There is no such thing as absolute truth or absolute values. True or false?
By their very complexity, situational moral decisions demonstrate that there is an absolute good that we seek. Moral principles work together for the absolute good.
COVID-19: What have we learned about ourselves?
Courage is not the opposite of fear, nor of caution. True courage is what you do right in the midst of fear.
How well do you know your heroes?
In 2016, I noticed advertising for a new quiz show called Hard Quiz coming to ABC TV in Australia.
Stuck in the waiting room
“Why are you still single?” Even though I have been asked this question countless times, I still never know how to answer it.
Breaking the crisis cycle
In 1991, authors William Strauss and Neil Howe published Generations, theorising that every 80 years (one generation cycle) would consist of four “turnings”. Beginning after a crisis, the first turning would involve a feeling of recovery, or “high”. The second would be a spiritual awakening, while the third would see the dissolution of institutions and the rise of individualism. And finally, a crisis...
What is the purpose for which God created us?
Life is a fascinating mystery and a constant challenge. Yet, often, we are not content with merely experiencing life as it is.
“My children are geniuses” (and other exaggerations of the modern parent)
Every generation of parents loves their children and searches for the best ways to support them and prepare them for a successful start in life. Modern parents, however, often take this effort to extremes, complicating their children’s lives (and their own, just as much) in an attempt to clear a perfectly smooth path for their still-uncertain steps.
Things we forget about Martin Luther King Jr
Measuring more than nine metres tall, the pale granite carving of Dr King that is the centrepiece of the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, just to the east of the National Mall in downtown Washington DC, makes it easy to forget that he was a relatively short man. His iconic likeness towers over visitors as his words carved into the stone walls around...
The imminence and delay of the eschaton
This article addresses the two often conflicting aspects of the parousia: its imminence and its delay.
From heartache to hopeful
It’s not hard to misinterpret the Bible. I’ve done it, most people I know have done it and if you’ve read it enough, I’d bet you’ve done it too. It isn’t surprising then, that throughout history many have misinterpreted the Bible, especially when it comes to complex ideas like the end of the world and Jesus’ second coming.
Telling the story for the 30th time
There are so many versions of the “real meaning” of Christmas—kindness, generosity, neighbourliness; family, food and gifts; and, in our part of the world, end-of-year parties, carols by candlelight, summer holidays and trips to the beach or other outdoor adventures.
No one is perfect: how to help children learn from mistakes
To err is human. “The only sure way to avoid making mistakes is to have no ideas”, Albert Einstein said.
The Dutch Arminians
On the continent jaded by an irrelevant religion, a new denomination appeared, in addition to the Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican Protestants—the Arminians.
Don’t let suffering define you
It’s strange how popular the saying What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger is, when it’s obvious that it is not what hits you that makes you stronger, but the way you take the hit.
Excellence and modesty | An interview with Dr Bert B. Beach
His name is Bert B. Beach. Until his retirement in July 1995, he was director of the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department (PARL) of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.