Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: A note on noisy places and Covid-19

Covid-19 loves environments full of shouting and singing, so it’s a good idea to avoid them. Many countries around the world are beginning to ease their Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, including New Zealand. For some countries this is a serious mistake and almost guarantees that in a few weeks’ time they will see a resurgence in … Read more

Being queer and Christian in 2019

As New Zealand increasingly backs queer rights, are our Christian churches evolving or standing firm that homosexuality is sinful? Max Towle investigates for RNZ. This piece originally appeared on RNZ. When he was young, every week Ryan Curran would step forward and silently beg and plead at the altar. “God please take this disease from … Read more

The Bulletin: Parliamentary prayer protest amid changing country

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Protest on at parliament today over opening prayer, major changes recommended for biodiversity, and the strange tale of a drug dealer not being deported.   To lead off today, we’re going to start with a story that isn’t necessarily the biggest of the day, but is … Read more

Man down: how homophobia remains rife within Christian circles

From Destiny Church and Israel Folau, to splinter groups opposing the Anglican Church’s acceptance of same-sex marriages, bigotry against New Zealand’s LGBTQ community is still well and truly alive, writes Aaron Hendry. On Friday, Chester Borrows wrote a piece for the New Zealand Herald extolling the virtues of Destiny Church’s ‘Man Up’ – a support programme … Read more

Sunday morning stickup: How tithing exploits the poor

When struggling families are being forced to take out loans to survive, they shouldn’t also be pressured to give money to their church, writes Aaron Hendry. Last week Manukau Ward Councillor Efeso Collins horrified us with stories of impoverished families who were being forced to take out loans in order to make ends meet, as … Read more