About

I am Bryan Patterson, a journalist/musician who wrote the Faithworks column that appeared in Australian newspapers for nearly 18 years. Now it will continue to be published here. I’m a Christian but not a dogmatic one. I have Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, agnostic and atheist friends. All are welcome to comment here but no personal abuse please.

90 thoughts on “About”

  1. Thank you for your recent like on Shift Key. It will take me a while to peruse your site. Many of my posts deal with abuse – no one deserves abuse, in any way, shape, or form. Thanks.

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  2. Hi there! I wanted you to know that I nominated your blog for the Liebster Award! To find out more about that, you can see my upcoming post when it gets published later today! You don’t have to accept it, but either way, I wanted to bless you and that, by doing so, more people will see what you have to say. Lauralee

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  3. Hi Bryan – I am clicking the “un”follow button. Nothing to do with your words and writing. They catch my attention. What I am turned off by is the ongoing debate in the comments section. The fairly entrenched routine wherein points and punches are exchanged. Have tried seeing the value and sharing in that, but find I am just seeing repetitive mud-slinging. All seems very personal, and very pointless. Thought you should at least have that feedback. See ya – Paul

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    • Paul, I’ve been to many different Christian blogs lately where it is all pretty much the same sort of nastiness going on. Unfortunately, there are a dedicated few whose entire purpose is to shout down anyone who thinks differently. No discussion, no respectful exchanges. Just insults and “YOU’RE WRONG!” and repeating the same argument over and over and over. “God doesn’t exist. Jesus is a narrative construct. Moses didn’t exist. God is evil. God doesn’t have the right to demand we worship Him. God committed genocide and killed innocent children” etcetera ad naseum. After the first few hundred times of this, it just turns into white noise for me.

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      • Just found the Notifications button! My life is complete! When I read your comment, Quack, it raised a thought – finally I can share it. White noise I can ignore quite easily. Comments of the sort you mention, if white noise, could be left alone. But if they are white noise – they certainly are not being ignored. Stuff flies both ways. It was that which prompted my comment. The “embracing of” is a turn-off for me. Thank you.

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      • Who do you ask this — What’s the truth?
        The deluded who claim to know it or Scientist doing ever increase research and hard thinking from a position they do not know the truth.
        Keeping in mind we exist in a ten dimension universe and only four we experience.
        The other six we will never be able to fully comprehend or understand.
        So when anyone says they know the truth they are talking crap

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      • Hello Bryan, I’m another Paul to replace the one departed. Years ago, I used to clip your Sunday Herald Sun articles. I just found an old one “God is with those who persevere.” Do you have them saved somewhere as I’d like to send this and others to a friend?

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  7. Hi there! Hope your up for another award 🙂 I nominated your blog for the Excellence Award! To find out more about that, you can see my upcoming post when it gets published later today! Keep up the ‘excellent’ work 😉 Lauralee

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  12. When those who,s life is driven by their delusion of Grandeur and believing they deserve a reward for that fact they currently exist.
    Those people can not comprehend others have not that same delusion.
    And they certainly don,t comprehend what they are after.
    They are after eternity.
    Imagine a number so large it would encircle the entire universe.
    That number no matter how large will not be a fraction of INFINITY.
    Sorry that is not what I would like.
    My self preservation instinct is not that strong to override my brain.
    I realize the universe managed perfectly will without me for more than 13,700,000,000 years and will continue until it,s end without me for trillions of trillions of trillions of trillions of years.

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  13. Hi,
    I am wondering if you are the journalist in the Herald Sun. I am wanting to know if you have anything that I can buy like books or documentaries or something. I really like your columns and I feel I can learn a lot from reading your stuff.
    Thanks

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  14. While you’re going through the Atlantic, you might want to say a few words about “First, Kill the School Boards.” The author wants centralized school control, ignoring the fact that the biggest school district in California is pretty clearly the worst. He thinks local school control is to blame for the failure to eliminate the racial gap, and for the domination of schools by teachers’ unions. When I served a term on the local elementary district board, it seemed like the unions had rigged the game through state legislation.

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  15. Bryan I have an article on my fridge that I cut out in 1998. I only know this because it was the year after Alan Ginsberg died and you referred to his death. It is called ‘Living a full life eases the fear of death’.
    I found it going through old papers during a clearing a couple years ago and chose to keep it in front of me- even though I only read it once in awhile.
    Thank you for your writing and thoughts. I used to read your column regularly and although I’m not traditionally religious, I believe in spirit and that’s something you brought to your writing.
    So my only problem is I’m not sure how to follow a blog- I’m a Luddite apparently!
    So I’ll see how I can re follow. People who moan need to understand they can always make a choice and don’t need to announce it to the world. It all seems to be so antagonistic these days of keyboard warriors.
    And will look forward to seeing how this works. 😊 I’m doing this on my phone- any assistance appreciated

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  16. Life is nothing but part of the universe that sometimes realises it,s existence and to assume this is the only part that will and placing oneself above all other parts of the universe is nothing but delusional.

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  20. ETERNITY and those who believe they deserve perpetual existence .
    Yes go on but could it be that when time ends that would be eternity.
    Well it is called SPACE TIME

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  21. A grave of a three year old boy was found very sad for the parents no matter how long time has past even after 78,000 years .
    How many religions have existed since then and all claiming to know the truth ?

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