This may surprise some, but I don't write-off my entire Christian past as negative. The relationship I have with that life stage is a complex and nuanced one, and I learned a lot through this time - through people, experiences and community. Autistic Burnout My mental health as a Christian teenager regularly fluctuated. I had… Continue reading Ex-Christianity Revisited: Mental Health, Autistic Burnout & the Church
We're throwing it back hardcore, to my first ever blog post on this site, God is Good?. I was still living Bahrain when I wrote this. God is _______. Fill in the blank for me. Seriously, do it. I'm interested in this as an exercise. As a part-time boat-rocker and full-time philosophiser, I would like… Continue reading Ex-Christianity Revisited: God is ___
Bridging clumsily into an extended climate change brain dump, I continue my quest. For what? ...to normalise discussions about our mortal souls, of course. In On Aging, Climate Change and Escaping Nihilism, I briefly summarise my climate anxiety: "Nature is Changing" "Staring me down in my older adulthood is the vortex of climate change, which… Continue reading Musings on Mortality (Part Two)
Despite numerous drafts on the back burner, none have quite made it live for quite some time. I would say must do better, but this is my playground, not homework. There are no deadlines, quotas or gradebooks. I'm not letting anyone down by not posting - at most I'm just barn-egging my free range-destined ideas.… Continue reading Qualified, Medicated, Elucidated.
On Karen Carpenter When I was about six or seven, I learned that my favourite singer in the world at the time had passed away at a young age. In age appropriate language, my mum explained anorexia to me: about how Karen Carpenter (vocalist of the 70s brother sister duo The Carpenters) got told that… Continue reading Karen Carpenter, Fatphobia and Cultivating Self-Love
So I'm now saving my discussion of teenhood with Jesus and leading kids to Christ for part three, just because it makes more linear sense - and there is a colossal amount to unpack. Philosophising at Twelve I begin with an excerpt from my 2016 blog post, The Beauty of Religion. "The unraveling of my… Continue reading Hillsong Music, Twelvie Me and Decolonising God (Part Two)
I'm all Coronavirused out, so I'm fully not going to talk about it - other than to say it has been a weird, chaotic and uncertain last few weeks, has it not? I hope everybody is staying safe, well, and being nice to their flatmates/family/partners during this stressful time. Sparing a thought for all the… Continue reading The Covid19 Diaries: Isolation Staycation?
Recently, in the dentist waiting room, I had an epiphany. As I sat there, I saw everyone was glued to their digital devices: smartphones, tablets, the whole shebang. I asked myself, how can we so socially connected and disconnected simultaneously? Then I typed these preliminary thoughts into my own mobile device... am I not the… Continue reading Dial-Up Days, Mother Nature and Digital Detoxing
Yeah, so, New Zealand is not doing a fantastic job. We're miles ahead of Australia, for example - make no mistake - but our micro-aggressions towards ngā tāngata whenua are all too real, sometimes subtle and sometimes more like actual aggression. I will never ever know what it feels like to live in the skin… Continue reading Colonialism in Aotearoa and te Ao
Unlike most Christians (and ex-Christians), I grew up in a secular household. I now thank Ranginui, Māori god of the sky, that this was the case. In my opinion, what drew me to the Christian faith in the first place (for eight years) was my innate need for spiritual exploration, influence via Christian extended family members,… Continue reading Addressing My Internalised Homophobia
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