Liberty, equality, fraternity…but what have they become? Gordon Menzies explores the consequences of pursuing Western ideals.

The cry ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’ has come to represent all that the Enlightenment aspired to. But how well has it travelled over the past few centuries, and what would today’s three-fold catchcry be? Gordon Menzies posits a Christian view.

Files: menzies-core-western-values.pdf

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How does a Christian ethicist rate the Australian government’s performance on asylum seekers?

In April and May 2004, a row erupted in Australia between the officers of three courts, and a Federal Government Minister. At the centre of the dispute were five detained children. Then in May, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission presented a report on its enquiry into children in detention in Australia. The dispute and the report highlight

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I live in Sydney, which means I am compelled to live and breathe real estate. My interest is piqued by special newspaper supplements, home improvement television and the headlining news of adjustments in interest rates. Even social conversation is frequently hijacked by concerns of who is looking for what, and who is doing up which so that they can sell it for something else. The ‘built environment’ has so filled our horizons that we cannot see past

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In 1995, after completing my PhD on magic and the Reformation in England, I found myself being interviewed on talkback radio about witchcraft. It was a rather uneven interview: the interviewer was far more interested in one of the callers, a self-confessed witch, than she was in my academic research.

Most of the book is a collection of source material about witchcraft, including folklore, theology and legal writings; the best collection I have come

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Professor Edwin Judge examines the two sources of Western culture—the classical world and the Bible. He argues that the Bible has made the greater impact.

The cliché that we are now in a ‘post-Christian’ age is superficial. It no doubt allows for the fact that church-going is no longer a matter of convention, and that it is no longer the fashion to cite the Bible as a public authority (which, insofar as it was only window-dressing, we are better

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Far from spawning amorality, reality TV only serves to highlight the ethical dilemma of postmodern etiquette - how humans should relate to one another. But what can Christians bring to the table and how can they present the gospel to postmoderns?

Gazza and Cherie have known each other for six hours. Gazza’s in the bathroom of the resort hotel in which he, Cherie and a few other ‘couples’ are staying—courtesy of a commercial television

Bishop to the Defence Force, Tom Frame, writes about UNSW students, actress Judy Davis, the war in Iraq, and whether political activism about war is a thing of the past.

A war against Iraq would be aggressive, destructive, unnecessary, protracted, illegal, and evil. These were some of the public assessments made early in 2003 about the proposed multinational campaign to disarm Iraq of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs). The subsequent conflict,

The resurgence of religious violence at the start of the twenty-first century has reinforced the myth of secular tolerance—the notion that whereas religious believers are instinctively intolerant, tolerance comes naturally to the secular mind. This paper challenges the myth. It suggests that secular people are not immune from the temptation to persecute and vilify others, and argues that the Christian Gospel fostered the rise of religious

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How do mobile phones, microwaves and rock music affect our relationships? A new book explores the impact.

"Who you are among the students is as important as your academic work", wrote one CASE Associate in an encouraging email. Her wise observation is supported by research being carried out by the Relationships Foundation in Cambridge, UK, under the guidance of Dr Michael Schluter. Michael was at New College earlier this year, delivering lectures

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Relationships in an era of globalisation.

"Who you are among the students is as important as your academic work", wrote one CASE Associate in an encouraging email. Her wise observation is supported by research being carried out by the Relationships Foundation in Cambridge, UK, under the guidance of Dr Michael Schluter. Michael was at New College earlier this year, delivering lectures and participating in seminars considering the significance of

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