“When we hide discrimination under the guise of ‘religious freedom,’ we make a mockery of human rights.” – DaShanne Stokes – There’s been a lot of talk around our fair isle about preserving ‘religious rights’ and ‘religious freedom’ in the last few months. The fear is palpable and has been used to keep campaigns alive…Continue reading Have Your Cake And Eat It Too: Protecting Our Religious Rights!
Tag: australian history
The Stories We Tell Ourselves
“It’s like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.” – Patrick Rothfuss – Stories: they shape our world, they change our world, they are our world. We all live our lives to the rhythm…Continue reading The Stories We Tell Ourselves
A very brief Introduction to Christian Fundamentalism
“There are few things more dangerous than inbred religious certainty.” – Bart D. Ehrman This is a REPOST of a blog I wrote a couple of years ago … most fitting at this time of Australian religious and political discussions! There is a danger in assuming that every Christian belief and practice that we adhere to…Continue reading A very brief Introduction to Christian Fundamentalism
This Ancient Mountain
I acknowledge the original custodians of this land and pay my respects to the Elders both past, present and future for they hold the memories, the spiritual connections, the traditions, the culture and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia. Every morning when I step on to my front verandah I greet…Continue reading This Ancient Mountain
A Tribute to the Exiles Past and Present
“Exile is more than a geographical concept. You can be in an exile in your homeland, in your own house, in a room.” – Mahmoud Darwish I remember those in exile from my childhood days. They became outcasts because they protested when people were oppressed and marginalised because of the colour of their skin. They were…Continue reading A Tribute to the Exiles Past and Present
Those Fascinating Melbourne Lanes
The beautiful city of Melbourne is home to over four million people. It’s the ‘youngest’ of all the world cities. It is hard to imagine that this sprawling capital of Victoria, Australia’s second largest city, did not exist 180 years ago. In 1835, John Batman, an Australian grazier and entrepreneur from Van Diemen’s land…Continue reading Those Fascinating Melbourne Lanes
The ‘Others’: Ideas that Shape Australia’s Attitude and Policies on Asylum Seekers
This past week our world was again reminded of the stark and devastating reality that we are facing a crisis of displaced people, due to war and natural disasters, unparalleled since World War Two. The image of a tiny Syrian boy, drowned at sea whilst seeking refuge, whose body had washed up on the idyllic…Continue reading The ‘Others’: Ideas that Shape Australia’s Attitude and Policies on Asylum Seekers