Signs of the Times - March 2019 by Adventist Media

MARCH 2019

MAKE SURE SOME

PATHS ARE DIRT unicef photographer gets off the beaten track

TASTY, HEALTHY & CHEAP the Mediterranean diet

AUSTRALIA AND THE BIBLE

A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON THE WORLD TODAY

IN THIS ISSUE

MARCH 2019

MAKE SURE SOME PATHS ARE DIRT PAGE 32 UNICEF photographer Simon Lister tells his story

6 CURRENT

WHAT IN THE WORLD PERFECT STORM Our actions affect people on the other side of the planet 12 STREET SIGNS The public speaks out about climate change 4 6

WELLBEING

14 BREAKING THROUGH

Being a positive father—even after separation 18 THE TASTY, HEALTHY & CHEAP MEDITERRANEAN DIET 30 GO HEALTHY FOR GOOD News snippets for every body FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 2

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

50 NATURAL WAYS TO

REDUCE INFLAMMATION Top tips for fighting back 52 RECIPE Roast vegetable tart 58 POSITIVES OF FAILURE Lessons from a baking disaster

CULTURE

54 AUSTRALIA AND THE

BIBLE Book review: The Bible in Australia—a cultural history by Meredith Lake

FUN

62 CROSSWORD & SUDOKU

FAITH

24 THE JESUS PARADOX

The power of powerlessness 38 GETTING ALONG LIKE A HOUSE ON FIRE United in adversity and on a mission! 44 CONSOLING FAITH The critics are right— but there’s more . . . /SIGNSOFTHETIMES

Test your brain; test your Signs recall!

FROM THE EDITOR

life without challenges would be boring. Who doesn’t relish the prospect of planting a garden, restoring a classic car or learning a new language? Yes, the process may be hard, but we know that the sweat, mis-steps and long hours will all be worth it in the end. The vision of our eventual success drives us on. That’s one reason why I reject the cliche of heaven as a place where people waft about aimlessly on clouds, strumming harps. Read the first two chapters of the Bible and you’ll catch a glimpse of a creative God joyfully at work and the humans made in His image also given important tasks. If God’s original vision involved us getting our hands dirty in the damp, fragrant soil of Eden, surely His plan for our future is no less practical and attractive. (If you don’t find gardening any more exciting than harping, don’t panic—God has challenges organised that will totally work for you.) Having said that, clearly it was never part of God’s plan that children should spend long hours slaving in factories, as UNICEF photographer Simon Lister has documented (page 32). It was never part of God’s plan that families would separate and hearts be broken (see page 14). And it was never part of God’s plan that the beautiful earth He created would be threatened by its human caretakers (see page 6). These are challenges to be overcome rather than relished. This month’s Signs suggests that, despite the destruction and sadness around us, there are ways through these challenges—hopeful glimpses of justice accomplished, suffering ended and Eden restored.

Kent KENT KINGSTON Editor

VOL 134 NO 3 ISSN 1038-9733 EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Brad Kemp EDITOR Kent Kingston ASSISTANT EDITOR Daniel Kuberek COPYEDITOR Tracey Bridcutt GRAPHIC DESIGN Nerise McQuillan Theodora Amuimuia 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, $A26; New Zealand, $NZ26; 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®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc®. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved worldwide. COVER PHOTO: Simon Lister

@Kent_SignsMag MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

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WHAT IN THE WORLD

DON’T CONDONE THE PHONE The Russian Orthodox patriarch has claimed that smartphones are being controlled by an antichrist. Patriarch Kirill warned about the rise of online media, claiming the internet can be used for “universal control over humanity”, and that the “devil acts very wisely”. “You should remain free inside and not fall under any addiction, not to alcohol, not to narcotics, not to gadgets,” he warned.—The Telegraph 4

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

GEOVANNI HERRERA—UNSPLASH, BOSLAND CORP—FLICKR, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, @HAYARPI_3—TWITTER, FREEPIK.COM

FUELLING CONCERNS

Australia’s fuel stockpiles are just above half the minimum legally mandated supply, putting the country at risk in a crisis situation. Currently, onshore storage of crude oil would only last for 56 days if production ceased. The country is obliged to stock at least 90 days worth of crude oil in case of an international disruption to supply.—NewDaily

The world’s

SURFACE TEMPERATURE has RISEN by

0.9 °C

CLIMATE STRANGE 2018 was New Zealand’s secondhottest year on record, according to an annual summary. The country had a mean temperature of 13.41 degrees, 0.8 degrees above average. January 2018 was also the country’s hottest month, averaging at 3.1 degrees above normal. Climate scientists say the changes are indicating significant global warming. “It is very concerning, and politicians are not yet doing anything about it,” said Dr Jim Salinger. New Zealand recorded its hottest ever year in 2016.—NZ Herald

since the 1800s. —NASA

119 BILLION TONNES of ice has been

LOST

from Antarctica between 1993 and 2016.

—NASA

Global sea levels have

RISEN by

7.5 cm in the

PAST DECADE. SANCTUARY

A church in the Netherlands is (at the time of writing) conducting a non-stop church service to protect an Armenian refugee family from deportation. The service has been continuing since October 26, 2018, as Dutch law does not allow for police officers to enter a church during a religious service. Pastors and volunteers have reportedly rostered shifts to continue the service.—CNN

—WCRP Gobal Sea Level Budget Group The World Meteorological

Organisation (UN) says EARTH is up to

80% LIKELY

to face a

CLIMATE-WARMING

El Nino

event by this month. MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

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STOCKTREK IMAGES—GETTY IMAGES

PERFECT STORM

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

Climate change threatens to wipe large swathes of humanity off the map. How do we even make sense of this? And what should we do? BY CLAUDIA HOUSTOUN MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

creep over the coral, its life drained by bleaching. Many of the fish have disappeared. 2017’s mass-bleaching event, the second in two years, affected 93 per cent of Queensland’s reefs. Some areas lost more than half their coral. It’s all been largely caused by a water temperature rise of just 1°C , yet the ocean is predicted to warm another three degrees by 2100. “Coral reefs . . . are threatened with complete collapse under climate change,” warns the International Society for Reef Studies. Climate change is hurting more than the Reef. On land, all of the 10 hottest years on record have occurred recently, between 1999 and now. Drought has become the “new normal” for Australians, but geological evidence shows that lengthy droughts were unprecedented for at least the last 400 years. Decades-long

VELVETFISH, CHUYN—GETTY IMAGES

y 10-year-old lungs gasped a few shallow breaths as we sank down into the ocean. Mum and I were first-time divers at the Great Barrier Reef near Cairns, Queensland. The underwater city of clownfish, delicate pink corals and sleepy, cat-like turtles quickly calmed my nerves, though. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of diving around Australia and been wowed by gentle sharks, kaleidoscopic nudibranchs, giant tree-fan corals and the symbiosis between them all. Reefs are functional, not just beautiful. Globally, they feed the one billion people who rely on fish as their main protein source, many of whom are among the world’s poorest. Reefs also protect coastal cities from storm damage by absorbing wave energy. In the last few years, though, I’ve watched white, bony fringes

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

Devastation after a Florida hurricane. The evidence points to an increase in extreme weather events.

trends show loss of rainfall beyond the natural variation of weather. With current drying trends, parts of Western Australia will lose up to half their seasonal rainfall by the end of this century. Life in rural Australia will not be for the faint-hearted. It’s well-supported that climate change exists and is being caused by human activities. Changes in the atmosphere can be mathematically tracked by measures like atmospheric carbon and temperature, carbon in the layers of sea-ice and global snow cover. This evidence has led to 97 per cent consensus among scientists that climate change is human-caused. This is an encouraging statistic, because it gives us a clear problem to solve. According to the Climate Institute of Australia, 77 per cent of us accept that climate change is

real and most (65 per cent) think we should be a world leader in finding solutions. Yet I look at our engorged consumer lives and wonder: will we actually stop climate change? Many of us have adopted climate friendly technologies like solar- powered homes and energy-smart devices. Various schemes to reduce carbon have been floated, such as the Gillard government’s star-crossed “carbon tax” emissions trading scheme. Greater effort is needed to truly neutralise our carbon emissions, though. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified that, to minimise the worst effects, we need an annual emissions reduction of 4.9 per cent per year between now and 2050. Instead, emissions have steadily grown by 2 per cent almost every MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

downsize my car, cycle to work, eat local food and buy fewer consumer goods. Other things would be more inconvenient: climate activism would cost time, and I’d have to seriously reconsider travelling overseas. Yet, these first-world problems are trivial compared to those faced by poorer people already dealing with climate change. Some Pacific island nations’ land is being swallowed by the Pacific Ocean. Kiribati has an average elevation of two metres above sea level and its leaders are seeking agreements with larger nations to accept their citizens when the time comes. According to community leader Eria Maerere: “[The sea] comes in . . . it reaches the unreached spots. Who causes it? Our brothers and sisters in the big countries. I’m asking God to work with the big

HADYNYAH—GETTY IMAGES

year for the past few decades. Overall, our attempts to decouple emissions from economic growth have not worked. Economist Tim Jackson calculates that, at current rates, combined population and economic growth will lead to a global emission increase of 80 per cent between 2009 and 2050! He says in Prosperity without Growth that “. . . by 2050, the carbon content of each dollar has to be . . . 130 times lower than today.” In a world of constant emissions growth, can any amount of technology and re-forestation achieve this colossal reduction? In our fractured world, will we find the political will for the coordinated, global action that it will require? It seems obvious that we’re unlikely to stop climate change. The land and sea are melting. Blissful ignorance seems the preferred choice. I am one person, of relatively limited means and influence. I could ride a bike to work and convince a few others to do the same, but these small gains seem laughable. In the coming decades, wealth and competent governance will probably shelter me from severe, climate-induced discomforts like food scarcity, coastal inundation and freak weather catastrophes. A few good decades is just enough time to buy ignorance, if I want it. But, alternatively, what would I have to change about my lifestyle to meaningfully address climate change? Some things are obvious:

Fetching water in Rajasthan, India. The UN estimates that, if climate change continues at its current rate, water scarcity will displace up to 700 million people by 2030.

countries to show mercy to us . . .” Famously, in 1995, half a million Bangladeshi people became homeless when the river delta rose and covered more than half of their home island of Bhola. Bangladesh could have as many as 20 million such climate refugees by 2050 if trends continue. Their pain seems remote from ours, immense and incomprehensible. Ironically, the people losing the most to climate change are the ones contributing the least to it. The average developing-world lifestyle is much more eco-friendly than mine, with locally-grown food, sporadic access to electricity and no personal car. It is supremely unethical to continue my comparatively luxurious lifestyle as-is and wilfully forget that others pay for it. Climate change presents a suite of

challenges that seem insurmountable. It’s a perfect storm. Our reefs and oceans are collapsing; land is becoming dry and disaster-prone. This will cost the livelihoods of millions, make life difficult for the remainder and potentially cause wars. For Bible-readers, this calamity shouldn’t be a surprise. Jesus explained that if He wasn’t going to return, “no one would survive” the disaster-ridden last days of Earth (Matthew 24:22). This foreknowledge shouldn’t allow us to breathe easy and trash the planet while we wait. God warns that He will “destroy those who destroy the Earth” (Revelation 11:18)—a tough response, for sure, but a fair one. Climate change unfairly affects the poor. If I’m wealthy and I consider myself a Christian, I am called to actively improve the lives of the disadvantaged: “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” (1 John 3:17). In the 21st century, this surely includes trying our best to alleviate the impacts of climate change on others. On a drying planet, “I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink” (Matthew 25:35) has the ring of relevance. Perhaps cycling to work isn’t so laughable, after all. Claudia Houstoun is a secondary English teacher in Brisbane. She is an avid reef diver and amateur naturalist. Visit the online version of this article to see the author’s sources: <signsofthetimes.org.au>. MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

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STREET SIGNS “In here [Australia], the sun is really hard for our skin. If you sit for one or two hours, you can burn your skin. I’m from Sao Paolo [in Brazil]. In Australia it’s an amazing country . . . but the weather in summer is really dangerous. In Brazil it’s not like here, you can stay for a long time on the beach and you have a good tan.”—Meinon

“I would like to say ‘definitely yes, climate change is going to kill us all’. Or ‘it’s hogwash’. I don’t know who to believe. It makes you even more cynical about politicians and people in power, they’ve got agendas to follow. . . . I’ve worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 35 years, so I know how people can skew things in their favour.”—David

“I think [my kids] are so much more aware and grow up being educated about it. Whereas my generation certainly weren’t. . . . My parents are in their seventies and they certainly don’t believe that climate change is real. . . . Perhaps that generation is looking for excuses why weather patterns are changing. The younger generations are taking a bit more responsibility.”—Sue 12

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

CLIMATE CHANGE: Myth or fact? “Back in the day when I was a kid [in the Netherlands] we would have snow in November/December and we would go ice skating. And now the seasons have changed. So we still have snow but it’s in February/March. And the same is for the summer holidays, because for us that’s in June/July. We would have really good weather but now it’s changed . . . the good weather comes around in August/ September.”—Stephanie

“I found that climate change has always happened for probably millennia from what I’ve been learning on YouTube. But I would say that pollution has contributed. . . . Whilst climate change would have happened anyway . . . people [have] started to wake up and realise we have to do something about our pollution. We’re killing off the earth, we’re killing off the oceans. What are we leaving to our next generations?”—Rita MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

IMAGES BY DANIEL KUBEREK

“I think I’m only worried because there are animals that need to be helped. Polar bears, they’re struggling because ice is melting rapidly. So their habitat is slowly going. It’s scary because water levels are going to rise.”—Jade

ELL B EING

BREAKING THROUGH FATHERHOOD AFTER SEPARATION

A marital breakup is hard on kids—and parents. What can dads do to ensure they continue to be a positive influence?

DGLIMAGES—GETTY IMAGES

BY PATRICK O’NEILL

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

You say mum’s standing in the way And all she wants is for you to pay. Maybe that’s true, But what can I do? I’m your daughter, And you’re supposed to be my father. ~from“Daddy Why” by Heidi A Hopson

our children need you. Never give up on them. Do everything you can to be significantly involved in their lives in a healthy and loving relationship, even if your marriage is over. And never ever disrespect the mother in front of the children—she is half their DNA. There is nothing the child can do about that. Sadly, parental conflict is a negative predictor of child wellbeing. Statistics reported in the UK’s Daily Mail in 2013 make interesting reading about parents’ perceptions versus children’s perceptions. In answer to a survey asking divorced families how they’d fared, 75 per cent of the parents stated that their children coped. But 72 per cent of the children stated they did not cope at all. It was revealing that while 35 per cent of children said one parent had tried to turn the child against the other parent, only 8 per cent of parents admitted that they’d done so. Sadly, 25 per cent of the children surveyed stated they had not seen their father since the separation. I see so many tragic stories of kids separated from parents. However the

custodial parent must realise that it’s always the children who suffer. The poem (left) is just an example. In Australia, Parliament tried to alter this situation legally, ruling that the court must apply a presumption that it is in the child’s best interests to have a relationship with both parents, except in circumstances where there has been sexual abuse or violence. The idea was to encourage parents to co-operate in child-rearing in the hope that this would lead to less acrimonious disputes, which are spiritually and financially costly for all parties and affect a child’s right to know and love both Mum and Dad.

what’s so special about dads?

A father’s involvement, long term, in children’s lives is significant. Through my many years fostering children as well as my studies in psychology, I’ve come to believe that, as mothers are significant in their child’s lives through nurture, a father’s significance is through autonomy and competence. Let’s take a look at some of the research in psychology and family studies that suggests why this is the case. DADS GET ROUGH

Canadian psychologist Daniel Paquette proposed in an article on rough-and-tumble play that fathers have a tendency to excite, surprise and momentarily destabilise children. Fathers also tend to encourage children to take risks, while at the same time ensuring their safety. This MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

DADS LOVE DAUGHTERS

Studies show that a daughter’s perception of her father’s unconditional regard is significantly related to her self-esteem, whereas her mother’s unconditional regard is only weakly related to self-esteem. A likely reason for this is that self-esteem is built on autonomy and not on nurture. So for a daughter to have a significant self-esteem she should have regular and meaningful contact with her father. Some experts reason that this only needs to be a significant male presence. However, family researcher Sandra Hofferth’s findings suggest that biological fathers tend to be warmer and to monitor their children more carefully than stepfathers or mothers’ boyfriends, 16

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

with stepfathers tending to be more authoritarian, and boyfriends more permissive. (And then there are the sobering statistics highlighting the increased risk of child abuse perpetrated by stepfathers/boyfriends in comparison to biological fathers.) There are also differences in the way daughters are affected by the loss of a father as opposed to sons. An interesting point is that girls are more likely to blame themselves for their parents’ problems. Girls are often particularly encouraged to maintain a close connection with family, whereas boys receive praise for being autonomous and establishing their own identities. It stands to reason that girls—who have emotionally invested in the life of the family—will be particularly crushed by a parental breakup. Child psychologist Ross Parke observed in 2002 that girls growing up in homes from which the father is absent display internalising behaviours—depression, withdrawal, anxiety and loneliness. Boys struggle too, of course, but their behaviours tend to be more externalised.

dads hurt too

There is also a danger for fathers in being separated from their children. They often experience continued conflict with their exspouse, which produces psychological distress, and, too often, eventual disengagement from their children. In Dunedin, New Zealand, a poverty study by psychologist Phil Silva showed that young men who experi-

DGLIMAGES—GETTY IMAGES

permits children to learn to be braver in unfamiliar situations, as well as to stand up for themselves. This is in contrast to the mother-child attachment relationship, which is aimed at calming and comforting children in times of stress. Also to be considered is that father-child rough-and-tumble play encourages obedience and the development of competition skills in children. Obedience extends a child’s capability to be autonomous safely. “Safely” can even extend to matters of life and death. Educational psychologist Jonathan Butner concluded in a study of diabetic children that a biological father is more likely than a mother to help a child develop confidence and competence in self-administering insulin.

“

Fathers excite, surprise and momentarily destabilise children . . .

enced a stressful upbringing and had a history of conduct problems were more likely to become fathers at an early age but spend less time living with their children. Young fathers who lived apart from their children reported the most social and psychological difficulties as they confronted the challenges of adulthood.

the take-home message

A lot of these studies point in the same direction: fathers are particularly equipped to teach their children to make independent decisions—autonomy and competence. I would suggest that the best methodology would be to teach the child using small steps. Teach them about finance and values, as this prepares them for a bigger world.

Unfortunately in today’s society most millennials state that their greatest influences come through their peer group rather than their parents. However studies still insist that Mum’s nurture and Dad’s competence training are still extremely significant long term. If you are estranged from your children take a risk and do everything you can within the law to get in touch with them. They need you. It may take many attempts, but they will appreciate that you tried. Patrick O’Neill has fathered six of his own kids, two step-kids and more than 30 foster children. He has qualifications in psychology and business management and lives on NSW’s Central Coast.

MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

ELL B EING

The tasty,

healthy and

cheap

Mediterranean diet

It’s the only culinary tradition included as part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

SOLSTOCK—GETTY IMAGES

BY NATALIE PARLETTA

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

hinking of Mediterranean food tends to conjure up images of pizza, pasta and lamb on a spit. But the traditional diet, extolled for its bountiful health benefits, is actually far more colourful. With roots in provincial Mediterranean villages, this “peasant food” is tasty, diverse and simple. It can also be deceptively cheap. In fact, a healthy Mediterranean-style diet is more affordable than the typical Australian or New Zealand diet. Embracing this nourishing, palatable diet can help ward off heart disease, diabetes, cancer and fatty liver. It might even delay Alzheimer’s and alleviate depression. And it is more effective and sustainable for shedding weight than a low-fat diet. In May 2018, University of South Australia researcher Karen Murphy and I published our study showing people of all ages and cooking abilities can easily adopt and enjoy Mediterranean dishes. In another Adelaide study, our team of researchers found participants had greater confidence to come up with healthy meals using simple ingredients such as beans, lentils and steamed vegetables. What foods make up the Mediterranean diet? Core foods include vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts, seeds and wholegrains. Extra virgin olive oil—dating back to 5000 BC and considered “a gift of the gods”—is used generously. The diet includes moderate amounts of fish and fermented dairy (such as yoghurt and cheese). It is low in processed foods, meat and confectionery. MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

basic tips

Stock up on extra virgin olive oil. Packed with health-giving polyphenols, it can be used for everything, even frying. Be sure to buy the freshest oil possible by noting the “harvested on” instead of “best before” date, and always store it in a cool, dark place. Fill your pantry with Mediterranean essentials, including: * Tinned legumes (lentils, chickpeas and beans). They don’t expire and are fabulous for creating quick, healthy, tasty meals * Dried red lentils—yummy and fast-cooking * Dried brown lentils—cheap and versatile * Dried soup mix * Tinned or pureed tomatoes * Canned tuna * Herbs and spices * Mixed nuts for snacks

weekly groceries

* Onion, garlic, carrot, zucchini and celery will form a basis for just about any meal * Seasonal fruit and vegetables * Summer salad to eat with meals: lettuce, tomato, cucumber; other ingredients as desired. Chop and add extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and salt * Winter delights: green beans, cauliflower, broccoli and/or zucchini. Steam, drizzle with 20

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt; add a halved garlic clove. Serve on the side * Buy bulk fruit in season, chop and stew in water then freeze in batches; eat with porridge/cereal or plain yoghurt for dessert * Cook meals in bulk and enjoy as leftovers or freeze for emergencies * Unless you have high blood pressure and eat lots of salt already, you can add some salt for flavour

Try these meals

Ingredients: extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, 1 tablespoon paprika, dried/fresh chilli, carrot, zucchini, red capsicum, canned kidney beans, canned borlotti beans, salt, pepper. Chop or dice vegetables. Lightly fry onion in the oil; add garlic, paprika, chilli and carrot and saute for 2–3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil then simmer for 10–15 minutes. Serve with rice, avocado and salad or tacos, cheese, tomato and lettuce.

MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

OKSANAKIIAN, THECRIMSONMONKEY—GETTY IMAGES

chilli beans:

greek lentil soup:

Ingredients: extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, 1½ cups dried brown lentils, carrot, zucchini, tinned diced tomatoes, baby spinach, vinegar, pinch oregano, 2 bay leaves, salt, pepper. Boil lentils in water for 10 minutes, then drain. Saute diced onion, garlic and carrot in the olive oil. Add lentils and 1½ litres water. Bring to boil, add all ingredients except spinach and vinegar. Cook for 30–40 minutes, add remaining ingredients. Cook for five more minutes and serve.

eggplant parmigiana:

Ingredients: extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, tinned diced tomatoes, carrot, celery, eggplant, parmesan cheese, grated mozzarella, salt, pepper. Saute chopped onion and garlic in olive oil. Add tomatoes, grated carrot, the celery stick whole, and a cup of water; season. Bring to boil and simmer for 30–60 minutes. Preheat oven (200 degrees). Slice eggplant into one centimetre thick pieces, brush with olive oil and bake 20–30 minutes until brown and soft. Create two layers of eggplant, sauce, parmesan and mozzarella in a baking dish. Bake until cheese is melted. Serve with salad.

Using these basic principles, experiment with simple recipe ideas: chickpea eggplant casserole, minestrone, pita pizza with salad, cannellini beans with garlic and spinach or red lentil soup with carrot and zucchini. Dr Natalie Parletta is a researcher at the University of South Australia. With qualifications in both dietetics and psychology, she specialises in exploring the links between nutrition and mental health. This article first appeared in thenewdaily.com and is used with permission.

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

HAOLIANG, BHOFACK2—GETTY IMAGES

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FA IT H

THE JESUS PARADOX There’s something deeply compelling in the courage of an apparently powerless person. Understanding this soul-response involves a journey to a hill crowned by a cross.

t 15 years old she was shot in the face by a terrorist and survived. But that’s not why Malala Yousafzai is admired around the world. And that’s not why, at 17, she was the youngest person ever to

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. Malala first came to prominence as an 11-year-old anonymous BBC blogger, reporting on events while her home region, Pakistan’s Swat Valley, came under the control of the

LILIBOAS—GETTY IMAGES

BY KENT KINGSTON

Taliban in 2009. She expressed her displeasure with the Taliban as they moved to close girls’ schools. Even when the extremists had been pushed back, the crisis had passed and her identity was revealed, Malala,

using the toehold of publicity she’d been given, continued to advocate for girls’ education—strongly and publicly. Here was a child in a Muslim headscarf—just one voice among the MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

subcontinent’s overlooked 1.7 billion people. Her very powerlessness underlined her courage—she was impossible to ignore. And when in 2012 she survived a Taliban assassination attempt—the bullet passing through the left side of her face and neck, lodging in her shoulder—it was as if the world had been granted a miracle. The media went nuts and, after her recovery, the unflinching Malala’s opportunities to share her passion for girls’ education increased astronomically.

God’s upside-down kingdom

Why is it that while politicians and pundits strut the world stage, hogging the mic and beating their chests, many of us find more moral authority in the simple pleadings of a Pakistani schoolgirl? I call it the Jesus Paradox, because in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ we find perhaps the clearest evidence of God’s upside-down kingdom: where the weak are strong, the poor are rich and the meek inherit the earth. It’s a kingdom that’s not yet fully established, but the tantalising glimpses I’ve seen are enough to make me want more. It begins with Christmas. The great God of the universe, Creator of heaven and earth, sheds His glory and is born as a squalling infant surrounded by itchy hay and the waft of goat dung. The political and religious elites miss it totally, except for one paranoid powermonger with murder on his mind. Jesus becomes a child refugee as His parents dodge the authorities and carry Him across the border into Egypt. Back in Israel, some years later, Jesus grows up the Son of a tradesman in a rural village. No grammar school, no university education, no old-boys network. His hands are rough, His face is weathered and His northern accent brands 26

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, GOODSALT

Him a yokel the instant He opens His mouth. But when He does open His mouth—wow. He doesn’t bother citing the opinions of the so-called experts; He doesn’t dance around factional debates. Instead He cuts to the heart of the matter. He’s a preacher who takes His message straight from the Bible and applies it practically and immediately. This is what Scripture says; now go ahead and live it. The Jesus Paradox comes across clearly in His often-quoted and rarely obeyed Sermon on the Mount, recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5–7. “Blessed are you when people insult you. . . . If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. . . . love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you . . .” Again and again, Jesus turned conventional expectations on their head, pointing to a deeper morality

and a deeper reality. And He didn’t just theorise about this new way, He lived it. He befriended both religious elites and social outcasts; His followers were drawn from groups bitterly opposed to one another; He muddied His reputation by reaching out to prostitutes, partying with corrupt officials, touching contagious lepers, and praising foreigners, despite His fiercely nationalistic culture. But it was when He faced arrest and execution that the Jesus Paradox was tested to the utmost. As the club-waving mob surged towards Him and one of His followers slashed with a sword in self-defence, Jesus stopped him: “‘Put your sword back in its place,’ Jesus said to him, ‘for all who draw the sword will die by the sword’” (Matthew 26:52). Jesus was silent for much of the criminal trial during which His legal rights were trampled and His body abused (see Matthew 26, 27). And MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

when nailed through the hands and feet to a wooden cross, He did not protest His innocence, but prayed for His persecutors: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). This was the apparently powerless Son of God. Dangling helpless and naked between the earth and sky. His fate was prophesied centuries earlier: “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4,5). This is the crux of the Jesus Paradox. Through some mysterious law of cosmic justice, Jesus was able to absorb humanity’s guilt and shame into Himself—our “sin”, “bad karma” or whatever terminology you prefer—and exchange it for our wholeness, peace and healing. When He was at His weakest, He put into effect the most powerful transformation imaginable. The apostle Paul summarised it neatly: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Roman 6:23, NLT*).

but is it true?

The most powerful evidence that Jesus achieved this miraculous exchange through His death is the 28

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fact that He didn’t remain in the grave. Recent-ish limited release movies Risen (2016) and The Case for Christ (2017) highlight the logical and historical difficulties involved in simply dismissing the story of Jesus’ resurrection as a religious myth. It makes little sense that so many of His earliest followers—those closest to the actual events; those who were later persecuted for their faith—would embrace torture and execution rather than deny Jesus’ resurrection, unless they completely believed it to be true. The other evidence is the presence of the Jesus Paradox today. In a world that proclaims “might is right” and “survival of the fittest”, somehow lives like Malala Yousafzai’s continue to hint at another reality. The surprising success of non-violent activists and humanitarians—Mohandas Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Teresa of Kolkata—demonstrates the transformative power of Jesus’ way. And then there are our stories. It seems we cannot look away from the hero who risks all in order to achieve a higher purpose. Consider any number of superhero or action movies—their lead characters run into burning buildings, brave radiation chambers, remain at the controls of doomed spacecraft . . . all for the sake of their family, their friends, their nation or their planet. Triumph through sacrifice is a theme that strikes a chord and finds an answering resonance within each of us.

“

a humble person is a person aware of their need . . .

CECILIE_ARCURS—GETTY IMAGES

what now?

But recognising the evidence of the Jesus Paradox at work in the world is one thing; making it a reality in our own lives is another. How do we approach our most obnoxious relatives or co-workers with an attitude of service rather than defensiveness? How do we conduct business deals, vote in elections, follow our sports team, participate in our community, in ways that place others at the centre rather than our own self-interest? If it worries you that you’re intimidated by the powerful, repulsed by the disadvantaged, or overwhelmed by the needs and injustices of the world, you’re in the right starting

place. “For when I am weak, then I am strong,” said the apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 12:10). A realisation of our weakness is the door to humility. And a humble person is a person aware of their need for God’s transforming power. Accepting the gift of Jesus’ death and resurrection for yourself is the first step towards a new life where His strength takes the place of your weakness. It will take courage. It will take sacrifice. But He’s the only way. Kent Kingston lives in NSW’s Lake Macquarie region with his wife and adult sons. He is editor of Signs of the Times. * Bible verses marked NLT are from the New Living Translation, copyright © 2015 by Tyndale House. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

ELL B EING

GO HEALTHY for good WITH

DR NERIDA MCKIBBEN

HEALTHY HEART

BABY BEWARE!

Colorado was one of the first US states to legalise recreational marijuana. Local researchers wanted to assess the effectiveness of public service announcements and package warnings. They phoned 400 marijuana outlets asking if they had any recommendations for a pregnant woman with morning sickness. A surprising 7 out of 10 vendors recommended cannabis, despite there being no safe level of marijuana use in pregnancy and warning labels that say the opposite!—Denver Post 30

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EAT EARLIER

A study of more than 12,000 adults found those who consumed at least 30 per cent of their daily calories after 6 pm had 25 per cent higher odds of hypertension and 20 per cent higher odds of prediabetes than those consuming fewer calories at night.—MedPage Today

JACKMAC34, REXMEDLEN—PIXABAY, PEOPLEIMAGES, TRAVELIVING, PETAR CHERNAEV—GETTY IMAGES, FREESTOCKS ORG—UNSPLASH

One serve of broccoli or a handful of berries each day may help protect against heart disease. That’s all it takes to get enough of the anti-inflammatory phytochemicals called flavonoids found in many fruits and veggies. University of Western Australia researchers analysed data from a large Danish study and found individuals consuming at least 500mg of flavonoids per day had lower rates of cardiovascular disease. Smokers and drinkers got the most benefit, but needed more than 500mg a day to maximise the effect.—Live Science

STAYING STRONG

A heart-healthy Mediterranean diet appears to be good for bones and muscles. Researchers from Brazil conducted bone scans of 103 healthy postmenopausal women (average age 55). Subjects completed a food questionnaire about what they had eaten in the past month. Those eating a Mediterranean-style diet had stronger bones and more muscle mass than those who did not.—Science Daily

PLANT POWER! A plant-based diet may help boost the physical and the mental health of people with type 2 diabetes. Data combined from 11 different clinical trials showed that diabetics who switched to a plant-based diet tended to have better blood sugar, blood fat and cholesterol levels. They experienced significant relief from diabetes-related nerve pain. In half of the studies, patients were able to reduce or stop medications, their mood lifted, depression subsided and overall quality of life improved.—BMJ

ADDICTION AFFLICTION

It’s not so much the pain as the dose of opioid pills prescribed after surgery that is the strongest predictor of prolonged opioid use, according to two recent studies. Pain scores were also predictive, but to a lesser extent. In the context of acute pain, those still using opiates after the first month were 30 per cent more likely to still be using them a year later.—JAMA/CDC Dr Nerida McKibben, a New Zealand obstetrician, gynaecological surgeon amd health communicator, passionately enables people to achieve their greatest health potential. Wanting everyone to live life to the fullest, she integrates wholistic principles into medical treatments and procedures. For more, go to www.hop.ec/gohealthyforgood MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

R RENT

MAKE SURE SOME PATHS ARE DIRT

Simon Lister is an avid motorcycle tourer and a keen photographer. But it was only when UNICEF asked for his help that he was faced with the harsh realities of life. SUPPLIED

BY DANIEL KUBEREK

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MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

e leans in, eyes burning with passion as he recounts his experiences. I’m having lunch with Simon Lister, a photographer for UNICEF. His job sounds so simple—the press of a button on a camera releases a shutter and lets in light, forever preserving an image. That same action can now be performed by anyone on the planet with even the humblest smartphone. Lister is well connected— Liam Neeson, Jackie Chan and Millie Bobby Brown have all been involved in his UNICEF projects. In his “day job” he runs Nylon Studios—a Sydney/Melbourne/New York soundtrack and music composition outfit. But what defines Lister isn’t a whole host of powerful friends, it’s how he uses a camera—an intricate mechanical system—to capture moments and share his experiences with the world. His journey started with a passion for motorbikes. Lister was born and raised in New Zealand, forging a career in the sound industry with some of the country’s top studios. Photography was just a hobby in the background. “My dad was into photography and filming and he had cool cameras and I used to pick them up occasionally,” he tells me. But Lister soon found that it’s not what you have, but how you use it.

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SUPPLIED

A yearning desire for adventure eventually led him to take a risk and travel halfway around the world to ride motorbikes. “I got to a point [with] work where I was making okay money, and it was allowing me to go off on trips for myself . . . I wanted to ride motorbikes and take photographs and do something with my hobbies.” His passion for motorbikes came from growing up on a farm until 11 years of age. Those early experiences came in handy as he began exploring regions like India’s Rajasthan and the Himalayas on two wheels. As Lister’s trips and photography became more frequent, he caught the attention of large charity organisations, including World Vision. It was then that he was confronted with the uncomfortable—extreme poverty, hunger and death. “I went to Bangladesh; I went to do stories with World Vision. . . . The [AIDS] outbreak had just happened and not many people even knew what was going on,” he recounts as he looks away in deep thought. “How do you deal with those things? Either you shut your eyes and close yourself up and walk away, or you walk on. And you immerse yourself in there more, because your heart tells you why. [The people there have] still got hearts; they’ve still got love and compassion.” It was in the midst of squalor and suffering that Lister found his

passion for portrait photography of children. The dynamics of his interactions with them were completely different than in Western countries. “There were so many people, and so many kids who would come up to you and hang out,” he tells me with a nostalgic grin. “It was a bit weird. They almost wanted their photos taken, especially the kids. You show them on the camera, and they get all excited.” Lister had no prior training in photography, only an eye for detail. He soon found a style that brought attention to his subjects. “The main focus for me is to look into the eye—the eye staring straight back. Getting into the soul of the other person.” His photos soon caught the attention of others, and he found himself working for UNICEF as a photographer. One of his projects involved heading back to Bangladesh and capturing photographs with Hollywood leading man, Orlando Bloom. Together they witnessed kids living in slums, gathering rubbish from garbage dumps to earn a living and working in toxic balloon and aluminium factories. Both Lister and Bloom were horrified, but found solace in spirituality. “He was a bit of a spiritual guy. We talked, and I talked about my faith and my religious views. He was quite open to it.” Faith was already a big part of Lister’s life. Knowing he would be physically and emotionally challenged by what he saw, he made MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

School is an optional extra when your next meal depends on what you find at the garbage dump.

sure that God was an integral part of his routine before he left for a trip. “I prepare myself either through prayer or just conditioning myself before the trip literally a month or two beforehand,” he tells me. The reality of helplessness often crashed in on Lister. Unable to provide an immediate solution for the children, he realised that their lives were part of an impoverished system. “When you’re there you just can’t take the children out of that situation straight away, and just expect them to go to school. They’ve still got to eat that night. . . . But what UNICEF was doing—which was really cool—is the [kids would] go and work for 3–4 hours, then they’d go for education for 3–4 hours, then 36

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Simon Lister partnered with actor Orlando Bloom to shed light on the issue of child labour and UNICEF’s interventions.

SUPPLIED

they’d go back to work.” Lister’s images have already raised incredible awareness, being featured in places like Times Square and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The film made during his Bangladesh trip has been screened by UNICEF all over the globe, and his adventure with Orlando Bloom was also documented in a National Geographic “Tales by Light” episode. There’s no doubting the power of images; changing the world by bringing the faces and stories of children into people’s living rooms. But to change the world, Lister first has a simple piece of advice: “As long as you feel safe about making that decision, and you feel told by God, you know, ‘go and do it’ and it’s in your heart and you feel ‘yes, this is definitely what I want to do.’ Absolutely. Take a risk.”

There are children, but no party atmosphere, in Bangladesh’s balloon factories.

Lister has adopted conservationist John Muir’s motto as his own: “Of all paths you choose in life, make sure some of them are dirt.” Daniel Kuberek is assistant editor of Signs of the Times. You can see more of Lister’s photos at the online version of this article: signsofthetimes.org.au.

It’s not much of a childhood, making and polishing aluminium bowls. These boys are exposed daily to a dirty, dangerous and possibly toxic work environment. MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

FA IT H

GETTING ALONG LIKE A HOUSE ON FIRE

Jesus prayed that His followers would have true unity. BY BJORN KARLMAN

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DIGITALHALLWAY—GETTY IMAGES

had never been more terrified in my life. It was about four in the morning in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and my two roommates and I had just realised that our apartment building was on fire. Even worse, the fire was several floors below us, cutting off our escape route to the street below. Thick, dark smoke engulfed the building and as I struggled to breathe I wondered if this was how it was all going to end. “I’m going to try climbing the cables,” announced DJ, the most adventurous (read: crazy) of our trio, as we leaned out of our 13th-floor window, gasping for fresh air. He clambered out, grabbed some TV cables attached to the side of the building, and slowly climbed up and out of sight. “You can breathe up here!” yelled DJ from the rooftop, urging my other roommate, Mike, and I to follow his risky move. Faced with the alternatives of dying from smoke inhalation or the fire itself reaching us, Mike and I decided to climb. Mike went first and I followed, petrified that I had just added falling thirteen floors to the ways I could die that morning. Desperate to survive, I climbed the cables like a child climbing a playground rope and finally made it onto an air conditioning unit that was jutting out from the wall. From there, my roommates were able to pull me to safety. Once all three of us were on the roof, we were directed by a rescuer to an adjoining building where we could escape down to the street and into a waiting ambulance. MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

“

That near-death experience changed my relationship with my two roommates completely. We had survived the fire together and differences and disagreements that loomed large before we almost died, now seemed insignificant. The trauma of the fire put everything else into perspective. Sharing that mission of survival created a bond that my roommates and I will have for life.

shared mission

A focus on shared mission brings unity in more situations than fire survival. In Matthew 28:19, 20, Jesus calls on those who believe in Him to share the good news of a relationship with Him by making “disciples of all nations”. When we truly make this task a priority, differences recede from the forefront and we are able to focus on what needs to be done instead of on the ways we may disagree or clash. In John 17, on the night before 40

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His crucifixion, Jesus prayed for unity among believers. He prayed first for unity among His disciples and then for unity among future believers—“those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me” (verses 20, 21). This kind of cohesion among believers was so important to Jesus that He took the time to pray for unity mere hours before He died; it’s a clear indicator that we also should make it a priority. If we don’t prioritise this bond among believers and instead try to go it alone, we are missing the point.

REISEGRAF—GETTY IMAGES

Sharing that mission of survival created a bond . . .

the truck free. The volunteers, working as a team, had together accomplished what would have been impossible for even the most strong-willed and disciplined individual on his or her own. No amount of stomping on the accelerator on the part of the driver would have fixed this problem. The strongest person in the crowd could not have saved the day by pushing the truck from behind. What was needed was a group of people, in sync, to generate enough momentum to clear the vehicle.

unity in diversity

spinning wheels

The truck was stuck in deep mud and no matter how much the driver accelerated, he was literally spinning his wheels. Some fellow students and I were on a dirt road in a rural part of the Philippines and the chances of finding towing services for the truck anytime soon were slim. As a crowd gathered around the stranded vehicle, two teams of volunteers assembled, one on each side of the truck. What happened next was nothing short of amazing. The teams started rocking the truck from side to side, gradually growing in momentum until the stuck side of the vehicle lifted out of the mud long enough for the tyres on the other side to get enough traction to pull

Often, we as humans claim that our differences are what prevent us from working together and getting the job done. And yet the Bible talks about believers, as vastly different as they are, being members of one body: the body of Christ. Despite the diversity in form and function that differentiates body parts from each other, 1 Corinthians 12:21, 22 makes the point, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” What a timely quote! In today’s wildly polarised world where differences of culture, nationality, income and ideology cause deeper and deeper divisions in society at large, even faith communities suffer when differences are allowed to fester and cause division. If we look at those MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

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in Christ Jesus,” says Galatians 3:28 in a beautiful description of how, despite our differences, we can have unity as believers. More than a decade after our escape from the Buenos Aires fire, my friends Mike, DJ and I are still three very different people. Mike, for example, is the only one of us who can dress with any sense of style. DJ is still crazy enough to climb television cables even without a fire, and I have become an amateur expert on fire prevention hacks. But there’s a story of shared mission and narrow escape that unites us. Bjorn Karlman is an Adventist freelance writer who travels the world as a “digital nomad”, living in 2–3 countries per year with his wife and toddler.

RAWPIXEL—GETTY IMAGES

around us who are different and try to drive them out, we are acting as absurdly as an eye saying to a hand, “I don’t need you!” Earlier in verses 18–20, we learn that “God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” In this body of Christ we are all important, we are all needed. We may be different and often those differences can be fairly drastic, but as part of the body of Christ we are called to work together. “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV) What does the life of Jesus mean for your life today? Find out more about Jesus and discover His message for you.

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FA IT H

CONSOLING FAITH

Critics sometimes deride religious faith as a crutch for the weak. They may have a point, but there’s more to the story. BY NATHAN BROWN

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

ALEXEY DS—GETTY IMAGES MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

generally don’t like going to funerals, but they come in many different forms and feels. Some seem sadder than others; some feel more hopeful. But often there’s an unexpected bittersweetness. We are all there because of something good—the life, love and relationship that we are there to remember and honour—that has come to a tragic end, always too soon. With their various cultures and traditions, these gatherings draw on, test and reveal our deepest hopes and fears, doubts and beliefs. Even among those who do not seem to give much thought to faith at other times, such occasions invariably feature some form or fragments of religious faith and, as ill-formed, borrowed or haphazard as it might be, at least a provisional theology of life and death. These are employed for their consolation and the orientation they offer amid an otherwise disorientating event. Yet this is one of the criticisms often levelled at faith in its various forms and practices—that it is a mere consolation. It is dismissed as a crutch for coping with life, its tragedies and its disappointments, particularly for those who are weaker and otherwise ill-equipped for getting by. As such, faith is considered a kind of escapism that encourages a naive and misguided detachment from reality. Rather than stoutly overcoming the setbacks in our lives and the challenges of the real world—so the argument goes—

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faith promotes passivity and urges its adherents to focus on some kind of other realm, altered consciousness or afterlife. There are three equally legitimate responses to such criticisms: yes, no and yes.

the critics are right

First, yes, faith has too often been substituted for action in the face of harsh realities. Like any cliche, there is a truth behind it. Faith has been used as “the opium of the people”— to quote Karl Marx’s infamous line—by those who hold power in various societies. But, at times, faith has also been embraced by the people themselves who have used the consolations of religion as a way of shrugging their shoulders and grimly making the best of the status quo. Faced with the inevitabilities of life, death and all the disappointments, injustices and sorrows in between, faith has been used to normalise tragedy, excuse the inexcusable, cultivate complicity with injustice and adjust our sense of the eternal to the realities of mortality. And if this is all there is to faith, its adherents are rightful objects of criticism and even pity.

no easy road

On the other hand are many people of faith who would argue that their faith is not a retreat from reality, but the catalyst for their fuller involvement with life, with the world and with resisting the seeming

IJEAB—GETTY IMAGES

inevitability of the status quo. As Indian social activist Vandana Shiva has put it, “A spiritual leaning used to mean total inactivity in the world, while activism tended to be associated with violence. But suddenly the only people who seem to have the courage to act are the deeply spiritual—because it’s only those who know there is another world, another dimension, who are not intimidated by the world of organised power.” This is one sense in which it is more correct to say, no, faith is not necessarily a consolation. Faith is not a bubble that insulates us from the world around us; rather, it is a calling that can render life more difficult, less comfortable, even more dan-

gerous. History recounts countless stories of people for whom faith did not make their lives easier, better or more successful. Instead they suffered for their faith, and in pursuit of the vocations and tasks it called them to. Living, acting and speaking against injustice, against the powerful, against the assumptions of the society around us is hard and often thankless work. Many such activists would prefer a quieter life and a less troublesome vocation. But, in this sense, their faith is more conviction than consolation. When confronting personal tragedies and disappointments, the belief that that there is some kind of Power or purpose behind the scenes sometimes raises more questions MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

than it resolves: Why do bad things happen to “good people”? What is the meaning or purpose in apparently senseless tragedy? Why would an ultimate Good allow suffering to continue? Why does following one’s faith so often cost so much? Such questions can compound, rather than relieve, the experiences of sorrow and suffering for those who claim faith.

living well

But then again, yes, faith is a consolation—and a necessary consolation. We should not be ashamed to admit that life is difficult, often tragically so. When we have been to too many funerals, when we face our own mortality, when we experience our own pain and sorrow, when we see and feel the suffering and brokenness in our world, even our disappointment, fear, frustration and anger prompt us to look outside ourselves. We seek meaning, grasp for hope and yearn for something more. So many people have found these necessities—these consolations—in faith. As human beings who feel pain, suffer injustice and need hope, we do not need to apologise for consoling faith. It is a way of living meaningfully amid life’s tragedies and disappointments. On those bittersweet days when we bury those we love and stare down mortality, faith can help us do it well and draw us together as we do. Nathan Brown is a book editor for Signs Publishing in Warburton, Victoria. 48

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THREE CHRISTIANS

whose faith motivated them to

make a difference

In 1994, American Carl Wilkens, director of an Adventist aid agency in Rwanda, stayed behind while other expats were fleeing genocidal attacks that killed up to one million people. Wilkens helped prevent more than 400 people being massacred.

Social worker Leymah Gbowee led a united Christian and Muslim women’s prayer and peace movement that was instrumental in ending Liberia’s civil war in 2003. She shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.

One of Australia’s Top-10 richest people, former mining CEO Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest now focuses on philanthropic projects aimed at helping Indigenous people and stopping modern slavery around the world. He has pledged to donate the majority of his wealth during his lifetime.

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ELL B EING

NATURAL WAYS TO REDUCE INFLAMMATION There are two types of inflammation—one can heal, one can kill.

nflammation is one of your body’s natural defence mechanisms. It helps you to heal and is a vital tool for a healthy immune system. When you stub your toe or cut yourself, your immune system jumps into action. Extra white blood cells are sent to the injured area to surround and protect it. A similar thing happens when you have a cold or virus. Your white blood cells protect and repair your body, so you can bounce back to better health. This is called acute inflammation. It’s a rapid response from your body that lasts a relatively short amount of time and is an important part of staying healthy. There is also chronic inflam mation—this type of inflammation can lead to health problems. Chronic inflammation is your body’s response to exposure to unwanted invaders like cigarette

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

smoke or even stress. Chronic inflammation is constant, low-level inflammation that can increase with age and also if you’re carrying extra weight. It has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, depression, Alzheimer’s disease and even cancer. In some situations, the immune system goes haywire and produces chronic inflammation without any obvious trigger. This is the case with auto-immune diseases like inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis. So what can you do to reduce chronic inflammation in your body? While certain things in our environment can increase inflammation, others can work as natural anti-inflammatories for the body. Why not try some of our natural tips to reduce inflammation?

WARRENGOLDSWAIN—ADVENTIST MEDIA

BY SANITARIUM HEALTH & WELLBEING

TRY THESE TIPS EAT MORE PLANTS. Pack your plate with a wide range of different-coloured fruits and vegetables, prioritising plant proteins like legumes, nuts and seeds. SWITCH TO WHOLEGRAINS. Try to cut out as many refined carbohydrates as possible, like white bread, white rice and highly processed baked goods. Whenever possible, switch to wholegrain instead. SPICE IT UP. Flavour food with plenty of herbs and spices like turmeric, garlic and ginger. GET BALANCED. When you get stressed, your body tries to fight it like an infection. If stress is a constant part of your life, the inflammation could be constant too. It’s important to find time to relax, get some balance back and discover the best stress-management tactics for you.

Article courtesy of Sanitarium Health & Wellbeing. Visit sanitarium.com. au or sanitarium.co.nz and subscribe to Wholicious living for more great health and nutrition info each month. MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

R E CI P E

Roast vegetable tart

This recipe is great served either hot or cold, and makes a tasty picnic dish. PREP TIME: 25 mins COOKING TIME: 40 mins SERVES: 6 INGREDIENTS

1 red onion, sliced 2 zucchini (courgette), sliced 2 medium sweet potatoes (kumara), peeled and sliced 6 small tomatoes, quartered 1 red capsicum, halved and sliced 2 tbs olive oil 2 sheets shortcrust canola pastry, reduced fat 70g feta, crumbled 1 tbs basil

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. 2. Place vegetables on roasting tray, brush with olive oil and bake in oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until tender. 3. Line a rectangular flan tin with the pastry. Press pastry into corners and then trim overhanging pastry. Prick the base and bake blind (see Hint) for about 10 minutes. 4. Add vegetables to the pastry base, crumble feta over the top and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until pastry is lightly browned.

Recipe courtesy of Sanitarium Health & Wellbeing. Visit sanitarium.com.au or sanitarium.co.nz and subscribe to Recipe of the Week for a delicious plant-powered recipe in your inbox each week. 52

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

HINT:

ke, place To blind ba in a baking ry st pa e th ng en put baki ic dish and th ter ceram at Sc p. to paper on —eg, ied legumes n beads or dr gh dow ei w to s— chickpea r, then baking pape t 10 ou ab r fo bake minutes.

Nutrition Information PER SERVE: Energy 2030 kJ; 485 Cal; Protein 12g; Fat 21g; Saturated fat 8g; Carbohydrate 58g; Sugars 19g; Fibre 8.3g; Sodium 497mg; Potassium 928mg; Calcium 112mg; Iron 1.8mg.

MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

RE VIE W

The surprising truth about our cultural foundations

AUSTRALIA & the Bible 54

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THPSTOCK—GETTY IMAGES

BY DANIEL REYNAUD

ustralia is a secular society. Or so we are told. Australians are not religious. Or so we are told. Australians are more interested in sport than God. Or so we are told. So what do we make of the fact that on the average weekend, there are more Australians in church than there are at all the football matches of the various codes combined? There’s at least one thing that’s true: Australians don’t seem comfortable talking about religion in public. But that doesn’t mean that Australians aren’t interested in religion. Or God, for that matter. In fact, levels of personal interest in religion and belief in God are pretty close to levels measured in the USA, that most overtly Christian Western nation. And that’s the introduction for a most fascinating book: The Bible in Australia: a cultural history, by Meredith Lake (NewSouth Publishing, 2018). And no, it’s not a surreptitious attempt to foist religion on the public; this book simply traces the long, interwoven story of Australia and the Bible—and it crops up in unexpected places and with surprising influence for a bunch of transported criminals who purportedly kicked over the traces of British authority, which was politics, law and religion combined. Lake notes the Bible and its influence popping up in unusual places, beginning her account with the tattoo on the leader of the Bra Boys, the notorious Maroubra-based

surfing gang. The tattoo reads “My Brother’s Keeper”, a phrase taken from the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Not that the Bra Boys make any claim to being Christians, but that is precisely Lake’s point. The words—and ideas—of the Bible have so permeated our culture that many people use them while remaining unaware of their origin, demonstrating the reach of this influential text. Over a series of fascinating chapters, Lake reveals how the Bible is interwoven with many of Australia’s best-known stories and most cherished concepts. Bibles accompanied Captain James Cook’s voyages of discovery and came with the First Fleet in 1788. Evangelical preachers saw the Bible as the means by which a convict society could be raised to righteousness, while convicts resonated with its narratives of exiles in slavery. Even Governor Arthur Phillip, who was more an Enlightenment man than a Christian, promoted the Bible and Christianity as bulwarks of decency, stability and civilisation. Aboriginal groups ironically used its stories and ethics to fight back against European dispossession and injustice, appropriating it through translation (which has helped preserve some Aboriginal languages) and as an ideological basis for the recognition of Aboriginal land rights. Some devout white settlers and missionaries based their passionate defence of Aboriginal rights on the principles of their biblical beliefs MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

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corporate world, as abundantly illustrated through the stories that have emerged during the recent Financial Services Royal Commission, we could perhaps do well to revive some of the high-mindedness of some of our founding entrepreneurs. Other Australian landmarks, including our early adoption of state-wide education, the trade union movement and its political wing, the Labor Party—not to mention the current Liberal Party and its predecessors—women’s suffrage and a legislated minimum wage ensuring “frugal comfort” for working families, were all underpinned by appeals to biblical ideas. It will be surprising for many that the Bible was a driver of ideas for Federation, and a shaper of the Constitution. Some Christians wanted to entrench religion in the institutions of the new Commonwealth; others, drawing from the same Bible, argued for the separation of church and state. While the latter view largely prevailed, the Bible still held a prominent place in the rituals of Parliament for many years.

NICKEVERETT—GETTY IMAGES

of the unity of humanity, and were distressed by the avarice of their fellow Europeans who abused and slaughtered Indigenous Australians in their grab for land. At the same time, many British immigrants saw themselves in the words of Old Testament prophets, settling a new promised land, and fulfilling the biblical mandate to fill the earth and make it prosperous. This interpretation of the Bible often overrode its injunctions of justice and compassion towards all people, and helped justify Aboriginal dispossession. Biblically-driven ideas were behind the establishment of some iconic Australian institutions, such as the Bank of NSW (now Westpac) and AMP. In both cases, the founders’ Christian ideals motivated them to help the poor through improved access to capital. Many colonial newspapers, including Fairfax’s Sydney Morning Herald, were founded to champion social reform and provide a biblically-informed critique of government. Given the apparent greed and self-interest of today’s

Lake notes the role of the Bible in the Australian experience of both World Wars, conclusions that mirror my own research into Australian Great War spirituality. Despite the myth of Anzac secularity, at least one in five of the Anzacs were active Christians, and a number of Anzac diarists noted that Bible-reading was a common activity in the trenches. Many men who fought were motivated by Christian ideals of protecting the weak (Belgium, for example) against powerful oppressors (Germany), and there were those who hoped the war would prompt the national conscience to more righteous living. At the same time, Australian pacifists were also driven by their understanding of the Bible, using its principles to argue for peace between the nations. The many war memorials, from tombstone inscriptions to local monuments, the RSL’s “Lest We Forget” to the rituals of Anzac Day, frequently ring with biblical phrasings and imagery. The Bible continues its influence, even in a more overtly secular and pluralistic modern Australia, where the art of painter Arthur Boyd, writers like Joseph Furphy (author of the classic novel Such is Life), Henry Lawson and Tim Winton, and the lyrics of singers Nick Cave and Paul Kelly draw heavily on biblical imagery, while feminist Germaine Greer drew considerable ideological energy from attacking the Bible’s apparent support for patriarchy. Lake’s conclusion: the Bible

remains densely woven into the fabric of Australian culture and history. Anybody who wishes to truly understand Australia and Australians overlooks its profound influence at their peril. It’s funny that we are prepared to discuss other key cultural influences, but feel shy about the role of the Bible. Religion in the public sphere is a hot topic at the moment, what with religiously linked international terrorism and a push-back by those who feel that the good old values of Western society are at risk from immigration and multiculturalism. Actually, right now is a good time to bring religion and its influence into the public discussion, not as a weapon to beat those who differ from us over the head, but in genuine discussion, listening at least as much as we speak, seeking to understand rather than to win an argument. And an informed discussion, especially one informed about where we have come from (our history), is always better than one based on assumptions. What do we know about Australia’s religious influences? How have they shaped the way we think and behave? Lake’s very readable book is a terrific place to start. The Bible in Australia: a cultural history, by Meredith Lake, was SparkLit’s 2018 Australian Christian Book of the Year. More information is available via NewSouth Publishing <newsouthbooks. com.au>. Daniel Reynaud is an Australian military historian and associate professor of humanities and creative arts at Avondale College of Higher Education in NSW’s Lake Macquarie region. MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

ELL B EING

THE

S E V I T I S O P

OF FAILURE We all mess up. What matters is what we do next.

n a warm summer’s day I eagerly prepared the ingredients needed to make profiteroles, those delightfully light pastries sometimes called “cream puffs”. It was my first attempt and I was excited to see the results. Another first was me using a piping bag to transfer the choux pastry mix onto the baking paper. Feeling like a professional

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

baker I twisted and squeezed the mixture in spiral motion. Hmmm. . . . It seemed that using a piping bag wasn’t as easy as it looked. Although the profiteroles were still tasty when I took them out of the oven, they resembled more of a pancake than the proud, erect silhouette of a true cream puff. I was feeling a little disappointed after all

MATJAZ SLANIC—GETTY IMAGES

BY JULIE GUIRGIS

that effort, but I knew I would have to ditch the piping bag and start all over again. Once I did, they came out just the way I wanted. Not only did I inhale the beautiful aroma of chocolate and vanilla but also the sweet smell of success. Instead of letting that minor mistake have the final word, I saw it as a point on a learning curve. But many

times we can see failure or making mistakes in a negative light—something to avoid at all costs. Everyone loves a success story yet we cringe at failure. It’s seen as a negative and something to be avoided at all costs. But success and failure go hand in hand—failure can be our friend rather than our foe if we can embrace its benefits. MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

1: Going through a failure is a remarkable test of your courage, your FAILURE BUILDS CHARACTER

determination and your mindset. Until you’ve been through the worst you can’t truly appreciate the best. Failure is like a benchmark that reveals how strong you are. Failure is unavoidable if we are to succeed in life. Like Brook Stewart, pastor of South Sydney’s SeeChange church, says, “Failure can sometimes teach you what success never can.”

Unfortunately, many people don’t know how to overcome failure, and become immobilised by it. Psychologist Marie-Rose Paterson explained to me how people suffering anxiety avoid uncomfortable situations because of the fear of failure. She says that, “although this behaviour may prevent further anxiety, they miss out on opportunities and developing coping skills”.

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • MARCH 2019

2: Sometimes failing at something, no matter how much you FAILURE PROVIDES A REALITY CHECK

want it, is a sign that something isn’t right. Use failure as a light to reveal what is really going on with your situation. Try to understand why you weren’t successful, and then use that information as you try again. One way to find out what does work is to discover what doesn’t work. Set realistic goals. Once you’ve worked through the causes of your past disappointment, work on setting a more realistic goal for the future.

3: You can use the experience of failure to your advantage. The best FAILURE DRIVES YOU ON

4:When faced with problems, we FAILURE BUILDS PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS

have the opportunity to use our problem-solving abilities and critical thinking skills to arrive at a practical and effective solution. Once we are aware of our failure it’s important to understand the root causes. This requires analysis to ensure the right lessons are learned and changes are put in place; it allows for positive self-reflection, building our confidence in overcoming challenges. Failure can help us look at the situation from a different perspective. Problem solving sets us up to re-approach a task that we initially failed at, motivating us to keep persisting in difficult times. The ability to overcome failure is one big difference between successful and mediocre people. Keep your confidence in yourself despite the failure. Of course, you need to put in a lot of effort and learn as much as possible from the failure, but you have the ability to make your dream come true. Julie Guirgis is an international freelance writer who enjoys the bush and beach in Sydney’s south. When she’s not writing she’s spending time with her family, making handmade journals and hanging out with friends. MARCH 2019 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

FREEPIK.COM

way to use it is to help spur you on to do better next time. Use it as a tool for determination and grit to drive towards success. Failure happens for a reason. It’s there to give you the wisdom you need to succeed. Each failure you face increases your wisdom and brings you one step closer to success. If you have this mindset, you’ll see failure differently. You’ll understand that each failure is an opportunity to learn. The thought of giving up is tempting, but you should keep on trying with the same enthusiasm as when you began—otherwise your next effort won’t be effective.

FUN

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

EDUCATION.COM 62

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CLUE: 6 DOWN

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

CROSSWORD

CROSSWORD CLUES

ACROSS 2 Edible plant; member of the pea family 3 Overused phrase or expression 6 Mountain range with Mt Everest as the peak 8 A feeling of worry or unease 9 A light pastry; usually filled with cream 11 Sixth element on the periodic table 13 Money earned at work DOWN 1 A jihadist group based in Afghanistan 4 Intellectual movement in the 18th century 5 A formation below the surface of the sea 7 To be self-governed 8 People inhabiting a land before colonists 10 A theory that you receive what your actions deserve 12 A phrase or slogan about a person’s or institution’s beliefs

SUDOKU MEDIUM

1 4

8 6

7 2

6 6

7 4

3 8

5 7

4 1

8 6

HARD

5 8

6 5

4 5

1 2

6 2 2 7 4

8 3

6 4

3 8

7 3

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Signs of the Times - March 2019

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