The Religion of Diversity
If love and marriage go together as a horse and carriage, so too do diversity and progressive thought. To counter any opposition to anything, all one has to do is to claim that it promotes diversity – and no one dares to speak against it. Everything is now about diversity – in football, Anzac Day celebrations, in education, and the media. Apparently, there is nothing that should not be hijacked to celebrate diversity. People may not hope in Christ, but they have a blind faith in diversity. How should the Christian respond? First, diversity hardly ranks as a virtue in…
Peter FitzSimons ridicules Christians in the name of inclusiveness and tolerance
If you haven’t read Peter FitzSimons’ column lately, you’re not missing much. Last week, FitzSimons took a swipe at Israel Folau for suggesting homosexuals will go to hell unless they repent. Now, naturally, FitzSimons was deeply concerned about all those poor homosexual people who might read the rugby star’s “homophobic comments” and feel bad about themselves. Solution? Heap ridicule on all Christians, because you know, tolerance and inclusion, and what not… In his piece titled, Folau’s comments are an anathema to the greatest of rugby values, FitzSimons ironically claims: “the greatest of all rugby values is inclusion. We want everyone on…
National Library of Australia’s new ambassador: the foul-mouthed “hate f–ker” Benjamin Law
While Israel Folau continues to cop criticism for answering a question about his faith, The National Library of Australia has made Benjamin Law their Ambassador. Yes, the foul-mouthed bloke who no one really knew until he said he’d “hate f-ck all the anti-gay MPs in parliament…” Yes, really. That’s their pick. That’s the guy they went with. Of all the people in Australia, they considered him the best… @mrbenjaminlaw celebrates being made an @nlagovau Ambassador with, what else but a selfie. @garthnix and @reallykazcooke were also honoured with the title by our CEO Marie-Louise Ayres and Council Chair Ryan Stokes.…
The Case for the Crusades
“What about the Crusades?” If you’ve ever criticised the unprovoked brutality of Islam, you’ve probably been asked that question. What’s implied is that Christianity was just as cruel as Islam, if not worse. This, however, is merely a twentieth-century creation, prompted in part by post-World War I British and French imperialism and the post-World War II creation of the state of Israel. In his book, God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades, Rodney Stark summarized the current understanding of the Crusades as follows: “During the Crusades, an expansionist, imperialistic Christendom brutalized, looted, and colonized a tolerant and peaceful Islam.” But that’s…
Rihanna asks for Australia’s money and Julie Bishop hands over $90 million
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has announced a pledge of $90 million to support Global Partnership for Education (GPE). The pledge came hours after singer, and GPE ambassador, Rhianna (Net Worth $230 million) asked Julie Bishop and Malcolm Turnbull if they would, “step up with a $200 million pledge…” hi @JulieBishopMP & @TurnbullMalcolm will you step up w/ a ?? $200M pledge to #FundEducation at the @GPforEducation conference in Senegal tomorrow? Kick off your 1st year on the #HumanRightsCouncil by giving the universal human right to education! ?? @claralionelfdn @glblctzn — Rihanna (@rihanna) February 1, 2018 Cory Bernardi responded to the…
What happened to Lebanon? A warning to the West
What happened to Christian Lebanon? Brigitte Gabriel explains: In 1965, National Geographic Magazine had on its front cover, “Lebanon, Eden of the Middle East.” Unfortunately, all this began to change as the years went by. We got our independence in the early 40s, but by the 60s and 70s, the Christians had become the minority and the Muslims had become the majority in Lebanon. And as the Islamic population grew in the country, the country became less and less tolerant, because they started pushing for more rights that were not compatible with our Judeo-Christian value system that we had created,…
Peace in the Middle East: Is this the answer?
Israel has offered the Palestinians a state of there own on five separate occasions. Each time the Palestinians have rejected the offer. In a PragerU video titled ‘Why Isn’t There a Palestinian State?’ David Brog, Executive Director of the Maccabee Task Force, provides the following breakdown: 1914 World War I and the break up of the Ottoman Empire. 1918 Britain takes control of the Middle East. 1936 Arabs Revolt against the British and the Jews. The British suggest a two-state solution, offering the Arabs a staggering 80% of the disputed land, and the Jews the remaining 20%. The Jews accepted the offer, but…
The Meaning of “Day” in Genesis: Figurative or Literal?
How do we understand the story of creation told in Genesis 1:1-2:3? Interpreters have basically fallen into one of two camps. Either the six days of creation represent six literal 24 hour days, or each “day” refers only to an age, an epoch, an unspecified period of time. So, which interpretation should we prefer? When it comes to interpreting the Bible, the best place to look is the Bible. And likewise, when it comes to understanding a particular author, the best place to look is that same author. So, what did Moses mean by the mention of “day” in Genesis…
Teaching An Angry Prophet (Jonah 4:1-11)
God has been gracious to Nineveh and to Jonah – sending Jonah to the pagan city, chasing the disobedient prophet across the Mediterranean, preserving him in the great fish, and finally using him to reach the Ninevites. In many ways we could expect the book to finish at the end of chapter 3 – the king of Nineveh is walking about in sackcloth, and the people have turned from their wicked ways. Maybe a little prayer of thanksgiving would have been a nice way to finish the book. Instead we get one major temper tantrum from one cantankerous minor prophet.…
Nineveh Repents (Jonah 3:1-10)
God has chased Jonah across the Mediterranean Sea, and finally brought him to the point where, in the belly of the great fish, Jonah repented, looked to the sacrifices of the temple, and declared that he would obey God. God is now ready to use Jonah again, so Jonah is spat out onto the beach – all rather undignified but effective (2:10)! God’s grace in recommissioning Jonah The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time (3:1-2). Some have tried to see a slightly different message here but it seems essentially the same as the original message. There…
Coming to One’s Senses (Jonah 2)
Jonah rebelled against God’s clear command to go to Nineveh, and instead took off to Tarshish in a ship. But you cannot hide from God, and God sends a great storm which eventually leads to Jonah’s being tossed overboard, and spending three days in the belly of a great fish or whale. This has caused a lot of controversy. Many whales cannot swallow an orange, let alone a man, although sperm whales are the exception. One hears all sorts of stories – C. F. Keil tells of a whole horse (dead, admittedly) being found in a shark, and also of…
Trying to Flee from God (Jonah 1:4-17)
Jonah had been given the onerous task of going to Nineveh to preach against its sins. Instead, he had taken off in the opposite direction, not because he was a coward but because he feared that God would forgive the Ninevites. He wanted God to do to Nineveh what He had done to Sodom and Gomorrah. Before God dealt with Nineveh, He had to deal with His backsliding servant, Jonah. Because God loves His people, He chastens them (Heb.12:5-6). God closes in on Jonah. God chastens the backslider The Lord sent a great storm which threatened the ship. So afraid…
The Prophet Commissioned (Jonah 1:1-3)
Everybody knows the story of Jonah – how he tried to run away from God, but was swallowed by a great fish, and then went on to preach at Nineveh. But there are actually two main stories going on – how God deals with Jonah and how God deals with Nineveh. So we will be looking at both subjects in our study. Martin Luther commented about the prophet Jonah: ‘a queer and odd saint who is angry because of God’s mercy for sinners … And yet he is God’s dear child.’ Jonah is all about history We have to say…