Signs of the Times - September 2022 by Adventist Media

INTO THE

METAVERSE FORGIVING A NAZI

HOW ARE YOU . . . REALLY?

A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON THE WORLD TODAY

IN THIS ISSUE

SEPTEMBER 2022

HOW ARE YOU… REALLY?

If someone asked "How are you?" would you be able to respond honestly? PAGE 32

CURRENT

04 WHAT IN THE WORLD

FAITH

18 FORGIVING A NAZI

Would you be able to forgive someone who hurt you and your family?

06 THE METAVERSE, NFTS

AND OUR SHARED VIRTUAL FUTURE What's a metaverse, anyway?

CULTURE

26 A HEROISM FOR OUR

24 ASK PASTOR JESSE 38 LEFT BEHIND: THE

SUICIDE SURVIVOR’S PERSPECTIVE Is there a more compassionate way to view suicide?

TIMES: ON HOPE AND COURAGE IN TOLKIEN’S MIDDLE-EARTH A legacy of epic proportions

54 THE BURNING MAN

44 DEATH'S END

AND OTHER ICONS

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 2

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

What lies beyond this life?

/SIGNSMAG

WELLBEING

12 BABY STEPS

How to instil your values in your kids

52 BETTER HEALTH FOR

EVERY BODY

60 ARE MEAT ALTERNATIVES

HEALTHY FOR YOU?

FUN

62 CROSSWORD & SUDOKU

SYDNEY SIMS, MADALYN COX, ISAAC QUESADA, NOAH-BUSCHER — UNSPLASH

A MENTAL HEALTH CHECKUP In recent years there seems to have been an upswell in mental health awareness. Every September issue, we try to cover the topic in Signs because we know many people are wrestling with depression, anxiety, loneliness, burnout and more in our communities. With nearly one in two Australians having experienced a mental disorder during their lifetime and one in four New Zealanders currently experiencing poor mental wellbeing on the World Health Organisation’s WHO-5 scale, the emphasis is clearly needed. The past couple of years have been hard: stretching, testing, maybe even breaking your mental resilience. In our household, we’ve had the joy but also the steep learning curve of welcoming a new child into the world. After a complicated pregnancy, it was a season that pushed our worry to new levels. Working from home blurred the lines between family life and work life, isolation has been hard, events to look forward to have been delayed or cancelled and uncertainty has ruled. Just like our physical health—making sure we eat right, exercise, drink enough water—our mental health cannot be neglected. There is no shame in speaking to someone (and seeking professional help) when it all gets too much. And there are other things we can do as well. If you turn to page 32 you’ll find an article that provides some really great tips for checking in with yourself. On page 38 we tackle some of the stigma around suicide. There is plenty of good reading for your mental health and more in this magazine so turn the page and find out more.

Jarrod

JARROD STACKELROTH Editor

VOL 137 NO 9 ISSN 1038-9733 EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Brad Kemp EDITOR Jarrod Stackelroth ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jesse Herford ASSISTANT EDITOR Zanita Fletcher COPYEDITOR Tracey Bridcutt GRAPHIC DESIGN Theodora Pau'u Talia Valderrama Nerise McQuillan PHONE +61 2 9847 2222 EMAIL info@signsofthetimes.org.au WEBSITE signsofthetimes.org.au ADDRESS Adventist Media PO Box 1115, Wahroonga New South Wales 2076 SUBSCRIPTIONS Kelli Geelan PHONE +61 3 5965 6300 Australia/New Zealand, $A26; South Pacific countries, $A41; Other countries $A51 Published since 1886, Signs of the Times is printed 11 times a year by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and is registered as a periodical. Seventh-day Adventist Church (SPD) Limited ABN 59 093 117 689 NOTE The inclusion of a person or their image within does not imply their endorsement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church or its beliefs. Unless otherwise stated, Bible verses are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, Anglicised. Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc®. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton. All rights reserved worldwide. COVER IMAGE:

THEPALMER—Getty Images

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R RENT

WHAT IN THE WORLD BILLION DOLLAR AVOCADOS

NEW ZEALAND

Plant physiologist Nick Gould got sick of being told that New Zealand is too wet and cold for the avocado, first grown in Mexico. Gould has partnered with Plant & Food Research to solve some of the problems that arise with growing avocados, such as controlling pests and diseases. The science-led change aims to create the perfect avocado in New Zealand that will make it successfully to people’s toast without perishing. The industry has its sights set on generating $NZ1 billion in revenue by 2040.—NZ Herald

SHAPE-SHIFTING ROBOTS

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

LOUIS-HANSEL—UNSPLASH, UNSW, CTV NEWS, THAI PBS, FREEPIK

AUSTRALIA

Engineering graduates from UNSW have helped create a material made from tiny soft artificial "muscles"— long silicon tubes filled with fluids. The team said the new smart textile could be used as compression garments for athletes or people with walking disabilities. It could also be used to make shape-shifting robots to help get people out of confined spaces.—UNSW

HEALTH 5 MENTAL BOOSTERS LESS IS MORE

FIRST ALBINO TORTOISE

SWITZERLAND

A rare albino Galapagos tortoise made its public debut at a zoo in Switzerland. The tiny white-skinnedand-shelled reptile weighed only 50 grams but will grow to be an enormous 100–200 kilograms. She was born alongside another tortoise that was black, like its parents. This is the first case of an albino Galapagos tortoise in the wild or captivity, making her truly one-of-akind.—Good News Hub

We think more stuff will make us happier. But materialistic values actually correlate with a worse experience of life. Studies show if you overvalue money and possessions, your happiness will decrease. Activities that make us happier include spending time with family, a sense of accomplishment or helping others.

FIND YOUR TRIBE

Evidence suggests that happiness is harder to obtain in countries with more individualistic cultures. Feeling lonely can cause cortisol levels (the hormone linked to stress) to rise as much as in a physical attack. As Johann Hari, author of Lost Connections, said, “Humans need tribes as much as bees need a hive."

GET OUTSIDE

In general, all humans feel better when out in nature. But for people with depression, that effect is up to five times greater—even after a short walk. One experiment in a prison showed that prisoners in cells that had a view of nature were 24 per cent less likely to need medical care than prisoners without a view.

WORK WELL

TAXI GARDEN BEDS

THAILAND

Thailand’s tough Covid-19 restrictions has left the city’s busy streets much quieter with some taxi drivers still out of work. Due to increasingly difficult working conditions, many drivers returned to their villages, leaving a graveyard of taxis behind. Locals came together to make garden plots on the taxi roofs. The produce grown is given to out-of-work drivers and sold at markets.—BBC News

Doing work that matters, which is aligned with your values and passions, is a major source of happiness. When one’s work is enriching, life is fuller and more energising and that spills over into life outside work. When work is draining, monotonous or disempowering, that will also reflect in other areas of life.

BE HAPPY FOR OTHERS

Sympathetic joy is the cultivation of feeling happy for other people. When we have constant feelings of envy or resentment towards people, we are likely to experience sadness or depression because our self-evaluation is based on distorted comparisons. Studies show people who reduced their time on social media, prayed or used cognitive behavioural therapy were able to reduce negative feelings towards others which significantly benefited their relationships and their own mental health. SEPTEMBER 2022

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R RENT

THE

METAVERSE, NFTS AND OUR SHARED

VIRTUAL FUTURE You may have heard of the metaverse, but what is it and how will it affect you? BY JESSE HERFORD

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

here’s a 1995 clip of The David Letterman Show where Letterman is interviewing Bill Gates. Gates excitedly explains how the internet will change the future. Letterman is sceptical. He mentions a recent baseball game that went live on an internet broadcast. “Does radio ring any bells?” he quips sarcastically, to laughter from his audience. It’s natural to approach new advances in technology with the same level of derision or even fear. Since Facebook Inc rebranded to Meta in November of 2021, much has been said about the virtual future we’ll all supposedly be participating in soon. Some even call the metaverse and its supporting architecture “Web 3.0”. In other words, the next step in the evolution of the internet. The two basic doctrines of this vision are:

Whether you like it or not, figures like Mark Zuckerberg seem intent on making this dream a reality. Meta has gone all-in on Horizon Worlds (their version of a metaverse), sinking an estimated $US10 billion into it in 2021 alone.1 Profits are down for the company, but the expected return is supposedly great enough to warrant such a sacrifice. Zuckerberg isn’t the only player in the game, though. Microsoft is reportedly interested in the space, as illustrated by its recent acquisition of gaming behemoth Activision Blizzard (responsible for World of Warcraft, one of the first metaverses). Apple has been quietly working on its own product for several years, as has Google. We can assume then, despite the unknowns, that eventually, every player in big tech will have a platform of their own. Meta is hoping to beat its competitors to the punch. Unless any of them make a surprise announcement soon, Horizon Worlds will likely be SEPTEMBER 2022

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SUTTAR TARASRI—GETTY IMAGES

1. Business, shopping and recreation can all take place on either a virtual or augmented reality platform. 2. Blockchain, cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will become the preferred vehicle for ownership, investment and trade.

BUSINESS, SHOPPING AND RECREATION CAN ALL TAKE PLACE ON EITHER A VIRTUAL OR AUGMENTED REALITY PLATFORM.

Take a day in the life of virtual reality. You might start the morning sipping on your beverage of choice. You’ll reach for an augmented reality pair of glasses to review your emails, watch trending videos or catch up on the latest news headlines. Then, you’ll move to your home office to put on a Virtual Reality headset and check in with your team. Maybe you’re hailing from Vanuatu while your manager is in Auckland and your team members are scattered around Australia, New Zealand and the islands. Regardless of your physical location, VR means you’ll all appear to be in the same work environment. Think of it like one of those sci-fi council meetings with a physical board room and some

participants attending in person while others appear as holograms. After finishing work, you will switch off and go shopping in a metaverse shopping centre. That being a digital reconstruction of a conventional mall replete with all your favourite brands and chains. Or perhaps you’d rather go to a virtual art gallery with your friends to look at all the latest NFTs by your favourite artists. Then, to end the evening, you might attend a concert, watch a sporting event or movie with your friends in a virtual venue.

THE BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTOCURRENCY AND NFTS WILL BECOME THE PREFERRED VEHICLE FOR OWNERSHIP, INVESTMENT AND TRADE.

This one is more difficult to imagine considering the unstable world we live in. The crypto scene is in constant flux, as is the NFT market it is inescapably married to. To comment on specifics now would be pointless as, from the time of writing

“

It’s natural to approach new advances in technology with . . . derision or even fear. 8

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

FIZKESI—GETTY IMAGES, FREEPIK

the first taste most of us will have of the metaverse. So, what will this metaverse world look like?

to the time you read this, the market will have changed dozens of times. Dips and rises will continue as long as crypto needs to be validated using real-world currency. Herein lies the problem with the vision of a metaverse using an in-house crypto token to make purchases and regulate its economy. Think about it this way: imagine you’re heavily invested in the fictional MoonWorld. It’s a metaverse world that runs on mooncoins, all powered by the blockchain. Say you want to buy an NFT to hang on the wall in your virtual house. On Monday your mooncoins are worth $1 each, so you spend 30 of them to buy a nice NFT of a monkey eating a banana (you’re a true art connoisseur). By Tuesday mooncoins are skyrocketing in value, meaning your $30 investment is now worth $100. Overjoyed, you buy more mooncoins to spend on more NFTs to make more money. By the following week, however, a major shareholder in MoonWorld’s parent company sells all their shares and there’s a major dip. In response, a large proportion of the userbase panic-sells which causes hyperinflation. Now your mooncoins and the NFTs you bought are worth pennies and you’re on the hook for hundreds of wasted dollars. You’re right if you think this is extreme. The sad reality is that there are already real-world parallels. In May 2022, the popular Terra blockchain crashed, along with its two coins. TerraUST plunged from $US1 to 10 cents2 and its other coin, TerraLuna, fell from a high of almost $US120 to less than one cent.3 While this was just two tokens, it is illustrative of the worst-case scenario.

Definitions Cryptocurrency: a digital currency token, the value of which is regulated by real-world currencies and speculative investment.

The Blockchain: a peerto-peer digital ledger that tracks purchases, sales and ownership, more safely and securely (in theory).

NFT, aka Non-Fungible Token: a digital data file that assigns ownership to a user using the blockchain. “Non-fungible” refers to its status as a unique property. According to the blockchain, even two images that may look the same aren’t the same, as the “true” owner will have a digital certificate of ownership unique to them. SEPTEMBER 2022

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EVOLUTION

OF THE INTERNET

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

“

Advances in technology rarely work out exactly the way their inventors intend (for better or worse). social media became the next step after the internet of the late ’90s. More ways to connect with friends, family and work colleagues is always good. But in the same way that advances in smartphone technology created unforseen societal problems, if the metaverse becomes a reality in our everyday lives and we fail to navigate it wisely, it will be to our detriment. It will certainly give us

1991—2004: Web 1.0 The birth of the internet. Most websites are static and run on expensive servers with little user-generated content. Emphasis on consumption, not contribution.

COFOTOISME—GETTY IMAGES, FREEPIK

While the economies of these exciting new platforms are based on real-world currencies, they will always be vulnerable to outside manipulation, whether from the share market, global wars or real-world inflation. As long as crypto exists primarily as an alternative to shares, it will never be used as a legitimate currency. A select few will always see it as either a get-rich-quick scheme or as a platform to scam others hoping to go “to the moon”. So, does that mean there’s no value in Zuckerburg’s seemingly too-good-to-be-true future? Like most things, the truth is not on the extremes but somewhere in the middle. We’d be wise to remember that technology has always been a tool and how we use it is up to us. Advances in technology rarely work out exactly the way their inventors intend (for better or worse). The metaverse may be the next step in the evolution of the internet in the same way the iPhone, YouTube and

more opportunities for connection than ever before but we should be wary. If we’re not careful, this brave new world could end up being the one Liam Proven writes about in The Register when he says that Web 3.0 is “a myth, a fairy story. It’s what parents tell their kids about at night if they want them to grow up to become economists4.”

Jesse Herford is a pastor and associate editor for Signs of the Times magazine. He lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife, Carina and their dog, Banjo.

2005—present: Web 2.0 User-generated content is king with YouTube, MySpace and Facebook seeing millions of people using the internet not just to consume content but to create it. The advent of the iPhone and Android smartphones accelerates this trend.

Present—???: Web 3.0 Emphasis on virtual and augmented reality. The blockchain and decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), along with cryptocurrency and NFTs will form the backbone of its economy. It prioritises privacy, data security and Libertarian sensibilities.

1. <nytimes.com/2022/02/02/technology/meta-facebook-earnings-metaverse.html> 2. <fortune.com/2022/05/13/crypto-crash-rivalsinternet-dotcom-bubble-burst-and-great-financialcrisis-bank-of-america/> 3. <bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-13/ terraform-again-halts-blockchain-behind-ust-stablecoin-luna>

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ELL B EING

BABY

S T EP S Parenting is tough and raising your kids to share your values can be even tougher. How can we responsibly impress our values onto our children without verging into the realm of indoctrination? BY MELODY TAN

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

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PINSTOCK—GETTY IMAGES

y one-year-old son eyes the chickpea-filled bowl suspiciously. He tentatively pokes a stubby finger into the bowl and starts stirring the legumes around. I’m pretty sure it isn’t my imagination when, seconds later, his hazel eyes light up and his little pink lips curve ever-soslightly upwards. His thumb joins his pointer finger in the bowl, pincer grasp at the ready. Triumphantly, he pulls out a small stick of carrot and, for the rest of his lunch, somehow successfully manages to avoid the chickpeas, even though they are hiding—and buried in—the pasta and vegetables. I pick up one of the many neglected chickpeas and wave it in front of his face. He opens his mouth and closes it after I place the chickpea in. The mental me does a victory dance, pausing with one leg in the air when, within seconds, the very same chickpea shoots out of his mouth like a BB gun pellet. Undeterred, I try again, but this time, I’m met with pursed lips that appear to be cemented shut. Chickpeas are an important source of protein for my child, who I am raising vegetarian, so I’m not giving up that easily. I hover near his mouth with a chickpea at the ready. Resembling a contestant at a fun-fair “laughing clown” game, I wait for him to open his mouth to feed himself with a piece of fusilli and throw a chickpea in. He chews—and spits out the slightly squashed offending legume. This mama is going to have to figure out a different protein source.

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

“

Being the only vegetarian in my extended family, I have nothing against carnivores.

my hands when we place his food in front of him during meal times, so that we can say a family prayer of thanks to God for His provision, because it’s what we’ve done since he started solids. Occasionally, he will even join in, piping up at the end with a cute little “Ma-men!” Together with popular children’s stories such as Mem Fox’s Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, we also read Baby’s First Bible Stories before bedtime. And my husband and I are doing our best to ensure Elliott will be brought up, to paraphrase the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s statement of belief on marriage and family: loving and obeying the Lord, and seeing Jesus as a loving, tender and caring Guide who wants him to be part of His family. The question, however, is, are we, to quote outspoken atheist Richard

THITAREESARMKASAT—GETTY IMAGES

Like many other parents before us, our journey into feeding our child solids has been an interesting one, discovering what he likes and doesn’t. As diligent first-time parents, my husband and I attended workshops to learn more about what to feed him outside of his monotonous diet of milk. The seminars and flyers were helpful, except for one flaw: everybody assumed Elliott would grow up to be a carnivore. Let’s make one thing clear. Married to a meat-eater myself, and being the only vegetarian in my extended family, I have nothing against carnivores. And should Elliott some time in the future decide he is going to follow in his father’s footsteps and kill poor Henny Penny or Daisy Cow for food (I jest. Someone else will probably do the butchering for him), I wouldn’t object—too much. However, my husband and I agree on the health benefits of a vegetarian diet and have decided that, as a foundation, we are going to raise him on one. Perhaps we’ve got a healthy dose of optimism, but we believe the Bible’s promise and advice to “start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6). Allow me to extend that train of thought from what we choose to eat to Who we choose to worship. What if we were (and we are) starting off our children on the way towards Christianity? Elliott probably doesn’t understand why just yet, but he will always seek my husband’s and

Dawkins, “indoctrinating [our] opinions into the vulnerable minds of [our] children”? After all, as he argues, “There really is an important difference between including your children in harmless traditions, and forcing on them un-evidenced opinions about the nature of life or the cosmos.” The reality is, parents are always “indoctrinating” their children, be it a belief in God, Santa Claus or that eating with your elbows on the dinner table is bad manners. These opinions or beliefs may change as the children grow older, but consciously or unconsciously, as parents, we are undeniably impressing specific ways of thinking into impressionable young minds. So perhaps I am indoctrinating my opinions about vegetarianism and religion into Elliott’s vulnerable

mind, and perhaps one day he may grow up and question (or even choose to abandon) the kind of upbringing I’m giving him. But parents only want the best for their children and, as an imperfect and limited human being, I can only give him what I believe is the best way to a healthy and somewhat worry-free life, because he knows he can always turn to God for help, wisdom, strength and peace. Practically speaking, how does this apply to my everyday life? The Bible says to “bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4), but how do you do that when your life has been turned upside-down by parenthood and you don’t even have time for adequate sleep, much less time getting to know God better in order to teach Him to your child? SEPTEMBER 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

“

I believe the answer lies in baby steps (pun intended). Just as Elliott is learning about everything, I am learning how to be a mum and we’re both learning about God in the context of who we are and the titles we bring. I may have the benefit of having a relationship with God for 17 more years than Elliott, but I’ve never had a relationship with God as a mum. So together, we pray at mealtimes, before bed and any other time I remember, starting with me saying the words and him helping to end it with an “Amen” and, eventually, I hope our roles will be reversed. Together we’ll read Bible stories, first in the form of board books and gradually moving on to books with flimsier pages, longer paragraphs and fewer illustrations. We’ll go to church together, even if at the moment, the main thing I do when the pastor speaks is to entertain him with a little plastic Noah’s Ark set. Together with my husband, we’ll 16

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

journey and learn together what it means to believe in God as a family. We’ll thank God for the ups, we’ll seek God’s strength and understanding for the downs, and we’ll never sweep the difficult questions under the carpet. Together with my husband, I’ll do everything I can to reflect God’s loving, tender and caring character, wanting everybody to be part of His family, so that when the time comes and Elliott asks us what God is like, we can use our lives as a reference. My actions aren’t about raising a child who blindly follows and accepts, but one who questions, learns and chooses to believe. And if you happen to be wondering, Elliott happily eats chickpeas most days now, even though I haven’t done anything differently. Don’t ask me why, I can’t explain him. I only gave birth to him! Melody Tan is project manager of Mums At The Table. She lives in Sydney with her husband and son.

PIXDELUXE—GETTY IMAGES

. . . we’ll journey and learn together what it means to believe in God as a family.

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FA IT H

Forgiving A NAZI

Would you be able to forgive someone who caused immeasurable suffering not only to you but also your family? BY BRUCE MANNERS

SIGNSOFTHETIME SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

CHICCODODIFC—GETTY IMAGES SEPTEMBER 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

“Soon we would come face to face with Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor known as the Angel of Death. It was he who selected those on the platform who were to live and those who would die. But we did not know that yet. All we knew was that we were abruptly alone. We were only 10 years old. “And we never saw Papa, Mama, Edit or Aliz again.”1 The tattoo “A7063” on her left forearm would be a reminder for the rest of her life.

“I refused to die.”

The girls joined the estimated 1500 sets of twins subjected to medical experiments at Auschwitz under the guidance of Mengele. Eva recalled being separated from her sister and being injected with an unknown substance that likely caused her temperature to spike.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

ay 1944. The train stopped at the station and twins Eva and Miriam, with their father and mother and sisters Edit and Aliz, stepped out into the sunlight. There was war in Europe and the Nazis had gathered them and thousands of other Jews in Romania, crammed them into cattle cars and taken them to Poland. Eva recalled that the “light of day shining upon us [was] like a blessing”. It was only a brief blessing. Her mother asked her father: “Auschwitz? It’s Auschwitz? What is this place?” Any thoughts were interrupted by “Schnell! Schnell!” as SS guards ordered the remaining prisoners out of the cattle cars onto the platform. Bedlam ensued as people were pulled away by guards to one side or the other. Men were separated from women, children from parents. People were crying, screaming, guard dogs were snarling and barking. “‘Zwillinge! Zwillinge!’ Twins! Twins! Within seconds a guard who had been hurrying by stopped short in front of us. He stared at Miriam and me in our matching clothes. “‘Are they twins?’ he asked Mama. “She hesitated. ‘Is that good?’ “‘Yes,’ said the guard. “‘They are twins,’ replied Mama. “Without a word, he grabbed Miriam and me and tore us away from Mama. “‘No!’ “‘Mama! Mama! No!’” No-one could hear them in the chaos on that station platform—the “separation platform”.

“

. . . Laughing sarcastically he said, "too bad she's so young. She has only two weeks to live." January 1945: Twin child survivors of Auschwitz: Miriam and Eva wear knitted hats.

The Auschwitz doctors observed her closely, as if they were waiting for something to happen. Eva recalls Mengele’s words after the fever hit her. “Laughing sarcastically he said, ‘too bad she’s so young. She has only two weeks to live’. “I knew he was right. But I refused to die. So, I made a silent pledge that I will prove Dr Mengele wrong. I will survive, and I will be reunited with Miriam.”2 She survived, but they were used in a variety of experiments, including being placed naked in a room for six to eight hours, three times a week—which they found demeaning.

January 27, 1945

Both girls survived until they were liberated by Russian troops. Eva describes them in this way, “They were smiling from ear to ear,” she says. “And the most important part for me was

that they did not look like the Nazis. We ran up to them. They gave us chocolates, cookies and hugs. And this was my first taste of freedom.” It was four days before their 11th birthday. When the camp was liberated, they were put in the care of nuns who gave them a lot of toys. “That to me was in a strange way insulting, because they did not understand that I was no longer a child and I was no longer playing with toys. . . . I’m sure they tried their best, but they really did not understand, at age 11, what we survived. I never played with toys again. My childhood was lost in Auschwitz forever.”3 None of their family survived. The sisters emigrated to Israel in 1950. Eva and her husband—also a Holocaust survivor—moved to the United States in the 1960s. SEPTEMBER 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

Eva was invited to lecture before some doctors in Boston. “I was asked if I could bring a Nazi doctor with me. I thought it was a mad request.” She had been in a documentary about Auschwitz a few years earlier that had also featured Dr Hans Munch who had been a doctor there, but not involved in Mengele’s medical experiments. When she contacted him, he agreed to record a video interview with her in his home. When she went to Germany for the interview, she was fearful of meeting him. “When I arrived at his home, he treated me with the utmost respect. I asked him if he’d seen the gas chambers. He said this was a nightmare he dealt with every day of his life. I was surprised that Nazis had nightmares too.” While there, Eva asked if he would come with her to Auschwitz to sign a document confirming what had happened there. She wanted a former Nazi to do this because revisionist “historians” were beginning to deny the horror of the death camps. He agreed.

January 27, 1995

They and others gathered at Auschwitz on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of those still alive in the camp. For months Eva had searched for a meaningful thank-you gift for Munch, without success. “Then the idea of a forgiveness letter came to my mind. I knew it would be a meaningful gift, but it became a gift to myself as well, because I realised I was not a hopeless, powerless victim. “When I asked a friend to check my spelling, she challenged me to forgive Dr Mengele too. At first, I was adamant that I could never forgive Dr Mengele but then I realised I had the power now—the power to forgive. It was my right to use it. No-one could take it away.” At Auschwitz, as part of the commemoration, Eva and her two children, Dr Munch, his wife and children and a grandchild met together by the ruins of the gas chambers. She reported, “Dr Munch signed his document about the operation of the gas chambers and

Eva Mozes Kor, wearing a blue scarf at the Holocaust Remembrance Day at en:CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center, Terre Haute, Indiana. May 1, 2011.

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CHRISTINA BLUST

1993

I read my document of forgiveness and signed it. As I did that, I felt a burden of pain was lifted from me. I was no longer in the grip of hate; I was finally free. “The day I forgave the Nazis, privately I forgave my parents whom I hated all my life for not having saved me from Auschwitz. Children expect their parents to protect them; mine couldn’t. And then I forgave myself for hating my parents. “Forgiveness is really nothing more than an act of self-healing and self-empowerment. I call it a miracle medicine. It is free, it works and has no side effects.”4

July 4, 2019

Eva died of natural causes only a few kilometres from Auschwitz where she was leading an educational summer trip through the concentration camp. She was 85 years of age. Bruce Manners is an author, retired pastor and former editor of Signs of the Times based in Lilydale, Victoria. 1. Eva Mozes Kor and Lisa Rojany Bucciere, The Twins of Auschwitz, Monoray, 2021, Kindle. 2. Carl Schreck, “‘I Was No Longer A Child:’ Auschwitz Survivor Eva Mozes Kor,” January 25, 2015, https:// www.rferl.org/a/auschwitz-survivor-eva-mozeskor/26812368.html. 3. Op cit. 4. https://www.theforgivenessproject.com/stories-library/eva-kor/ 5. Dick Tibbits, Forgive to Live, Integrity Publishers, Nashville, 2006, pages 32, 33, 38.

Forgive to Live In his research on forgiveness, Dick Tibbits, author of Forgive to Live, found there are basically two responses when an injustice is committed against you. You can either “blame the offender and place all the responsibility of improving your life on that person”; or you “forgive, thereby shifting the responsibility to act from the other person to yourself”. He explains that from a victim’s perspective, blame sounds good and it helps them feel innocent. They fear that if they forgive, “either their innocence will be compromised or the guilt of the other will be diminished”. “When you forgive the offender, however, you take responsibility for your response to the offence (not to the offence itself); thus you also take responsibility for your life. Your actions—not those of someone else—define who you are. “Forgiveness does not make life fair. But forgiveness does give you back control over your life.”5

Forgive to Live Dick Tibbits forgivetolive.org.au

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FA IT H

Hi! I’m Jesse and I don’t have all the answers. As a pastor, there are questions I’ve encountered over and over. They’re sometimes about theology and the Bible, but more often they’re about everyday life, and they can’t be answered easily or quickly. If you’ve never had the opportunity to ask a pastor tough questions this is the place to ask them, and I’ll do my best to respond honestly, authentically and biblically. Pastor, priest, reverend, minister; why so many titles?—Marcus, VIC I remember once trying to describe what a pastor was to someone I'd just met. While I did my best to try and differentiate "pastor" from "priest", I eventually gave up and said, "Yep, I'm basically a priest!" The short answer is, depending on what tradition of Christianity you belong to will determine the word you use. Think of it like ice-cream. Chocolate chip, vanilla and hokey pokey are all ice-cream but they're distinct flavours. It's the same with Christians. Most Protestants (those who trace their tradition's roots

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back to figures like Luther, Calvin or Zwingli) will have a pastor or minister. The word pastor derives from the Latin word for shepherd. Catholics, Anglicans and Lutherans use terms like presbyter, priest, bishop and reverend and are typified by hierarchy and tradition (Protestant hierarchy is by comparison much more laissez-faire). Some churches also have differing views as to what the pastor should or shouldn't do. Some believe they should be a paid employee while others believe they should work part-time (like the apostle Paul in the New Testament, who was by trade a tent-maker). At the end of the day, despite differences in title, what most traditions can agree on is that the pastor should do one thing above all else: care for the church. They should care deeply for people, work with them and do what they can to help the church and community to thrive. I've met some Christians who don't drink, while others seem fine with it. What's up with that?—Steph, NZ That's true! Some Christians have no issues with alcohol, while others abstain religiously. Personally, I do not drink, which is something the Seventh-day Adventist Church promotes strongly. Alcohol is mentioned extensively in the Bible (more than 280 times). Certain passages celebrate it as a "bringer of joy" (Psalm 104:14,15) while others condemn its overuse as a shortcut to violence and excess (Galatians 5:19–21).

So, how should we view alcohol? Regardless of your stance, there is a clear biblical principle that can benefit us all. In his letter to a church in the city of Ephesus, early Christian leader Paul counsels these followers of Jesus to be "careful how you walk, not as unwise but as wise . . . do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:15, 18, ESV). Paul doesn't tell these Christians not to drink but reminds them that living in an abiding relationship with God is far better than any high a pint of beer or glass of wine can offer. You could even say the same about food, sex and hobbies! I personally choose not to drink—but not just because it's what my tradition promotes. As a pastor I've seen the devastating influence alcohol can have on communities, families and individuals. I've also seen friends and family members suffer because of alcohol. My own dad struggled with it when he was my age, though thankfully he's been sober now for over 30 years. Regardless of what you believe, we can all agree that drunkenness often leads to bad decisions with permanent consequences. My question is: if you understand the dangers, why risk it? Many of us drink because it's a social obligation but are we really counting the costs associated? Beyond the social issues, you have to consider the dangers of liver disease, diabetes, a range of cancers, impotence, high blood pressure and more. Personally, it's not a risk I'm willing to take.

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LT U R E

A HEROISM FOR OUR TIMES: ON HOPE AND COURAGE IN TOLKIEN’S

In a world of darkness, heroism often comes from the strangest places. JRR Tolkien infused his everyday heroes with faith, hope and determination in the face of insurmountable odds. BY JAMES COOPER

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ong before he set foot on the battlefields of WWI, the creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings had acquired a profound sense of the nature and importance of heroic “courage under fire”. The classical, Norse and medieval literature that fed his childhood imagination (and that inspired his professional devotion to language and mythology) all sprang from cultures in which the warrior hero was a central figure. But while many emerged from the ashes of the Great War understandably embittered and incurably cynical towards the traditions and institutions of the past—including the seemingly outdated notion of heroic virtue and the institution of the church—JRR Tolkien’s wartime experience helped inspire a lifelong commitment to re-imagining and re-commending the ideals of the “heroic quest”.

a better hero

But why was Tolkien’s faith in heroism not obliterated by the Great War—a conflict that nearly cost him his life during the Battle of the Somme, killed nearly all of his closest friends and ultimately left millions dead or scarred for life? The reasons are complex, but there is something to be said for the particular notion of heroism Tolkien encountered in medieval literature. When we think of what it means to be a hero, we might imagine such qualities as physical strength, skill in battle and of course courage in the face of terrible danger. Like the superheros of today’s popular culture, many of the heroes SEPTEMBER 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

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The central hero of the Christian story is Jesus, whose power, paradoxically, is made perfect in weakness 28

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and the mission of the church—a call to adventure that affirms the heroic quest as found (in one form or another) in practically every culture, while dramatically amplifying its significance and reconfiguring what true heroism amounts to. Such a Christianised heroism is clearly on display in Tolkien’s writing.

an ordinary hero

Heroes abound in Middle-earth. But one of the most striking features of Tolkien’s epic fantasy is the figure of the ordinary hero—characters whose heroism, while vital to the outcome of the story, doesn’t stem from physical strength or ingenuity. Even those characters who are skilled with the sword are at their most heroic when they are brought low, having to trust others less powerful than themselves, and to the higher purpose to which they’ve been called. Time and again, the hero’s power falters, the odds stacked so heavily against him that all hope seems lost. The temptation to despair is overwhelming. But it is precisely at this moment that a new kind of heroism kicks in. The best examples of such “ordinary heroes” are Tolkien’s hobbits, especially Frodo Baggins and his faithful companion Samwise Gamgee. Hobbits know more of the pumpkin patch than the battlefield and aspire to little beyond the domestic comfort of the Shire. Yet, Tolkien assures us, “There is a seed of courage hidden (often deeply, it is true) in the heart of the fattest and most timid hobbit,

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from the ancient world succeeded owing to their superhuman power and ingenuity. However, in the early Anglo-Saxon stories of the medieval period, this “self-sufficient hero” came into contact with the Christian gospel for the first time and was dramatically transformed. The central Hero of the Christian story is Jesus, whose power, paradoxically, is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), and whose heroism is most fully realised in His obedience to the will of His Heavenly Father, even to death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). Through human eyes, Christ’s victory on the cross appears a total disaster—the worst of all ends visited upon the best of all men. But this inversion of human heroism reveals a larger story, a cosmic theo-drama into which all are invited and equipped to take part. That, of course, is the message of the gospel

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There is a seed of courage hidden (often deeply, it is true) in the heart of the fattest and most timid hobbit, waiting for some final and desperate danger to make it grow . . . waiting for some final and desperate “So tha was the job I felt I had to danger to make it grow . . .” Tolkien do when I ”stared, thoug Sam; to “ was inspired in this regard by thehelp Mr odrF to the last step and then many men of humble standing hedie with him? el, W if tha is the job fought alongside in the trenches,then I must do ”it. . . . But env as writing: “My S ‘ am Gamgee’ is indeed hope die in Sam, or semd to die, it a reflection of the English soldier,was turned of into a new ength.sr Sam's the privates and batmen I knew inplain hobit-face ewgr stern, almost the 1914 war, and recognised as so grim, as the wil denfar har in him, and superior to myself.” he felt oughtr al his limbs a thril, as Like the humble soldiers, Sam and if he was turnig into some eaturc Frodo face increasing danger on their of stone and stel tha neithr despair u q est. However, it is in the middle norof earinsw nor endls enbar miles overwhelming danger that they come could subde. to rely, not on their natural strength and courage, but on each other and on the rightness of the task to which they’ve committed. Approaching Mount o D om, staring down death and defeat, everything non-essential to their u q est seems to fall away, af fording Sam a renewed glimpse of his mission, and an unexpected resolve: SEPTEMBER 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

the heroic inversion

Tolkien’s more obvious heroes—like Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas—also come to rely on this strange brand of courage born of the desperate situation. Once Frodo and Sam become separated from the Fellowship, their fate remains hidden so that no-one knows if all hope is lost. Their companions are left “fighting blind” and frighteningly outnumbered. Not surprisingly, as hope fades, temptations arise—the temptation to despair, to fight for self-preservation or one’s people alone or to take possession of the ring and trust in its treacherous power. Some lose hope. But those

who stay true to the quest are afforded hope when all hope seems lost. Not all live to see the final victory, yet those who fall for the sake of the quest are held in the highest esteem of all. There is something deeply moving about the heroism of Middle-earth. Historian Joseph Loconte 1 suggests this is because, “The heroes of these 30

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stories are vulnerable to temptation and corruption, while the antagonists are almost never beyond redemption.”1 This not only makes Tolkien’s heroes relatable; it also infuses the drama with a quality of hope that satisfies deeply because it rings true. It might seem odd to suggest that such a fantastical work has proved so successful because of its realism, but there is a sense in which this is true. Concerning Tolkien (and his fellow fantasy writer, colleague and WWI veteran, CS Lewis), Loconte writes: Tolkien and Lewis were attracted to the genres of myth and romance not because they sought to escape the world, but because for them the real

world had a mythic and heroic quality. The world is the setting for great conflicts and great quests: it creates scenes of remorseless violence, grief and suffering, as well as deep compassion, courage, and selfless sacrifice . . . Their depictions of the struggles of Middle-earth and Narnia do not represent a flight from reality, but rather a return to a more realistic view of the world as we actually find it.

In Tolkien’s world, like our own, the hero’s strength, courage and ultimate success pertains to something not of their own making. The horrors of the Great War led many to doubt and despair. But for Tolkien, the tragedy of the war helped reinforce his belief that the courage, sacrifice and friendships that made it endurable, point beyond themselves to a source of goodness we cannot do without, and which often serves to highlight the folly of worldly

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The heroes of these stories are vulnerable to temptation and corruption, while the antagonists are almost never beyond redemption. ambitions that lead to war. As philosopher Peter Kreeft2 points out: The hero cannot, by his own efforts, prevail in the struggle against evil. The forces arrayed against him, as well as the weakness within him, make victory impossible. The tragic nature of his quest begins to dawn on him, to oppress him, until the moment when failure seems inevitable . . .

Frodo’s defeat—our defeat—is overturned by a Power stronger than our weakness. Tolkien identified this Power as “that one ever-present Person who is never absent and never named”.2 Like the hero of the medieval quests that shaped his imagination— and resonated powerfully with his Christian faith—the true heroes of Tolkien’s Middle-earth are those whose hope is grounded not in the principalities and powers of this world, but in the One to whose glory all earthly goodness attests. What else could be meant by the following lines, in which the hope and courage of ordinary hero Samwise Gamgee are so beautifully conveyed? There, peeping among the cloudwrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach. James Cooper is coordinator of creative writing and communication at Adelaide’s Tabor College. He is also senior editor of inScribe journal and has published numerous poems and stories locally and overseas. James’ first novel, Something About Alaska, written for young adults, will be published in September 2022. He lives with his wife and two sons in the Adelaide Hills. 1. A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918 (Thomas Nelson, 2017) 2. The Philosophy of Tolkien: The Worldview Behind The Lord of the Rings (Ignatius Press, 2005)

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ELL B EING

How are you… REALLY?

If someone asked "How are you?" would you be able to respond honestly?

et me ask you a question: if a friend of yours or I were to stand in front of you today and ask, “Are you OK?” how would you respond? Could you, or would you, share how you really are? As a society, we seem to be becoming more and more aware

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of the mental health crisis we are in. On September 8, Australia and New Zealand has a National Day of Action where they are encouraged to ask someone, “R U OK?” Though it’s somewhat disappointing that we need an allocated day of the year to remind us to check in on our loved

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BY ZANITA FLETCHER

ones, it is a step in the right direction. We are, at least, becoming more and more attuned and attentive to one other. We might not ask “R U OK?” every day in the way September 8 encourages. But a simple way to rephrase this question is, “How are

you?”—and that, we hear many times a day. “How are you?” is a phrase we reflexively say after or even instead of “hello”. When said, we often don’t think about the depth the question invites, nor do we ask it expecting a litany of one’s woes. SEPTEMBER 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

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that emotions are a form of useful information. They tell us what’s going on inside us in response to what is happening in our lives. They help us understand why we might be feeling a certain way. We might think we’re being strong, wise, responsible individuals when we ignore the mix of uncomfortable things stirring inside us—but the opposite is true. There is a high cost to avoiding our emotions. Studies show that when we do this, our stress increases, we are prone to agitation, we become disconnected from each other and our physical health suffers. Marc Brackett, psychologist and director of the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence, says our emotions are linked to physiological parts in our brains that release hormones and chemicals that affect our overall physical health. It’s all connected. The irony of avoiding or suppressing our emotions is that they become stronger. Brackett says, “The really powerful emotions build up inside us, like a dark force that inevitably poisons everything we do, whether we like it or not. Hurt feelings don’t vanish on their own. They don’t heal themselves. If we don’t express our emotions, they pile up like a debt that will eventually come due.” The good news is that growing in our awareness of our emotions and our ability to express them is a skill we can constantly be growing in so that they don’t rule us. Here are some ways forward:

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Have you ever been on a walk and had someone say with a little nod of the head, “How ya goin?” and then pass on by before you had the time to respond? Have you ever had the audacity to respond honestly to a cashier’s polite, “Hi, how are you today?” and when you answered, they fumbled for words, avoided eye contact and hurried your items into their bags. Though the intentions behind this question are good, the response usually does not depict how we really are. There are a few reasons for this. One is that we simply don’t know how to answer it. Many of us struggle to identify or explain what we’re feeling, either because we don’t take the time to check in with ourselves, or because we find our emotions too overwhelming. We distract ourselves to the point that we avoid dealing with anything difficult (even when our lives would greatly benefit by facing reality). Some of us have been told that emotions are bad or perceive them as a weakness. So, we have gotten in the habit of responding, “Yeah, good. Been busy! Fine thanks, and you?”—an answer that often isn’t accurate and that doesn’t give much insight—certainly not enough for people to be able to support us. Stoic philosophers used to argue that emotions did nothing but interfere with sound judgement and rational thought. “Feelings are fickle,” they would say. What they failed to take into consideration is

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If we don't express our emotions, they pile up like a debt that will eventually come due.

stop and get curious

Take the time to stop and check in with yourself, as often as once a day. We experience many emotions throughout a single day, often going from one to the next without much consideration. Get into the routine of digging deeper with one of the many things that deserve your attention—the good, the bad, the in-between. Ask yourself the following questions:  How am I feeling?  What is the issue?  What is coming up here?  Did something happen to cause me to feel this way?  How is my body feeling? Am I experiencing any tension, shaking or an increased heart rate? Am I finding it hard to concentrate?

expand your vocabulary:

Research professor, lecturer and author of Atlas of the Heart Brené Brown explains that language gives us the power of understanding and meaning. She says, “Language is our portal to meaning-making, connection, healing, learning and self-awareness. When we don’t have the language to talk about what we’re experiencing, our ability to make sense of what’s happening and share it with others is severely limited. Without accurate language, we struggle to get the help we need, we don’t always regulate or manage our emotions and experiences in a way that allows us to move through them productively.” If you’re finding it hard to describe what you’re feeling, look up a list SEPTEMBER 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

of emotions online. It can help to point you to the ones that resonate when you’re struggling to identify them on your own. Try to come up with three words that describe how you’re feeling and take a moment to expand on them. Labelling your emotions with words will increase your self-awareness and help you to communicate them more effectively to others.

write it out

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The act of writing is filled with therapeutic benefits. Psychologist and author James Pennebaker has done more than 40 years of research into the links between writing and emotional processing. His research found that people who write about their emotions improved in their

physical and mental wellbeing, got more insight with time, and saw improvements in their relationships1. You don’t have to write pages of beautifully written prose and there’s many ways to go about it:  Put a timer on for five minutes and write about the thoughts you’re having. For example, maybe you’re thinking, I can’t believe they said that! or What did I do to deserve this? or Nobody is doing anything! Write how this is causing you to behave. Are you isolating from people, getting aggressive, checking out by scrolling on your phone?  Label your emotions on a scale from 1–10. How deeply are you feeling them?  Expand on the words you chose

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from a list of feelings and how they relate to the internal and external things happening in your life.  Write a description of the sensations you are feeling in your body and see if you can connect them to your emotions.  If you have something you want to say to someone, write a letter without the intention of sending it.

talk it out

Have you ever felt better after sharing with a close friend something you are struggling with? The circumstance itself hasn’t changed, your friend might have done nothing but listen, though it feels like a giant weight has been lifted? Discussing our emotions with a trusted friend, family member or mentor is hugely beneficial. It provides perspective, can help us see things differently, reduces our stress, and makes us feel heard and seen. Many people find comfort in expressing their feelings to God. In the Bible we see people doing this through writing, singing and speaking. Even talking

to yourself can be helpful. If you’re overwhelmed by what emotions are coming up for you and need extra guidance, reach out to a professional counsellor or psychologist. Our emotions reveal what our hearts love, trust and fear. Stifling them is hazardous to all areas of our growth: spiritual, mental, physical and relational. When we learn to identify and express them, we can use even the most difficult ones to create positive and satisfying lives. In doing so, “[we] find a universe of new choices and second chances—a universe where we can share the stories of our bravest and most heartbreaking moments with each other in a way that builds connection”, writes Brené Brown. In light of “R U OK Day”, I invite you to ask yourself first, with the same amount of curiosity and compassion you might ask someone you care about: How are you, really? Zanita Fletcher is a life coach, writer and assistant editor for Signs of the Times magazine. She writes from the Gold Coast, Queensland. 1. Pennebaker, J. (2016). Opening Up by Writing It Down: How Expressive Writing Improves Health and Eases Emotional Pain. New York, The Guilford Press.

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When we learn to identify and express our emotions, we can use even the most difficult ones to create positive and satisfying lives.

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FA IT H

LEFT BEHIND:

THE SUICIDE SURVIVOR’S PERSPECTIVE Suicide is an often-taboo subject in our culture and the Christian church’s response to it has sometimes been equally lacking. Is there a more compassionate way to view suicide? BY DAVID MCCLINTOCK

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y first confrontation with suicide was when I was the head assistant dean in the dormitory at Adventist institution Avondale University. The dean of men sat down beside me in morning worship and quietly asked, “Remember Johnny*?” I nodded. He had returned home part-way through the year. “Well, last night he drove his car up into the hills and ended his life.” I immediately wondered what difference we might have made if we had been aware of his depression. Could we have changed the course of his decision? Then came the soul-wrenching thought—What happens to him and his eternal destiny? Almost 20 years later came another question. “David, what will I say to my brother? What can I say at the funeral? There is no hope beyond the grave for his son. He took his own life.” The question came from a grieving pastor. Then later, the same question from a grieving school staff member following the tragic action of a Year 8 student. Then the same question from a bereaved spouse. What does the Bible teach? Where did the common Christian acceptance that suicide is a mortal sin come from? Is it really biblical? Suicide is seen as a self-inflicted, intentional death1. One of the best Christian books on suicide was written by Dr Lloyd and Gwendolyn Carr in response to their daughter-in-law’s suicide just after she turned 30. There’s a prevailing attitude in the Christian community that “real Christians” do not commit suicide. Even if you aren’t a Christian, you have no doubt been influenced by Christian thought on suicide, as the prevailing modern view on the subject SEPTEMBER 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

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has in large part been shaped by the church. The Fierce Goodbye: Hope in the Wake of Suicide gives a biblical and historical perspective to the apparent truism that is prevalent in the Christian community. In the early Christian Church, after AD 100, there developed a theology of martyrdom that upheld that true discipleship was a martyr’s death. It was so strong that a Roman governor told the Christians “If they wanted to die, they should go and cast themselves over the cliff, rather than ‘keep troubling the magistrates to execute them’.”2 This is the background to Augustine’s appeal (AD 415) to the command “Thou shalt not kill” as expressly forbidding suicide. This was an attempt by the Church to remove the martyr theology. Aquinas, in the 13th century, reinforced this with three key arguments from non-biblical sources: 1. It was a denial of the self-love for life inherent in every being (Josephus). 2. It was the right of the state to deny suicide privileges (Aristotle). 3. Since life is God-given, only God can take it back (Josephus).3 Thus, the Church ruled that suicide was a mortal sin and that a

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A 30 per cent increase in suicide rates in this millennium in the United States . . . has seen it become the tenth leading cause of death there.

person committing suicide could not be buried within the normal church cemetery and would not be in heaven. This has permeated Christendom ever since. Suicide is a growing concern. A 30 per cent increase in suicide rates in this millennium from 2000 to 2016 has seen it become the 10th leading cause of death in the United States.4 It is the second leading cause of death for American university– aged people with that of women doubling in the last decade.5 In Australia the statistics are similar with one sobering statistic standing out—suicide is the leading cause of death for 15–44 year olds.6 In New Zealand, suicide is likewise a leading cause of death among Māori and Pacifika peoples.7 Perhaps surprisingly, it appears that a growing awareness of the need for support during lockdowns has held suicide at normal rates, at least in Australia.8 The data released by the three most populated states, Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales, provide no evidence of any increase relative to previous years, up to September 2021.9 However, anecdotal and emerging statistics in America show a troubling increase, with at least 25 per cent of

young people indicating they have contemplated suicide since the Covid pandemic, impacted by lockdowns and restrictions.10 A fascinating insight on the effect of isolation and lockdown is highlighted with the following: “According to a meta-analysis co-authored by Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University, lack of social connection heightens health risks as much as smoking three-quarters of a pack of cigarettes a day . . . every day.”11 Carol Graham generalised from her analysis that poorer, more vulnerable countries and communities were more susceptible to emotional trauma and the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. She noted a comment by Karen Deep Singh: “Lockdowns resulted in millions more Indians entering poverty and exacerbated one of the highest suicide rates in the world”12. This article was in October 2020. In the current acute pandemic stress in India, it will be horrendous to finally review the statistics as they are collated. The Bible records six examples of suicides, all of which suggest that “death with honour” is preferable to either torture or public humiliation.13 It is treated in the various SEPTEMBER 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

accounts as simply another death with no moral judgement. They give no sense that it is a sin. The six examples are Abimelek (Judges 9), Samson (Judges 16), King Saul (1 Samuel 31), Ahithophel (2 Samuel 17), Zimri (1 Kings 16) and Judas (Matthew 27). Where possible in these examples they were buried in the family tomb. Come back to the example of Samson in Judges 16. He chose to take his life and take out many of his enemies with him. But Hebrews 11:32 records the name of Samson in the honour roll of the faith heroes. That is incredible comfort to those who are suicide survivors—having lost a loved one to suicide. In many cases, people contemplating suicide are depressed, have a chemical imbalance and are not in their right minds. Rather than the Church having the power to determine one’s eternal destiny, the question that Abraham asked God in Genesis 18:25 in relation to the pending judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah is so pertinent: “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Leave it to God. As Carr concluded, while there are no valid biblical grounds for the church’s condemnation of suicide, we cannot encourage the act. Each life is precious to God and despite the struggles associated with mental illness, “Christians can and do take their own lives, but even in this situation, God’s grace is sufficient.”13

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To learn more about depression and suicide, visit Beyond Blue. For crisis support or suicide prevention, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (AU), 0800 543 354 (NZ), 1543 (Fiji), 3260011 (PNG) or Lifeline’s equivalent in your local country. David McClintock is the education director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific region. *Name has been changed to protect identity 1. Davidson in James T Clemons, ed. Perspectives on Suicide (Westminister, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1990), 11. 2. G Lloyd and Gwendolyn C Carr, The Fierce Goodbye: Hope in the Wake of Suicide (Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 1990), 96 3. Ibid, 77 4. <apa.org/monitor/2019/01/numbers>. 5. <verywellmind.com/college-and-teen-suicide-statistics-3570768>. 6. <aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/suicide-and-intentional-self-harm>. 7. <health.govt.nz/our-work/populations/maori-health/tatau-kahukura-maori-health-statistics/ nga-mana-hauora-tutohu-health-status-indicators/ major-causes-death> 8. <aihw.gov.au/suicide-self-harm-monitoring/data/ covid-19>. 9. <aihw.gov.au/suicide-self-harm-monitoring/data/ suspected-deaths-by-suicide/data-from-suicide-registers>. 10. <washingtonpost.com/health/2020/11/23/ covid-pandemic-rise-suicides/>. 11. Rebecca Doigin, The Impact of COVID–19 on Suicide Rates: <www.psycom.net/covid-19-suicide-rates>. 12. Carol Graham, “The human costs of the pandemic is it time to prioritize well being”: (November 17, 2020) <brookings.edu/research/the-human-costs-of-thepandemic-is-it-time-to-prioritize-well-being/>. 13. Carr, 55 14. Ibid, 97

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FA IT H

DEATH'S END

What awaits you at the end of your life? Heaven, hell or the great dark beyond? Science fiction has sought to provide answers to the question of life after death, but we can find a more conclusive answer in the Bible.

SENSAY—GETTY IMAGES

BY RYAN STANTON

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

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• SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

s a media and communications graduate, I love stories in all their forms, but I’ve always held a special place in my heart for science fiction. Exotic planets, alien races, unique extrapolations of scientific theory and bizarre visions of the future—no other genre captures my imagination in quite the same way. But my love for the genre goes beyond its aesthetic trappings—it’s also deeply rooted in the ideas that science fiction likes to tackle. Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering the future setting that sci-fi often indulges in, it is often a genre which aims at interrogating some of the more existential or philosophical questions which we face. Take some of my favourites for example. Both the Mass Effect and The Expanse series, for example, explore the ways our current political divide may be reproduced in the future—as well as how we may react to an existential threat to our existence. Denis Villeneuve’s film Arrival serves not only as an imagining of extra-terrestrial linguistics, but also explores the nature of free will, time and love. Then there’s Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch trilogy which examines the ways we define our identity, which in turn is defined by forces outside our will. But above all these, there’s one idea which science fiction constantly grapples with which I find most fascinating: what persists after we are gone.

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

the future of death

Two of the more interesting science fiction novels I have read in recent years attempted to tackle this issue. The first was the final instalment in the Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy: Death’s End, while the second was Rian Hughes’ XX: A Novel, Graphic. In both stories humanity faces interstellar destruction and must find a way to survive. In Death’s End Cixin Liu describes a cold, uncaring universe where the only way to stave off the inevitable is using science to elevate humanity. In XX, death is an inevitability we cannot prevent—instead, Hughes posits we live on through the collective ideas, dreams and aspirations of mankind that persist long after we are gone. Both are fascinating, well-written takes on the issue of death—but I can’t say I view either as providing a fully satisfactory answer to the question. Liu’s version of the universe is harsh and unforgiving—a story that aligns with the work of atheist proponents such as Dawkins or Harris. It’s difficult to find purpose or meaning in such a world. Similarly, Hughes’ idea has a degree of comfort to it—we can continue to exist after we die—but it requires the complete annihilation of self in a way which raises questions about whether “we” really do persist. It’s not surprising though that these authors cannot provide perfect answers to the question—philosophers have long been in the same boat.

the philosophy of death

Rome, as well as modern Islam—and Philosophers have argued about even some forms of Christianity. death for millennia, forming hundreds of different theories and the Christian view of death hypotheses. The differing perspecFor many, this may be the tives on death are, unfortunately, too common perception of Christianity’s numerous to count—but often fall views on life after death—your soul into a few categories of thought. is separated from your body where The first is simple: death is the end it either goes straight to heaven if of existence and nothing of your self you’ve been good, or straight to hell persists beyond it. This is the view if you’ve been bad. Think of how widely held by many materialistic often children are comforted when atheists, as well as confronting some non-theistic death with religions. the platitude: Other schools “Don’t worry, of thought rely they’re in on the belief heaven now.” in a soul: some What’s interThere’s one idea ephemeral, esting is that which science fiction immaterial many of these constantly grapples essence which ideas are not comprises your supported, with which I find most thoughts and or outright fascinating: what feelings and make contradicted, persists after we are you, “you”. The by the Bible gone. origin—and which they ultimate fate of claim as their your soul—varies basis. from religion to For starters, religion. In Buddhism, the soul is there’s the soul. When it comes to reincarnated constantly until it either proving its existence, many use two attains nirvana and becomes nothBible verses as evidence. The first ing. There are a variety of potential reads, “The Lord God formed man of liberations in Hinduism. the dust of the ground, and breathed Other religions view death as into his nostrils the breath of life, the separation of the body and the and man became a living soul”, while soul—wherein your soul “floats the second states, “The dust returns away” from your body upon death to the ground it came from, and the into the afterlife. This can be seen in spirit returns to God who gave it” the mythologies of ancient Greece or (Genesis 2:7, Ecclesiastes 12:7, KJV,

“

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life after death

This does not mean that death is the end. The theme of death and resurrection is discussed widely throughout the biblical story. Perhaps one of the most revealing examples comes from the apostle Paul who writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:13,14: “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” In this way, death is described as a sleep—where we are completely unaware of the events of the world and disconnected from them, just as Ecclesiastes 9 describes. That is not to say there is no heaven or hell, however.

RALF NAU—GETTY IMAGES

italics added). Some argue that the Genesis verse provides evidence for the soul being a distinct phenomenon due to the way it is stated as being breathed into the body, separate from the creation of the body. Similarly, Ecclesiastes seems to reinforce this, with the dust/body having one fate, and the soul/spirit having another. Seems straightforward, right? Unfortunately, no. When we look more closely at the original translations of the word soul here, it becomes slightly more complicated. The Hebrew word is ruach, which means “breath, wind or spirit”. Many argue that the use of ruach in these contexts is not referring to a separate aspect of ourselves which makes up the soul, but the “breath” or “gift of life” that God has provided—and which is similarly taken when we die. This is further supported by numerous other Bible verses, including another from Ecclesiastes, which states “the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6) In this, we can see that the Bible does not support the view that the soul continues into an afterlife when the body expires. Instead, the self is intrinsically tied to the body and when it expires, so do we.

“

For many, this may be the common perception of Christianity’s views on life after death—your soul is separated from your body where it either goes straight to heaven if you’ve been good, or straight to hell if you’ve been bad. 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17 describes what happens at the second coming of Jesus. “For the Lord himself will come down from Heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” When Christ returns, His followers will be resurrected and taken to be with Him forever. But what about those who don’t follow Christ? While they are also described as being resurrected, their fate initially seems more dire. Here’s how Revelation 20:12–15 describes it: “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another

book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books . . . Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” At first glance, this seems dark. The “lake of fire” that was mentioned in verse 10 is described as a place of eternal torment. Does this fit with our popular conception that hell is an eternally burning pit ruled by the devil? No. For starters, Revelation 20:10 states that the devil is included in those who are thrown in the lake. In the end, he is not the ruler of the wicked, but shares in their fate. More important though are eight words in verse 14 that recontextualise our SEPTEMBER 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

“

. . . God gives everybody the freedom to choose their path in life. Those who accept Jesus as their Saviour will receive the gift of eternal life. In the same way, those who reject Him will not be forced to suffer. entire understanding of what “hell” is—and undermines the myth that has persisted for centuries: “The lake of fire is the second death.” Hell is not a place where those who disobey God suffer eternal agony. Not only does this not line up with the idea of a loving God, but here it is explicitly rejected. Eternal torment instead refers to the way in which the decision to reject God carries eternal consequences. When people reject God, they become eternally disconnected from Him. As God is the One who gives life, eternal disconnection from Him results in eternal death. The punishment many imagine with fire and pitchforks is instead eternal nothingness. In this way, we can see that death and resurrection as presented in the Bible are radically different to the ways they have been presented in popular culture. While many 50

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

struggle to reconcile their impression of hell with a loving and kind God, the reality is much easier to understand. God gives everybody the freedom to choose their path in life. Those who accept Jesus as their Saviour will receive the gift of eternal life. In the same way, those who reject Him will not be forced to suffer. Like those who believe, their suffering will also come to an end; though sadly, this will also be their eternal end. Knowing this, there is only one question that remains: Which end will you choose? Ryan Stanton is a PhD graduate of media and communications at the University of Sydney. He’s a passionate follower of Jesus, avid board gamer and admirer of science fiction.

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ELL B EING

BETTER HEALTH for every body

SLEEP IT OFF We all know sleep is good for us. But research has identified that the human brain processes emotions during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. During REM sleep, the brain consolidates the storage of positive emotions and minimises negative emotions. Our brain takes difficult experiences we’ve had during the day and processes them to remove the sharp edge off emotional events. REM sleep essentially acts as a form of overnight therapy. That is if we get our 7–9 hours in.—Science Daily 52

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

ELEMENT5 DIGITAL, CRIS SAUR GNUCUX, CATHAL MAC AN BHEATHA, DANIEL BECERRA, ANNA PELZER—UNSPLASH

TRAVEL THERAPY Many people like to travel for reset, relaxation and inspiration. But research shows that travel may significantly benefit people with dementia, particularly regarding mental health and wellbeing. Travelling could impact the following areas and other elements of treatment: cognitive and sensory stimulation, exercise, increasing social interaction and talking about experiences. The study added that vacations could improve mood and reduce anxiety by removing people from the activities and environments they associate with stress.—Medical News Today

HEALTH HACK: DON’T THROW OUT THE SEEDS Did you know eating pumpkin seeds can actually make you happier? Dopamine and serotonin play an important role in regulating anxiety and stress. The brain cannot make these unless tryptophan is first present. Insufficient tryptophan is one of the main nutritional causes of depression. Some depressed individuals are very sensitive to even a small, temporary reduction in tryptophan, and missing just one day of moderate-to-high tryptophan intake can send them into a relapse of depression. Roasted pumpkin seeds are one of the highest sources of tryptophan. Just two tablespoons meets nearly half of an adult’s daily needs. The easiest and tastiest way to include them into your diet is to add a splash of olive oil and some salt and put the seeds in the oven for 5–10 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle on almost any savoury: salad, soup, pasta, lasagne. Or enjoy them as a side or a snack.—Nedley Health

RAGE ROOMS Healthy anger management tools are needed with more people experiencing heightened stress and emotional issues. Such means may include seeing a therapist, exercising, meditating, journaling or the latest fad . . . rage rooms. Rage rooms (which are popping up all over countries like Australia and America) are spaces stocked with breakable items and tools for you to break them with. Turns out smashing things can be a helpful way to express and process complicated feelings.—The Healthy

GRIEF ON THE GUT Have you ever experienced the loss of appetite after losing someone close to you? Grief, whether from death, heartbreak or something else, can activate our sympathetic nervous system to the point that our body struggles to focus on digestion or eating. This throws off the bacteria in our stomach and compromises our microbiome. Doctors advise eating simple high-fibre foods like fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, grains and probiotics to help ease grief and gut issues.—Time Magazine SEPTEMBER 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

LT U R E

THE

More than 78,000 people travel to the Nevada desert each year to party and erect large statues—eventually setting them on fire. What inspires this bizarre practice? BY DANIEL KUBEREK

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

ARASH AFSHAR—UNSPLASH

BURNING

MAN

AND OTHER ICONS

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for that year’s festival. Past events have included themes like “Fertility 2.0” in 2012 and “Cargo Cult” in 2013; while this year’s edition is entitled “Waking Dreams”. Despite the “burning man” appearing to draw inspiration from ancient “wicker man” pagan rituals run by Celtic druids (which some historians argue was used for human sacrifice), the whole event has nonetheless captured widespread public imagination. As crowd numbers have increased over the years, so has the presence of celebrities and social media “influencers” who are seen participating in the festival’s rituals.

yearning to worship

One might wonder what the appeal is for the thousands who gather at the festival. Organisers promote countercultural values throughout the weekend like “radical inclusion”, “radical self-reliance” and “radical self-expression”, as well as the importance for each attendee to be ecologically conscious and make sure no trace is left after the festival ends. While festival organisers have stated that structures like the Black Rock City Temple are a “neutral, non-denominational spiritual space”, the influence of an amalgamation of religious practices is undeniable. NIK DEMIDKO—UNSPLASH

lack Rock Desert in Nevada, United States is an arid place. The flat, dry lake bed is so large and remote that it was the location of a successful land speed record attempt in 1997; a 1227km/h record that still stands today. Aside from a few experimental rocket launches, however, the desert is largely abandoned. That is, until more than 78,000 music ravers turn up each year and erect “Black Rock City”—a makeshift community comprised of tents and camping gear in the middle of the desert. The attendees—often described as “bohemians” and “free spirits”—then set about creating and erecting large-scale sculptures and pieces of art while also partying to music from some of the world’s best-known DJs. The whole event is known as “Burning Man”—starting in 1986 on Baker Beach, San Francisco, before moving to the desert in 1991 (a choice the organisers of Australia’s Splendour in the Grass might be wise to learn from). This year, the festival takes place from Sunday, August 28 to Monday, September 5. There’s a good chance it’s taking place as you read this! On the Saturday evening, attendees set fire to an enormous effigy they’ve created based on the theme

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

Festival organisers went as far as to announce their intention for the festival to become its own religious rite. In a 2016 blog post on the Burning Man Project website, they wrote: “Beyond the dogmas, creeds and metaphysical ideas of religion, there is immediate experience. It is from this primal world that faith arises. In 2017, we will invite participants to create interactive rites, ritual processions, elaborate images, shrines, icons, temples and visions. “The human urge to make events, objects, actions and personalities sacred is protean,” the statement concludes. Basically, a core tenet of the festival is the human need to “worship” something bigger than ourselves— even if that thing is a 30-metre-tall burning structure. While not strictly speaking a new idea—some mature readers may be reminded of the countercultural Woodstock festival and other similar events from the past century—the idea has surprisingly ancient origins.

burning bushes and broken tablets It was in Sinai Desert that another group of people, the Israelites, were also conflicted about who they worshipped. They had just been delivered from oppression in Egypt

and were heading to a land promised to be “flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8). The large group was under the leadership of Moses, who had been instructed by God in the form of a burning bush to lead the Israelites to freedom. Just as numerous publications have suggested events like Burning Man are a haven for both religious and non-religious people seeking enlightenment and spiritual experience, so the Israelites yearned for the same during their decades spent trudging through the desert. God saw this need and responded in kind by instructing Moses about social structure for the Israelites (the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20) and a way to worship Him that paralleled God’s sanctuary in heaven (see the Tabernacle and burnt offering rituals found in Exodus 26 and 27). But the Israelites were impatient. With their leader Moses missing atop of Mount Sinai, they took matters into their own hands and created a golden calf statue as a monument to the “gods”. The Bible goes on to describe how they “sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings . . . and got up to indulge in revelry” (Exodus 32:6). While the Israelites’ behaviour was an insult

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to the God who had delivered them from oppression and continued to provide for them, it’s not dissimilar to a need that many of us have today, even leading tens of thousands out into Black Rock Desert. It’s the need to worship. Some may see “worship” through the form of statues, icons or pictures, but at its core most people ultimately crave an experience with a higher power. There’s a desire for human existence on earth to have meaning beyond life and death. That’s not to say statues or symbols are always inherently “evil” or allude to pagan rituals with a dark past. God also used symbols, and some have withstood the ages and are an important part of the modern world.

serpentine salvation

Have you ever seen an image of a snake wrapped around a stick in places like the World Health Organisation? Some attribute the origins of this symbol to Greek mythology, but the truth is this symbol stems from a historical event. Numbers 21 describes a time when God sent snakes to bite Israelites who were complaining and doubtful. He then instructed Moses to construct a bronze snake and put it on a pole; anyone who had been bitten and looked at the statue would survive. The image has since endeared as a symbol of healing and is often used in the medical world. Or there’s the statue that appeared 58

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in a dream to King Nebuchadnezzar and was interpreted by his servant Daniel. Most Bible scholars now agree that the statue, and the many materials from which it was comprised, accurately predicted historical kingdoms right through to the modern-day. But, just as it was for the Israelites, for every symbol that God created there are more that humans abused. King Nebuchadnezzar, threatened by the dream and the notion that his Babylonian Empire would one day come to an end, “made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide . . . He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up” (Daniel 3:1,2). What God had intended as a symbol of His guidance throughout earth’s history became a symbol for the complete opposite—a selfish desire for power. How often are symbols around us used to the same effect? When God created a social structure for the Israelites, and indeed the rest of humanity to abide by, one of the laws was to “not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:4,5). While God used statues and idols to communicate a point; he simultaneously denounced anyone creating

their own, even if some are made with good intentions.

the man who was raised

Symbols like the cross on which Jesus died are a powerful reminder of His sacrifice for everyone on the planet to be free from the burden of sin. At the same time, God doesn’t require wearing a replica of the cross to know that we accept His sacrifice and pledge our allegiance to Him. Instead, He tells us it’s as simple as “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21). Finding spiritual fulfilment, meaning and purpose doesn’t have to be found during a few days in a desert—it’s something we can experience every day. The Bible describes this union

as “I [God] am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Far from travelling out to the Nevada desert, you can invite God into your life and experience life with Him by praying. Don’t stress too much about what you should say—just talk to God as if He’s your friend. And if you’d like to get to know Him better, why not sign up to a free course, Try Jesus, at <discover. hopechannel.com/try-Jesus>. Daniel Kuberek is a former assistant editor for Signs of the Times magazine. He currently works in the Australian film industry.

“

HALFPOINT—GETTYIMAGES

. . . there's a desire for human existence on earth to have meaning beyond life and death.

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ELL B EING

ARE MEAT ALTERNATIVES HEALTHY FOR YOU? THERE’S NOW A SMORGASBORD OF MEAT ALTERNATIVES TO CHOOSE FROM AT THE SUPERMARKET, PROVIDING A TASTY CHOICE FOR YOUR FAMILY FAVOURITE RECIPES. BY SANITARIUM HEALTH FOOD COMPANY

eat alternatives are usually made from a variety of plant proteins including soy, lentils, beans, chickpeas, grains, nuts and seeds. While some are literally an alternative to meat, other varieties are created to mimic meat right down to the look, texture and taste. These often come in the form of mince, burgers, sausages or schnitzels. There’s now even products that taste like chicken and fish on the meat alternative menu. ARE MEAT ALTERNATIVES HEALTHY? Meat alternatives tend to be lower in kilojoules and saturated fat compared to animal meat sausages or burgers. As they are plant-based, many products also provide fibre. When shopping for a meat alternative,

AUGUST 20222022 SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER

dietitians recommend choosing products fortified with zinc, iron and vitamin B12 —essential nutrients often found in animal foods. CAN THEY PROVIDE THE PROTEIN I NEED? Most meat alternatives have higher or comparable protein to their meat counterparts. A Food Frontier report recently checked out meat alternative products in Australia and New Zealand supermarkets. It found 82 per

IS THE PROTEIN QUALITY THE SAME? There are nine "essential" amino acids that we need to get from the protein we eat. If a food contains all nine of the essential amino acids, it is called a complete protein. It’s often argued animal proteins are better because they contain all nine essential amino acids. However, there are also plant foods that are commonly thought of as complete proteins or highquality proteins. These include soy bean, quinoa, amaranth and pistachio nuts. Regardless, having a variety of different plant proteins as part of a healthy balanced diet each day will provide the essential amino acids you need. Looking for more ways to add plantbased proteins to your diet? Check out our meat alternative recipes at <sanitarium.com.au> or <sanitarium.co.nz> for some great recipe inspiration.

EASYBUY4U —GETTYIMAGES

cent of meat alternatives were a good source of protein, providing at least 10g of protein per serve. Plant-based were found to have more protein than meat varieties. Burgers were on a par, while plant-based mince is the only meat alternative category with less protein than the animal meat version. On average women need around 46g protein a day, while men require around 64g. Meat alternatives can certainly help hit the mark. A plant-based patty on a wholegrain bun with salad can provide as much as 30g protein in one meal.

Article courtesy of Sanitarium Health Food Company. Visit sanitarium.com. au or sanitarium.co.nz and subscribe to Recipe of the Week for weekly recipe inspiration in your email inbox. SEPTEMBER 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

FUN

CROSSWORD

How closely have you been reading? Each keyword in this puzzle is also contained within this edition of Signs of the Times. Happy digging!

KARYNA PANCHENKO—UNSPLASH

Hint: 1 Down

EDUCATION.COM

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • SEPTEMBER 2022

CROSSWORD CLUES

DOWN 1 A seed used to make a popular edible dip 2 Exposed, either physically or emotionally to a threat 3 Internal sensations to the external world 4 Overcoming resentment toward another 6 A certain concentration camp 7 Digital interaction facilitation service; a raised surface 8 A disadvantage or fault 11 A scene of uproar, chaos or confusion

SUDOKU EASY

8 1 6

9 3

5 9

7 2 4

2 1

6 5

HARD

ACROSS 5 The cause of Samson's death 9 Easily influenced 10 A journey with an end goal or mission to accomplish 12 A consecration of dedication and favour 13 Expression of reverence and adoration 14 Futuristic VR internet domain

6 4

7 3 4

9 2

9 4

8 9

6 2

SOLUTIONS AVAILABLE ONLINE SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU SEPTEMBER 2022

• SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

Signs of the Times radio is being enjoyed all across Australia and New Zealand on Faith FM and online. The Signs of the Times team discuss the latest in current world events, faith and wellbeing with experts and guests. Ready to feel informed and inspired?

Signs of the Times - September 2022

Articles inside

CROSSWORD & SUDOKU

ARE MEAT ALTERNATIVES HEALTHY FOR YOU?

THE BURNING MAN AND OTHER ICONS

BETTER HEALTH FOR EVERY BODY

LEFT BEHIND: THE SUICIDE SURVIVOR’S PERSPECTIVE

FORGIVING A NAZI

BABY STEPS

DEATH'S END

ASK PASTOR JESSE

THE METAVERSE, NFTS AND OUR SHARED VIRTUAL FUTURE

WHAT IN THE WORLD

A HEROISM FOR OUR TIMES: ON HOPE AND COURAGE IN TOLKIEN’S MIDDLE-EARTH