Thoughts & Comments Podcast

The Church in Venezuela is heavily persecuted yet remains resolutely at the frontlines.

CEO of Barnabas Aid NZ Stephanie Johnston tells Andrew Urquhart that despite decades of sociopolitical and religious oppression by government and union forces, Christians are holding out hope for their fellow countrymen as the people rally to find survivors and miracles amongst the rubble of Venezuela's devastating earthquakes. (www.barnabasaid.org/nz)

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You're invited! This July, communities from Dunedin to Whangarei will set the scene for 10 public debates about issues facing New Zealanders this Election year.

Andrew Urquhart caught up with host of the Good Faith Yarns road tour and "Thought Crimes" political blogger Ani O'Brien, whose online article about journalist misconduct - involving Maiki Sherman, Lloyd Burr and TVNZ - exposed inconsistent standards of scrutiny and transparency in New Zealand's legacy media organisations.

For more information & tickets: Good Faith Yarns Tour | Free Speech Union New Zealand

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For more from the show, visit the Thoughts & Comments page at rhema.co.nz.

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It's less survival of the fittest, and more like survival of the strictest - savers instead of spenders.

The National Party's Kiwisaver policy announcement has surprised some, but after nearly 20 years of low Kiwisaver uptake, the logic of a compulsory retirement savings scheme is inescapable.

Andy Milne of Christian Savings unpacks some historical context and the impact of an ageing population on future retirement funds if Kiwsaver continues to be voluntary.  

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Will the promised cessation of hostilities between Iran and the US lead to peace?

Even as hope builds that the war has ended, media chaplain Frank Ritchie points out that a lack of violence doesn't mean genuine harmony.  He shines a light on the faith-based ministry of Musalaha (Arabic for “reconciliation”), which facilitates reconciliation between ethnic, religious, and social groups through peaceful co-resistance. (Musalaha – A Vision of Reconciliation)

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For more from the show, visit the Thoughts & Comments page at rhema.co.nz.

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Let the oil flow! A geopolitical analyst says the barrel price is one way to gauge if the Iran war has truly ended.

Dr Geoffrey Miller unpacked the multi-point Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran, which promises a host of concessions to the Islamist regime.

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For more from the show, visit the Thoughts & Comments page at rhema.co.nz.

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It's a big deal overseas, but New Zealanders don't seem too worried about the mirage of an immigration tsunami.  So what is the real versus perceived impact of migrant cultures?  

Family First founder Bob McCoskrie talks to Andrew Urquhart about the differences between a multiracial or multi-ethnic society, and a multicultural one. He says it would be wise to pay heed to the debate Australia is having right now, about the importance of preserving the 'foundational DNA' of the nation, without getting swept up in inflammatory rhetoric.

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Who is better off since the US and Israel set out to take down Iran's Islamist regime? What was achieved in four months of regional strife and global disruption?

Commentator Brendan Malone observes that while the Memorandum of Understanding lifts sanctions on Iran, this war has claimed around 1700 civilians' lives; a Supreme Leader is still in power; and the nuclear standoff remains unresolved.  He challenges whether this was indeed a 'just war' as many hoped, and whether the strategic, economic and moral sacrifices were warranted.

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Is our fallen nature at war with the divine in us?

Following news that British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will be resigning, public theologian Craig Heilmann reflects on what he calls warring theologies playing out in our political, public and private spheres.  Dr Heilmann and Andrew Urquhart discuss whether Western democracies are losing social cohesion because of subjective ideologies which claim that 'natural' traits and base instinct supersede higher-level conscience.

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Are we so desperate to be the masters of our own destiny, that we forget what - and whose - we are?

We are being reminded of God's divine design and challenged to keep our eyes on the eternal prize, instead of vaingloriously building what Pope Leo XIV is calling today's Tower of Babel.

As humanity stands at the precipice of the age Artificial Intelligence, Otago University theologian Andrew Shepherd reflects on the pontiff's pastoral letter, Magnifica Humanitas, which draws out key themes of social doctrine, including human flourishing, God-given dignity and the common good, balanced against human ego, selfishness and greed.

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Leadership mentor John Peachey (www.thethinkfarm.org) decries MP excesses and a lack of accountability in grey areas of Parliamentary spending, where personal perks are charged as public expense.

This comes after Finance Minister Nicola Willis criticised NZ First Deputy Shane Jones for a $30,000 budget blowout during his work trip to Canada, an overspend which was defended by Rt Hon. Winston Peters and later pardoned by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon as an 'administrative error'. 

John Peachey and Andrew Urquhart ask, where's the hard line when the bottom line doesn't balance out? Are we paying our country's leaders too much; and should the 'perks of the job' carry on indefinitely after they've left the role?

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Tune into Thoughts & Comments from 10:00am - 2:00pm on the Rhema Media App.

For more from the show, visit the Thoughts & Comments page at rhema.co.nz.

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