A selection of articles from the Australian media on euthanasia, in the lead-up to the debate of the Assisted Dying Bill in the Victorian Parliament in October 2017.

James Hunter challenges our individualistic view of change and the narrow and misguided focus on political power among both Left and Right. He calls for a positive Christian posture of ‘faithful presence’, shaped by covenantal Christian community and salting every social structure.

James Hunter challenges our individualistic view of change and the narrow and misguided focus on political power among both Left and Right. He calls for a positive Christian posture of ‘faithful presence’, shaped by covenantal Christian community and salting every social structure.

Young people need something to aspire to – education, vocation and occupation are simply a means to this end. And youth of all faiths need guidance from their leaders towards something beyond themselves that will give them a sense of purpose and meaning.

Highlights of links to online news and opinion pieces from September 2017.

Melancholy is central to the human condition, writes Jacky Bowring, and we are as much drawn to it as we are repelled by it. Extolling the benefits of sadness, Bowring questions our obsession with the pursuit of happiness: ‘To lose melancholy is to be deprived of one of the imagination’s last refuges’.

Highlights of links to online news and opinion pieces from August 2017.

Based on a true story, The Big Slick provides a realistic depiction of a cross-cultural relationship, and i doing so deals with some pretty serious subjects – racism, unemployment, relational breakdown, major illness, and the importance of condones honesty, tenacity and love through thick and thin.

Like the best futurist literature, The Handmaid’s Tale shouldn’t be dismissed as mere fantasy. But lest we confuse fundamentalism with the freeing fundamentals of Christian faith, a comparison with Marilynne Robinson’s depiction in Gilead of humble-Christ-like love and service is a good antidote. Will they turn Robinson’s Gilead into a TV series?

I often feel very limited in my impact on society when I am confronted with the issues presented in The Handmaid’s Tale. But after reading Beauty Will Save the World I am reminded that it truly is the small moments focused on the love and care of Jesus that can make the difference. What if the greatest act of subversion was to care for others?