Posts tagged ‘Christian’

Jan 7

Am I a pro-life feminist?

Jezebel ran an article the other day called There is no such thing as a ‘pro-life feminist’. Tracie’s article is written into an American context where the discussion around abortion is much more heated and political than here in Australia. Even so, abortion is a big issue for women who claim to be both feminist and Christian (like, say, me!) and it’s worth addressing.

I imagine this will be an important issue for us in Tanzania as well. It was last time we were there. Some people felt it was good and normal to have many children (>8). Others felt that it was irresponsible and it was better to just have 1 or 2 and give them a better life and access to education.

Here are 7 points that outline my thinking on the issue: Read more

Jun 3

3 Comments

‘Our Story’ – Talks from Grace Conference 2012

In this series of talks for women, Tamie Davis brings together her passion for the Old Testament with her background in literature and her care for women in the Church. Tamie is a creative and engaging speaker, a wise teacher and a discerning reader of Scripture. As her husband, I’m biased — but I reckon you’ll find these encouraging!

The talks cover three early chapters from the Book of Deuteronomy, part of the ancient Bible story that should continue to shape our story as God’s people today.

Some of the issues that come up include: What does it actually look like to live for God every day? Why and how do we rest? How do we play our part in inspiring the next generation?

Download the audio from the Grace Conference website. Grace Conference runs each year in Adelaide, Australia.

Mar 4

12 Comments

An Australian evangelical reading list

A friend at church recently asked Tamie about which books would be best to read, so we clapped together this list. In it, you might not find the stuff you’re looking for (or think you’re looking for), but this is a certain sort of list.

It’s an evangelical list. Evangelicals care a lot about the finished work of Christ and the importance of the Bible. But even more than that, if it were possible, evangelicals care about the transformed life. So this list focuses on truth as transformation, leaning towards ethics more than doctrine, leaning towards the ‘godward’ life more than flashpoint issues.

It’s also an Australian list. It reflects the influence of Australian evangelicals and it leans more towards the British tradition than the American tradition.

It’s a short list and an incomplete list, but here it is all the same!

What would you put on your list, and why?

Aug 9

21 Comments

This census, stop the over-representation of Christianity

On the eve of the 2011 Australian national census, we religious types are interested in the proper recognition of our communities. Some Muslims are talking about about the under-representation of their communities. However, Christians like me are concerned about being over-represented. Read more

Nov 29

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Signing up as missionaries: applying

Tamie and I have been seeking appointment by a missions organisation called CMS Australia. For us, this is the equivalent of ordination, as I mentioned in 2009. We’re currently in the thick of the CMS application process! Read more

Nov 16

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Atheism versus the humanities: Project Reason’s infographic of Bible contradictions

There’s a hip new infographic to visualise 439 Bible contradictions. It’s a visual rendition of Project Reason’s Scripture Project, which is a Web 2.0 reincarnation of Steve Wells’s Skeptics Annotated Bible.