Graham Stanton, blogger and former director of Youthworks (now completing a PhD at UQLD) loves that Hillsong has put the Apostles’ Creed to music, but says we need to SAY it as well. In a Facebook discussion this week (led by Wollongong Minister Sandy Grant), John Dickson said “I love the song. And I love this article. Well done, Graham Stanton. The truth is, this new song is probably the best advertisement for the actual creed ever! And it comes at a time when we need to recover the saying of the creed.” At Hillsong events all around the United States recently, the musicians have actually been getting crowds to say the creed, then sing the song. We think that’s cool. Read more here.

A Vatican invitation: Oh, to be a fly on the wall at the Vatican on November 17. At the invitation of the Pope there will be a meeting of 14 different religions, including Muslim, Sikh, Mormon, Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish leaders for “An International Interreligious Colloquium on The Complementarity of Man and Woman”. Among them will be megachurch pastor Rick Warren and UK theologian N.T.Wright. It’s being billed by the press as a way of defending the traditional definition of marriage, but what will actually take place is anyone’s guess. It comes just weeks after the Vatican’s Synod on the Family, which created slightly misleading headlines like: “Vatican Strikingly Changes Tone on Gays and Cohabitation”. Either way, this next meeting will certainly be worth watching. Read more here.

Got meaning? The Atlantic explores how a body imbued with meaning becomes physically healthier… “What if doctors had a prescription pad that just helped people develop greater purpose in life?” Read more here. 

The examined life: “The examined life does something more important than set them on a secure path to a particular job. It gives them clearer bearings amid life’s uncertainties, a place to stand outside the game of fear. It also addresses what might be the deepest fear of all, which is that endless achievement might not add up to a meaningful life, that winning the races of academic and professional competition might not bring genuine happiness. Facing the human questions squarely can help us cultivate the courage and wisdom to live a life well.” — from First Things, an American journal of religion and public life. Read the full article here.

What if Starbucks marketed like a church?? The horrifying result has been satirised and is up on YouTube for you to see:

A lucky country: An Annual Prosperity Index shows Australia as the 7th most prosperous nation in the world. We thought this graph from American anthropologist and fundraising consultant Ashley Scott, was interesting. It analyses the Prosperity Index against the charity giving trends by country from 2013.