Some great posts…
From time to time I like to refer our readers to some great posts on other sites… though always hoping that they will still keep looking at this site. So what are some recent posts that I have enjoyed? Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed blog recently ranked this post on being on the wrong side of history as their post of the year. Now there are some great posts on that site, and I wouldn’t necessarily have rated this as number 1, but it is an intriguing read and argues back strongly against the emotional manipulation present in ‘you will be on the wrong side of...
Read MoreBlog Reflections: Most and least successful posts and all that…
With the new year moving along steadily, I thought it as well to write up some reflections on the life of this blog in 2015. For most of the year it lay dormant – an idea brewing and developing. Starting it was on my list of goals for 2015, and with the help of Ben O’Reilly, a domain name and basic site had been built early in the year. True, the domain name was not my initial choice – but the trouble with a name as common as Brian Harris is that more obvious choices like brianharris.com and brianharrisblog.com were already taken. So brianharrisauthor.com it is – a...
Read MoreFireproof and Crazy Stupid Love: Comparisons and Contrasts from a Christian Worldview Perspective – By John Mayne
The relationship between Christianity and the arts is fascinating. The arts were once a sphere dominated by the church, but they now often seem to be a ‘God free’ zone. However, underlying assumptions about the world and reality drive most artistic portrayals, and should be examined and discussed. John Mayne does this very helpfully in his comparison and contrast of two films, Fireproof (written with an explicitly Christian script) and Crazy, Stupid, Love – which while without a clear Christian mandate, often resonates with Christian values and ideals. I think you will find...
Read MoreGratitude and Giving Back: A theme for the New Year
Given that if you aim at nothing, you invariably achieve it, it is probably wise to set some goals for the New Year. In the past I have worked away at detailed plans, trying to set precise markers that will help me assess if the year can be classified a success or otherwise. But this year I have opted for an alternate strategy. Rather than great specificity (like lose 5kg, publish 2 articles, see Vose enrolment grow 7%) I am hoping to follow through on a theme, and to see where it leads. I have a gentle conviction (in other words, not a lightening bolt revelation, but just an ongoing sense...
Read MoreHannah and Mary: Having the faith to let go… by Audrey Francis
I was shopping at Coles yesterday and noticed that they already have Easter hot cross buns on sale. Christmas has only been over for week, and we are already being rushed away from it. But it is better to ponder Christmas a little longer. Audrey Francis, a student at Vose Seminary who has contributed to this blog before, helps us to do so in this message she preached on Sunday 27 Dec 2015 at Rockingham Uniting Church. It is built around 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26 and Luke 2: 41-52, comparing the sacrifice made by Samuel’s mother Hannah, and Jesus’ mother Mary. It asks what they might...
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