We Need to Talk About Islam

Over the last few months, I have had an occasional exchange with a faithful reader on the subject of Christianity specifically and religiosity more generally and I am in fact working on yet another response to said faithful reader (soon, I promise!). Our discussion has been good humoured and thoughtful and conducted with mutual respect. That’s the way it ought to be. I can disagree with the opinion held by a person, but once I attack the person themselves or begin to appeal to emotion rather than logic, I lose all relevance.

Bourke Street Attack

A few days ago there was a tragic incident in Melbourne where a disturbed man drove a car at high speed through parts of the city including the Bourke Street Mall. The end result was that 5 people were killed and more than 20 injured, not counting the trauma suffered by those not physically injured. The dead included a 3 month old baby and a 10 year old girl.

Donald Trump is not my President

In case you have been in the bath for the last eighteen months, I should begin by noting that the US Presidential election took place on November 8th and was won by Donald Trump, the Republican candidate. It was probably the most unexpected election win of modern times and in the immediate aftermath, there was quite some angst on the part of the losing Democratic Party that included a trending hashtag on twitter that proclaimed #notmypresident, presumably in an attempt to dissociate the poster from the President Elect.