Tag: sin

Sons laid down their lives

by Andrew Lansdown

Something heartbreaking happened to a family at Black Point one Easter.

Black Point is an isolated place, accessible only by four-wheel-drive, on the south coast of Western Australia, and the Stallard family travelled there to fish.

The parents, Ron and Debbie, lived in the south-west of the state, but their two sons, 25-year-old Paul and 19-year-old Andrew, lived in Perth. So the fishing trip was something of a family reunion, too.

But it all went terribly wrong that Easter Saturday while the family was fishing from the rocks.

Debbie slipped and fell into the sea, and a wave swept her out.

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Looking through a window at the world

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

You can see a great deal from a window. At times, things you are not meant to see. It is a means of spying on others. But then, a better use of a window is to look at the natural world around you and appreciate it. A pleasant view is worth a lot.

From where I sit the view is pleasant indeed with brilliant flowers grow profusely. Wide variety and rich colour are on every hand. Masses of red Bougainvillea seem to set the place alight. Then swathes of green reach to folded hills that lead up to towering blue mountains. Above the mountains huge plumes of shining white cloud sit, reaching way up to the heavens. Yes, a very pleasant view.Continue reading

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Stay close to your friend

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

One of the greatest things in life is to relate to a special person who is very near and dear. For some, it will be just one friend or loved one, for others, several of that kind. Whatever it is for us, we treasure them as people and cherish their closeness.

But all too often we hear of breakdown. Husband leaves wife, or wife leaves husband. Sons, daughters fall out with parents or in-laws. Relationships have soured. Surely it must be one of the most common personal traumas faced by people today.

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What we eat

by Andrew Lansdown

 

Some time ago I worked as a journalist on a country newspaper. One of the numerous articles I wrote was titled “A taste for rats!” It began:
In many schools they dissect rats, but at the X High School the students eat them! Indeed such is the students’ taste for the rodents that they consumed over 200 during one lunch period last week.

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Yin Yang

The Eastern symbol of Yin Yang, with its equal swirls of black and white, has become ubiquitous on clothing brands, computer games and in popular culture generally. This idea of a balance between good and evil, of an eternal struggle between the two, is played out in comics and TV shows, and is very appealing. We can identify that tug of war in the world around us and we feel the struggle within ourselves.

The concept of equal but opposing forces in an epic duel has even crept into Christian thinking. However, Biblical Christianity teaches a far different and more encouraging power balance than that good causes and is dependent upon evil, just holding its own in the struggle.

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Trauma cleaning

I am reading a fascinating book at the moment about someone whose job it is to “trauma clean” – she is the cleaner who goes in after a murder, suicide or bad tenant; the person whom the council gets to clean up for hoarders and wash down former methadone labs.

What an interesting, disgusting, daunting and slightly terrifying job!Continue reading

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Imagine a world without theft

Can you imagine a world in which there was no theft? I find it is almost impossible to do. Imagine not needing locks on doors, or cars? No security guards in stores, no pick pocketing or phone scams. We wouldn’t need safety deposit boxes or passwords because no one would steal online either.

If everything was paid for, stores wouldn’t have to pad their prices and the cost of everything would be lower. Insurance companies would lose a lot of work. If no one stole from the tax man, the government would have lots more money to make improvements on infrastructure and amenities.

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The power of apology (Sorry Day 26 May)

National Sorry Day is an annual event that has been held in Australia on 26 May, since 1998, to remember and commemorate the mistreatment of the country’s Aboriginal population. I imagine many Australians might feel the whole idea is just a hollow attempt by “the white fella” to soothe his conscience about the past, and that an apology is just empty words.Continue reading

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The sin-eater

Written March 2019

In season three of Netflix’s “The Blacklist” FBI agent Elizabeth Keen remembers something horrific she did in her past and finally understands why the mysterious Raymond Reddington (Red) was trying to keep it from her.

“I was trying to be your sin-eater,” he tells her.

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