God and faith: Christianity provides core beliefs for society

Adrian Tabor, Point Lonsdale

Caught in the muddle of confused logic

Barney Zwartz claims that atheists can be good, but only thanks to God. Humans are moral because we are the image of God. Atheists can be as conscientious as Christians (the ones that don't fail). Atheists are good because of their Christian culture. Banking royal commissions and institutional child abuse are due to a post-Christian Australia. Ignoring most of that logical muddle, I'm left wondering if good people existed before Christianity was invented.

Greg Keogh, Cheltenham

It's a cop-out. Take responsibility

I'm sorry Barney Zwartz, but your article on Christian beliefs is the most offputting I have read. Your elitist attitude that Christians have an advantage over non-believers as they can be forgiven is the usual cop-out from taking responsibility for their actions. We have seen too much of this recently, and Christians do not have ownership on morality and rational thinking as it is free to all without having to read the Bible.

Bruce Cormack, Kilsyth

The human came before the god

Barney Zwartz may "set the record straight" by quoting Bible teaching on morality, "Every human is created in the image of God" which is, of course, a belief. What is a fact is the "Every God has been created in the image of man".

Dick Davies, North Warrandyte

This code allows for true goodness

Barney Zwartz's column contains much truth as Christianity brought values of worth to each human and it provides a moral code that allows for people to aspire to "true goodness".

Glenise Michaelson, Montmorency

FORUM

Research needed

The article ("Vanishing into Fatigue", The Sunday Age, 30/9) regarding Krista Callinan's battle with myalgic encephalomyelitis provides a heartbreaking insight into the life of someone who suffers from this terrible illness. How do I know this? My wife has been mostly bed and housebound by ME/CFS for 25 years, and my daughter also contracted the same illness six years ago. As Greens MP Adam Bandt said in Parliament recently, the fact that we can't identify how many people suffer from ME to the nearest 100,000 should shame us all. Meanwhile, research funding is virtually non-existent. The time has come for the Australian government to adequately fund research and support services for an "estimated" 200,000 ME/CFS sufferers in Australia.

Peter McCluskey, Malvern East

Off centre

The Hayne royal commission is the closest we will probably ever get to a royal commission on capitalism and, surprise, surprise, it finds in its interim report that profit maximisation, growth and greed are driving individual and corporate behaviour and culture ("Banks brace for election attack", The Sunday Age, 30/9.

It also finds that the regulators are weak, ineffective and captured by the industry they are meant to regulate. The failure of the so-called "sensible centre" whether it be of the centre-right or centre-left variety to deal effectively with capitalism and specifically finance and banking capital is just one of the multiple failures of this dominant ideology across just about every area of public policy. The bottom line of "sensible centre" policies has been that they are invariably "too little, too late" or not at all.

Stewart Sweeney, North Adelaide

Using his brain

In relation to Donald Trump and his self-proclaimed "very, very huge brain" (Letters, 30/9), like most things in life, it's quality, not quantity that matters. It's not a question of what he has, but what he does with it and, judging by the evidence, whether he can even understand the owner's manual.

Jenifer Nicholls, Armadale

Reality repackaged

Given all physical and psychological phenomena around us is interpreted, therefore mediated creatively, by the human mind, the idea of (hyper-) reality television is simply another form of creative construction, albeit taken to an extreme level. Maybe it "is disgraceful" ("Reality bites", The Sunday Age, 30/9), yet the number of such programs on television is a demonstration of their popular success. Reality television is essentially repackaging some dominant mythic themes in Australian and other Anglo-Celtic societies. Competition, individuality and personal ambition lie at the heart of these faux dramas, strengthened by a focus on superficiality and appearance in contrast to depth and substance.

Greg Bailey, St Andrews

It's just the facts

John Barns (Letters, 30/9), yes, as I understand it the ABC is expected to avoid political commentary from its staff. It does, however, regularly invite consumers of its services and those with some expertise, experience or who have roles relevant to particular issues, to contribute opinion and analysis. Without such an approach the ABC would not have programs such as Q&A, The Drum, Insiders or talkback radio.

With regard to impartiality, sometimes balance is not desirable. Sometimes the facts tell a story that runs only one way, delivering misery to one side of politics and delight to the other. To those experiencing the misery, it may seem like bias, but any impartial analysis will show we are simply being presented with the facts.

Stephen Love, Portarlington

Missus the point

While I agree the word missus is inappropriate in today's culture it wasn't always so. It belonged to a world where men worked 48-hour weeks often in hard physical work and who took home pay packets unopened to wives who were honoured for their role in bringing up children, preparing meals and carrying out all the routine things that made society run. And while today the work would be seen as unfulfilling, who's to say that the work women performed then, and that was seen as essential, didn't give those women a sense of purpose and comfort that being a lawyer or academic today doesn't give. The word was spoken with love and often pride, so please don't knock it.

Dennis Whelan, Balwyn

Views not equal

Dr Joseph Ting (Letters, 30/9) asserts that the exclusion of Dr Judy Wilyman as an expert witness in court is censorship and an attack on academic freedom. This is not correct; academic freedom to publish is not the same thing as evidence in court. All views are not equal. Whether pharmaceutical companies pressured public health policy is irrelevant – the only truth is whether vaccination is efficacious, which is supported by science. It is at this point that anti-vaccination campaigners fail spectacularly, promulgating misinformation, lies and downright fraud. Dr Ting's view that if Wilyman's arguments are wildly off the mark, then this still serves to enhance debate, is just plain false.

Mark Durré, Blackburn South

Position revealed

As an academic named in "A difficult position" (The Sunday Age, 30/9), I wish to point out some scientific facts that were missing. A key rule in science is to inform your readers of the definition that is applicable to your writing, in this case, "What is the definition of ergonomics?"

This lack of important detail meant that readers were, in fact, provided with an incorrect view of ergonomics, which is not only the provision of equipment at workstations. I would agree with the others who were quoted stating that this on its own will not work and actively advocate that is should not be termed ergonomics.

The International Ergonomics Association provides the following definition: "Ergonomists contribute to the design and evaluation of tasks, jobs, products, environments and systems in order to make them compatible with the needs, abilities and limitations of people."

A more informed and scientific approach that provides readers with an accurate representation of the area is required.

Associate Professor Jodi Oakman, La Trobe University

The right fit

Professor Chris Maher's attack on ergonomics as lacking a scientific basis is unjustified and incorrect. He is right in targeting the "ergonomic" claims of pushy furniture salespersons, and the shallow, pseudoscientific office equipment prescriptions of many unqualified "ergonomists". However, ergonomics is not about office furniture. Applied successfully to pilot training in the '40s, ergonomics is about fitting work to people, taking into account human strengths and limitations – physical, cognitive, emotional. Its scientific underpinning is well founded in occupational psychology, anatomy, biomechanics, sensory attributes, learning and the mathematics of population size and strength. As experts at court, ergonomists have been satisfying rigorous cross-examination of the scientific basis of their craft for decades.

Mark Dohrmann, Parkville

A clever little segue

There it was in the Metro column last Sunday, the dreaded word segue. Columnist Jacqueline Maley stated that Australia had made a sharp segue from a national conversation about media interference in politics to similar interference in the media.

Given that segue is a musical term that indicates that a move to the next movement without a break, I wonder if segues can be sharp. But I wonder more why "move" is not an adequate word. Perhaps the dictionaries should define segue as "move without a break and look how clever and trendy I am".

Anna Summerfield, Bendigo

Celebrity payback

When a celebrity attends a big event such as the Melbourne Cup and commands a six- or seven-figure appearance fee to be fawned over and pampered, how do the organisers plan to get a return on their "investment"?

John Howes, Rowville

Lucky for some

Bob Bellhouse, (Letters, 2/10) if you were a Melbourne supporter that 1964 flag would be the most recent you've seen. If you were a Saints fan the '66 triumph would be your only one. Yes, you need a healthier perspective, but don't tell yourself it's only a game. Remind yourself how lucky you've been to see multiple Collingwood premierships.

Andrew Rogers, South Yarra