A Japanese study group of Christian educators and doctors has expressed deep concerns about "promiscuous" sexual behaviour among young people, saying that sex education should be promoted from Christian perspectives. "We have a sense of impending crisis about the rapid growth of infectious sexual diseases among teenagers in recent years," said Kunihiko Tominaga, a Christian obstetrician and gynaecologist, who chairs ...

Council Oak Books RRP $38.95 Gwen Mazer shares the experience of interviewing 21 women in their sixties or beyond: women whose fields of expertise range from Maths Educator to Poet, from Congresswoman to Artist, and from Social Visionary and Futurist to Co-founder of the United Farm Workers. This tapestry of conversations weaves together common experiences – the ‘who and what’ ...

It’s the largest celebration of Easter in the country; it heralds a kaleidoscope of music, debate, art and extreme games in one destination, boasts it’s very own ‘canvas’ city, and has people from across this nation and around the globe flocking to southeast Queensland by the tens of thousands. In 2008, this event turned ten, embraced a new name and ...

Roman Catholic groups in Poland have demanded the withdrawal of billboard posters by a local clothes firm, depicting teenagers in erotic poses with rosaries. "These peculiar adverts offend against good taste – hence the protests," said Jakub Mlost, chairperson of the Catholic Youth Association in Poland’s Krakow archdiocese. "We know there’s been liberalisation in certain areas of life, but these ...

Peace is one of the most deceptive terms in public discourse. Consequently, it is not at all clear to me that people know what they are referring to when they talk about peace. Take the current political climate: peace most commonly refers to not having been part of the invasion of Iraq in the first place, or now getting the ...

The Honourable John Howard Dear John, Like you, I do not feel personally responsible for decisions which resulted in breaking up thousands of Australian families and exacerbating the hurt which Aboriginal Australians have experienced as a result of the actions of those of us whose families came to this country as migrants. I did not do it and I am ...

You’re the character in a video game, aliens from another planet are attacking you, enemies from another country are killing slaves, and an evil corrupt ruling power just keeps on sending their troops after you. Your character Striker needs to fight through the hoards of aliens, bullets, dead bodies, landmines, tanks, smoke and fighter planes in order to save the ...

“OVERWHELMED BY hospitality,” was how Newlife Robina Uniting Church Minister Rev Stuart Cameron described the visit by seven Australian church members to the Western Province. “For six of us this was our first visit to the Solomon Islands, but it certainly will not be our last,” said Mr Cameron who is also Chair of the Uniting International Mission Reference Committee. ...

International organizations representing young people from all main Christian traditions say they are anguished at not being able to share in the Lord’s Supper together. "Many of us feel pain when we are not able to celebrate the Eucharist together and be united at the Lord’s Table," the groups said in a joint statement to mark the 100th anniversary of ...

The scruffy, tattooed skateboarders performing high, 360-degree turns and flying through U-shaped ramps are accustomed to stares from parents who don’t know an ollie from a hippie jump. "The way we look – the tattoos, the earrings – people automatically think, ‘Who are these guys?’" says Darren Wells, cofounder of King of Kings Skateboard Ministry, part of a growing attempt ...