Monthly Archives: July 2007

The fundamentalist delusion

The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it, a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully. Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion Here’s Richard Dawkins, sword flailing, mowing down [...]

Two stories — one lesson

This week I’m in the land of the long white cloud, the Maori name for New Zealand. Had some meetings cancel on me so unfortunately I’ll be spending tomorrow wondering through Tongariro National Park expecting to bump into Frodo and Sam. Aussies find each other over here. Bumped into a guy this morning I sort [...]

More on the Australian census figures

Peter Jensen The latest figures for the 2006 Australian census are out. Here are some highlights on religious identification: 2006 Australian Census. To be expected: the continuing decline of the mainline Protestant denominations and the growth of Pentecostalism. In NSW alone, Pentecostal churches grew 48 per cent. The big surprise? The decline in the number [...]

2006 Australian Census

The latest figures for the 2006 Australian census are out. Here’s some highlights on religious identification: Christianity remained the dominant religion in Australia, although non-Christian religions continued to grow at a much faster rate. Since 1996, the number of people reporting that they are Christian grew from around 12.6 million to 12.7 million, but as [...]

The Wall

I’ve been at the Wall lately. Maybe for the last couple of months or years. Who knows. The Wall is stage five of seven stages on the Critical Journey. Recognition of God: God humbles us Life of Discipleship: God grounds us Productive Life: God rewards and exalts us Journey Forward: God unsettles us The Wall: [...]