This morning my children and I sat in the Auckland High Court to watch Madeleine be admitted to the Bar. The ceremony had the solemn pomp and formality of Barristers wigs, robes and when Madeleine spoke for the first time in open court as an enrolled Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand she […]
Entries Tagged as 'Personal'
ACC Wars: Deja Vu? (Tribunal Result Update)
April 20th, 2011 10 Comments
On the eve of my hearing tomorrow [finally!] against the Accident Compensation Corporation (“ACC”) this appeared in today’s New Zealand Herald: “An Auckland man has won his battle against ACC after a court found its specialist diagnosed degeneration without having looked at an MRI scan of the injury.” Guess who the specialist was? The SAME […]
Tags: ACC · Brian Otto · Car Accident
Madeleine’s Birthday Today
April 2nd, 2011 4 Comments
Dear Madeleine, You are a wonderful life partner, a supportive colleague and my closest friend. Your commitment support and love these last 13 years has been truly a blessing from God. Have a wonderful birthday today, I and the kids love and adore you. lots of love, Matt
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Is God a Moral Monster? A Review of Paul Copan’s Book
March 17th, 2011 17 Comments
On 11 September 2001 Islamic terrorists flew two planes into the World Trade Centre, killing thousands of innocent people. Ostensibly they did this because they believed God commanded them to do so. This event has reinvigorated a fear that has been latent in Western psyche since the 17th century when religious wars tore Europe apart. […]
Tags: Book Review · Is God a Moral Monster? · Old Testament Ethics · Paul Copan
Category 5 Cyclone Yasi About to Land in Queensland – My Parents are in Port Douglas UPDATE 2
February 2nd, 2011 2 Comments
Last night my mother contacted me to tell there was a cyclone warning in Port Douglas and she was doing the whole preparedness thing – checking food supplies, elevating important furniture and household documents and so on. At this time of the year in Port Douglas, where she and my stepfather live this is nothing […]
Tags: Cyclone Yasi · Port Douglas · Queensland
Transitioning to University
January 20th, 2011 1 Comment
What is university like? Is it possible to be a Christian there? What does it mean to live well as a student? If you know someone heading off to university this year, they may be asking themselves these kinds of questions. If they’re not asking these, it’s definitely to be encouraged. To help, I’m pleased […]
A common objection to belief in the God of the Bible is that a good, kind, and loving deity would never command the wholesale slaughter of nations. In the tradition of his popular Is God a Moral Monster?, Paul Copan teams up with Matthew Flannagan to tackle some of the most confusing and uncomfortable passages of Scripture. Together they help the Christian and nonbeliever alike understand the biblical, theological, philosophical, and ethical implications of Old Testament warfare passages.
Atheist Posters: University Intolerance is Suddenly News?
February 3rd, 2011 32 Comments
Last night I watched a section on TV3’s Campbell Live about the treatment of a campus atheist club at the University of Lincoln entitled “Atheist uni students’ posters torn down” (follow the link to view the video). This story went into detail about how the clubs posters have been regularly ripped down and defaced. The […]
Tags: Atheist Club · Campbell Live · Natasha Utting · University of Lincoln