Rationale: Monthly digest for November

Published: Mon, 11/29/21

Welcome to the monthly digest for November

Hi ,

Welcome to the digest for November, bringing you a sample of the articles published in the past month.

Don't forget that to access the Premium articles, you have to be a paid-up member of the Rationalist Society of Australia.

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Si Gladman
Editor

Highlights from Rationale

A tribute to the ‘indefatigable’ Rodney Syme

By Dr Nick Carr

I came to Australia 34 years ago. And for about 33 and a half of those years I had heard the name ‘Rodney Syme’ long before I had met him. It was so obvious that this man was a champion advocating for the cause of euthanasia, as it was called back then, now voluntary assisted dying.

Read the full article here

Letters to the Editor: No sin, no Christianity

In reply to Paul Monk’s article It’s time to abolish the erroneous idea of sin, Michael Meyerson writes: “Rejecting the absurdities of original sin and the ‘fall’ is equivalent to rejecting Jesus. No Jesus equals no Christianity. Rejection of these beliefs is, therefore, a rejection of Christianity.”

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Conscientious objection in Australia: A comparison between VAD and abortion (PREMIUM)

By Dr Ronli Sifris

...jurisdictions which have legalised both abortion and voluntary assisted dying have not necessarily adopted the same approach to the question of conscientious objection as it pertains to abortion versus VAD.

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MBJ's view on current affairs

In defence of democracy

By Carrick Ryan

The last decade has witnessed a weakening of the global democratic order with a worrying decline in the ranks of true democracies. What has been most surprising is the concerning rise amongst those living in reasonably progressive democracies beginning to question the very institution of democracy.

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Tolstoy’s last years

By Reg Naulty

Tolstoy’s death in 1910 occurred just seven years before the Russian Revolution. His last two essays What’s To Be Done? [1906] and I Cannot Be Silent [1908] show that he sensed an approaching cataclysm.

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