In mid-June, I flew to Alice Springs to participate in a ‘father & son Spirit journey’ guided by East Arrernte elder and Christian, John Cavanagh, and facilitated by a member of our church, Assoc Prof Rev Geoff Broughton. We travelled 750km by 4WD in often rugged terrain north of Alice Springs through the McDonnell Ranges, [...]
Author: michaelpaget
A response to Kel Richards on The Voice
There are, I understand, good reasons to oppose the Voice. You may, for example, be skeptical that it will lead to real outcomes for Indigenous Australians, you may think that it will flatten the nuance of contributions from local Land Councils, and therefore you may be convinced that the risk of disturbing our remarkably stable [...]
Do Christian sexual ethics cause harm?
A short fable Let me tell you a fable. In a faraway township, every resident has contracted the same, fatal disease. What makes this disease, if not unique, then at least unusual, is that the mix of symptoms is different for every resident. In the way of all communities faced with bewildering suffering, the residents [...]
My reflections on the national Anglican report into IPV
Two Wednesdays ago, the national Anglican church released a report it had commissioned on the prevalence of intimate partner violence (a subset of domestic and family violence) in the experience of Australians who identify as Anglican. I am enormously thankful that Anglicans not only commissioned this first-of-its-kind study, but also that it was released to [...]
Hey, uni students
Here's some advice from an old man about this summer holidays. Back when I used to play football (the round-ball kind) for a local club, the tournament would often pause for a couple of weeks in the middle of winter. It was an all-age competition. That's code, of course, for "fat and sly." We couldn't [...]
Please leave, or please stay?
by Mike Paget and Erica Hamence We open with these words we love from Kanishka Raffel, the Dean of St Andrews Cathedral: Matthew 11 records perhaps some of the best known and best loved words of Jesus: Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28) [...]
What else am I wrong about?
Last Sunday at Barneys, in lieu of a more traditional sermon, I had a public conversation with my colleague, Erica Hamence. Erica is a passionate evangelist, a gifted bible teacher, a rigorous student of the Scriptures, and an enormous blessing to our church. I shouldn't need to say this, but because Erica also believes that [...]
Why Christians should be ambitious
If I can be blunt, the Australian middle class (and therefore Anglicans), who are often shaped more by our class origins than the bible, tend to be suspicious about ambition. It’s a documented reality that we are much more likely to be professionals in the security of large organizations than entrepreneurs and small business people. [...]
Stand with Paris?
Today in Sydney the Daily Telegraph reported that the 'merciless' response promised by President Francois Hollande of France had begun with revenge bombings of cities in Syria. There should be no doubt that non-combatants will suffer in these attacks. I write this with a profound sense of anxiety and personal misgiving. But I feel like [...]
On having enemies
In May last year, the police in Massachusetts had a problem. They had the body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the Boston bombers, but nowhere to bury it. Cemeteries in three states had refused to provide a plot for his remains. The chief of police even went on national television to ask for help. He [...]
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