Michael's blog

Last year on Anzac Day, ABC presenter, Yassmin Abdiel Magied, tweeted,

‘Lest we forget (Manus. Nauru. Syria. Palestine.)’

Her tweet unleashed a torrent of outrage and vitriol.

One TV host said, ‘Lest we forget Yassmin you are brown, you are Muslim, and you are a girl, and that’s the only reason you have a job at the ABC.’ He then called her an’ idiot’ and a bitch.’

Yassmin took down her post and apologized.

What evidence do you need?

For a long time, I was a fan of ‘doubting Thomas’ (John 20:24-29); his willingness to ask hard questions, his unwillingness to accept at face value what others told him. In a way, he is a forerunner of the scientific method, ‘Without evidence, don’t believe.’

Now, I see other dimensions to this story. Yes, there is much to admire; yet, there are limitations in Thomas’ demand for proof.

Those who espouse, enact and live a generous vision will be opposed.

Sometimes, they will be put on trial, and those who conduct the trial will often be people once counted as allies.

From the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, his vision was opposed by influential people, leading citizens. Around 30 AD, during Passover, Jesus was put on trial by the religious leaders in Jerusalem, fellow Jews.

(Not an insignificant number of Christians discover that it is people within the church who oppose their vision.)

Last Thursday, on Conversations with Richard Fidler, I was introduced to the ‘fortepiano.’ The comments of Richard’s guest, Geoffrey Lancaster, about this unusual instrument intrigued me.

I also acknowledge I am entirely out of my depth here.

I apologize in advance to those many people with more musical knowledge than I!

The fortepiano existed from around 1700 up to the early 19th century, and has recently enjoyed a revival. It’s the piano that Mozart et al. wrote for. (A fortepiano was brought out to Australia with the First Fleet.)