• Kel Richards
•
• 11 November 2009

Today, we think of an ‘ivory tower’ as a place where you are separated from the flow of ordinary life. We are most likely to use ‘ivory tower’ when speaking of academics—on the rather quaint notion that they only need to understand the philosophy of the later Middle Ages, or

Read More →

• 11 January 2009

Content unavailable online.

Read More →

• 1 December 2009

“Did you want to ask any questions?” It’s mid-afternoon and I am sitting with Jason[1. Not his real name.] in the visitors’ courtyard of Villawood Detention Centre, Sydney, Australia. Boxes of Thai food grow cold on the table. Behind us, two Africans share a cigarette by the play equipment; beyond

Read More →

• 1 December 2009

Oblivious I learned to pray mnemonically. From repetition, songs and games, I learned to speak about God with big words and concepts. At a young age, I memorized almost the entire script of the Roman Catholic Mass—even the priest’s words. My friends and I played ‘pretend church’, and took turns

Read More →

• Ian Carmichael
•
• 1 December 2009

I want to be frank with you, so I'm just going to say it. I don't want any argument, okay? There is nothing—repeat, nothing—more boring on television or radio than shows about gardening. If you disagree with me, then I'm sorry, but you just need to be corrected.There is only

Read More →

• Guan Un
•
• 1 December 2009

Guan's story so far, in four sentences: He is currently a writer for The Briefing—since, at least, the start of this paragraph. As of the time of writing (2008), he's 26, looks about 13 (blame the Asian genes), is married to the amazing Mary,1 and is about to start MTS

Read More →

• 1 December 2009

I appreciated the interview with Grant Retief in the October Briefing. He has certainly done a significant work on university campuses in Durban and in the recruiting and training of apprentices. His analysis of the South African Christian scene is also perceptive—and provocative. According to the 2001 Census, nearly

Read More →

• Paul Grimmond
•
• 1 December 2009

I have a friend who has an adolescent daughter. Surprisingly, there are moments when the relationship is more rocky road than dairy milk, if you follow me. As he described his current set of frustrations, it suddenly occurred to me that adolescence is the new black. Here are the two

Read More →

• 1 December 2009

Most of us evangelicals know that we’re not brought into God’s presence by singing songs over and over again until our eyes roll into the backs of our heads. And we know we’re not brought into God’s presence by sitting in a stone building with colourful windows. Instead, most of

Read More →

• 1 December 2009

Theodicy is the defence of God’s justice and goodness. It is something we naturally think about, and more often than not, it drives our preaching. You reach a difficult teaching of Jesus about hell, or a confronting passage of Paul’s about the role of men and women in the church, or

Read More →