The future is not a happy place in the writing of Margaret Atwood. But then neither is the past or present. Populated with the cruel, the manipulative and the marginalised, her novels combine linguistic beauty with social and personal desolation.

Reading Bill Bryson's new book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, was, for me, a profoundly disappointing experience. After digesting his 420-odd pages of scientific ‘history', I can only assume that he is an atheist. From such a gifted writer, I admit I had hoped for much more. Bryson, an acclaimed travel writer, recounts mankind's greatest discoveries, ponders the mysteries of the universe, and analyses what has motivated the greatest minds throughout history. But he does so with literally no more than a few passing references to God along the way, replacing him with science and human achievement.

Reading is Believing has a simple aim: explaining the tenets of Christianity to our world through the use of ‘texts' (literary, cinematic, or both). Devoting one chapter to each of the twelve phrases of the Apostles' Creed, Cunningham explores the meaning of the ‘doctrine' contained in the phrase, then shows how one particular fictional text pertains to that doctrine. Each chapter closes with discussion questions, and a list of related theological texts and other works illustrating the doctrine in question.

Charles Spurgeon, the great 18th century English preacher and evangelist, described prayer as the ‘engine room' of his ministry. Whatever else he was doing, for Spurgeon, serving God began with prayer. For us – whether it's our Christian lives, ministry in our local church, or the bigger picture of the diocesan Mission – the fundamental starting point must be to pray.

Charles Spurgeon, the great 18th century English preacher and evangelist, described prayer as the ‘engine room' of his ministry. Whatever else he was doing, for Spurgeon, serving God began with prayer. For us – whether it's our Christian lives, ministry in our local church, or the bigger picture of the diocesan Mission – the fundamental starting point must be to pray.

While you are reading this, Bishop Reg and Dorothy Piper will be in (or just returned from) Sabah, Malaysia, leading a team of 15 people from around the Wollongong region on a ministry trip.

It is every woman's nightmare. Lois Rabey has never forgotten the day 23 years ago when the hot-air balloon holding her husband and his two friends caught on fire. All three men were killed instantly in front of her and her two young daughters. “At that moment, I had a positive experience of heaven, that it is real, and those men were entering it,” she said. The story received broad news coverage, in part because Mrs Rabey's faith in Christ led her to testify that her Christian husband and the two men killed with him were in heaven. Despite having never spoken in public before, she was soon in demand to share her experience, including an invitation to speak at a Billy Graham crusade in front of 14,000 people just weeks later.

A report by the Australia Institute, published earlier this year, suggested that 24 per cent of boys and seven per cent of girls ‘accidentally’ encounter sex sites on the Internet every week. What the report did not highlight was that much of the temptation to visit dubious sites comes unasked. One click on the link to a website on an unsolicited email can take the receiver to a pornographic site.