UpLink: 32 – Steve Tollestrup & Frank Ritchie on Capital Punishment
UpLink: 32 – Steve Tollestrup & Frank Ritchie on Capital Punishment

Steve, the Executive Director of TEAR Fund NZ and I discuss Capital Punishment – or more to the point, Steve discusses it while I ask questions.

By Frank with 0 comments
Preparing Our Hearts for Easter: Day 13 – Self Denial
Preparing Our Hearts for Easter: Day 13 – Self Denial

In the lead up to Easter we will be putting up a new lent devotion each week day. These devotions will also be available in the discussions section of our Facebook page and will be played on New Zealand’s Rhema.
Self denial is often seen as a practice confined to the fanatical, those who are a little extreme, yet it is [...]

By Frank with 0 comments
Preparing Our Hearts for Easter: Day 12 – John Wesley on Communal Christianity
Preparing Our Hearts for Easter: Day 12 – John Wesley on Communal Christianity

In the lead up to Easter we will be putting up a new lent devotion each week day. These devotions will also be available in the discussions section of our Facebook page and will be played on New Zealand’s Rhema.
John Wesley once said:
“The gospel of Christ knows of no religion, but social; no holiness but social holiness.”
Often this has been [...]

By Frank with 0 comments
Calling for the Global Abolition of the Death Penalty
Calling for the Global Abolition of the Death Penalty

It is referred to as capital punishment, not to be confused with corporal punishment. The latter involves getting a whack, the former involves death and hence its other title – the death penalty. It is often argued that it is the most just and effective means of punishing those who commit terribly heinous crimes; crimes that disturb our humanity to [...]

By Frank with 7 comments
Preparing Our Hearts for Easter: Day 11 – Tools of Justice

In the lead up to Easter we will be putting up a new lent devotion each week day. These devotions will also be available in the discussions section of our Facebook page and will be played on New Zealand’s Rhema.
There is a great Christian tradition that is often carried out this time of year in the lead up to Easter. [...]

By Frank with 0 comments
Humanitarian Chronicle Update

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll notice that the site looks very different. We have just changed the look of the site. This means that there will be some things that need working on over the next little while as we iron out bugs and get the site working seamlessly again.
Thanks for your patience.
Update: Nested comments is now activated so [...]

By Frank with 0 comments
Preparing Our Hearts for Easter: Day 10 – Shunning Status

In the lead up to Easter we will be putting up a new lent devotion each week day. These devotions will also be available in the discussions section of our Facebook page and will be played on New Zealand’s Rhema.
One of the addictions of our culture is social status – we crave it – to be seen as important or [...]

By Frank with 6 comments
Preparing Our Hearts for Easter: Day 9 – You Will Always Have the Poor With You

In the lead up to Easter we will be putting up a new lent devotion each week day. These devotions will also be available in the discussions section of our Facebook page and will be played on New Zealand’s Rhema.
There is a verse in the Bible that is often quoted to justify not working to help the poor. Jesus says [...]

By Frank with 2 comments
Preparing Our Hearts for Easter: Day 8

In the lead up to Easter we will be putting up a new lent devotion each week day. These devotions will also be available in the discussions section of our Facebook page and will be played on New Zealand’s Rhema.
In John 18, before the Crucifixion of Jesus, Pilate stands before the people and offers them the chance to free Jesus [...]

By Frank with 0 comments
Preparing Our Hearts for Easter: Day 7

In the lead up to Easter we will be putting up a new lent devotion each week day. These devotions will also be available in the discussions section of our Facebook page and will be played on New Zealand’s Rhema.
In Luke 7:34 Jesus gives us the words of a scornful generation describing him as a glutton, a drunkard and a [...]

By Frank with 0 comments
Atheist Bus Campaign – Let it roll on
Atheist Bus Campaign – Let it roll on

Here in Aotearoa (NZ) there has been a campaign to put advertising on the sides of buses that says “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy life.” It’s commonly known as the Atheist Bus Campaign and follows on the heels of the same campaign in the U.K. It has garnered a lot of support and raised the funds [...]

By Frank with 55 comments
Preparing Our Hearts for Easter: Day 6 – Facing Hardship

In the lead up to Easter we will be putting up a new lent devotion each week day. These devotions will also be available in the discussions section of our Facebook page and will be played on New Zealand’s Rhema.
In his first letter to the Church in Corinth, Paul talks about the hardship of the Apostles and he says this [...]

By Frank with 0 comments
Preparing Our Hearts for Easter: Day 5 – Being a Voice for the Voiceless

In the lead up to Easter we will be putting up a new lent devotion each week day. These devotions will also be available in the discussions section of our Facebook page and will be played on New Zealand’s Rhema.
You and I have a voice, the ability to speak and be heard, to say something and be listened to. What [...]

By Frank with 0 comments
Preparing Our Hearts for Easter: Day 4 – The Environment

In the lead up to Easter we will be putting up a new lent devotion each week day. These devotions will also be available in the discussions section of our Facebook page and will be played on New Zealand’s Rhema.
The debate about Climate Change is a hot one and can sadly serve to distract us from the very real call [...]

By Frank with 0 comments
Preparing our Hearts for Easter: Day 3 – Simplify

In the lead up to Easter we will be putting up a new lent devotion each week day. These devotions will also be available in the discussions section of our Facebook page and will be played on New Zealand’s Rhema.
We live in a world that encourages us to accumulate material goods. In our society we are too often seen as [...]

By Frank with 0 comments
PREPARING OUR HEARTS FOR EASTER: DAY 2

In the lead up to Easter we will be putting up a new lent devotion each week day. These devotions will also be available in the discussions section of our Facebook page and will be played on New Zealand’s Rhema.
In Matthew 25 and the parable of the sheep and the goats, Jesus presents a unique challenge to how we live [...]

By Frank with 0 comments