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TO 20/20@SIGHT
Welcome
to 20/20@Sight, our space for the creative arts. Here you'll
find a selection of writing - both prose and poetry - along
with photography and graphic artwork. If you'd like to make
a submission, simply contact editor@sightmagazine.com.au.
THE BIG PICTURE: IT CAN BE FORGIVEN
On 27th July, 1996, Ivan Milat was finally convicted of seven 'backpacker' murders committed in the Belanglo State Forest south of Sydney in NSW, Australia. To this day, despite damning evidence, he says he is innocent. He's been called Australia's worst 'serial killer'.
Like every country, Cambodia also has its killers. After the Vietnam war ended in 1975, Cambodia was ruled by the Khmer Rouge whose terrible leader, Pol Pot made war on his own people. Estimates vary, but at the very least one million Cambodians were killed for no reason other than being educated or perhaps wearing glasses or just being in the wrong place.
To see Outreach Media's September poster and read about the meaning behind it, follow the link... | more... |
FOR PREVIOUS:
August 2010: Don't Just Vote For Them...Pray For Them... | more... |
July 2010: Is This The Only Time You Pray?... | more... |
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 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... |
RECKON YOU KNOW YOUR BIBLE? TAKE PART IN THE WORDPLAY CHALLENGE...
We've created a word cloud of a 'mystery; chapter of the Bible - see if, by simply, looking at the words, you can identify which
book of the Bible the words come from and, if you're game, the chapter of that book? Follow the link to leave your answer... | more... |
Sitting in the church are people who believe in and follow Jesus Christ. Some are casual Christians, but most are committed and dedicated to Jesus Christ and His cause on the earth.
Christians go to church to worship God and to be encouraged in the faith, by the preaching of the Word of God. They also attend to spiritually connected with God. During the church service, the Holy Spirit is observed by his activity in and effect on the people (John 3 :8). Going to church is clearly important - especially as we face many spiritual trials, persecutions and much doctrinal questions daily (Hebrews 10: 25). You do not go to church to be unmoved or indifferent. You do not go to church to remain dormant and bored or just to hear about paying in money. And you certainly do not go to church to remain silent in songs of praise and worship.
MIKE ABEL talks about the joy of a Sunday... |
more... |
POETRY: MOVING FORWARD THROUGH FORGIVENESS OF SINS
Jesus was baptised into the world at a late age, but he knew what there was to know about God before he was born.
Just like us. We know.
Then we seek, we lose.
Unfortunately sometimes failure, suffering, sin means we lose but never find because we don’t look at the Lord and say, “Forgive me, Father, I have sinned.”
Read more
of VANESSA MALISA's Moving Forward Through Forgiveness of Sins... |
more... |
Climate change is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity and species loss. With every increase in global temperature, more and more species will become extinct such as the marine turtle, the Murray cod, orangutans and ginseng, as the relief shows. The poor are more vulnerable because they are more dependant on natural resources and have lower capacity to cope.
The climate is changing and hope is fading. Fading because we are not seeing the national governments of our world be courageous enough to make the hard decisions needed to halt dangerous climate change. They're not courageous enough to step out of the political vote-scoring cycle and implement visionary, long-lasting sustainable solutions.
Have
you ever had a friend who would be willing to give up their
own life to save yours?
In our day and age it’s
hard to imagine a scenario where a friend could be placed
in such a position.
For earlier generations who lived in less
secure and comfortable circumstances, this may have been a
real and genuine occurrence.
Just today, during a time of worship and
meditation, I had a very clear vision of a dark, bloodied
battle scene. It was on a muddy and roughened terrain, loud
and fierce explosive noises ripping through the sky, bright
flashes of severe light as spotlights frantically scanned
the field, and then as an explosion of artillery tore up the
soil even more, punching holes in the earth. Shrapnel flying
through the air. Bullets ripping randomly in every direction.
Bodies lying on the ground, torn, bleeding, dismembered, some
gasping for their last breath, others still and cold.
Then, straining across the battle-zone;
a solid and strong figure, carrying a heavy load, attempting
to rush to safe cover on the horizon. Steely-gaze, fixed on
making it to protected trenches, where urgent medical attention
could be administered.
NICK HODGSON reflects on the meaning of Easter... |
more... |
Oh yeah, Christmas - well yes, the children and the old people
need to have their festivities. So yes, I'll be there, I'll
take the day off and yes, I've got some presents - over there
in the corner - I'll be part of it. Church? Well, OK but maybe
something'll come up and I might have to miss that but I will
be there for lunch.
Really though, I know it's
something that we can't do without, I know, but I'm no longer
a child and really my mind is not really on such things -
I have to keep my mind on the job. So much to do. So much
to arrange. So much to get in order for the new year. A new
broom. A new way of doing things. Resolutions. You know. A
new year and clean start and all that.
All this Jesus in the Manger
stuff, it's not where I'm at. Not really.
Read more of BRUCE C WEARNE'S Christmas reflection...|
more... |
SHORT STORY:
INCIDENTS AT THE GATE
Dies
Solis, Ante diem III Idus Iulias, DCCLXXIV AUC, Hora IX
(Day of the Sun, 3 days before the Ides of July, 776 years
after the founding of Rome, the Ninth Hour)
The sun had passed its zenith, but its heat still made the
air shimmer above the baked earth and cobbles of the street.
Its light was blinding as it ricocheted off the white marble
of the facade and columns of the Temple towering a hundred
cubits into the cloudless blue dome of the sky. Men, with
faces hooded against the glare, hurried into the blessed coolness
of the shaded inner courts. It was the hour of prayer.
Huddled in the small pool of shadow cast
by an alcove, sat a man. His tattered garments served to emphasise,
not hide, his thin, almost emaciated form. His skeletal and
twisted legs were tucked under him so as to cause as little
offence as possible as he held out gnarled and callused hands
that also served as feet. Hopelessness was etched into the
sagging and lined face. Shame ground into fatalism by desperation
smouldered in the downcast eyes. Every day as long as he could
remember, they had carried him to the Beautiful Gate to beg
coin on which to live.
Read
more of KEVIN I. GRANT'S story Incidents at the Gate... |
more... |
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works remain the copyright of the author.
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"I can't regret the decision to go to war...I can say that never did I guess the nightmare that unfolded, and that too is part of the responsibility. The truth is we did not anticipate the role of al-Qaida or Iran. Whether we should have is another matter; and if we had anticipated, what we would have done about it is another matter again."
- Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in his memoir 'A Journey' (released on 1st September), speaking about the Iraq war. For previous 'They said it'... | more... |
THIS WEEK ON THE WEB
28th July, 2010
Afghanistan has been in the spotlight again this week following the leaking of thousands of the US military's internal logs relating to the period between January 2004 and December 2009. The files were leaked to website Wikileaks which has allowed several news organisations special access to the data, including UK newspaper, The Guardian. You can read its coverage here...
For previous 'This week on the web'... | more... |
DID YOU KNOW? NEWS BRIEFS
THE
STATISTIC
Number of species living in the Australian waters:
TRIBUTES MARK 70 YEARS OF TAIZE SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY
World Christian leaders are paying tribute to the ecumenical community of Taizé in eastern France, which is marking its foundation in 1940 by Brother Roger Schutz, who died in 2005.
In a message in advance of the 14th August commemoration to Brother Alois, who now heads the community, Pope Benedict XVI described Schutz as a "pioneer in the difficult paths toward unity among the disciples of Christ".
"Seventy years ago, he began a community that continues to see thousands of young adults, searching for meaning in their lives, come to it from around the world, welcoming them in prayer and allowing them to experience a personal relationship with God," Pope Benedict said.
STEPHEN BROWN, of Ecumenical News International, reports...| more... |
On 9th September, Jews in Israel and around the world will celebrate the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana: ‘Head of the Year’).
Rosh Hashana falls on the first day of Tishrei (the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar), and is the first of the Jewish High Holidays or Yamim Noraim (’Days of Awe’), on which Jews focus on repentance before Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).
On Rosh Hashana, Jews observe a day of rest (Leviticus 23: 24). Rabbis sound a shofar (a trumpet made from the horn of a ram, goat, or antelope), to symbolically awaken listeners and alert them to the coming judgement.
KARYN MARKWELL's blog on the history and culture of Israel...|
more... |
THOUGHTS ON CONTROL...
U2's song Moment of Surrender has a line which simply says “to be released from control”. It is yet another line from a U2 song which has hit me like a brick.
Just about everything we do in life is designed to keep us in control of our lives. But the life of the cross is about relinquishing control to the only one who is ultimately trustworthy. Oh to be released from control on that day when we will have new bodies and new minds in the fully consummated kingdom of God.
NILS VON KALM'S blog on faith, life and how it all might fit together...|
more... |
A RHINO CITY; WHY WE CAN PLAY A VUVUZELA BUT CAN'T GO WURFING; AND JESUS ON TENNIS We've already heard of island archipelagos designed to resemble palm trees or maps of the world. So why not a city shaped like a rhino in Africa? That's the design planners in southern Sudan have reportedly come up with for their capital, the city of Juba.
DAVID
ADAMS writes about the odder side of life...|
more... |
THINKING ON POLITICS...
Thinking on politics... Sometimes a door opens and as a Jesus follower you have to decide whether to walk through it. If you are fair dinkum about following you don't leave your God clothes in a pile by the door - you just wear em and walk on in. Mine don't come off.... and they are always clean and fresh, He washes me daily!
ANN
WOJCZUK's blog about life, the universe and possibly everything...|
more... |
FRAGMENTS OF BRONZE AGE LAW CODE FOUND IN ISRAEL
Fragments of a cuneiform tablet containing a law code which parallels parts of the famous Babylonian Hammurabi Code have been found in northern Israel.
The find - the first of its kind in Israel - was made during excavations conducted by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at Hazor. The fragments date from the 18th and 17th centuries BC - the Middle Bronze Age - and are written in the Akkadian cuneiform script. They refer to issues of personal injury law relating to the relationship between slaves and their masters and the researchers say they also reflect the Biblical concept of a ‘tooth for a tooth’.
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...|
more... |
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writers, illustrators and photographers to join the Sight team (please note that all Sight contributors are presently volunteers) - use the
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like to be involved...
Sitting in the church are people who believe in and follow Jesus Christ. Some are casual Christians, but most are committed and dedicated to Jesus Christ and His cause on the earth. 
Have
you ever had a friend who would be willing to give up their
own life to save yours?
CELEBRATING ROSH HASHANA...
THOUGHTS ON CONTROL...
THINKING ON POLITICS...