Fear.Less

In a recent post Seth Godin points to a new online magazine called Fear.Less. It's well written, has half a dozen interesting contributors from a variety of fields, and can be downloaded, or read on your browser, or printed out. All for free.

The magazine promotes itself this way: fear.less is a free online magazine that empowers people through unique stories of overcoming fear. From entrepreneurs, business leaders, artists and scientists to survivors of extreme experiences, these stories demonstrate the hidden potential we have to confront our fears and come out victorious. Fear.less is our answer to an emergency.

Okay, so why am I mentioning it here, since there's no particular Christian connection in it? Well, firstly in each case the contributors discuss overcoming a fear or failure in their life that could easily have debilitated them for the future. Secondly, it's a biblical principle that fear is something to be overcome, or it will be your master.

Thirdly, it's a prime example of what magazines might look like in the future. I don't think that future is here yet; not quite. Paper magazines are still rampant, even though large numbers of them are losing money, and increasingly they have more ads than content. (fear.less has more content than ads.) Depending on the state of the Internet in the next ten/twenty years, this could be the way magazines go. Far more economical to produce, environmentally more friendly (I think!) and accessible to larger numbers of people - or just to a small group that wants to read about those particular issues.

Check it out. You can read it online in your browser, or download it or.... And it's just as classy-looking as anything you'll find on your newsstands.

Supporting teens in difficult times

Skylight, a not-for-profit organisation focused on helping kids and teens, has launched an innovative new single edition youth support magazine, ‘The Journey Through’, which honestly and frankly tackles the very difficult issues teens and young people face. It’s been written specifically for young people in New Zealand, and features many stories, words and photos, kiwi teens have contributed.

The media release says: Life can be really tough. The issues teenagers face are diverse and include changing schools, moving to a new city or country, losing your friends, bullying, parents breaking up, living in a blended family or absent parents, peer pressure, terminal illness or death of someone close to them, mental health issue, disability and too often trauma, abuse or violence.

The Divinity Code

On the Christian News New Zealand site, there's a review of Ian Wishart's newest book, The Divinity Code. The review begins like this:

"Oh no not another Da Vinci Code fad book" was my initial reaction to reading the title on Ian Wishart’s recent book "The Divinity Code". However despite the unfortunate title, a brief perusal and the authors reputation provided sufficient grounds to part with some cash to obtain a copy to read over the summer.

Ian Wishart is one of the more significant (and in some circles notorious) figures in New Zealand Journalism. As editor and publisher of Investigate magazine he has for a number of years been the bane of politicians and the liberal elite in New Zealand, being responsible for bringing to public notice a number of political scandals in the last few years. In Wishart’s previous book "Eve’s Bite" he addressed a number of liberal and secular influences that are negatively affecting society. In The Divinity Code Wishart picks up on a few aspects of his earlier book and addresses the issue of what is the evidence for the existence of God and the truthfulness of Christianity?"

I'm alerting you to this review, because (a) it gives a good overall picture of the book, both positively and negatively, and (b) because, controversial as Wishart can be, he puts his money where his mouth is as a Christian journalist, and continues to write out of his Christian beliefs, and (c) even though he may not be the best writer in the world, he doesn't let that stop him speaking out.