Reading Time: 5 minutes The ARISE Church in New Zealand, after an independent review of abuse and misconduct, is refusing to pay the legal bills of the person they hired to conduct the independent review of abuse and misconduct… even though her legal problems were a direct result of the investigation. Last year, the problems at ARISE became news […]
New Zealand
Posted inReligious News
Leaked investigation into New Zealand’s ARISE Church reveals widespread abuse
Reading Time: 5 minutes An independent review of abuse and misconduct by New Zealand’s ARISE Church has finally been leaked online after repeated attempts by church leaders to formally suppress the material. The report, which was put together after speaking with 545 people connected to the evangelical megachurch, details numerous instances of sexual and physical abuse, financial shenanigans, and […]
Posted inLGBTQ
NZ lawmakers ban conversion therapy after impassioned speech by Deputy PM
Reading Time: 4 minutes In six months’ time the dangerous and despicable practice of conversion therapy will be outlawed in New Zealand after lawmakers today (Tuesday) voted to ban discredited, mainly faith-based attempts to “cure” homosexuality. After hearing an emotional speech by Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson, who opened the third reading of the proposed ban, Labour, the Green […]
Posted inClimate Crisis, Politics
Meanwhile, in a Country with Decent Leadership…
Reading Time: 2 minutes New Zealand, on the right side of history. Important, given that 11,000 scientists have just warned: The world’s people face “untold suffering due to the climate crisis” unless there are major transformations to global society, according to a stark warning from more than 11,000 scientists. “We declare clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing […]
Posted inThe Secular
‘No Religion’ Overtakes Christianity in New Zealand Census Stats
Reading Time: 2 minutes Yup, it’s finally happened. New Zealand is now officially almost a majority nonreligious country, statistically. This has been a result of the stats going both ways – the nonreliguious proportion growing and the Christian proportion shrinking. As TVNZ reports: The number of New Zealanders with ‘no religion’ has officially surpassed the number of people who […]
Posted inPolitics
Trump Effectively Endorses NZ White Nationalist Killings
Reading Time: < 1 minute Trump came out in a press conference in condolence for the terrible killings in Christchurch, New Zealand. Some 49 worshippers were gunned down in several mosques by a white nationalist. After giving short condolences to NZ, Trump went on a rant about an invasion of immigrants into the borders of the US: cartels of evil. Trump […]
Posted inPolitics
NZ’s Ardern vs Trump
Reading Time: < 1 minute Jacinda Ardern is the Labour Prime Minister for New Zealand. Although she has riled some with her raising of taxes (my brother-in-law ain’t too happy), she is doing some good work in raising the reputation of her country, certainly within the realm of younger or more media hip people. Here is an interesting comparison of […]
Posted inPolitics, Sex & Gender
New Zealand, Babies, PMs and Trailblazing
Reading Time: 2 minutes I am unashamedly a Kiwi-phile. I lived in New Zealand for a year after university, backpacking about, holidayed there as a child (when we lived in Hong Kong), have many good friends there, and one of my sisters lives there (married to a Commonwealth Gold Medalist, no less). I’ve always been a big fan of their […]
Posted inThe Secular
Fry’s Irish blasphemy investigation dropped; New Zealand prompted to repeal its own law
Reading Time: 2 minutes I am a few days behind because we have had inspectors in at work. Gah. Anyway, according to the British Humanist Association: The police service in the Republic of Ireland has decided to drop its investigation into Stephen Fry, over allegations he blasphemed in an interview on Irish channel RTE over two years ago, after […]
Posted inThe Secular
Weddings Legalised for Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster in New Zealand
Reading Time: 3 minutes Anything you can do, we can do better. Or, if you can hold a wedding in the name of an imaginary being, then so can we. As ABC reports: It’s official — New Zealanders can now tie the noodle knot in a legally recognised Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster wedding ceremony. The church, which […]