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It is easier to get a job or get on the box doing superstring theory — the elusive 'theory of everything'. Progress in the field is being conducted without reference to empirical reality, revealing a market driven form of collective irrationality.
While observers remark on the superficiality of connection and meaning in Australian society, events such as World Youth Day encourage participants to be reflective. This can lead young people to larger human and civic values.
With Anzac Day over, and the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign just under a decade away, it's time to re-examine, re-frame, and hopefully tame the Anzac legend. You don't need to be an expert to understand that 'Anzac' has a stranglehold over Australian public life.
The second encyclical from Benedict XVI is not what many expected. Benedict is drawing us to a deeper level of reflection, building a solid foundation. What he builds upon this foundation we are yet to see.
In 2005, Pope Benedict targeted Australians as world leaders in Godlessness. However a recent book argues that Australian spirituality is understated, wary of enthusiasm, authority, and characterised by "a serious quiet reverence".
I must confess to growing bored very quickly when I hear that our real problem today is the erosion of spirituality, of belief in a deeper dimension of life, and the consequent rampant materialism. From a properly Christian perspective, the problem today is not materialism, but religion itself.
To address the problem of Third World debt, citizens of developed countries need to place the satisfaction of human needs at the heart of government policy. A history of poor governance, greed, and cultural imperialism are at the core of the Global North’s exploitation of the South.
The error of post-modernism, which grew out of the broad academic left and now dominates Western society, is that it has no metaphysical foundation for a moral critique. From 31 October 2006.
Instead of all those Baroque paintings of the baby Jesus in arms, the work of art that best captures the spirit of Christianity is arguably Andres Serrano's controversial Piss Christ.
The error of post-modernism, which grew out of the broad academic left and now dominates Western society, is that it has no metaphysical foundation for a moral critique. The churches remain the repository of the deeper understanding of life that once motivated some elements of the left.
No advocate of democratic freedoms has defended Sheik al-Hilali's right to compare immodestly dressed women to uncovered meat. The message is that promoting freedom is often—but not always—a valid means of recognising values that enhance individual and collective humanity.
Kevin Summers reflects on art for arts sake in Silencia.