What the h**l does ‘conservative’ mean anyway?

The Conservapedia (no, I’d never heard of it either; I’ll not link to it, you can find it for yourself if you want to) is calling for a new ‘conservative translation’ of the bible which meets the following guidelines:
Framework against Liberal Bias: providing a strong framework that enables a thought-for-thought translation without corruption by liberal [...]

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Does this pastor even know what the gospel is?

Ken Pagano, the pastor of New Bethel Church (an Assembly of God congregation in Kentucky) is having a bring-your-gun-to-church day. As he puts it,
God and guns were part of the foundation of this country.
Sheriff’s deputies will check that unconcealed firearms aren’t loaded. But no one will be searched for concealed weapons. Mr Pagano’s comment? ‘That’s [...]

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Kooky crap indeed

This came from Bruce Mullan, of the Queensland Synod’s Communication department:
Catch the Fire Ministries (of alleged vilification of Muslims fame) has just put out a press release headlined “Abortion laws to blame for bush fires?”
CTFM leader, Pastor Danny Nalliah said he would spearhead an effort to provide assistance to devastated communities but was not surprised [...]

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Australian weather

While in far north Queensland Ingham floods (again!!), the news from Victoria is far worse. 25 people so far confirmed dead from bushfires, and it seems likely there will be more. See Avril Hannah-Jones’ blog also.
If you pray, pray for the people of Victoria, while not forgetting those in north Queensland.

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Zimbabwe on the verge

From The Guardian. Read the rest here:
Yesterday, for the second time in a week, some Zimbabwean soldiers attacked money-changers in Harare after they were unable to withdraw their wages from cash-strapped banks.  Clashes between the unarmed soldiers and police wielding guns and teargas ensued. The police are said to have been slow to intervene.
This is an indication of [...]

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“if you’re someone who prays, please pray for Zimbabwe…”

One of the best things about being a minister in a congregation is the people you get to know. Let me introduce you to one: Katie Wallis is a young woman trying to live a Christian life. Aiming to be a Christian. This has taken her on a journey. Katie was one of those who [...]

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Church signs can be good. Or not.

I was out in the car yesterday and saw a sign outside a church. It failed on any and every level I can think of:
 
MY GOD WILL BE YOUR JUDGE
 
My God will be your judge? Give me a break! I’d never ever visit a church that put that out as its message. Would you?

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Suffer the little children

From The Australian:
QUEENSLAND child welfare authorities received almost 72,000 calls alleging abuse of children in the past year.
Figures released by the Department of Child Safety today showed more than 7000 Queensland children are in care because they cannot live safely at home and almost 72,000 calls alleging child abuse were received in the past year.
Speaking [...]

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Bread and circuses

14 October: Delta Goodrem rings the bell for the New York Stock Exchange.
Is it a case of Mistaken Identity? It just happened Out Of The Blue! Is it A Little Too Late? Or can we Believe Again?
 

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Dialogue in the Church: can we do it?

From the editorial in the Christian Century of 7 October:
 
I served briefly as an elected officer of my denomination and spent a lot of time trying to encourage dialogue between liberal and conservative factions. I observed that liberals don’t like to fight, but instead are always trying to accommodate people, to be inclusive even of [...]

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