The Fountain of Public Prosperity
The Fountain of Public Prosperity

Author: Stuart Piggin

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781925523461

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The official religion brought to Australia with the First Fleet was Evangelical Christianity, the 'vital religion' then shaping public policy through William Wilberforce and his fellow evangelicals. That it has shaped Australian history ever since, making a substantial contribution to the public prosperity of the nation, is an untold story. Christian values and identity were the main components of Australian values and identity. Evangelical 'moralising' may be understood as a concern to address the 'hard' cultures associated with convicts, the liquor industry, and male misogyny. The movement provided opportunities for women to work in reform, charitable, evangelistic and missionary organisations, thus laying strong foundations for feminism. In their concern for 'Christlike citizenship', evangelicals cared for the nation's children in Sunday schools and its youth in societies for young people such as the YMCA, YWCA, and Christian Endeavour. The major component of the humanitarian movement, evangelicals ensured that the convict settlement of Australia was more humane than is generally recognised. They did most of the all-too-little that was done to protect the Indigenous population and to educate settlers, keeping alive in the latter a conscience over maltreatment of the former. In a profusion of charities, evangelicals in the nineteenth century, as today, provided most of the welfare for the population's disadvantaged. The Fountain of Public Prosperity presents propositions which require a radical revision of received understandings, an appreciation of unmined riches in the Australian experience, and reconnection with an often buried past. Drawing on these untapped resources is the safest route to reimagining a future for Australia.

Fountain of Fortune
Fountain of Fortune

Author: Richard von Glahn

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2023-07-28

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0520917456

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The most striking feature of Wutong, the preeminent God of Wealth in late imperial China, was the deity’s diabolical character. Wutong was perceived not as a heroic figure or paragon but rather as an embodiment of greed and lust, a maleficent demon who preyed on the weak and vulnerable. In The Sinister Way, Richard von Glahn examines the emergence and evolution of the Wutong cult within the larger framework of the historical development of Chinese popular or vernacular religion—as opposed to institutional religions such as Buddhism or Daoism. Von Glahn’s study, spanning three millennia, gives due recognition to the morally ambivalent and demonic aspects of divine power within the common Chinese religious culture. Surveying Chinese religion from 1000 BCE to the beginning of the twentieth century, The Sinister Way views the Wutong cult as by no means an aberration. In Von Glahn’s work we see how, from earliest times, the Chinese imagined an enchanted world populated by fiendish fairies and goblins, ancient stones and trees that spring suddenly to life, ghosts of the unshriven dead, and the blood-eating spirits of the mountains and forests. From earliest times, too, we find in Chinese religious culture an abiding tension between two fundamental orientations: on one hand, belief in the power of sacrifice and exorcism to win blessings and avert calamity through direct appeal to a multitude of gods; on the other, faith in an all-encompassing moral equilibrium inhering in the cosmos.

Attending to the National Soul
Attending to the National Soul

Author: Stuart Piggin

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781925835366

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In this major new contribution Stuart Piggin and Robert Linder tell the story of how Australian evangelical Christians responded to the decline of the British empire and to the expanding international reach of their religious mission and beliefs, of how these Christians reacted to the challenges of secularism, and of how they have sought to 'attend to the national soul' sensitising the national conscience and helping to shape the national consciousness. The authors offer an extensive treatment of evangelical involvement in World Wars I and II and in the wars in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan. They consider Alan Walker and Billy Graham and the development of an energetic evangelism more calculated to address global fears and personal anxieties. And they show that by the beginning of the 21st century conservative, progressive and Pentecostal branches had each learned the necessity of bringing a prophetic ministry to bear on social issues. This ambitious study seeks to recognise the influence of 'the public opening up of the word of Christ to the world', 'to tell the truth about his influence' on Australia's social and cultural history, and to show that evangelical Christianity continues to be as much a public ethic as a personal credo.

The Fountain of Knowledge
The Fountain of Knowledge

Author: Shiri M. Breznitz

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2014-07-30

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 0804791929

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Today, universities around the world find themselves going beyond the traditional roles of research and teaching to drive the development of local economies through collaborations with industry. At a time when regions with universities are seeking best practices among their peers, Shiri M. Breznitz argues against the notion that one university's successful technology transfer model can be easily transported to another. Rather, the impact that a university can have on its local economy must be understood in terms of its idiosyncratic internal mechanisms, as well as the state and regional markets within which it operates. To illustrate her argument, Breznitz undertakes a comparative analysis of two universities, Yale and Cambridge, and the different outcomes of their attempts at technology commercialization in biotech. By contrasting these two universities—their unique policies, organizational structure, institutional culture, and location within distinct national polities—she makes a powerful case for the idea that technology transfer is dependent on highly variable historical and environmental factors. Breznitz highlights key features to weigh and engage in developing future university and economic development policies that are tailor-made for their contexts.

God is Good for You
God is Good for You

Author: Greg Sheridan

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Published: 2018-07-25

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 1760636797

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At a time of crisis for Christianity in the West, God is Good for You shows just why we need faith in our world. The Judeo-Christian tradition has created and underpinned the moral and legal fabric of Western civilisation for more than 2000 years, yet now we've reached a point in both Australia and many parts of the West where Christianity has become a minority faith rather than the mainstream belief. It's a situation that's fraught both for Christians and our wider society, where the moral certainties that were the foundation of our institutions and laws are no longer held by the majority. At this point of crisis for faith, God is Good for You shows us why Christianity is so vital for our personal and social well-being, and how modern Christians have never worked so hard to make the world a better place at a time when their faith has never been less valued. It carries a vital torch for Christianity in a way that's closely argued, warmly human, good humoured yet passionate, and, above all, convincing.

Great Southland Revival
Great Southland Revival

Author: Kurt Mahlburg

Publisher: Australian Heart Publishing

Published: 2022-11-21

Total Pages: 335

ISBN-13: 1922480339

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Discover Australia’s Great Awakenings Australia is a nation forged in the furnace of revival. Long forgotten, Australia’s Spirit-filled history comes to life in Great Southland Revival. Discover how the flame of Pentecost spread from the book of Acts all the way to the South Pacific. Journey on convict ships and city trams, to goldfields, outback communities and far-flung islands transformed by the gospel. Most of all, be inspired that God longs to revive the church, sweep multitudes into His kingdom, and renew our world once again.

Evangelical Christianity in Australia
Evangelical Christianity in Australia

Author: Stuart Piggin

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13:

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Evangelical Christianity is one of the most formative and least acknowledged movements in Australian history. This book accords evangelicals their rightful place in the development of Australian identity and values. Evangelicalism focuses on the Gospel, the God-given means not only of the salvation of individuals, but also of the renovation of society and culture. In this original and stimulating study, Stuart Piggin argues that evangelicalism is strongest when it synthesises Biblical orthodoxy with spiritual passion and human compassion. When this synthesis was achieved, it resulted in spiritual vitality and the strengthening of Australian nationhood. Based on interviews with a large number of Christian leaders and on a variety of often rare sources, Piggin's account throws light on matters as disparate as the character and motivation of early chaplains, the 'sinless perfection' movement at the University of Sydney in the 1930s, the Billy Graham Crusades, and disputes over the ordination of women. Evangelical Christianity: Spirit, Word and World traces the development of Biblical scholarship and the strengthening of Reformed Christianity, the surprisingly frequent incidence of genuine religious revival, and the creative commitment of evangelicals to the shaping of national values.

Northern Lights
Northern Lights

Author: Andrew Scott

Publisher:

Published: 2016-05-10

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 9781525215650

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The nations of Scandinavia and Finland, or Nordic Europe, continue to provide living proof that economic prosperity can be combined with social equality and environmental responsibility. This book, written from an Australian perspective, explores previous outside policy interest in the Nordic nations and outlines some lessons which the English - speaking world, in particular, can learn now from the achievements of the four main Nordic European nations. In terms of income distribution these countries are still much more equal than Australia, Britain, New Zealand and Canada and nearly twice as equal as the United States. Workforce participation rates are high in the Nordic nations but working hours remain within reasonable limits; enabling genuine work - life balance. Sweden has played a leading role in improving wellbeing, and lowering poverty, among children. Finland has achieved stunning success in schools since the 1990s. Denmark invests in comprehensive skills training as part of providing security, as well as flexibility, in peoples employment lives. Norway's taxation approach ensures that natural resources are used sustainably for the entire nations long - term wealth.All of these achievements are relevant to the policy choices for the future which Australia, and other English - speaking countries, can now make.

Sri Lanka's Secrets
Sri Lanka's Secrets

Author: Trevor Grant

Publisher: Monash University Publishing

Published: 2014-08-01

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1922235539

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As the civil war in Sri Lanka drew to its bloody end in 2009 the government of this island nation removed its protection from UN officials and employees, who, along with other international observers, were forced to leave the conflict zone. President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his inner circle wanted, it seemed, a war without witness. The end result was the deliberate slaughter of an estimated 70,000 innocent civilians. However, many survivors, and some who died, were able to capture on camera the horrifying conclusion to the war and the cruel deprivations of the internment camps that followed. Today, through their images and testimony, Rajapaksa stands accused of war crimes. In Sri Lanka’s Secrets experienced journalist Trevor Grant presents the shocking story of the final days of this war, alongside the photographs and eye-witness accounts of many Tamils, including Maravan, a social worker who fled to Australia by boat after being tortured by soldiers seeking his folio of photographs. Grant also details the continuing torture and abuse of Tamils in Sri Lanka, and some national governments’ ongoing support for a regime that has abandoned any pretense of democracy. Foremost among these enthusiastic supporters has been the Government of Australia, cynically preoccupied with ‘stopping the boats’ fleeing Sri Lankan state terror. At any cost.