Since the end of WWII, American exceptionalism, with its accompanying militarisation of foreign policy, has played a determining role in world affairs, often destructive, from Vietnam to Gaza. Since the fall of Singapore in 1942, Australia has been a willing participant and cheerleader of the American view of the world. The consistent thread through this whole period has been the pursuit of "peace through superior means of violence", a worldview that is underpinned by a deep and continuous cultural narrative from John Wayne, through Top Gun, 24 Hours to Zero Dark Thirty, and on. In this podcast, American historian, Osamah Khalil, unpacks this big and important story, connecting it back to America's ongoing wars against its 'internal enemies'. Discerning Aussie listeners should be able to connect the dots back to much of our own politics. (You'll have to push past the awkwardness of the podcast presenter though ...) https://open.spotify.com/episode/5utyBA5Dik62yZJuREFclq?si=ff05792becb8415b

Recordings of the four-part Kingdom Communities webinar series are now available online. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtgUIwpIiaZzgCSExIZJuR5Cko3o5pKiy

How poor were the Christians in Rome? How did that shape Paul's letter to them? In this episode of MannaCast, Jonathan interviews Dr Siu Fung Wu about his book, "Suffering in Romans", to explore this long neglected theme of Paul's writings. Listen here: https://mannagum.podbean.com/e/ep35-interview-romans-suffering-the-poor/

AUKUS Madness Malcolm Turnbull lays bare what an insanely bad deal this is for Australia. (Turnbull is a somewhat inconsistent figure, but on this, he is spot on.) More at The Australia Institute.

"I hope that when I die, my life will be like a corporate entity." So says a Sydney dude who owns 300 properties and aims to own 10,000. The technical theological term for someone like this cannot be used in polite company. https://www.realestate.com.au/news/aussie-who-owns-more-than-300-homes-drops-bombshell/

KINGDOM COMMUNITIES Webinar Series A four part webinar series revisioning how we do church in Australia, with special attention to renewing the idea of church as an economic community. Free. Wednesdays, 7pm-8:15, June 4-25 Register here: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1395099