How parenting has turned into a strategy game
One of the most striking changes in contemporary parenting is the way it is starting to resemble a well-designed video game, which can make players become addicted. But what happens to parents who feel they are losing the game?
Boredom: how many ways can you scratch an itch?
"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone" (Blaise Pascal).
Colour you happy
Happiness is . . . ? How would you finish the sentence? What do you think happiness is? Positive psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, in The How of Happiness, says it is is “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive wellbeing, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.”
From bootless boy to life-changing footballer
Footballers are often in the headlines for their off-field antics more than their on-field achievements. So, it is no real surprise that the greatest story to come out of the AFL is not about a nail-biting final or freakishly skilled player.
Good or bad: How we come to love negative characters
It is as surprising as it is real: negative characters like Dexter Morgan, from the eponymous Dexter, and Walter White, from Breaking Bad, have been cropping up in popular culture more and more often lately. Since when, how, and why have anti-heroes gained so much popularity?
How to manage a toxic relationship | Friendship and boundaries
Walking with a friend in darkness is better than walking alone in the light, writes Hellen Keller. But what if darkness permeates the entire relationship?
Build boundaries, protect your marriage
The most important human relationship you'll ever have is with your spouse. Protect it at all costs.
Friends and social networks
"I'm 14 years old — and I'm sick and tired of social media." (Riley Jackson)
Towards a fulfilled life
“...what matters is not the meaning of life in general, but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment...” (Viktor E. Frankl)
How to be a better partner
We often forget that a relationship is the sum of two people—he + she = they—and what one does inevitably affects the other. That means each person’s behaviour influences the entire dynamic. Yet, more often than not, we focus on what the other person should or could do for us or for the relationship, and rarely stop to ask: What can I do...
The casino inside your phone
In the February 2023 issue of Signs of the Times, I wrote an article titled Gambling’s Dark Underbelly. Here in Australia, gambling is a multi-billion-dollar industry with a few very rich winners and millions of losers. In the article I concluded that “Gambling in any form is designed to bleed you for as long as you’re willing to bleed, with no regard for...
“Theodicy of Love: Cosmic conflict and the problem of evil” | Book review
"Theodicy of Love" is one of the clearest explanations of theodicy from a biblical perspective.
The unpredictable consequences of a generation’s loneliness
Historically, living together has been a response to economic and security needs rather than a virtue. However, history cannot fully explain the isolation experienced by the current generation.
I don’t know what to believe anymore
Fuelled by the explosion of media outlets, information circulates at a dizzying pace, oscillating between black and white, absolute and relative, while the twenty-first century celebrates this new status quo. Freed from responsibility, the medium of transmission becomes indistinguishable from the message. The ordinary reader gradually becomes a consumer, an authority, a beneficiary, or a victim, depending on the moment.
God’s Foolish Love
God's Foolish Love[1] is an invitation to rationally yet intuitively examine the consequences and dangers of a moral and spiritual collapse in a society that claims to be independent of any divine revelation.


























