Curious Christian

THE CONVERGENCE OF FRINGE EXTREMISM – SOVEREIGN PSEUDOLAW AND RELIGIOUS MANDATES IN REGIONAL AUSTRALIA

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Matt Stone

on

2026-08-29

By Andrew Park The study of political radicalisation in modern Australia often suffers from a profound geographical and cultural disconnect. When urban academics and mainstream media outlets attempt to map the rise of anti-government movements, they routinely focus on visible, public-facing entry points. A recent feature in The Chronicle by…
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Why Do American Evangelicals Keep Tripping Up on the Trinity?

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Matt Stone

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2026-08-28

This morning I was reading about William Lane Craig’s rejection of the eternal begottenness of the Son. Dwelling on this, I was reminded of another recent controversy within American Evangelicalism: Eternal Functional Subordination. They represent very different conclusions, but both seem to rebalance the relationship between the immanent Trinity—who Father,…
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Is Buddhism Really an Atheistic Religion?

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Matt Stone

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2026-08-26

I’m always a little bemused when atheists describe Buddhism as an atheistic religion. I understand the reasoning: Buddhism doesn’t centre on a creator God, and some forms of Buddhism can certainly be practised without belief in a personal deity. But I wonder whether “atheistic religion” is really adequate as a…
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Christian Nationalism: When Faith and National Identity Become Entangled

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Matt Stone

on

2026-08-20

I’m seeing a lot of US conservatives trying to problematise the phrase “Christian nationalism.” It really isn’t that complicated. Christian nationalism belongs to the broader family of religious nationalism: ideologies that fuse religious and national identity. Think Islamism, Hindutva, or religious Zionism. The particular theology and politics differ, but the…
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If Jesus Is the Image of God, Why Doesn’t Theology Proper Start with Jesus?

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Matt Stone

on

2026-08-13

I sometimes encounter an assumption, both among critics of Christianity and among Christians themselves, that the God of the Old Testament is fundamentally different from the God revealed by Jesus. Critics may point to the Old Testament’s violence and judgment as evidence that Christianity’s God is morally problematic, while some…
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Mary and the Ark of the Covenant: An Unexpected Echo in Luke 1:43

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Matt Stone

on

2026-08-12

Some weeks ago I came across a meme comparing two passages of Scripture: David’s response to the Ark of the Covenant in 2 Samuel 6:9 and Elizabeth’s words to Mary in Luke 1:43. The suggestion was that Luke intentionally presents Mary in connection with the Ark of the Covenant. My…
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Revisiting Craig Carter’s Contemplating God with the Great Tradition

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Matt Stone

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2026-08-11

I have recently been revisiting Craig A. Carter’s Contemplating God with the Great Tradition. It is not a new book, but it is one that continues to challenge me. Carter’s central concern is that modern Christianity has lost something important: a rich understanding of God’s transcendence and the metaphysical framework…
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Confession: The Prayer That Teaches Us Humility

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Matt Stone

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2026-08-09

One of the hardest things for human beings to do is admit that we are wrong. We are often more comfortable explaining our actions than examining them. We defend our intentions, justify our choices and preserve the image we have created of ourselves. Yet one of the most transformative practices…
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What Kind of Person Are You Becoming Without Knowing It?

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Matt Stone

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2026-08-08

One of the most fascinating observations of modern psychology is that much of what shapes us happens beneath conscious awareness. We often imagine ourselves as people who think, decide and then act. Yet much of who we become is formed through repeated patterns: the things we pay attention to, the…
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God Knows You Better Than You Know Yourself

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Matt Stone

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2026-08-07

One of the strange discoveries of being human is that we are not always as familiar with ourselves as we assume. We can surprise ourselves with our own reactions. We can discover motives beneath our actions that we did not recognise at the time. We can repeat patterns we promised…
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