Yesterday I wrote about what Sydney isn't. It's time I said something about what Sydney is. Or, at least, my part of Sydney, the inner, urban world. In my part of Sydney, locals are twice as likely to be university educated as the average Australian. But they are 15% more likely to be unemployed and and [...]
Big city church: Sydney is Sydney
Over the next week or so, I'll be posting some reflections on what it is to be church in the city of Sydney. Day 1: Sydney is Sydney. Sydney isn't New York. The closest we come to the high-density urban burroughs of Manhattan and Queens is Surry Hills, which is predominantly middle-rise. The CBD is [...]
I wish God would prove himself to me
No fewer than three times in the last fortnight, I’ve been asked a variation on the following question: ‘If God is both kind and competent, why has he not simply appeared across the world to every person and, given he hasn’t done this, how can he hold us to account for not responding to something [...]
Does premarital sex lay the foundations for marriage?
Over the weekend, as we wrestled with the Christian teaching on sexuality through the book of Genesis, I was asked this excellent question: ‘Can sex serve in the premarital cultivation of a relationship leading to marriage?’ While the answer to most questions to do with human nature are usually complex and nuanced, this is an [...]
Altering the definition of marriage
Proposed changes to include same-sex relationships in the Commonwealth marriage act will not, if they are legislated by Parliament, suddenly lead to a landside of publicly recognised polygamous marriages. If, however, they are enacted on the grounds proposed - that of equal rites for gays and lesbians - then they will amount to a conscious [...]
michael paget 