I watched about an hour of this the other night - I didn't mind it. Shane Jacobson was a good choice, I reckon...
Click here. At $6000-$7000 per household, he is right
Just an idea... A one day conference for clergy on the subject of church services, liturgy, etc. I speculated over on SA that the only way to get effective liturgical reform happening in the diocese was from the ground up. Perhaps something like this would be necessary. I wonder if there would be any interest? I wonder who should speak?
Ben shares a frank email about ministry apprenticeships. I was encouraged by it...
MTR has written a post about the latest Lynx promotion - "Lynx hooks up with Woolies to promote female servitude". I didn't think the tv ad was as bad as she made out, but some of the other ads were pretty off colour. I totally get that some women go through life just hating themselves when surrounded by this imagery. On the other hand, you need to be careful how you prosecute such an argument. Self-righteous indignation is never a good look...
Interesting discussion on JT, and Mohler posted on it too. Their solution? Get rid of the internet and video games, and fill the house with good books. I don't really agree. I was a youth before the internet, and even before video games were popular at home. The boys weren't all at home devouring Tolstoy, let me tell you. They were watching TV or playing with their mates, generally. Those who enjoyed reading (like myself) read - others did not.
I have 3 sons, and I really do think it's a case of finding the right sort of reading material for each one. When I find them a book they like, they will read. I have one son in particular who didn't read very much. Then I bought him this on Friday, and he devoured a couple of hundred pages without coming up for air. Find the reading material that pushes their individual buttons, and they will read... No different to adults, really...
I was reading the website of the Liberal Democrats (a party you've probably never heard of), and one of their policies is the decriminalisation of "victimless crimes". One "victimless crime" they list is prostitution. Interestingly, just read an article on MTR's website describing what a miserable and soul-destroying business prostitution is. Hardly victimless...
MJ effectively critiques Porter. Of course, those who dislike the diocese will continue to call it "fundamentalist" - probably at least in part because they know we don't like it!
2 new free-to-air channel's launch this weekend - 7mate, aimed at blokes, and GEM for the ladies...
I've skipped over chapters 18 and 19 for the time being, and have started chapter 20, which discusses Johnson's interactions with the Aborigines. It's a weighty subject, and I hope I do it justice...
Finished chapter 17, concerning his household. Was probably a little more interesting than one would expect. It came in at 2500 words, which was a bit shorter than I was expecting. Hmmm...just realised I left out an anecdote. Will add it in when I redraft. On to chapter 18, concerning his friends...
Another product of the Greens/Labor alliance, I imagine. Some Christians are going to end up fairly disillusioned with this parliament. Interesting discussion on the subject on Open House last night. They referred to a study that showed that of the 4 people who were euthanased in Australia (when it was briefly legal in the NT), all had manageable pain, but were also suffering from depression and loneliness. I think that shows the sort of people who will seek this, if it goes through...
How Great is Our God
Interesting comment. Includes some nice remarks about Greg Clarke, too...
Steve points out some videos about famous hymn writers, produced by Mars Hill. He is going to make use of them to promote his church's carols night. Good idea...
I need to read and absorb this. There is a need for a new evangelical response to Catholicism, I think, especially since the ascension of the latest pope. I also enjoyed reading MJs article in Eternity this month on the subject...
Did a great study on James 3 tonight... New community group has started well...
My latest piece for SA. They left off the all-important question mark in the title... ;-)
Chapter 17, on Johnson's household, is progressing, though a little slower than I had hoped. I'm about 2/3 of the way through. I continue to make some interesting little discoveries. One historian expressed puzzlement that, in 1792, Johnson claimed to have 8 members in his household. I'm pretty sure I've identified all 8 now - they are Johnson, his wife Mary, his free servant Samuel Barnes and his wife (also named Mary), Johnson's daughter Milbah, two aboriginal orphans he was caring for, and a convict maid named Sally. I pieced this information together from 4 or 5 different sources. It is painstaking work, at times!
The head of this came and spoke at our church yesterday. Looks like a good organisation to support.
Seamus asks a really important question. I don't know if I've seen this subject raised before...
Did you see these ads on the Gruen Transfer? They are from Egypt. Bizarre and hilarious. The tagline is "You can't say no to Panda".
Finally started chapter 17, which regards Johnson's family life. The words are not flowing easily, for some reason. Perhaps this particular chapter has not gripped me as much as some of the others, although there are a couple of beaut stories to be told in this area...
A visiting tax expert has suggested Australia should increase it's GST and lower income tax. I reckon this is a good strategy. Since GST currently goes to the states, it could/should be used to shore up health spending. The commonwealth could gradually pull out of health funding to compensate for the lost revenue. Would require some balancing, and you would need pension increases etc, but it should be doable.
Simone asked someone to blog something interesting. I don't know if this is up to the mark. Anyway, thinking about politics, I reckon it's interesting to observe how often "I disagree with you" quickly becomes "I don't like you" quickly becomes "You are bad". The same thing happens in churches too, when there is a sufficient disagreement. The last few years, I've made a conscious decision to try to "like" everyone - yes, following in the tradition of Will Rogers. I think it's a good way to live.
Check my FB or email me...
This time he is concerned about endemic corruption in the broader public service and political sphere. Here is his plan for change.
It looks pretty likely that the Indies will back Gillard, and I expect a minority Labor government will be formed no later than Wednesday. A Greens/Katter alignment will be something to behold over the next couple of years...
Watched this for the first time tonight. A surprisingly good movie. Spirit fingers, everyone...
I've been browsing the Spanish version of wikipedia recently, and getting Google Chrome to translate the pages into English for me. It seems to do a fine job - the translations are totally readable. We've come a long way from the early days of automated translation. With voice recognition software also coming ahead in leaps and bounds, I wonder how far we are from really useful electronic speech-to-speech translators?
Online resources are incredible these days. If you are a member at the NSW State Library, you can search online every Australian newspaper up to the 1950s, and every British Newspaper up to the 19th century. Incredible...
