As a general rule of thumb, the bigger and nastier the organisation, the better the PR machine. The biggest and nastiest (think Nazi Germany or Communist China) have PR machines that kick over into propaganda juggernauts. Why hello ANZ Bank! Along with the other big banks in Australia the ANZ has a PR machine to […]
When heaven comes crashing onto earth and the age-to-come begins in all its fulness there’s one of its qualities that I’m gagging for at the moment: kindness. Oh I know there’s talk about how it will be one great big worship service on that last day that begins the new days. And I know from […]
Hey watch out Christians! You know that Bill that was supposed to protect you from discrimination? Well here’s the latest: It’s actually going to enable people to discriminate against you! Don’t believe me? Then what about this?: Scary huh! But also – once again – fake news. Fake news worthy of The Donald! All it […]
Assuming that intentions translate directly into results, radicals tend to be unscrupulous optimists in that they operate on the premise that well-intentioned radical change, however destructive, can only lead to improvement. That quote caught my eye from a Quillette article by a former political radical, who outlined the mindset that is required to belong to […]
In my role at Third Space I write and speak on pretty much the same sorts of things I write and speak about here on stephenmcalpine.com Here are links to a couple of the latest. In the first I explore why the idea of societal collapse due to a virus (think zombies or coronavirus) has […]
So what would you say as a traditional Christian couple when (not if) the foster care agency asks your response to a foster child announcing they identified as LGBTQI? Leaving aside the vexing question of what age any child could make such a declaration meaningfully, this exact issue has led to a Western Australian couple […]
Do you know what the conservative religious people of Australia are waiting for? They are waiting for the government’s religious discrimination bill to pass Parliament so that they can rush down to their local child care centre and shout at single mums that God is going to judge them for their kids not having a […]
I woke up this morning to the news that Kobe Bryant had died. I told my daughter. “Oh my goodness!” exclaimed my indie-music loving, non sports-watching/playing 18 year old, “Did he really? How?”, before rushing off to tell her brother. My 12 year old skating, non-basketball playing son came in, still in pyjamas, but sleep […]
Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court. (Psalm 127) Well maybe not […]
I’ve taken the opportunity during our extended, and gloriously sunny, beachside holiday to plough through the Pentateuch. Genesis was a riveting read, as was most of Exodus. Then we get a bit bogged down. Lots and lots of worship ordinands. And don’t let me catch you boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk. The […]
In a fascinating article in The Canberra Times, climate activist, Michael Bones, writes about how progressives need to take a leaf about how to change society from, of all places – the church – and conservative church at that. You can read the full article here. In the wake of the terrible Australian bushfires and the […]
Twenty years ago we caught our collective breath as a nation when we saw this beautiful image appear for the climax of the New Year’s Eve fireworks in Sydney Harbour. It was a wonderful moment, a celebration of something central to Sydney for so long. The humble story of Arthur Stace, transformed by Jesus, and […]
I got up on Christmas morning to let the dog out for his obligatory wee and to my surprise, the front doormat was gone. Not just any front doormat. A thick, woven, imported masterpiece of a doormat that offsets our house just nicely. It’s the right height to step straight into the house. It’s the […]
There was a time, in the not too distant past, when JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series was banned from the libraries and book sales of many a Christian school. Remember those good ol’ days? “Too scary to read,” they said. “Too much into the occult for kids,” we were told. “Too full of witches and […]
Hey Christian, don’t be tempted to cancel your Netflix account because the streaming service is airing the blasphemous comedy The First Temptation of Christ. Yep it makes a mockery of the sacred, comes at Christmas time, and presents Jesus as gay. And yep, there’s a huge move afoot to get it cancelled, with petitions all over […]
If you’re a Terrence Malick fan, then you’ve got to see his latest film, A Hidden Life. It’s terrific. If you are not a Malick fan, become one by going to see it. Mind you, at 2 hours 45 minutes its either empty your bladder or bring your catheter. I got to see it at […]
One of the most insightful comments coming out of the UK election blowout was from politics professor at the University of Kent, Matthew Goodwin: What we have seen in this election campaign is a Conservative Party that has been willing to lean left on economics and right on culture, … [Boris Johnson] is someone who […]
The government in my home state of Western Australia has just passed some of the most far-reaching euthanasia laws in the nation, and they are proud. Gleeful even. There was pushback, notably from one local MP who I know, Nick Goiran, who managed to get changes made in the weeks leading up to the passing […]
I’ve been dividing my writing time these past few months between my blog, a book I am writing for The Good Book Company in the UK, and the new Third Space website. Third Space’s website is a space for people to explore the Christian faith, not necessarily from a position of having faith in Christ […]
I got home from church last night and my neighbour diagonally opposite, Kath, was out in her garden. It was a mild evening, sun not fully set, so I wandered over for a chat. Kath’s a great neighbour. Her house is one of the old non-gentrified ones in the area, with a great cottage garden […]
I remember it well. Ten years ago this week I was sick. Not just sick, but sick sick. The phone rang as we were sitting down to eat dinner, much as I didn’t feel like eating. It was the doctor. Can I come along to the office? Now? With my wife? I guess I can. […]
And there’s no doubt about it I really, really wanna shout it now Singing, I’m not religious anymore, whoa yea And there’s no doubt about it I really, really wanna shout it now Singin, I’m not religious I just love the Lord So sang Scott Wesley Brown back in 1977, in his song, I’m Not […]
Australian apologists for the Chinese regime should hang their heads in shame, with further proof that China is crushing religious freedom with glee and breathtaking arrogance. Just this week it has been revealed that churches throughout China have been forced to remove religious iconography, which are then replaced by, er, religious iconography, namely the current […]
It’s the little moments that make the Christmas season so special This is the latest Christmas advert for Bonds. The picture isn’t showing you what the little things actually are, but I assure you it’s the Bonds undies that are probably one size too small for both these muscular chaps. Cue outrage. And I kinda […]
“You’re not one of those evangelicals are you?” I’d just settled into the plane for the five hour flight back home across this great brown land called Australia, and I was tired. The Friday night flight from Sydney to Perth is invariably late taking off (a thunderstorm this time? Nice move, didn’t see that one!), […]
