National Sorry Day is an annual event that has been held in Australia on 26 May, since 1998, to remember and commemorate the mistreatment of the country’s Aboriginal population. I imagine many Australians might feel the whole idea is just a hollow attempt by “the white fella” to soothe his conscience about the past, and that an apology is just empty words.Continue reading
Category: Thoughts on life
Details about the devil
In the cult movie “The Usual Suspects” Kevin Spacey’s character Verbal Kint famously says “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist”.
The Devil seems to be doing a good job, in a 2009 poll conducted by Nielsen, 68% of Australians said they believe in God, while only 37% say they believe in the Devil.
Belief in the Devil has been made ridiculous by portrayals of him as a cloven-hoofed, pointy-tailed, red, goat-like creature, carrying a pitchfork.
What does the Bible actually say about the Devil and does one have to believe in him to be a Christian?Continue reading
Bad tattoos and other mistakes
Published 2016
A Chinese firm has developed a new type of tattoo ink that fades away after a year, or can be taken off sooner with a removal solution, according to a recent article on news.com.au. What a great idea!
Continue readingThe sin-eater
Written March 2019
In season three of Netflix’s “The Blacklist” FBI agent Elizabeth Keen remembers something horrific she did in her past and finally understands why the mysterious Raymond Reddington (Red) was trying to keep it from her.
“I was trying to be your sin-eater,” he tells her.
Continue readingSatan hates you
In a world where almost every week I think things cannot get more bizarre, The Satanic Temple of Idaho has posted on Facebook at the end of a longer message “Just know that Satan loves you for you!”Continue reading
Robots and Eternity
Written in 2016
In the world of artificial intelligence, things that our grandparents would have found hard to even imagine have already become a reality and the pace of progress in the field “is close to exponential”, according to billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, entrepreneur Elon Musk.Continue reading
Pro which life?
Published in 2017
A woman in my church was recently diagnosed with breast cancer around the time she was told she was pregnant with twins. She was advised to abort the babies and get immediate surgery and chemotherapy.
What a ghastly choice to face! Either kill your unborn babies and try to save your life for the sake of your husband and seven small children, or continue with the pregnancy and potentially end up dying and leaving your young family to fend for themselves.Continue reading
Bandersnatch: choices, choices
Published in 2019
Netflix’s recent production Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is unique in that it that is the first interactive movie – allowing the viewer to make a choice at several intervals as to what the lead character will do next and how the story ends.
It cleverly questions how much control we really have over our lives and highlights how even the most banal of decisions may have unforeseen consequences. It could also be construed to be subtly underplaying our responsibility on how our lives turn out: implying that our choices are so constrained by outside forces that we are all just victims of our culture, genetics and upbringing.Continue reading
A Wonder-filled Life
The expression of the little girl in this photo is so delightful! It reminds us that children still have the capacity to be overcome with awe and wonder and excitement, in a way that us cynical and jaded adults seldom experience.
In the modern world where so many mysteries of science and biology have been discovered, where so many disasters and disappointments happen routinely, and where our lives are so busy, it is rare to feel awe.
Continue readingConned!
Australians are swindled out of at least $50 million a year by local and international telephone scammers linked to organised crime, according to a recent article on News.com.
These sliver-tongued cold callers, often supported by slick websites, promise high returns for an average investment of $20 000 to $30 000.
Continue reading