Culture

SPOILER ALERT: The following article contains spoilers for the Disney Pixar animation Inside Out. Disney Pixar’s latest animation feature Inside Out offers purpose to all personified emotions, addressing the guilt and shame of Sadness. Ashley Thompson writes. Critically acclaimed for offering a “strikingly intricate and satisfying conceptualisation of a pre-teen’s psyche”, Director Pete Docter’s candy-coloured visual bonanza Inside Out explores ...

The latest encyclical to come from the Vatican has sparked a lot of commentary in both religious and mainstream press. Dr John Harrison examines what Laudato si means for Australian Protestants. Christians outside the Roman Catholic tradition are watching with interest the debate among Catholics about the most recent papal encyclical. The issue under debate is not climate change, but ...

Here’s a handy list for those considering a call to a specified ministry in the Uniting Church. You’re hooked on Christian education and you’ve run out of lay courses Many ministry candidates report that the hunger for knowledge and understanding that led them to explore theology was their first step. Talk to Trinity College Queensland at ask@trinity.qld.edu.au about what’s next. ...

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, but fair trade documentaries The True Cost and Dukale’s Dream show the economic future of the developing world is far from hopeless. Ashley Thompson writes. “Fair trade is a citizen’s response to correcting the social injustice in the international trading system that is largely dysfunctional,” says Safia Minney—founder and CEO of ...

Testing Tradition and Liberating Theology is a little Aussie gem from our own pre-eminent lay theologian Dr Val Webb.  Webb’s goal in this book is to unlock theological process from the rarefied academic world of the seminary and encourage everyone to do their own theological thinking, “rather than continually accepting the often dumbed-down scraps from the altar of others”. Testing ...

Just because you can say something, doesn’t mean you should. Heaven knows not all Christians use Facebook appropriately—a sad and missed opportunity considering the potential impact. Here are five tips to keep you on the straight and narrow. Inspiration overload I’m so glad you are inspired by five million quotes from “Anonymous” laid over city backdrops and Bible verses placed ...

Scornfully reviewed as royal watcher sugar akin to William and Kate: The Movie, the recently released Mother’s Day drawcard A Royal Night Out is fictitious fun with subtle observations on the social phenomenon of birth order, Ashley Thompson writes. “I’m P2, no one cares what I do!” exclaims the younger and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II, Margaret Windsor. Elizabeth ...

It’s official, belonging to a faith community contributes to health and happiness. In fact, the keys to the good life identified by mental health experts pretty much echo the Biblical imperatives to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God. Here are five top tips for happiness: Give Generosity is beneficial to your physical and mental health. Making someone ...

The way we are consuming products—including church—is rapidly changing. Ashley Thompson asks, what does this mean for our communities of faith? A mere decade ago, Blockbuster dominated Friday night entertainment. Now as on-demand internet streaming provider Netflix launches in the Australian market, the “Be Kind, Rewind” era is officially over. Kodak, Nokia, Borders: Blockbuster is in good company among a ...

Rachel Held Evans is a young, thoughtful, hyperconnected woman of faith—and she has a troubled relationship with church. Having grown up in, then left, an evangelical nondenominational church, she is broadly representative of a generation of millennials that have grown up in churches but now in adulthood struggle with the baggage heaped upon them by their received traditions. Research suggests ...