materialism

A regular article written by Phillip Jensen in his role as Dean of Sydney at St Andrew's Cathedral.

Facing the Evil of 9/11
11 September 2011

I am reading the latest John Grisham novel: The Confession.  Grisham is a writer who knows how to get the reader turning pages quickly. He usually pulls you along at a healthy pace. But in this particular novel he adds to his usual techniques, the impending execution of an innocent man. So the pages turn even faster as the reader feels there is no time to lose in solving the problem.

more | 9/11, evil, materialism, suffering
The Irony of Affluence
24 July 2011

There is no virtue in poverty but affluence is not the answer.

Heaven is pictured in the Bible as wealth not poverty. Even in this world, God has richly given to us all things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). Paul said of God “he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17).

more | affluence, generosity, materialism, thankfulness
Who Stole the Ashes?
20 February 2011

How great a tragedy is it that Australia lost The Ashes?

Some people do not care.   They are glad cricket is off their TV screens and wish it were out of their newspapers and magazines. Others were quite glad Australia was beaten at last - while the ‘cricket tragics’ think the world has come nigh to an end because we failed to regain The Ashes.

more | materialism
Media Scapegoats
7 August 2009

It has been another sad week for the media.  As with the football scandal of a few months ago another high profile media personality has lost his job because of public outcry.

I make no excuse for these men or their behaviour – but they are only scapegoats.  We are not sacrificing them in order to repent and change our ways.  We are sacrificing them so that we can continue our system of self-indulgent sinfulness.  We are addressing an extreme symptom...

more | atheism, censorship, immorality, materialism, media, pornography, secularism, society
A Trite Habit?
11 June 2009

Affluence is when a treat becomes a habit.

It is a slowly growing pattern of life.  So slow in its development that we do not even notice it happening to us.  We make a thousand little decisions and finish with a way of living that we never planned or meant to happen.

more | affluence, greed, materialism, pleasure, work
It’s Not Just Cricket
9 June 2009

The ashes are coming.  It’s not bad news - unless you are married to a cricket tragic - or unless you are one.

Once more our nation is united in a titanic David and Goliath like struggle.  The weak and oppressed convict colony is to take on the world empire that has banished us to what they so arrogantly call “the” antipodes.

more | alcohol, materialism, moralism, social issue
The Mothers of Mother’s Day
7 May 2009

The mother was called Ann Maria Jarvis and the daughter was Anna Marie Jarvis. They are not household names today, but their lives have affected us all.

Mrs Ann Jarvis (1830-1905) was the daughter of a Methodist minister who married the son of a Baptist pastor. Throughout her life she was an energetic Christian in her church and community.

She and her husband were actively involved in building the Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. For twenty-five...

more | materialism, mother, mother's day, motherhood
Advancing Atheism at Easter
3 April 2009

It is sad that society needs to be encouraged to be social. It is sadder still that Christians need to be encouraged to be Christian.

Individualism has become a way of life - with its mantras about personal freedom and the right to choose. It is part of a complex of values: materialism, consumerism, secularism and hedonism which all flow out of atheism.

All religions create a particular way of life and ethical system. Some are worked out intellectually; others evolve...

more | atheism, community, easter, materialism
Shopping on Public Holidays
18 March 2009

Should shops remain closed on Easter and Boxing Day? Should the TAB open for bets on Good Friday?

Are these steps another slap in the face of Australia's Christian heritage and one more step in de-Christianizing society?

If you expect me as a Christian leader to react with horror and self-interest, blind to the privileged place that Christianity holds in our society—I am sorry to disappoint you.

more | community, family, gambling, government, materialism
Sydney and a new year
3 February 2009

The Sydney year starts in February. The long summer holidays are over with. Christmas is but a memory. The work starts in earnest and so we commence the Cathedral programme.

This year, as in every year, the Cathedral strategy remains the same.

The strategy is to prayerfully proclaim Christ to Sydney. This work has two foci:—“Building the Church” and “Reaching the City”.

more | community, materialism
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