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Section: Religion

  • RELIGION

    Confronting economic monsters

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 15 May 2009

    The public's interest in the Budget has been mild, and its disengagement notable. In the shadow of the economic crisis, there is space for deeper reflection on the human condition, which will help us understand why greed and fear so dominate in human affairs.

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  • RELIGION

    In honour of Indigenous agitators

    • Frank Brennan
    • 14 May 2009
    2 Comments

    Good intentions are not enough. Gone should be the days when Aboriginals are marginal to the corridors of power. Perhaps it will not be until we have seen the first Aboriginal Prime Minister that agitators for Indigenous justice will be vindicated.

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  • RELIGION

    Vilification laws fuel disharmony

    • Frank Brennan
    • 11 May 2009
    2 Comments

    While it is inherently racist for a person to claim membership of the best race, it is no bad thing for a religious person to claim membership of the one true religion. That is what religious people do.

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  • RELIGION

    On blaming God for swine flu

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 06 May 2009
    15 Comments

    An American priest reportedly claimed that swine flu was God's punishment for sin. The idea that God might use natural disasters to punish people is repugnant. But at first glance the Scriptures do seem to represent God as doing just that.

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  • RELIGION

    Behind the Pope's condom 'gaffe'

    • Michael Czerny
    • 05 May 2009
    2 Comments

    Abstinence and fidelity win little public support in Western discourse, but are increasingly included, even favoured, in national AIDS strategies in Africa. Culture counts, and a condom is more than a piece of latex.

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  • RELIGION

    Making friends with the Taliban

    • Herman Roborgh
    • 01 May 2009
    14 Comments

    The deployment by Western nations of more troops to Afghanistan will serve to exacerbate the Taliban's rising influence across the border in Pakistan. The history of Jesuit involvement in Pakistan reveals an alternative solution.

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  • RELIGION

    Kevin Rudd and the problem of evil

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 23 April 2009
    25 Comments

    With uncharacteristic vehemence, Mr Rudd said people smugglers could rot in hell. This kind of language echoes the tabloid characterisation of people who have done foul deeds as monsters. The Christian view of evil is more complex.

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  • RELIGION

    Why St Mary's conflict had to happen

    • Alan Austin
    • 15 April 2009
    51 Comments

    From the time Jesus decried the Pharisees for their adherence to rules over freedom and love, the leaders of radical Christian ministries have found themselves in bitter contention with their superiors. Peter Kennedy is no exception.

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  • RELIGION

    Sex and power in the church

    • Frank Brennan
    • 13 April 2009
    4 Comments

    Bishop Geoffrey Robinson's book is an invitation to put fear behind us. Given the treatment it has received by people who should have known better, it has become an icon; a call to conversation without fear.

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  • RELIGION

    Greedy Easter story

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 09 April 2009
    4 Comments

    The Easter story suggests we should not expect a new economic order in which greed and short-term interests will yield to humane values. Easter doesn't make the mistrust go away. But it does confront cynicism and apathy.

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  • RELIGION

    Hitchcock's Easter drama

    • Scott Stephens
    • 06 April 2009
    2 Comments

    Manny, terrified and bewildered, clutches a crucifix and prays, while lawyers spew jargon-laden bile at one another. It might seem strange to invoke a Hitchcock film at Easter, but we can see a similar horror at work in the trial of Jesus.

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  • RELIGION

    Bikies have rights too

    • Frank Brennan
    • 02 April 2009
    3 Comments

    We need to be on our guard against laws and policies enacted in the name of the public interest but with insufficient consideration for the human rights of the minority.

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