I had an hour and a half to wait before the bus left Brisbane for Coffs Harbour.  Since the Roma Street Coach Terminal isn’t far from the Queen Street Mall in Brisbane I figured it was a good opportunity to stretch my legs before the long coach trip home.  A coffee from one of the numerous coffee outlets was an added bonus.  It had been a very long time since I was last there.  Much had changed.  There was one rather unobtrusive change that caught my eye while sipping my coffee.  Back in the mid-1980s CCTV was only just being introduced...

Tony Abbott was recently interviewed by a women’s magazine and asked – among other things – about his opinions on sex before marriage. According to the ABC’s quote (No, I didn’t buy the magazine!), he replied with some care: “It happens. I would say to my daughters, if they were to ask me this question, I would say ... it is the greatest gift that you can give someone, the ultimate gift of giving and don't give it to someone lightly. That is what I would say." Abbott’s comments have, as you might expect, provided plenty for people to talk about....

Merle and I were walking the breakwater at Coffs Harbour jetty last Sunday afternoon.  I was struck by the unusual name of a yacht moored in the marina.  It was named the Deo Volente.  I guess that’s a nice enough a name for a yacht.  Deo Volente has a pleasant ring about it, although I suspect that few today would know what that name means.  I mention this because it especially left me wondering why someone would name their yacht Deo Volente.  You see, Deo Volente is a Latin expression that means ‘God willing’. So why would someone call their yacht...

Recently, in preaching, I mentioned the case of Tini – an elderly lady in failing health. On one occasion things looked grim and the family were called in to say their goodbyes. As her pastor I was kept in the loop and since she was not expected to make it through the might I called in at the hospital. While struggling for breath Tini assured me that she was at peace and longed to be with her Saviour in glory. But it wasn’t her time yet and in the morning there was a remarkable improvement in her condition. I was there...

Last Monday evening the ABC's Q&A program featured a lengthy discussions on death and dying. Underlying those discussions was that death is one of those "unmentionable subjects" in our society. One is tempted to ask, "Surely among Christians death is not an unmentionable subject?" The very next morning, after watching this program, one of our elderly ladies was talking to me about a certain hymn. She added that she had put that on her list of songs to be sung at her funeral. She wouldn't have told me that if for her death had been an unmentionable subject. She was being...

Usually I can relate to a poem that I read many years ago. I don't remember the exact words but I do remember well the thrust of it. It was the way we pray for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. The mother prays: Come Lord Jesus... but then she adds: But please let me first see my daughter grow up. A farmer prays: Come Lord Jesus... but then he adds: But please let me first finish my work with that new breeding program. A businessman has his reservations too: Come Lord Jesus... but let me first see that new...

Maybe some of you watched "Australian Current Affair" (ACA) last week (April 21st) when they featured an exposé on Sydney's massive Hillsong Church in Baulkam Hills, Sydney. The program was called "Hillsong goes to Hollywood" and it reported on the news that Hillsong is about to release a feature film about their band, Hillsong United. The main issue – predictably – was "where is all the money going?" The program reported that Hillsong rake in a cool $72 million every year. This is sourced from tithing by their attendees, profits from major events, income from their Bible College and profits from...

My experience with prisons has been rather limited. In some ways I'm thankful for that. Many Christians are in prison because of their faith in Jesus. I am free, and for that I give thanks. In other ways I feel just a little guilty. The writer to the Hebrews exhorts us to "remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoner" – and I don't often "remember those in prison". Prison is not a desirable place to be. On a couple of occasions I had reason to visit a man in Hobart's Risdon Jail. I still recall the psychological...

Even a brief glimpse of the pastoral notes in our church bulletin this week would indicate that as a congregation we’re not having an easy time of it.  Two bereavements are mentioned – including the Lord taking home a “mother in Israel” – and that’s happened after another funeral not all that long ago.  Two men are engaged in a serious battle with cancer.  One man is in intensive care in hospital.  Two ladies are still healing from broken bones while another lady had a broken ankle not so long ago.  Still another lady is still getting over hip-replacement surgery.  And...

A Christian friend from another church once stayed over for the Easter period. For Easter Sunday he insisted on providing a chicken and champagne dinner. I, half-jokingly, questioned his extravagance and suggested it was nice enough to have his company without him "lashing out" in this way to make it a memorable occasion. He quickly insisted that this "extravagance" wasn't to make his visit more memorable but rather that it was in memory of the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ. He felt that a chicken and champagne dinner was THE way to celebrate the reality of Jesus' resurrection from the...

I don't get excited very often about Australian politics... nor any other politics for that matter. Winston Churchill once made the now famous remark: "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." Like most of us I'm heartily sick of the "coup mentality" that has infected both sides of politics in Australia in recent years. We have lived through a period of Labor politicians stabbing their leaders in the back and replacing them with equally short-lived leaders. The media-driven campaign to do the same to our present Liberal...