This Week On The Web provides links to interesting and challenging items we've come across on the web.

Please note: Sight is not responsible for the content of external sites which may change without our knowledge.

18th April, 2013

Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, gave a public address at the London funeral this week of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in which he said that "after the storm of a life lived in the heat of political controversy, there is a great calm". To read the full address, visit the website of St Paul's Cathedral here...

14th April, 2013

'Millions face starvation as world warms, say scientists.' Read this report in The Guardian in which experts warn of the devastating effect rising food prices could have on communities in Africa and Asia in coming decades. Read the report here...

13th March, 2013

The History Channel's five-part miniseries The Bible has surprised many with the strength of its ratings since going to air in the US earlier this month. Producer Mark Burnett told Entertainment Weekly that the "hand of God" was on the production. You can read more about some of the "weird things" that happened during its filming at Entertainment Weekly here...

3rd February, 2013

Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, has published the text of a letter written by Guy Horton, a researcher known internationally for his work regarding human rights in Burma. Sent from the northern Kachin State in Burma on 25th January, 2013, it represents a "grave appeal" for the international community to act. You can read the letter on Elizabeth's Kendal's blog here...

23rd January, 2013

Political hotspots? A graphic highlighting the countries most likely to face a coup in 2013. See it on the Washington Post blog, WorldViews, here...

18th December, 2012

Christianity Today canvases some opinions on whether churches should discourage belief in Santa Claus. You can read the responses here...

3rd November, 2012

Rupert Shortt, author of Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack, writes about the persecution of Christians around the world in the UK newspaper, The Telegraph. To read it, follow this link...

22nd October, 2012

A fascinating piece about the olive trees which grow in the Jerusalem's Garden of Gethsemane. Read the ABC article 'Jerusalem's olive trees among oldest in the world' by following this link...

10th October, 2012

How many Christians in Egypt? Mary Abdelmassih, in an article recently published by the Assyrian International News Agency, takes a look at what the Egyptian Government recently said about the controversial question. You can read the article here...

13th September, 2012

A tragic story out of Afghanistan. You can read Emma Graham-Harrison's piece, 'A circle of childhood friends broken with a bomb in Kabul', in the UK's The Guardian here...

14th August,2012

'Beyond 7 billion', an indepth report on the world's population and what our growing numbers mean for the future. See this report - and the infographics - in the LA Times here...

12th July,2012

A new video posted on the website, What is Marriage?, takes a look at how marriage is defined under the Marriage Act. To see it, head to www.whatismarriage.org.au.

16th June,2012

Remember Arthur Blessitt, the man who carried the Cross around the world (read a previous Sight story about him here)? The Cross is now orbiting the earth in space - head here to see a live update of its position above the earth...

24th May,2012

Join in with the One Million Acts of Kindness challenge. This eight week event hopes to reach that goal but it needs your help to do so. To find out more, head to www.1millionacts.com.au.

6th May,2012

Saliba Sarsar writes in Lebanon's The Daily Star about the decline in the number of Christian Palestinians. You can read Sarsar's op-ed article  - 'Palestinian Christians are disappearing' - here...

4th April,2012

A provocative piece in Newsweek - 'Christianity in Crisis' - in which writer Andrew Sullivan says, thanks to Christianity having been "destroyed by politics, priests and get-rich evangelists", we should ignore them and embrace Him. You can read it here...

27th March,2012

See The Economist's graphic on cigarette smoking around the world with charts showing locations where the highest number of men and women smoke. You can see the charts here...

18th March,2012

Hear Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams' interview with the Press Association following the announcement that he will step down. Follow this link to find the recording...

27th February, 2012

Leading evolutionist Professor Richard Dawkins went head to head with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, in a discussion about the "the nature of human beings and the question of their ultimate origin" in Oxford University's Sheldonian Theatre on 23rd February. To see a webcast of the event, follow this link...

3rd February, 2012

Ahead of the upcoming National Day of Prayer and Fasting on 19th February, organiser Pastor Matt Prater has recorded a cover of the MC Hammer rap song, Pray. To download and listen to it, follow this link (2.2 MB). For more on the National Day of Prayer and Fasting, see www.nationaldayofprayer.com.au...

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...

14th December, 2011

A rapping version of the Nativity? English vicar Gavin Tyte (aka Ty Te) was a professional 'beatboxer' before taking the cloth. He's put his former skills to great use in a new rapping version of the Nativity. You can watch it here...

28th November, 2011

The Australian Christian Lobby have made a video about their petition to next weekend's ALP National Conference in which they call on delegates not to change the ALP's current definition of marriage. You can see the video here...

11th October, 2011

Australian Copts have called for the Egyptian ambassador to be expelled following the death of at least 24 Coptic Christians in Cairo on Sunday after police and military opened fire on a demonstrators. Read Barney Zwartz's article from The Age newspaper here...

21st September, 2011

Read about a rugby-themed Gospel of Luke, released in New Zealand to coincide with the Rugby World Cup. See the story in The Dominion newspaper here...

13th September, 2011

It's 'Include a Charity Week'; a week which is aimed at encouraging you to remember your favorite charity in your will. If its sounds like something you might be interested in, just follow the link to find out more...

6th September, 2011

Nicholas Tonti-Filippini, associate professor at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family and an author of the national church leaders' statement on marriage, writes about why marriage is about the rights of children. You can read the piece on The Age online here...

23rd August, 2011

The Australian Christian Lobby has set up an electronic petition about keeping the definition of marriage between a man and a woman, which is expected to be tabled in the Senate this Wednesday. More than 55,000 people have signed the petition. To see the petition, click here...

17th August, 2011

Read about a project in which scholars at Hebrew University in Jerusalem have been working for 53 years to publish an authoritative edition of the Old Testament and track every single version of the text over the past two millennia. Click here to read the story...

21st July, 2011

Looking for contacts or a job in the Australian development community? Chris Piper of overseas aid consultancy Torqaid has just published the latest edition of the Australian Aid Resource and Training Guide (AARTG) which provides a comprehensive directory of organisations in the Australian and overseas development sector as well as information on training courses. You can access the guide online here...

14th July, 2011

Read about how archaeologists are digging up Goliath's home town of Gath and, as a result, are piecing together the history of the Philistines. Click here to read this Foxnews piece...

8th July, 2011

The Word on the web. Read Alicia Wood's story 'Holy tweet: God's network grows' in the Sydney Morning Herald about how the church is embracing new technology. Click here to read...

23rd June, 2011

Read the full text of US President Barack Obama's speech on Wednesday night in which he states his decision to withdraw 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by mid 2012. Click here...

9th June, 2011

See a  photo gallery from Time magazine, Yemen on the brink, about recent events in the African nation here...

11th April, 2011

One month after Japan's earthquake. See a photo gallery on the International Business Times website here...

2nd March, 2011

See Chilean miner Jose "the Pastor" Henriquez talk about faith and Israel during his recent visit to Israel. Follow this link to see the video from Travelujah...

19th February, 2011

Read the stories of those who suffered at the hands of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, where for nearly 25 years the group has been terrorising villagers. Read their harrowing stories at London's The Telegraph website here...

10th February, 2011

Read the full text of Prime Minister Julia Gillard's emotional 'motion of condolence' to the House of Representatives concerning Australia's summer of natural disasters here...

19th January, 2011

See amazing before and after pictures of the floods on Queensland on the news.com.au website here...

11th January, 2011

See Time magazine's photo gallery on 'Christians under siege in the Muslim world' here...

7th January, 2011

Read about why human rights workers are concerned for the safety of Pakistani woman Asia Bibi, being held in solitary confinement after becoming the first woman to be sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy, following the assassination of the Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer this week. See the report in the UK's Guardian newspaper here...

21st December, 2010

Social networking has brought about a whole new way of telling the Christmas story. Here's a couple of examples we've found on the web - the Natwivity and the amazingly intricate The Digital Story of the Nativity on YouTube...

16th December, 2010

See an amazing map of how people around the world are connected by Facebook. The brighter the lights, the more Facebook users present at a given location. Click here to see the map..

6th December, 2010

Believe this, or else...

The Age's Barney Zwartz writes about concerns over a proposed UN resolution on the "defamation of religion" and why it could lead to many more cases like that of Asia Bibi, recently condemned to death in Pakistan for blasphemy. To read his initial article, click here. To read a subsequent blog entry on the issue, click here..

11th November, 2010

Read how some Christians are vowing to remain in Iraqi despite the recent spate of killings. Time magazine reports this week on how some Muslims are offering their support to Christians who are living in a state of siege. Read the article here...

3rd November, 2010

US abortion 'survivor' Melissa Ohden, who recently toured Australia, tells her story in a video published by Pro-Life Victoria. The video A Story About Life, which also features state MP Peter Kavanagh, is part of a push to raise awareness of changes in the abortion laws in that state that were made in 2008. You can watch the video on YouTube here...

17th October, 2010

Former Australian PM Kevin Rudd has been in Rome, where he is leading the Australian Government's delegation for the canonisation of Mary MacKillop. In an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, he talks about his belief in miracles. Read it here...

29th September, 2010

The official end of World War I takes place this Sunday, 3rd October, when Germany pays off the last of its reparations. Follow this link to read Allan Hall's story in London's Daily Telegraph...

14th September, 2010

See a digital reconstruction showing where more than 560 earthquakes have occurred on New Zealand's South Island since a 7.1 magnitude quake struck near Christchurch earlier this month. Follow this link...

3rd September, 2010

Retired Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking says in his latest book that God was not needed to create the universe but that instead the 'big bang' was the inevitable consequence of the laws of physics. Here, read a reply from author, Professor John Lennox, who argues that, on the contrary, the creation of the universe can't be explained without God...

5th July, 2010

HIV/AIDS has killed 27 million people, says the World Health Organisation. Read Peter Hartcher's article in The Sydney Morning Herald of the latest calls to keep funding the fight against the ongoing spread of the disease...

8th June, 2010

Read Ghaith Abdul-Ahad's report published in The Guardian newspaper 'How Somalia's civil war became new front in battle against al-Qaida' about what's been happening in the African nation here...

21st May, 2010

Listen to Dr Craig Venter, the scientist responsible for creating the first synthetic living cell, talk about the ramifications of his work in an interview with the BBC here...

17th May, 2010

The battle for Bangkok. Read Ben Doherty's report in The Guardian 'Thailand's tourists shop for bargains as protest battle rages' here...

1st May, 2010

Read Tom Allard's report in The Sydney Morning Herald 'God help us: Bali Nine pray' here...

1st April, 2010

Read an explanation of some of the Easter customs and traditions here...

22nd March, 2010

Read a report from TIME magazine on Morocco's crackdown on Christian aid workers here...

19th February, 2010

Take a virtual journey along Russia's famed Trans-Siberian railway with a new 'virtual train journey' on Google. Simply follow the link to get started...

25th January, 2010

Read the amazing story of Wismond Exantus, a 24-year-old supermarket cashier who survived 11 days buried under rubble after the Haiti earthquake on 12th January. Rescued last Saturday, he said he had been saved by God. "It was God who was tucking me away in his arms."

8th December, 2009

How did 25th December become the date we celebrate Christmas? Andrew McGowan, associate professor of early Christian history at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has penned his thoughts on the matter in an article published in the Bibical Archaeology Review. Click here to start reading...

23rd November, 2009

Australia Post has published 200 'Letters of a Nation' as part of its bicentenary celebrations. The letters have been chosen to represent the different "events, people and regions of Australia's rich history". Click here to start reading...

29th October, 2009

News of the Pope Benedict XVI's invitation for disenchanted Anglicans to return to Roman Catholicism has sparked discussion around the world - and in Australia. Follow this link to see The Age's Barney Zwartz's report on the Australian reaction...

19th October, 2009

More from YouTube - this time it's the amazing work of Ukranian 'sand artist' Kseniya Simonova. In June, Ms Simonova won Ukraine's Got Talent with a moving performance in which she illustrated the story of her country during World War II. Click here to see the YouTube video of her performance...

12th October, 2009

Rare footage of Anne Frank - the Jewish girl who kept a diary while living in hiding in Amsterdam before she was captured and died seven months later in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp - is viewable on a new 'Anne Frank Channel' launched on YouTube by Anne Frank House. Go here to see it...

1st October, 2009

It's Ocsober! Life Education Australia is running a fundraising program which challenges Australians to cut out alcohol for a month to raise money to educate children about the effects of drugs and alcohol. Go here to find out more...

31st August, 2009

Atheist Adam Rutherford is taking the Alpha course and blogging about his experiences for The Guardian newspaper's website. You can read about his experiences here...

19th August, 2009

The National Film & Sound Archive recently added another 10 recordings to its Sounds of Australia registry. They include the Happy Little Vegemites advertising jingle. Click here to listen to the complete list...

6th July, 2009

Read the UK Daily Mail's take on the amazing story of Australian Nick Vujicic who was born without arms or legs here...

1st July, 2009

Following the disputed presidential election in Iran on 12th June, authorities have detained hundreds of people. There have also been some deaths. The Guardian newspaper in the UK is compiling a list of people detained or killed and is asking for help in identifying them. You can see the list here...

23rd June, 2009

Want to gain a better understanding of events in Iran? Time has published a who's who list looking at 10 of the top players in events unfolding there. You can see the list here...

3rd June, 2009

In an interview with Christianity Today, Casting Crowns frontman Mark Hall talks about his band's second trip to North Korea. Read the story here...

16th May, 2009

The National Day of Thanksgiving will be held on 30th May - with this year's focus on elected leaders at all levels of government, leaders within all spheres of community life and public servants. For resources and to find out how you can be involved, see www.thanksgiving.org.au

9th May, 2009

Child development agency Compassion Australia is holding its annual 'Compassion Day' on 14th May in conjunction with Christian radio stations around the country. This year, the organisation will attempt to find sponsors for 1,500 children living in Bangladesh and Ethiopia. To see how you can help. visit www.compassionday.com.au.

4th May, 2009

Follow this link to read an interview in The Christian Post with machine gun- toting pastor Sam Childers about his work in helping defend children against being forced into the Lord's Resistance Army in Africa, and his recent book, Another Man's War: The True Story of One Man's Battle to Save Children in the Sudan...

24th April, 2009

Take a photo of your tap and email it to Samaritan's Purse Australia and they'll receive a $2 donation to their "Turn on the Tap" initiative. To find out more details about "Turn on the Tap", read the Sight story here or visit www.turnonthetap.org.au (where there's also a gallery of tap images).

8th April, 2009

"Twitter the Passion". Trinity Wall Street in lower Manhattan, New York, will be publishing a series of tweets describing the Stations of the Cross on their Twitter site, @twspassionplay, this Friday from noon until 3pm. For a preview of black and white photographs and accompanying text, you can click here...

3rd April, 2009

See a gallery of Christian-related images at Flickr's 'Christian Faith' group. Go here to see the images...

26th March, 2009

Switch off your lights for an hour this weekend and join with millions around the world in Earth Hour 2009. Earth Hour aims to have more than a billion people turn off their lights at 8.30pm on March 28th for one hour in what they describe as a "global vote for action on climate change". For more details, follow this link...

14th March, 2009

Many people will already be familiar with the famous sermon of Dr S.M. Lockeridge, That's My King! If you've never heard it or would love to hear it again, you can listen to an edited version of the sermon set to images of Christ here...

5th March, 2009

This week the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. In an opinion article in The New York Times, US evangelist and relief organistion chief Franklin Graham - who recently met with President al-Bashir in Sudan - writes that justice shouldn't be served at the cost of peace. You can read his article here...

27th February, 2009

British man, Alec Garrard, has spent 30 years building a model of the Temple of Herod. You can read about his work here or see an amazing gallery of pictures here...

19th February, 2009

Time magazine has published a cover story looking at 'How faith can heal' which explores various positions around the connections between faith and healing. You can read the piece and related coverage here...

4th February, 2009

In late December, London Times columnist Matthew Parris wrote an article 'As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God', saying that missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa's problems. Read the piece here...

28th January, 2009

Pope Benedict XVI has launched his own YouTube channel, ostensibly to broaden the Pope's audience. Visit www.youtube.com/vaticanit.

15th January, 2009

Sydney-sider and Christian Arthur Stace is remembered for writing the word 'Eternity' all over the harbour city. The story of his life is being retold as an opera, The Eternity Man, screening on ABC1 at 9.45pm on Sunday, 18th January, 2009. Here, read Pastor Peter Rahme's retelling of the life of Arthur Stace and here, watch Peter, pastor of Sydney's Inner West Baptist Church and author of The Life & Legacy Of Mr Eternity, talk about what "eternity" is really all about...

23rd November, 2008

"Christmas can (still) change the world." For a reminder of what Christmas is really all about, see the Advent Conspiracy's video on YouTube or visit the organisation's website for the video and more information...

1st November, 2008

See Bethlehem pastor and peace-prize winner, Rev Dr Mitri Raheb, address the Australian Conference on Lutheran Education, which was held in Melbourne in early October. Dr Raheb, winner of two peace prizes and Palestine's most published theologian, was unable to travel to Australia to attend the conference but recorded his lecture in which he talks about the global literacies young people need in order to contribute in a multi-cultural and multi-faith global community. Access Dr Raheb's sessions here...