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Rowland Croucher

Rowland Croucher has written 26185 posts for John Mark Ministries

Free Speech or Hate Speech: What Kind of Society Favours Bigotry?

Are we to favour bigotry over the right to live unaffected by it? March 28, 2014 Tim Soutphommasane Political philosopher and regular columnist Illustration: Andrew Dyson. When I commenced my term as Race Discrimination Commissioner last year, I never imagined I would be asked to comment on whether Australians enjoyed ”the right to be bigots”. […]

Cardinal Pell and the Peril of Institutional Atheism

The Religion of the Humble? Cardinal Pell and the Peril of Institutional Atheism Scott StephensABC RELIGION AND ETHICS28  MAR  2014 JOHN ELLIS RIGHTLY EXPECT THE CHURCH TO BEHAVE COMPASSIONATELY, PENITENTLY AND JUSTLY. WHAT ELLIS CONFRONTED WAS A CHURCH INTENT ON PURSUING ITS LEGAL DEFENCE AS THOUGH THERE WAS NO DIVINE JUDGE.CREDIT: AAP / JOE CASTRO SEE ALSO […]

Christianity and the Stockholm Syndrome

IS INSTITUTIONAL CHRISTIANITY THE STOCKHOLM  SYNDROME? Stockholm syndrome, or  capture-bonding, is a  psychological  phenomenon in which  hostages  express  empathy  and  sympathy  and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with them. Has institutional Christianity become this?  ¢â‚¬Å“Faced by someone promising to do them harm if they didn ¢â‚¬â„¢t do as they say, most people would at least regard such […]

Sleep: too much or too little may not be good for you

The sleep paradox Date March 23, 2014 Too little is bad for you – but so is too much, writes Christina Ianzito. Sleep: How much is too much?  Photo: Supplied We get it  ¢â‚¬“ sleep is good for us. The amount of sleep we have is no less important than proper diet and exercise, health experts […]

How to make our asylum-seeker policy firm but fairer

March 24, 2014 Nicholas Reece The present system isn’t sustainable, so why not try other ideas that are cheaper and more humane?    Illustration: Jim Pavlidis. Australia’s hardcore asylum-seeker policy is inhumane and unsustainable. But those hoping the Abbott government or Shorten opposition will overturn the policy of offshore processing and settlement any time soon […]

World Vision: should the poor suffer because anti gay-marriage conservative groups withhold donations?

World Vision Reverses Decision To Hire Christians in Same-Sex Marriages Letter: ‘We failed to be consistent with [our] commitment to the traditional understanding of biblical marriage and our own Statement of Faith.’ Celeste Gracey and Jeremy Weber/ MARCH 26, 2014 [Updated 6:15 p.m. Central with fresh comments from Richard Stearns.] Only two days after  announcing  it would […]

Physicists – and ‘meaning of life’ questions

Good luck, physicists, with those tricky ‘meaning of life’ questions Scientists have replaced us theologians as the people you’d ask your existential queries. And following the big bang discovery, they should expect a grilling ‘What caused the cause of all things? Jim Al-Khalili’s answer is clever but unsatisfying. It ¢â‚¬â„¢s like asking what is south of […]

Fred Phelps: ‘An angry, bigoted man…’

Pastor Fred Phelps: ‘An angry, bigoted man who thrived on conflict’ What motivated the man behind the placard-waving, virulently homophobic Westboro Baptist Church, AKA ‘the most hated family in America’? And what next for the church and family following his death? Fred Phelps  ¢â‚¬ ¦ ‘Homosexuality was an obsession.’ Photograph: Rex Features Louis Theroux Tuesday 25 […]

Desmond Tutu: ‘I am sorry’ – the three hardest words to say

Brilliant article: read it right through! Exclusive:  The social activist and retired Anglican archbishop on seeing his father abuse his mother when he was a child and what he’s learned since then about forgiveness Archbishop Desmond Tutu  ¢â‚¬ ¦ ‘My father has long since died, but if I  could speak to him today, I would want to tell […]

Who is a Catholic? (Martin Marty)

by MARTIN E. MARTY Monday | Mar 17 2014 “Who is Pope Francis? ¢â‚¬  was the understandable and constant question during this pope ¢â‚¬â„¢s first year, now past.  ¢â‚¬Å“Who is a Catholic? ¢â‚¬  is the understandable and urgent question in his second year, now begun. Of course, the two questions are symbiotic. What the pope says and does […]