Author Archive
Things we could take for granted….
The March 26 election in New South Wales would emphatically suggest that voters are looking for a new direction in the state government. The Coalition has been elected with a significant majority and the Labor government has suffered the greatest loss of seats in Australian politics. As we look forward to a new government after [...]
God & His Word
I’ve appreciated Jason’s ongoing series on the King James Version and I marvel at how the ensuing discussion alternates between a fight between kung-fu masters and schoolboys in a fight. I would like to posit the following as my contribution to this series: Almost five hundred years ago, a boat set sail from the Continent [...]
Courage & Faith
I saw a touching portrait of personal courage and faith over the weekend. In their HSC (12) Year, a student is facing a protracted stay in hospital after a similar stay in hospital in the previous year. The first thing that struck me was their personal courage. Thinking back to my own Year 12 experience [...]
Well that’s just your opinion….
Last week I was at the airport waiting for my flight when I received a phone call. The call was from the airport gate informing me that I was about to miss my plane. I was relaxing at the time and my first response was incredulity – “No I am not about to miss my plane!” Then it [...]
Visitors in Church
We’ve been doing a study on encouragement by Mattias Media over the past few months in men’s Bible study. One study has a role-play between a regular church attender and a first time visitor. Here are some of things that were identified in the study: Don’t let “busyness” stop you from being genuine. I’m sure [...]
The Christian Logjam
Thanks to Jason and the rest of the Infocus team for giving me the opportunity to write over the next twelve weeks. I’m excited about sharing what I have been reading and reflecting on with particular attention to the purpose of the blog – “Our purpose is to develop the Australian blogosphere, to cultivate serious [...]
Book Review: The Well-Educated Mind
Last week, I wrote that we should spend more time learning “how to think.” This book helps you to learn “how to think.” So for the curious or the busy – here’s a book review. Susan Wise Bauer’s The Well-Educated Mind: The Guide to Classical Education You Never Had argues that reading the right kind [...]
Knowledge Nation
My apologies for not posting this morning or last week. I’ve been thinking a lot about canonicity and Christian education in the past two weeks – here’s a side discussion off of what I’ve been reading about. Futurist magazines in the 1950s promised us flying cars and space travel as a commodity. Sixty years later [...]
Church History & the independent churches in Australia
I would like to discuss church history within the context of the independent church movement from a historian’s perspective. Independent churches (by nature of their definition) are not connected to formal denominations. What this means is that the pastoral emphasis is usually on historical personalities or thematic developments correlated to the Bible. Without association, independent [...]
Historical Sources – What are they? Where to start.
Thanks for your comments on the previous post. I would like to expand on the discussion for those of you who would like to know more: A REALLY SIMPLE INTRODUCTION TO PRIMARY & SECONDARY SOURCES Primary sources are bits and pieces of your life that are accessible to other people. Your driver’s license and the [...]
Well Calvin burned a man at the stake…
The year is 2100 and one of your descendants is doing some research into your life. Because you are not someone of great significance, your descendant will probably find a birthday, time of death, property records, and one or two anecdotes depending on how well you store your digital information and/or how well you are [...]
Learning from Luther
Martin Luther (1483 – 1546) was one the most colourful and passionate characters in church history. As a principle reformer, Luther took complex issues and unravelled them into the common vernacular – allowing theologians and farmers alike to respond with childlike simplicity to the Gospel. We know and love the narrative. The lawyer turned Catholic [...]
