God is God, Politics is Not
I’ve noticed something, and I’m sure you have too. We’re facing a time of major cultural upheaval across the Western world.
Family Breakdown and the Rise of Identity Politics
“This is not progress. We will need something greater than the sum of our parts to pull us back together.”
Book ‘In Defense of Looting’ Warns Readers: ‘Distribution Without Permission Is a Theft of Author’s Intellectual Property’
Apparently looting is only fun, free and harmless when you’re the one doing it.
Meet the Atheists Who Are Grateful for Christianity
The Australian journalist Greg Sheridan has quipped that these days, “the academic fashion is to attack Western civilisation, not study it.” With historic statues being trashed and toppled around the western world, and accusations of systemic racism being levelled against the fairest societies that history has produced, Sheridan couldn’t be more right. Sadly, those trying to erase our history seem unaware that the ideals they claim to stand for—like equality, human dignity, science and human rights—arose uniquely in the West. Not only that—these values owe much of their existence to Christianity. Over the last decade, there has been a flood…
The Left Eat Their Own, Now They Want to Cancel Jesus
What do Germaine Greer and J. K. Rowling have in common? Until recently, an obvious answer was that they are strident feminists. But more recently, these two have another claim to fame: they’ve been ‘cancelled’ by mainstream culture for not being radical enough. In a 2015 interview, Germaine Greer refused to describe men who underwent sex-change surgery as ‘women’. For that, she was deplatformed, publicly shamed, and even accused of inciting violence against transgender people — an accusation she describes as ‘absolute nonsense’. In previous decades, Greer was rightly seen as radical for her feminist views. But now as she holds the line defending…
Tell Pornhub and Planned Parenthood That Black Lives Matter
Over the last month, global protests have been drawing attention to the unjust treatment of minority communities. As an organisation and as a slogan Black Lives Matter has captured the world’s attention. In America particularly, police departments are facing serious scrutiny in an effort to root out racial bias and corruption. The Minneapolis Police—whose officers were responsible for George Floyd’s unjust death—is even being disbanded. Many have suggested an unbroken link between systemic injustice today and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade to which most black Americans trace their roots. But for all the talk about a slavery that was outlawed 150 years ago,…
You Can’t Learn From Deleted History
The “memory hole” is one of the most haunting images in George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Used by government workers at the Ministry of Truth, this chute in the wall enabled Oceania’s one-party government to edit history at will and incinerate all evidence of their propagandistic deeds: Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is…
A Christian’s Guide to Cultural Marxism
If you Google the term “Cultural Marxism,” you will likely be told that it is a right-wing conspiracy theory. But pick a different search engine, or scroll for long enough, and you will find a more robust definition. Cultural Marxism—for those new to the concept—is a worldview gaining immense popularity throughout the West. It refers to a collection of ideas rather than a collection of people. Cultural Marxism is a secular philosophy that views all of life as a power struggle between the oppressed and the oppressor. The oppressor is usually an aspect of traditional western society such as the family, capitalism,…
The Race Rhetoric That Causes More Harm Than Harmony
George Floyd’s cruel murder is sparking much-needed conversations about justice and racial harmony in America and beyond. The ripple effect has already reached us Down Under, with protests planned for Australian capital cities this weekend. Yesterday I spoke with a friend who has ministered among Indigenous Australians for decades. He told me that in some regional jails he has visited, Aboriginal men made up over 70% of the prison population. Whatever landed them there, this is a deeply troubling picture. In a recent survey, 10% of Australians said they would tell jokes about Indigenous Aussies. 10% said they wouldn’t employ…
Are America’s Riots Still About George Floyd?
In case you didn’t think 2020 could get any more perplexing, there are now uncontrolled riots taking place in dozens of American cities. From coast to coast, cars and businesses have been set alight, numberless shops have been looted, vehicles have been driven into crowds, and mob violence has broken out on city streets. In the week since the rioting began, numerous people have lost their lives and thousands have been arrested. Many cities have imposed curfews and the National Guard has been deployed in over 20 states. The unrest started last week in Minneapolis after a video went viral showing the…
Ten Things You May Not Know About COVID-19
An unmistakable optimism has returned to countries like Australia as lockdown restrictions begin to ease. Even the news cycle has begun to focus on issues other than the coronavirus, to our collective relief. For several months there was blanket news coverage of the pandemic. Media outlets kept feeding our insatiable appetite to know more about a crisis that so directly impacts our health, our livelihoods, and our loved ones. I remember seeing early reports suggesting that the death toll could approach 68 million. It is a relief, then, that as infection rates flatten in most countries, the death toll has been only…
How Media Bias Wrecked the #MeToo Movement
Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden—Donald Trump’s last remaining rival—has been accused of sexual assault by a former staffer named Tara Reade. Such a serious allegation against a presidential candidate would normally be a loud, leading, global story. Instead, America’s biggest mainstream news outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post and CNN have remained eerily quiet about the Tara Reade accusations. So deafening is this ‘conspiracy of silence’ that the legacy media’s bias has itself become the story; more newsworthy, perhaps, than the allegations against the former Vice President. In a March 25th interview, Tara Reade, a staffer for then-Senator…
Has the present pandemic proven our pro-life proclivities?
A deadly plague has stolen the lives of some 17,500 people in Australia so far this year. That’s almost 200 people every day, or one every eight minutes. What plague could possibly be so deadly? It is the plague of abortion. We learn some important lessons when we compare this to how many Australians have lost their lives to the coronavirus so far—a national tally that currently stands at 28. First, it provides us with a much-needed perspective. This is no time for complacency, to be sure. But compared with other potential threats to life or the scale of what could…
Pandemic Panic: Where is God in our Current Crisis?
We are living in a different world to the one we were in a week ago. In December 2019, a pneumonia outbreak was detected in the city of Wuhan, China. It was soon traced to a new strain of coronavirus—but not before infected travellers had crossed international borders in every direction. A few months on and the virus has spread to over 160 countries and resulted in over 7,000 deaths. While something like 98% of people who contract COVID-19 recover, the elderly and those with chronic health problems are most at risk. Governments the world over are deeply concerned that…
Why Christians Clash With the Current Culture
It’s becoming more obvious with each passing year, and just about everyone in the West will agree: to be a Christian means to walk out of step with mainstream culture. It’s such a fixed feature of modern life that Christians have adapted a variety of solutions to this dilemma. Some believers relish the opportunity to cause unnecessary trouble. Others run scared—and in doing so, they compromise their stand for Jesus. Both extremes do damage to the cause of Christ. So how can we walk the middle road? The answer to this begins with properly understanding our calling as Christians. Why…
Two Years On, Where Has Same-Sex Marriage Taken Australia?
A couple of years back during that infamous postal vote, Australians voted to legalise same-sex marriage. During the debate, many warned that if marriage was redefined, a host of injustices would follow. People of faith could lose their jobs, gender-fluid teaching might take over schools, and the freedom to hold a dissenting view would disappear. Those in favour of same-sex marriage dismissed this as fear-mongering. They insisted that the plebiscite was only about the freedom of loving couples to marry. It was a false ‘slippery slope’ argument, they said, to suggest that other negative consequences could follow. “Marriage Equality will…
Miracle Stories From The Australian Bushfires
The fires that have torn through the Australian landscape in recent weeks are without doubt the most widespread natural disaster in our nation’s living memory. Fellow Australians are hurting as they grieve the loss of properties, livelihoods and loved ones. Yet in the flames and through the smoke, there is hope, and evidence of God at work. The generosity of friends and strangers, the Australian spirit of mateship, and the reminder of what’s truly precious in life all speak to the presence of God in the midst of tragedy. Most profound of all, perhaps, are the mysterious stories that are…
What if there is proof that God became a baby at Christmas?
I love Christmas carols. They are the soundtrack of the season. As great as carols are, it’s possible to make it through the whole month of December, hear these tunes, and yet not tune in to what the carols are really saying. On closer inspection, Christmas carols make some audacious claims. Consider just a few lines from Hark the Herald Angels Sing: Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see, Hail, the incarnate Deity. Pleased as man, with men to dwell, Jesus, our Immanuel. What an absurd idea. God being limited to one place at a time? God learning how to walk? God……
20 Reasons Trump Will Win Again In 2020
From the day Donald Trump announced his candidacy in 2015, I was sceptical. He was a mogul from liberal New York, unfaithful in marriage, divorced twice, and verbally ruthless towards his opponents. None of that has changed. And while there is still lots to dislike about Trump’s persona, his performance has surprised me. I’ve lived in America for the last six months. I’ve heard lots of perspectives on Trump, and I’ve kept a close eye on the media. I’ve explored Washington DC, visited the Capitol Building, and I even got to see Trump speak at a live event. For a…
Six Reasons Socialism is Sexy Again – But Shouldn’t Be
Wherever you look, socialism is sexy again. In the UK this week, Jeremy Corbyn is seeking election as the nation’s Prime Minister on a proudly socialist platform. In the USA, socialist Bernie Sanders is making a second run for President, and he has the endorsement of “the Squad”—a group of socialist Congresswomen which includes the famous firebrand freshman AOC. You may not have noticed yet, but the climate strikes taking place the world over also have strong socialist undercurrents. If the word socialism is new to you, it’s basically the idea that society’s wealth should be redistributed and shared by everyone. (Be sure to do your…
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