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AFRICA: RESPONDING TO HIV WITH FAITH AND COURAGE
Rev Dr Nyambura Njoroge is always reminding herself of the daily lives of people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Their battle for dignity and enormous resilience keeps inspiring her while she coordinates World Council of Churches Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative for Africa (EHAIA).
Rev Dr Njoroge is a Presbyterian minister, a leading theologian and ecumenist from Kenya. She has been associated with EHAIA since 2002. This is a project which has accompanied churches in Africa in dealing with HIV through information, training, sharing of resources and networking.
Amidst the looming challenges of reduced income for HIV work, Rev Dr Njoroge finds her strength from faith, saying that “God is faithful and God’s granary never depleted”. Yet she admits the significance of the challenge, which requires profound reflections.
For her, the inspiration comes through the “life giving stories” of the people living with HIV, who she says, “manifest courage in the face of enormous challenges, difficulties, stubborn stigma and judgemental attitudes.”
A report from the World Council of Churches... |
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IRAN: IMPRISONED PASTOR REJECTS RELEASE OFFER
Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has rejected an offer to be released from prison if he publicly acknowledges Islam's prophet Mohammed as "a messenger sent by God", well-informed Christians and rights activists said earlier this month.
Iranian authorities reportedly summoned lawyers for Pastor Nadarkhani to his home city of Rasht on 30th December to explain the deal. Local officials indicated they would release the pastor if he agreed to make the statement about Mohammed, Christians with close knowledge about the situation explained.
"However, Pastor Nadarkhani has refused to do so, and remains in prison awaiting a final decision on his case," confirmed advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).
Christians said the pastor has made clear that making the demanded statement about Muhammed would amount to abandoning his faith in Jesus Christ.
STEFAN J BOS, of BosNewsLife, reports... |
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IRAN: IMPRISONED PASTOR REJECTS RELEASE OFFER
STEFAN J BOS, of BosNewsLife, reports... |
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INDIA: CHURCHES AID VICTIMS OF DEVASTATING CYCLONE
Following the devastating cyclone that wrecked havoc in India's southern Tamil Nadu state at yearend, church charities are getting aid to affected families.
"People are still struggling without electricity, (with) roofless houses and roads blocked by fallen trees," said Florina Benoit, chief zonal officer of Churches Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA). Benoit was speaking to ENInews on 16th January from Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, after a weekend visit to the worst-hit remote villages around Cuddalore.
"We have distributed emergency relief material in 40 villages. But the task is enormous," said Benoit.
Cyclone Thane pummelled the east coast of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on 30th December, killing nearly 50 and damaging more than 350,000 houses, schools and roads.
SOUTH AFRICA: CHRISTIAN ROOTS OF ANC RECALLED DURING ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
The Christian roots of the African National Congress (ANC) were cited during weekend celebrations in South Africa marking the centennial of Africa's best known liberation and political movement. More than a dozen African heads of state and representatives from around the world attended to honor the movement that eventually overcame the apartheid system of racial segregation.
On 8th January, hundreds packed into the recently-renovated Waaihoek Wesleyan Church in Bloemfontein, where the ANC began. The church echoed with the haunting sounds of the anthem "God Bless Africa" and stomping feet before ANC Chaplain General Vukile Mehana began an hour-long service.
The movement was founded by Christian pastors, mission-educated journalists, lawyers and social workers on 8th January, 1912. Bloemfontein, about 200 miles southwest of Johannesburg, was the centre of white Afrikaner power in a country ruled exclusively by Europeans until ANC leader Nelson Mandela became president in 1994.
NIGERIA: WARNINGS OF CIVIL WAR AFTER DOZENS OF CHRISTIANS KILLED IN VIOLENCE
Christians in Nigeria are mourning dozens of believers killed since last Thursday amid warnings from the head of Nigerian Christians that the violence is reminiscent of the outbreak of the 1960s civil war.
"We are reminded by the occurrences of these killings of the genesis of the civil war that took place here in Nigeria," said Ayo Oritsejafor, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), in comments monitored by BosNewsLife Sunday, January 8. That conflict claimed more than a million lives in the late 1960s.
At least 30 Christians have been shot dead in northeast Nigeria in recent days, many of them while praying in churches, after the expiration of an ultimatum from Islamic group Boko Haram for Christians to leave mainly Muslim northern Nigeria.
CHRISTIANS WARNED AGAINST RETALIATION AS DEADLINE LOOMS TO LEAVE
With a deadline looming to leave their homes or be killed, Christians in northern Nigeria were urged not to retaliate against Islamic violence.
"We have appealed that there be no retaliation and we continue to preach peace..." said Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of the volatile city of Jos where hundreds of Christians have been killed since last year.
On Sunday, fighters of the Islamist group Boko Haram, or "Western education is a sin", issued a three-day ultimatum for Christians to leave the African country's northern state and called on Muslims in the south to move north.
However, Archbishop Kaigama said, he is still "hoping that all of us in Nigeria, Muslims and Christians, will be able to work and live happily" and added: "We continue to appeal to reason, for dialogue."
NIGERIAN CHRISTIANS MOURN DOZENS KILLED IN CHURCH BLASTS
Nigerian Christians were mourning their dead on Monday after at least 35 people died in a Christmas Day bombing at a Catholic Church and at least four others died in similar blasts elsewhere.
Witnesses said hundreds of mourners attended a memorial service in the attacked St Theresa Church in the town of Madalla, near the capital of Abuja, surrounded by armed soldiers and bloodstained walls.
The priest of St Theresa's, Isaac Achi, reportedly told the crowd that Sunday's attack made him really cry for the first time in his life.
"I've never cried before, but yesterday, I cried," he said. "This morning, I cried, but with all of you around today, I'll not cry again. Yesterday more than 40 army men protected me while I slept."
The blast at St Theresa's was one of four coordinated explosions which rocked Nigeria on Christmas Day, killing at least 39 people.
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THE ISSUE: US TROOPS IN AUSTRALIA?
17th November, 2011
US President Barack Obama is in Australia for a whirlwind visit. On Wednesday he and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced plans to station 2,500 US marines in Darwin as part of America's military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The first 200 to 250 marines will arrive in Darwin next year in what is the largest US deployment in Australia since World War II, building up to a force of 2,500 by 2017. What do you think of the plans and what are your thoughts on Obama's visit?... |
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THE QUEEN'S VISIT
20th October, 2011
Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip are visiting Australia in an 11 day tour. It's the Queen's 16th visit Downunder since 1954 and as well as taking in Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne, she will go to Perth which will next week host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Naturally, the visit has once again led to talk of whether Australian should become a republic - the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has already had to explain why she did not curtsy (instead bowing her head) to the Queen during the official welcome (although the Prime Minister has said talk of a republic is moot while the Queen continues to reign). What are your thoughts on the royal visit?... |
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Like to ask World Vision Australia's chief executive Tim Costello a question? Sight is putting together our first 'reader interview' in which you get to ask Mr Costello whatever question has been on your mind. Simply submit your question to editor@sightmagazine.com.au marked 'Reader Interview' in the subject line and we'll pick the 10 best of the questions to put to Mr Costello. Please include your full name and suburb, town or city as well as country of residence.
Described as "one of Australia's leading voices on social justice issues", Mr Costello has taken prominent roles in debates on issues ranging from gambling to homelessness through to reconciliation to global poverty.
Questions chosen to be published will include the name and suburb, town or city, and country of the person submitting the question
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SIGHT-SEEING: REBUILDING THE FRACTURED FAMILY
Our church has been conducting Good News Week. It runs every day with a wonderful children’s program. Meanwhile in the adult tent, a doctor, a psychologist, a minister and others speak to the hundreds of parents present on issues facing young couples. On my estimate of mothers and fathers attending (including the special men’s evening program) at least 300 couples have been learning in the most practical way how to improve their personal, family and spiritual lives.
Brett and Kathy are a Sydney couple well known to me. I remember their wedding some years ago. We were all saddened when after three years their marriage ended. They had stopped talking to each other. They spoke at each other. Many had prayed for them and wanted to help.
But they did not become one of the 39 per cent who end in divorce. They went to marriage counselling, learnt to listen to each other. As their listening skills improved so did their marriage.
Then on the Nine Network’s A Current Affair they appeared speaking on how their marriage was saved. Brett said: "After 10 years of marriage, I am more in love with Kath than ever." Kathy said "I am more in love with Brett than ever." They committed to beginning again.
Rev Dr GORDON MOYES looks at the issue of divorce...|
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SIGHT-SEEING: A POST-CHRISTMAS REFLECTION
Perhaps it's just a sign of age, but every year I find the Christmas story more emotionally power-packed than the year before.
Sure, its celebration has been grossly commercialised, cheapened by over-decoration, by slickly packaged for movies and TV, and even declared illegal in government buildings. And it's been badly eclipsed by the charming 19th century fairy story a New England father wrote for his children. But - so far, at least - it hasn't been completely stifled. Just when it seems about to be replaced by its own trappings, the real story shines through again: a section of The Messiah on the radio, the words of a carol in a shopping mall, a picture on a greeting card, or Linus' moving recital of Luke 2 in Charlie Brown's Christmas.
What hit me this year harder than ever before was how the central characters of that story are such absolutely ordinary folk going about their everyday lives, and how its message is still for ordinary folk going about their everyday lives.
Writing from the US, philosopher and author ROY CLOUSER reflects on the power of the Christmas story...|
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OPEN BOOK: NO-GODS
In conclusion to his letter, John uses a word that is also found in his account of Jesus' prayer on the night of His betrayal. That prayer is often called the High Priestly prayer. In that prayer, Jesus used this same word that John now uses here. The word signifies a "duty of care" and in His prayer Jesus says that: "those You gave to me I have kept." (John 17:17).
As we read that prayer now we realise that it is a prayer filled with an immense sadness. Jesus recognises the loss of the one who betrayed Him but He had exercised "due care" for those His Father had given Him. As the Scripture had required of Him, He had then fulfilled its requirements (John 17:9). He had protected (EPHULAXA) them.
BRUCE C WEARNE looks at the warning against idols contained in the last verse of I John... |
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WOW! A SNAPSHOT OF THE RICHNESS OF HUMAN LIFE
It took me a while to get around to watching Life in a Day even though I always suspected it would be a movie I should see. It didn’t disappoint.
Life in a Day is the result of a project - a joint production effort between Ridley Scott’s production company and YouTube - in which people from around the world were invited to video a day in their life – the 24th July, 2010 - and then submit the results to create a documentary which would show life on earth for a single day.
Some 80,000 clips were submitted and these were culled and collated to produce an hour–and-a-half of documentary footage which was then first aired at the Sundance Film Festival last January. As well as being released in cinemas and on DVD, it's now also available for download free-of-charge on its website.
DAVID ADAMS is amazed with a unique documentary looking at life in a single day on earth...|
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THE WORD: HELL
Hellfire and damnation. Hellfire and brimstone. Holy hell: just a touch of irony with that one. Hell’s bells. Hell.
Whatever we may think hell is and entails, the language and imagery applied to it has always been colourful.
While the language may be colourful, for some time now many Australians have been dismissive of its existence. A 2009 Nielsen Poll found 68 per cent of Australians believe in God while only 38 per cent believe in hell.
Expressions such as ‘all my mates will be there’ are symptomatic of a broader view which has turned hell into an insipid, debunked, amorphous nothing which is not worthy of serious intellectual consideration.
Current notions of hell have been fashioned by a jumble of ideas relating to justice, sinfulness, forgiveness and love.
Hell has been making headlines in 2011. LLOYD HARKNESS takes a look at what the Bible says about it... |
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REVIEWS
FILM: HUGO'S SEARCH FOR MEANING
Hugo is an adventure-drama for the family (in 3D), based on a 2007 novel written by Brian Selznick. The movie captivates the audience by its multifaceted themes and messages. The rich content and plot will not disappoint people who want to go beneath the surface of a story and explore the deeper meaning of life.
Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) is a 12-year-old orphan who has just lost his father. He has to live with his drunken uncle in the four walls of a train station in Paris in the 1930s. He continues to secretly run the clocks of the station after his uncle disappears. To survive he has to steal food and constantly hide from the station inspector.
Life is difficult, but all that Hugo cares about is fixing a broken automaton, a mechanical man who is supposed to write a message with a pen. Hugo believes that the message from this automaton is, in fact, a message from his father.
There is a sense of irony in the fact that this movie, told from the point of view of an ageing, frail, and dementia-suffering former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher, is called the 'Iron Lady'. Her frailty proves again that life catches up with everyone in the end.
Right from the beginning of her entrance into public life, Thatcher had to fight harder than the vast majority of budding politicians of her time simply because she was a woman. I wonder if this was at least part of the reason that many of her policies were so incredibly harsh.
Initiatives such as trying to introduce a flat tax – where everybody, rich and poor, pay the same amount, were rightly not tolerated, not just by the workers of Great Britain, but by many in her own Conservative Party itself. It was policies such as this, borne out of her own determination that people should work hard no matter their background, that ultimately led to her political demise after 11 turbulent years as prime minister.
BOOKS: DISSIDENT'S BOOK REVEALS "SECRET HISTORY" OF CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA
Though Western companies, from American automakers to European luxury firms, have recently gained a foothold in China, Western religion has played a role there for much longer than General Motors or Hermes.
Nonetheless, Christianity's presence in China has been "hidden from the West for many years," says Wenguang Huang in the introduction to his translation of God is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China by Liao Yiwu, a dissident writer whose previous book landed him in jail.
Wenguang reports there are about 70 million practicing Christians in China. "In a society tightly controlled by an atheist government, Christianity is China's largest formal religion," he says in the introduction. But for many years it was severely repressed by the Communist government. The book gives voice to numerous stories - from rural backwaters to big cities - of bravery and faith under extremely trying conditions.
PAUL BENNETT, of ENInews, takes a look at God is Red... |
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CASTING THE NET: TED
It's all about "Ideas Worth Spreading". Founded in 1984, TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is centred on two annual conferences - one in Long Beach and Palm Springs and another in Edinburgh - which, along with a growing number of other initiatives coming under the TED banner, are aimed at bringing together the "world's most fascinating thinkers and doers". Each speaker at the conferences is given 18 minutes or less and challenged to give what organisers call the "talk of their lives". The result is a huge database of more than 900 talks all of which have been videoed and are available for you to watch via their website. It's an amazingly rich place to venture - the talks have long since roamed outside the realm of technology, entertainment and design and now cover an increasingly wide range of subjects
DAVID ADAMS on a website bursting with inspirational speakers... |
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
LIFESTYLE
TRENDSPOTTER: BLOCK YOUR EARS, THE SODCASTERS ARE AMONG US
Mobile phones have become ubiquitous in many parts of today's world and, alongside those who'll interrupt anyone to answer their phone at the drop of a hat, has come the appearance of those who like to broadcast their conversations - or their music - to the world. They're the people who, rather than keep their phone conversations to themselves, speak into their phone in a voice that makes eavesdropping a mandatory, if involuntary, act. Alongside these 'loudspeakers' are those who delight in using hands free phones while they walk, breaking out in sudden conversation in stentorious tones, with who appears to be no-one mid-stride. And then there's the group known as 'sodcasters', defined as people who play music through their tiny mobile phone speakers in a public place, usually being a bus or a plane.
DAVID ADAMS looks at the rise of the sodcasters...|
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ORIGINS: THE WORLD HERITAGE LIST CELEBRATES ITS BIRTH
It’s 40 years this month that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) member states adopted the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, aimed at protecting sites around the globe deemed of international importance.
The convention was adopted at the 17th session of UNESCO’s general conference held in Paris on 16th November, 1972, and came into force in 1975.
States who sign the convention – and 188 have, including Australia which was one of the first to sign – agree to identify, protect, conserve and present World Heritage sites.
DAVID ADAMS looks at the origins of a scheme to protect sites of international significance... |
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SIGNIFICANT SIGHTS: FINDING INSPIRATION IN CAMBODIA
I first visited Cambodia in 2008, travelling with a small group from Bible Society as we visited and I filmed a number of Bible Society projects. I’ve been making television programs and documentaries for more than 30 years and at the time, was communications manager for Bible Society NSW.
I’ve just returned from my fourth filming visit to the country and I realise that despite the heat and humidity, something I loathe in Sydney, Cambodia holds a special place in my heart. Each trip has started with a day visiting the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in the heart of Phnom Penh and then the Killing Fields site at Choeung Ek, a few kilometres out of the city.
Nothing can prepare you for the horror that both sites represent. Up to three million Cambodians were massacred during the Pol Pot era - almost a whole generation wiped out.
Knowing the history of the country is important in helping the western visitor understand the country today. By wiping out a whole generation, Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge army also wiped out the tradition and knowledge that that generation should have passed on to their children and grandchildren.
MARTIN JOHNSON writes about why Cambodia holds a special place in his heart...|
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TAKE PART IN A STUDY LOOKING AT THE IMPACT OF 'CRISIS TALK'
The 2020Plus international Think Tank is asking members of the public to contribute to a study on the impact of constant talk of ‘crises’ in the media. They're asking people to watch one (or more) news programme(s) on the TV or internet and let them know how many times they hear (or see printed on screen) any of the following eight words - crisis, emergency, disaster, disastrous, recession, recessionary, depression, desperate - before reporting their findings. To take part see the 2020Plus website.
20/20
MODERN PARABLES John 8:2-11 - The lady caught in adultery
At dawn Jesus appeared in the temple courts. All the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The people brought in a woman they had caught doing an unthinkable act. They slandered her and made her stand before the group. They said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught doing something unthinkable according to our ways. Common decency demands us to shame, condemn and ostracize such a women. Now what do you say?”
How would the parables and events of Jesus' life be affected by our modern sensibilities and practices?PAUL CLARK's "modern parables"...|
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THE BIG PICTURE: YOU HAVE A FRIEND REQUEST
Shaking hands and kissing babies sure makes a lot of friends. Take US President Barack Obama for example. More than 24.2 million people "like" him, according to his Facebook page. But he isn't close to being the world's most popular person. He trails cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants, who has 29.5 million fans, and even Lady Gaga's 45.7 million followers.
However, even they still have ground to make on the most "liked" person. Who might that be? Amazingly, it's entertainer Eminem, adored by a whopping 49.8 million people.
Facebook has revolutionised how we connect with friends and reconnect with forgotten ones. It allows us to share our daily lives, our photos, our music and our humour.
But are those relationships genuine?
To see Outreach Media's January poster and read about the meaning behind it, follow the link... | more... |
WORDPLAY: GENESIS 38
It's always interesting to look at something from another angle and the Bible, with its layers and depths of meaning, always has more to reveal. This is part of a project to illustrate the books of the Bible, chapter-by-chapter, as a 'wordle', highlighting the most often used words to give another angle into what it's all about. Follow the link to see a larger version of the word cloud and let us know what insights it brings you... | more... |
THE ILLUSTRATED VIEW: PSALM 149
11th December, 2011
Psalm 149
by STEVE MOULTON
This is only a partial image. Follow the link to see a larger, full version of the image... |
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SIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY POOL
Last month's theme was 'majesty'. Above is GLENYS CRUICKSHANK's image.
Sight's Photography Pool is a new feature in which photographers are invited to submit images on a theme relevant to the Christian walk. We are currently looking for submissions relating to the theme of 'Christmas lights'.
To submit images on that theme or to find out more about the group, head to the Sight Photography Pool on Flickr - www.flickr.com/groups/sightphotographypool/ To see our previously selected images, follow this link... |
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SPECIAL - BOOK EXCERPT: FIRST FRUIT
An image of a pomegranate (Punica granatum) from JANET TILLER's beautifully illustrated book, First Fruit. The book contains a series of stunning botanical images with accompanying Scriptures... |
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"As a nation we are big enough and it is the right time to say yes to an understanding of our past, to say yes to constitutional change, and to say yes to a future more united and more reconciled than we have ever been before."
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Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, speaking at the launch of a report recommending that Indigenous Australians be recognised in the Australian Constitution (as quoted on www.abc.net.au on 19th January, 2012). For previous 'They said it'... | more... |
THIS WEEK ON THE WEB
21st December, 2011
Looking to put the Christ back in Christmas? Become a follower of Zondervan's Reclaiming Christmas page on Facebook. You'll find it here...
For previous 'This week on the web'... | more... |
NEW! SIGHT SOAPBOX
Something that you want to get off your chest but just haven't had the opportunity? Sight's Soapbox is a new feature allowing you to have your say on a subject of your choice!
FRENCH PROTESTANTS PUT SPOTLIGHT ON CHAPLAINCY, AMID TENSIONS
In a bid to reduce tensions with other religious groups and to highlight challenges, the Protestant Federation of France has turned the spotlight on chaplaincy this year.
At the group's General Assembly on 21st and 22nd January in Paris, members examined the issues chaplains face in hospitals, prisons and the military and urged member churches to take steps to support chaplains' work.
Pastor Claude Baty, president of the federation, told ENInews that a key concern was the tensions in some sectors between Protestant chaplains and those from the Catholic Church. He said that as the number of practising Catholics decline in France, the Catholic Church was "worried" about losing its traditionally dominant position, including in the area of chaplaincy.
One of the central themes of Jesus’ ministry on earth was unity. Prior to His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus prayed that those who followed Him “may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.” (John 17:20). But unity has often proved elusive, especially for the many Christian denominations represented in the small, but holy city of Jerusalem.
RYAN JONES, of Travelujah, reports in Sight's blog on the history and culture of Israel...|
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OUT OF AFRICA: AN ANNIVERSARY...
Recently it was a year since we left Australia; so today it’s a year since we arrived in Malawi. I have caught myself thinking a couple of times; ‘Would I have come if I had known what I would experience here’? If I had really understood what it would mean to leave everyone and everything familiar and to adjust my life to another culture? To be constantly observed, whether in my home or out, to live my life in such a public manner? Would I have come if I had known the things I would see, dying babies, people ravaged with disease, people suffering with malnutrition?
LENA JOHNSTONE's blog about life in Malawi, Africa, where she works with the Mphatso Children's Foundation...|
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TOMMASO THE CAT STRIKES IT RICH; THE LEGO TOURIST; AND INTRODUCING THE ARTIST POCKETS WARHOL... Tommaso, a former stray cat from Rome, became one of the world’s richest animals recently when he inherited more than $13 million in property and cash from his late mistress. Italian Maria Assunta, the childless widow of a property magnate, reportedly drew up a will which specified that Tommaso have her fortune spent on him and gave her lawyers the task of finding an animal welfare body to whom to give the inheritance and the job of looking after the four-year-old cat.
DAVID
ADAMS writes about the odder side of life...|
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NEW FINDINGS SUGGEST HEROD MAY NOT HAVE COMPLETED JERUSALEM'S WALLS... Despite centuries of assumption that King Herod built the Western Wall of the temple in Jerusalem, recent archaeological findings could throw this accepted conventional premise on its head.
Professor Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa and Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a news conference last week that a ritual bath exposed beneath the Western Wall of the Temple Mount contains proof that the construction of that wall was not completed during Herod’s lifetime but at least 20 years after his death around 4 BC.
NICOLE JANSEZIAN, of Travelujah, reports...|
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NEW! THE STOREROOM: CONVERSATIONS WITH THE EDITOR... Usually we meet for lunch but on this occasion we had an early start travelling to Westminster to hear Alistair McGrath on the King James Bible. It was excellent. Then a Wycliffe Bible translator talked about his story of translating the Bible into a language spoken by 14,000.
I asked the editor what he thought about that and whether there were some languages spoken by too few people (who speak other languages) to justify the translation effort. He said that it would always be preferable for people to read it in their won tongue. I can’t imagine even having to manage with one English translation so I suppose he may be right on this occasion.
RICHARD THOMAS' sometimes weird and sometimes wonderful 'storeroom' of ideas...|
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TIREDNESS, FRUSTRATION AND TRUST...
In the U2 song, Peace on Earth, Bono sings of his frustration about our constant talk of peace without it ever really happening. Peace, peace when there is no peace is the cry of the prophet he is echoing. All around we see power corrupting and people in power getting their way at the expense of those with no power. Over and over again it happens.
I have no trust in political and economic systems. Ultimately I trust more in Jesus, whose power did not corrupt and through whom our desires for power are redeemed. John Smith asked a question many years ago which is a challenge for everyone who claims to be a serious follower of Jesus. The question is this: who are your friends and who are your enemies? The point he was making is that, when you look at the life of Jesus, His friends were overwhelmingly the powerless, the marginalised and the oppressed. And His enemies were overwhelmingly the rich, the powerful and the oppressors.
NILS VON KALM'S blog on faith, life and how it all might fit together...|
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24th September, 2008: Hear DAVID ADAMS speaking to GURYEL ALI, of 96.3 Rhema FM in Geelong, talking about some of the stories featured on Sight...|
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Rev Dr Nyambura Njoroge is always reminding herself of the daily lives of people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Their battle for dignity and enormous resilience keeps inspiring her while she coordinates World Council of Churches Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative for Africa (EHAIA).
The Christian roots of the African National Congress (ANC) were cited during weekend celebrations in South Africa marking the centennial of Africa's best known liberation and political movement. More than a dozen African heads of state and representatives from around the world attended to honor the movement that eventually overcame the apartheid system of racial segregation. 
Our church has been conducting Good News Week. It runs every day with a wonderful children’s program. Meanwhile in the adult tent, a doctor, a psychologist, a minister and others speak to the hundreds of parents present on issues facing young couples. On my estimate of mothers and fathers attending (including the special men’s evening program) at least 300 couples have been learning in the most practical way how to improve their personal, family and spiritual lives.
Perhaps it's just a sign of age, but every year I find the Christmas story more emotionally power-packed than the year before.
It took me a while to get around to watching Life in a Day even though I always suspected it would be a movie I should see. It didn’t disappoint.
Hellfire and damnation. Hellfire and brimstone. Holy hell: just a touch of irony with that one. Hell’s bells. Hell.
Hugo is an adventure-drama for the family (in 3D), based on a 2007 novel written by Brian Selznick. The movie captivates the audience by its multifaceted themes and messages. The rich content and plot will not disappoint people who want to go beneath the surface of a story and explore the deeper meaning of life.
There is a sense of irony in the fact that this movie, told from the point of view of an ageing, frail, and dementia-suffering former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher, is called the 'Iron Lady'. Her frailty proves again that life catches up with everyone in the end.
Though Western companies, from American automakers to European luxury firms, have recently gained a foothold in China, Western religion has played a role there for much longer than General Motors or Hermes. 
It's all about "Ideas Worth Spreading". Founded in 1984, TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is centred on two annual conferences - one in Long Beach and Palm Springs and another in Edinburgh - which, along with a growing number of other initiatives coming under the TED banner, are aimed at bringing together the "world's most fascinating thinkers and doers". Each speaker at the conferences is given 18 minutes or less and challenged to give what organisers call the "talk of their lives". The result is a huge database of more than 900 talks all of which have been videoed and are available for you to watch via their website. It's an amazingly rich place to venture - the talks have long since roamed outside the realm of technology, entertainment and design and now cover an increasingly wide range of subjects
Mobile phones have become ubiquitous in many parts of today's world and, alongside those who'll interrupt anyone to answer their phone at the drop of a hat, has come the appearance of those who like to broadcast their conversations - or their music - to the world. They're the people who, rather than keep their phone conversations to themselves, speak into their phone in a voice that makes eavesdropping a mandatory, if involuntary, act. Alongside these 'loudspeakers' are those who delight in using hands free phones while they walk, breaking out in sudden conversation in stentorious tones, with who appears to be no-one mid-stride. And then there's the group known as 'sodcasters', defined as people who play music through their tiny mobile phone speakers in a public place, usually being a bus or a plane. 
It’s 40 years this month that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) member states adopted the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, aimed at protecting sites around the globe deemed of international importance.
I first visited Cambodia in 2008, travelling with a small group from Bible Society as we visited and I filmed a number of Bible Society projects. I’ve been making television programs and documentaries for more than 30 years and at the time, was communications manager for Bible Society NSW.
In the U2 song, Peace on Earth, Bono sings of his frustration about our constant talk of peace without it ever really happening. Peace, peace when there is no peace is the cry of the prophet he is echoing. All around we see power corrupting and people in power getting their way at the expense of those with no power. Over and over again it happens.