Re:CONSIDERING
invites you to look at what's familiar from
an unfamiliar angle.

To consider how we consider things and
how to do it better.

The Cost Of Compassion

Who's in favour of compassion?

Pretty much everybody, actually. Left or right, religious or not, nobody seems to have a bad word to say about compassion.

So why do we have so much trouble addressing the conflict, inequality, and suffering in our world?

Ranging from the streets of St Kilda to the slums of Delhi, from Plato to Nietzsche, the Dalai Lama to Peter Singer, and from Seinfeld to the Good Samaritan, Tim Costello appeals to our common humanity - and takes an unflinching look at how costly compassion can be.

 

The Pleasures of Pessimism

Pandemic, supervolcano, late capitalism, transhumanism, populism, cancel culture post-antibiotic age, the gig economy, the surveillance state, the cascading effects of climate change...

Whatever the specifics, do you feel like things have gone off the rails - or are just about to?

If you've read the news, watched a zombie movie, or gotten into an argument on Twitter lately, the answer is probably yes.

And you're not alone.
What makes us such apocaholics?
What's so appealing about Armageddon? What are the pleasures - and also the perils - of our pessimism?

 

What are people saying about The Cost of Compassion

 

“Timely, challenging, full of humility and wisdom. I believe most would agree that compassion is essential, and this book goes a long way to outlining how we can turn that into a reality.”

— Hugh Jackman

“I hope Tim’s writing inspires you as it always does me. I hope after reading it you consider how you can be a small part of assisting change. That caring and compassion works both ways. As Tim points out, ‘there are very few people you cannot love once you hear their story.’”

— Andrew Knight
TV writer and film producer (Rake, Jack Irish, Hacksaw Ridge)

"Costello includes compelling and perspective-building anecdotes … that confront our daily comfortableness. Then he provides various insights from religious, secular and Biblical sources, and the result is not a formula but a helpful framework for wrestling toward a lifestyle of suffering with others."

— Sight Magazine

“A reminder compassion goes far beyond a hashtag; it costs, and is core not just to who we are, but to the future of the planet.”

— Julia Baird
Journalist and host of The Drum

What are people saying about The Pleasures of Pessimism

 

“With wit and daring, Dr Moore dances across some very thin ice - to a place of profound hope and meaning.”

— Meredith Lake
Author and Broadcaster

“Witty, well-read, and wise, she is the conversation partner you want to have when the talk turns to Big Things. And this is the book you want to read, and share with your friends, to improve your thinking…and your mood.”

— John G. Stackhouse, Jr.
(PhD, Chicago), Samuel J. Mikolaski Professor of Religious Studies, Crandall University, Moncton, Canada, and author of Can I Believe? An Invitation to the Hesitant (Oxford)

“Do societies have personality traits? Natasha’s book is a thoughtful exploration that pessimism may well be ours … reading this, glimmers of real hope shine through the rather fascinating and compelling gloom.”

— Leisa Aitken
Clinical Psychologist

“At once gentle and unflinching, disturbing and soothing, realistic and hopeful, and entertaining to boot, this timely little book is a tonic for jaded hearts.”

— Brian S. Rosner
Principal, Ridley College

About The Authors

 
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Tim Costello

Tim Costello is one of Australia’s leading voices on social justice and global poverty, and has been instrumental in ensuring these issues are placed on the national and international agenda. He travelled the world for work in poverty alleviation and emergency relief as he led World Vision Australia for thirteen years. Tim is an ordained Baptist minister and currently a Senior Fellow with the Centre for Public Christianity as well as Executive Director of Micah Australia. He was named in the Australian of the Year awards in 2006 and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2005. His bestselling books include Hope, Faith, Tips from a Travelling Soul Searcher and his memoir A Lot with a Little.

 
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Natasha Moore

Dr Natasha Moore is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity (CPX). She has a PhD in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and is the author of Victorian Poetry and Modern Life: The Unpoetical Age and editor of 10 Tips for Atheists and other conversations in faith and culture. Her book For the Love of God: How the church is better and worse than you ever imagined was the 2020 Australian Christian Book of the Year. She has worked for CPX since 2014 and written on topics that include books, movies, politics, food, domestic violence, Scripture in schools, war, Thanksgiving, and freedom of speech. She recently discovered she is an optimist.

 

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