The place of humour in the theology of John Calvin

by Murray Hogg In one sense it ¢â‚¬â„¢s difficult to talk about John Calvin and humour for at least two good reasons. First, because opinions as to what constitutes humour are widely variable, and, second, because Calvin was quite serious about his theological writing. Consequently, if we take his theological writing as a guide we are […]

Islam: Does it Pose a Threat to the West?

Does Islam pose a threat to the West? BY:CHIP LE GRAND From:The Australian   February 23, 2013  12:00AM Controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders speaking this week at Craigieburn in Melbourne, where he received standing ovations from the audience.  Source:  Getty Images IT is hard to imagine a more incongruous place for Geert Wilders to introduce himself to Australia. Beyond […]

Lincoln: the Movie

The actor and the assassin, a nation’s wound still too raw Date March 2, 2013 Martin Flanagan Sports Writer for The Age Oscar winner … Daniel Day Lewis rides out as Abraham Lincoln. STEVEN Spielberg’s  Lincoln  does not feature Lincoln’s assassination. We don’t see it happen. His assassin, John Wilkes Booth, is not even named. This was […]

Love Commandos (inspiring!)

Love Commandos fight India’s ugly tradition Date January 5, 2013 Ben Doherty, Delhi One woman’s path to the Love Commandos Sapna Singh was poorly treated by her family over many years and forced to marry an alcoholic drug addict. When Sapna found the Love Commandos, it meant finding safety. BY ACCIDENT or design, the alleyways […]

Let’s talk about Jesus

Maralinga: righting a terrible wrong…

GRAHAM RICHARDSON We must right the wrong of Maralinga BY:GRAHAM RICHARDSON From:The Australian   March 01, 2013  12:00AM THERE was never much chance that Bob Menzies would knock back a request from the government of Britain. The future Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports was an Anglophile of the highest order. In the early 1950s, when the […]

Australia’s federal treasurers…

Alan Austin Alan’s facebook election 2013 instant quiz #15 There have been two extraordinarily costly blunders by treasurers in Australia ¢â‚¬â„¢s history. Both extremely well-kept secrets. One was 4.5 billion dollars in Australia ¢â‚¬â„¢s reserves lost gambling on the foreign exchange markets. Yes, 4.5 billion. The second was the sale of most of Australia ¢â‚¬â„¢s gold reserves at […]

Climate change: 500-to-1 chance current records are being broken due to build up of greenhouse gases

Climate change a key factor in extreme weather, experts say Date March 4, 2013 Ben Cubby A few years ago, talking about weather and climate change in the same breath was a cardinal sin for scientists. Now it has become impossible to have a conversation about the weather without discussing wider climate trends, according to […]

Catholic Church bedevilled by ‘turbulent waters’

A poisoned chalice awaits the new leader of a Catholic Church bedevilled by ‘turbulent waters’ Date March 2, 2013 Barney Zwartz, Religion Editor, Rome Crowds gather in St Peter’s Square ahead of Pope Benidict XVI’s final audience last week.  Photo: AFP THE great baroque builder Bernini produced many masterpieces in Rome, but none exceeds the twin […]

Refugees: Speaking up for those who can’t

March 2, 2013 A  READER asked in a letter on these pages on Friday why  The Age  ”crusades” in support of asylum seekers. He said ”most of us”, referring presumably to Australians generally, wanted a reduction in migration and that refugees should simply be rejected. Irrespective of what the majority may or may not support,  The Age  has its views. […]