Mayor4Unley

Greek Easter doesn't always coincide with 'traditional' Easter. This year, it was a week later with Greek Good Friday on 06 April. Council was represented at the Good Friday service at the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen, @ 101 Goodwood Road, Goodwood. It's a grand old church; absolutely beautiful inside. On the day the church quickly filled and scores of people participated in the service from outside, on the footpath. Greek Easter in Goodwood is a huge event. Photo source: taken by a parishioner on the day

Preacher Billy Graham has died, aged 99. He was the best of the bunch of US evangelist preachers. When he visited Australia, 130,076 crammed into the MCG to hear him. In Adelaide he also drew a huge crowd. Before he died, his son asked what Billy wanted on his headstone. The reply was, just say 'Preacher'. A quote from Billy Graham “ when wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost ”. Just so true.

When Dr Karl makes a statement, we sit up and listen and accept it as the gospel. We accept it as fact. He explains the complexities in nature so simply and in an entertaining manner. Recently Dr Karl Kruszelnicki proposed that the magic of coffee and chocolate could prove the existence of God. He claimed that the very similar chemical properties of coffee and chocolate and the way they complement each other, is proof that God exists. “Caffeine is remarkably similar to the stuff that makes chocolate so wonderful,” he says. “It’s led to a deep and philosophical insight.” He explained that the chemical in caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, which closes your blood vessels; whereas the chemical in chocolate is a vasodilator that opens up the blood vessels. So if you're worried about the harm of drinking too much coffee, have a few pieces of chocolate. If you're a purist, then ensure it's an espresso and dark chocolate. Read more here ...

I usually enjoy reading Philip Adams’ column in the Weekend Australian Magazine. His recent column on 16 May 2015 was about religion. It was factual and riveting. The article would reinforce atheists of their beliefs and would I suspect cause discomfort for Christians and other religions. It certainly caused me to question the validity of my religious beliefs. Religion aside, there was an interesting statistic presented. To quote: Recent estimates put the human population at seven billion. The combined weight of those seven billion people is far outstripped by the combined weight of all the termites on Earth. Isn’t that an amazing fact? Trivia? Yes, but it helps to put our place into perspective. Here's a link to the article

In light of the current religious wars being waged across the globe, I am reminded of a quote in the Bible. Reading from Ephesians: 'Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.' God is always on the side of might and right. Always has been. The trouble is that with God on our side (and equally on the side of the opposing force) He loses as many as He wins; simple mathematics. Anyway, it's a powerful quote from the Bible. It reinforces the right to fight for right, justice and beliefs. It also reflects the equal fervour that probably exists on the other side.