A life not wasted

 

Besmirching good people

It has been interesting to see the mixed reaction to the tragic death of American political activist, Charlie Kirk. His many armchair critics, using their social media megaphones, described him as evil. Those who actually knew him in person knew him to be a good and decent man. Rather than the evil man his critics assert Kirk was, I will go with the man his family, friends, and acquaintances knew instead. 

What is to stop me from being baptised?

This Youtube video makes a compelling case that the Christian sacrament of baptism should be kept for believers, and not infants. Looking at passages such as Genesis 15, Exodus 19–24, Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36, Matthew 28, John 3, Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 10, Acts 16, 1 Corinthians 7, and 1 Peter 2, the Bible simply does not permit the baptism of infants. 

All the evils of Nazism

Every so often, a film is released that absolutely must be seen in a cinema. Nuremberg is one such film. Set for release in November 2025, the story of the Nuremberg war crimes trials after the Nazi defeat in the Second World War has been told before in previous film and television dramatizations, but not like this.

The story centres on Douglas Kelley, played by Rami Malek, a U.S. Army psychiatrist assigned to evaluate the mental fitness of Nazi leaders imprisoned at Nuremberg. Kelley becomes entangled in a psychological duel with Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe), Hitler’s second-in-command, who proves to be disturbingly charismatic and manipulative. As Kelley interviews the prisoners, he begins to question the nature of evil, the limits of justice, and his own moral compass.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29567915/

Grift away

Jake Tapper' and Alex Thompson's Original Sin is not a pleasant read, or listen. It is the intersection of politics and gerontology. Some readers who have experienced the decline of aging loved ones will relate to the Democratic politicians who, alarmed at President Biden's noticeable decline, implored him not to seek re-election, because he reminded them of their own aging parents. They, and the author, would have done well to have spoken up earlier, and more boldly. Goodness knows why they failed to do so. 

Real men read

Australians, especially young men, are reading less than ever before. The data shows that the population cohort that reads the least is males aged 15-24, with only 10.1% reading on any given day. The trend is reinforced from a young age, with parents more likely to read to their daughters than sons. The book industry initiative Australia Reads is calling for a national strategy to remind people of the benefits of reading, such as improved mental health, empathy, and focus.

I see that libraries are involved in this campaign. I support this, unlike some other initiatives that libraries are involved in. 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-14/australians-especially-men-are-reading-less-than-ever-before/105422070

https://australiareads.org.au/

Repugnant beliefs

The church is tarnished enough without Christian antisemites making things worse. Gerald McDermott, Anglican clergyman and academic theologian, offers an impassioned rebuke of them here. To my mind, there is nothing to object to here. 

https://www.christianpost.com/voices/new-antisemitism-rising-among-christians-is-heresy.html