I was quite taken aback when I read that Mr Albanese - the new Prime Minister of Australia - wants the Aboriginal language to be taught in schools.
What puzzles me is that there are more Indigenous languages in Australia than there are genders - which is saying something. In Australia there are more than 250 Indigenous languages including around 800 dialects. So I guess it is going to be fun choosing which one they will teach in the school curriculum... and who is going to be the teacher?
Be it an epidemic, a ‘foreign adversary’, or apocalyptic climate change, the elites will always find a way to keep us scared
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once famously said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Regardless of how you feel about his New Deal, those words hold timeless truth that I wish more Americans today would take the time to consider.
In 2011, British Illusionist Derren Brown conducted an experiment that I have never forgotten. In Remote Control, audience members for a game show are asked to wear anonymous masks and dictate the ongoing fate of an unsuspecting, secretly filmed member of the public. The show takes a look at the horror that emerges when people are allowed to make anonymous decisions as part of a crowd.
When I was a kid, I used to go to the movies on a Saturday morning. Or, as my late Uncle used to call it, The Flicks. Others called it “ The Pictures “ or “ The cinema” … no matter, we went to see a movie and it cost a shilling.
We would all sit down in our seats, the lights would dim and a movie of a Lady on a horse would appear. We would stand up for the Lady on the horse and sing about saving the Queen.
Something that is a diary, online, from a person who wishes to share their thoughts and feelings on matters that are of current importance to the owner of the blog.
It is not a news site. We invite opinions from others on the matters that the diarist writes, but on the whole, a diarist ( blogger ) invites others to comment.
What damage are we doing to our bodies by wearing these masks that contain particles of plastic and are known to be dangerous?
Disposable face masks (single use face masks) are produced from polymers such as polypropylene, polyurethane, polyacrylonitrile, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyethylene, or polyester.
Microplastic or Nanoplastic particles in masks are breathed into the airways and can have damaging long-term effects on the health of the lungs.
I watched a video this morning from a young man somewhere in America. I have no idea who he is. But the words he spoke made me wonder why I have never heard from him or of him in the past.
I have transcribed, as best I can, his 3 minute video and I hope that you will join me in saying : " well done young man. Well done."
If anyone knows who he is please let us know. I would love to hear from him again.
In March 2019, The New York Times ran a shocking story exploring why many prominent US cities were abandoning their recycling programs.
“Philadelphia is now burning about half of its 1.5 million residents’ recycling material in an incinerator that converts waste to energy,” Times business writer Michael Corkery reported. “In Memphis, the international airport still has recycling bins around the terminals, but every collected can, bottle and newspaper is sent to a landfill.”
Our beloved and adored writer Redhead, suffered a loss this afternoon. It was 2.30 pm when her loyal and devoted Jack Russell terrier departed this realm for the Rainbow Bridge.
I have just spoken with Mum, and she, like me is relieved that he has finally gone. It has been a tough 5 days for Redhead and her darling fur baby. I am sure that you will feel, as I do, that her loss is Heaven's gain.
But the tears are falling and we are so sad to lose such a wonderful little lad who has been her companion for 17 and a half years.
When the children of Israel were in exile, scattered from their homeland because of their sin and with the holy temple in Jerusalem in ruins, it made the God of Israel look bad. Couldn’t He take care of His own? As the Lord said through the prophet of Isaiah, “And all day long My name is constantly blasphemed” (Isaiah 52:5).
It is the same with us today as evangelical followers of Jesus: because of our failings and scandals and carnality, the name of the Lord is being mocked and ridiculed. This is heartbreaking on so many levels.
In years past, the guilt of a few prominent TV preachers tarnished the names of other, good Christian leaders, making Jesus look bad. Why did the Lord’s orchard have so many bad apples?
More recently, because of the politicizing of the gospel, many Christian conservatives became better known as followers of Trump than followers of Jesus, with some of them even emulating his mean-spirited behavior. This was the new model of Christian “boldness.” And once again, the name of Jesus was dragged down.
Then we were shocked to learn about the failings of a beloved apologist. And to hear the salacious details about an affair that threatened the marriage of the famous leader of the world’s largest Christian university.
This year, the worldwide Hillsong movement has become associated with the word “scandal.”
And now, in devastating fashion, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, has been accused of a massive cover-up of sexual sins.
As widely reported, an independent, third-party investigation indicated that SBC leaders “stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse over two decades while seeking to protect their own reputations.”
In the words of the SBC taskforce that called for the investigation, “we grieve for what has been revealed in this report. We lament on behalf of survivors for how they have not been protected and cared for as they deserve and as God demands. With broken hearts, we want to lead the way by publicly repenting for what has happened in our convention. We implore our Southern Baptist family to respond to this report with deep repentance and a commitment to the ongoing moral demands of the gospel as it relates to sexual abuse. We must resolve to give of our time and resources to not only care well for survivors of sexual abuse, but to provide a culture of accountability, transparency, and safety as we move forward. We acknowledge that any act of repentance requires ongoing, deliberate, dedicated obedience and sacrifice. This is the calling of our Savior to unite as a body in following after Him.”
Who can fathom the amount of damage that has been done?
First, there are the victims of sexual abuse who suffered the double indignity of being abused and then ignored, demeaned, disbelieved, and silenced. And this was at the hands of well-known, highly respected Christian leaders, according to the report. How can this be?
Then, there is the spiritual rot that follows in its wake, as sin and guilt are swept under the carpet, only to fester and grow. (Remember: we’re not talking about people who were guilty of minor indiscretions and then repented and lived above reproach thereafter. We’re talking about allegations of rape and even abuse of children, with the offending leaders not even punished.)
Then, as things explode publicly, the name of the Lord is mocked and ridiculed. “You see,” the world shouts, “we told you these Christians were a bunch of hypocrites. And we told you this whole Jesus-thing was a sham. Now you have living proof!”
What a terrible, inexcusable shame.
It’s one thing if we say to the world, “We don’t claim to be perfect, but we are true to our faith, and where we fall short, we acknowledge it and make amends.”
It is another thing when we willfully and systematically cover up sin.
And to think: for many women in particular, the place that should be a safe haven, a place of refuge and protection, has become a place of fear, shame, and abuse. To ask again: how can this be?
I personally have no formal connection with the SBC or Hillsong, and I’m sure there are many godly people in these two large movements, the SBC being, by far, the largest.
I don’t doubt for a second that there are plenty of devoted ministers among them, many ethical leaders, along with countless believers who love the Lord and seek to honor Him.
In fact, I would expect that the great majority are true blue.
And in the circles in which I travel, I have worked side by side with some of the finest Christians on the planet, people of integrity and high character, people who are above reproach. I am honored to call them friends and co-workers.
Yet there is no denying that, as conservative followers of Jesus, many of us identifying as evangelicals, we together look bad right now. Our “brand” has been tarnished. Our reputation has been smeared. And our Lord is being mocked.
That’s why, together, we should get low before God and before people. We should confess corporately our guilt and sin. We should ask the watching world to forgive us for bringing reproach to the name of Jesus. And we should say, “By God’s grace, we pledge to learn from our failings, to make amends, and do better. And if you get to know us personally, you might be pleasantly surprised. There’s a lot of good that we have done as well because of what Jesus has done in our lives.”
The bad news is that many lives have been destroyed and much damage has been done. The good news is that God gives grace to the humble, and the lower we go in our repentance, the higher He will lift us up.
You can be sure that He, far more than any of us, is jealous for the reputation of His Son. And He will act to glorify His name.
As He said through the prophet Ezekiel, “And wherever [the Israelites] went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the LORD’S people, and yet they had to leave his land. I had concern for my holy name, which the people of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.” (Ezekiel 36:20-21)
And so, He acted, bringing the exiles home, thereby restoring honor to His name. I trust He will act again.
Picture credit: Queens Christian Alliance Church
Dr. Michael Brown
To read more articles by Dr. Michael Brown click here.
Tragically Pilot Officer Henry Dudley Andrews (age 24) died today 68 years ago - He served on peacekeeping duties in Korea from 11 November 1953 to 31 May 1954.
Today we remember Pilot Officer Henry Dudley Andrews (Service no. O5464) and those who served in the Korean War.
Today you hear of so many incidents, I cannot call them stories , of cruelty , neglect and down right 'don't give a damn " that you get to the stage where you say , please don't go into the details it is too upsetting. I can't listen to any more distressing tales of what some one has done to a child, an animal, or an elderly person.
Today we remember Lieutenant Marcus Sean Case, 27.
Lieutenant Case 8254464 was accidentally killed in a Helicopter Crash in Zabul Province, Afghanistan during Operation Slipper 30 May 2011. He was taking part in a routine mission when the helicopter was forced to make an uncontrolled landing.
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“Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.” ― Mark Twain
