Eternity - August 2019 - Issue 104 by Bible Society Australia

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104

Number 104, August 2019 ISSN 1837-8447

Brought to you by the Bible Society

Special Prayer Edition

God

Prayer Folau, the Bible and turning the other cheek

When a donkey knew best

NEWS

SUCHET IS LIFE: Obadiah regards the BBC series Press (shown on the ABC) as virtually a documentary on life in newsrooms. David Suchet plays a smooth version of Rupert Murdoch. Which has made listening to the Story Book Bible videos a different experience. Obadiah wonders whether being a Poirot fan has a similar effect. BOWER GETS ONE RIGHT: The controversial Anglican Rod Bower on staff changes at the ABC – tweeting “Now @barriecassidy is finished on #Insiders you can all bloody come to church on a Sunday morning.” TWIN SET: Obadiah’s early days have been revealed in a big spread in the Adelaide Sunday Mail. That’s what happens when your twin brother (we’ll call him Rev Francis Arabin*) heads a welfare organisation that’s launching a push to help kids stay with their parents. Our twinned lives were revealed. Fostered and adopted, and thankfully kept together – which made a huge difference. Obadiah the prophet has always liked Romans 8 as a result. Not everybody else’s favourite bit (“In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” – verse 28) but the “adoption verses.” Such as verse 15: “The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”

TWINS 2: One the the aspects of our family story that resonates for Obadiah is that as half-Japanese twins we were adopted by a man who a decade earlier had opposed the Japanese in North East India Another echo of extreme grace. * Like Mr Slope, a character from Trollope’s Barchester books

There are 200 Asia Bibis languishing in Pakistan JOHN SANDEMAN The Christian world prayed hard, and Asia Bibi – imprisoned in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy arising from a dispute over drinking water – was released when that nation’s Supreme Court upheld her innocence. But citing “civil society reports” about Pakistan, the US State Department says there are “at least 77 individuals imprisoned on blasphemy charges, at least 28 of whom had received death sentences, although the government has never executed anyone specifically for blasphemy.” According to Voice of the Martyrs, the situation is worse, with its partners in Pakistan reporting there are more than 200 similar cases of imprisonment. Eighty per cent of the world’s population lives in nations where religious freedom is restricted. That’s only one stat highlighted at a special three-day event – the “Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom” – hosted by the US State Department. Its 2018 Report on Religious Freedom includes updates on every country in the world. While persecution of Christians is getting worse, “the ministerial’s concerns are broadly ecumenical, ranging from the minority Cao Dai in Vietnam to Jews in Yemen,” The Wall Street Journal reports. The US government announced a major push for religious freedom at the ministerial. “We will not stop until we see the iron curtain of religious persecution come down; until governments no longer detain and torture people for simply being of a particular faith or associated with it; until people are no longer charged and prosecuted on specious charges of blasphemy; until the world no longer believes it can get away with persecuting anyone of any faith without consequences,” Sam Brownback, the US Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom, promised. “A grassroots movement for religious freedom is beginning to take hold around the world.” Here are some excerpts from country reports from the State Department’s survey: PAKISTAN: In January authorities in Lahore arrested two young Christian cousins, Patras and Sajid

In Depth 5-13

Opinion 15-20

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo with William and Pascale Warda of Iraq at the 2019 International Religious Freedom awards Masih, for alleged blasphemy after protesters threatened to burn them and their family home with petrol. Family members said Patras Masih had been framed for blasphemy on social media when he took his mobile phone to a repair shop, while media said he got into a dispute with Muslim youths over a cricket match. Sajid Masih was severely injured after jumping from the fourth floor window of an FIA interrogation room. According to media reports, he said police tortured him and ordered him to sexually assault his cousin, and he leaped out the window to escape. Patras Masih remained in custody, and many Christian families fled the neighbourhood. NIGERIA: There were incidents of violence reflecting tension between different ethnic groups involving predominantly Muslim Fulani herders and predominantly Christian farmers. In January and May, Fulani herdsmen attacked several villages in northern Benue State, resulting in the deaths of more than 200, mostly Christian, Tiv farmers. During the year, clashes between farmers and herders in Adamawa and Taraba States resulted in more than 250 deaths. In June, Fulani herdsmen attacked several villages in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State, killing about 200 ethnic Berom farmers. The following day, Berom youth set up roadblocks and killed

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dozens of Muslim passers-by. A second large-scale report, commissioned for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), concludes that “it is estimated that one-third of the world’s population suffers from religious persecution in some form, with Christians being the most persecuted group.” Religious persecution is on the rise and, citing a Georgetown University study, Christians continue to be the main target. “If one minority is on the receiving end of 80 per cent of religiously motivated discrimination, it is simply not just that they should receive so little attention.” Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (who was one of the two final contenders to be the British PM) commissioned the Bishop of Truro, Philip Mounstephen, to report on the FCO’s support for persecuted Christians. Mounstephen believes they should do more. Much more. And they also should realise this issue is not about white people. Mounstephen writes, ”To understand why this review is justified we have to appreciate that today the Christian faith is primarily a phenomenon of the global south – and it is therefore primarily a phenomenon of the global poor. Despite the impression those in the West might sometimes have to the contrary, the Christian faith is not primarily an expression of white Western privilege.”

Robyn Wrigley-Carr “... the Psalms are the best teacher in helping me shift my eyes from self to adoration of God.” Page 5

Michael Jensen “... Balaam the pagan prophet and his talking donkey will help us to see better what God is doing and indeed that God is the one doing it.” Page 15

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AUGUST 2019

Bible Society plans reach 100,000 subscribers on YouVersion KALEY PAYNE

Religious freedom’s anthem JOHN SANDEMAN You can’t always get what you want You can’t always get what you want But if you try sometime you find You get what you need It may be that the Rolling Stones have the best take on what is likely to happen with religious discrimination. As Eternity goes to press, a round of stakeholder consultations by Attorney-General Christian Porter is taking place. It seems that a relatively mild bill is in the works. But with some wins. “The government will be introducing three pieces of legislation in the near future,” writes Patrick Parkinson, the chair of the Freedom for Faith thinktank. “One is a Religious Discrimination Bill. The second is a Religious Discrimination (Consequential Amendments Bill) which will amend other commonwealth legislation that is necessary to be consistent with the Religious Discrimination Bill. The third is a Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Freedom of Religion) Bill. This bill will not provide for any major changes to the law concerning freedom of religion. However, it will make a few significant amendments to the existing law, and importantly, will establish the position of Freedom of Religion Commissioner in the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Will Mick Jagger’s lyrics prove prophetic for Christians? “All of this legislation is welcome; but it is important to recognise that these are relatively modest and uncontroversial steps to better protect religious freedom. Some big issues have been left until after a report of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) due in April 2020, and will need to be addressed later next year.” Those issues left to the ALRC include the hot-button issues of school staffing, and the treatment of LGBTI students. On the sacking of rugby star Israel Folau, Parkinson suggests if the new act had been in existence, it would have made a big difference. “Folau already has a remedy under federal law for unlawful dismissal on the basis of his religious beliefs if the court finds in his favour.

Sri Lanka Easter bombings

a long road to recovery At least 254 people – mainly Sri Lankan Christians– died when Islamist terrorists stuck in a coordinated suicide bombing attack on Easter Sunday 2019. Over 500 people were injured in the blasts at churches and hotels, many severely. Barnabas Fund is bringing hope and practical aid to those who were wounded or left bereaved including help with medical care and support for families who have lost their breadwinner.

Will you help our many brothers and sisters recovering from the devastating effects of the bombings? You can donate online at: barnabasfund.org/SriLanka PO BOX 3527, LOGANHOLME, QLD 4129 (07) 3806 1076 or 1300 365 799 | bfaustralia@barnabasfund.org Barnabas Fund Australia Limited is a Charitable Institution but gifts are not Tax Deductible ABN 70 005 572 485

Wikimedia / Jim Pietryga

Bible studies written by Australians are “going off ” on YouVersion’s Bible app, according to its Australian representative Mitch Hammond, with more than 100,000 subscribers. Bible Society Australia partnered with YouVersion late last year, extending its aim to engage more Aussies with the Bible by adding more local content to the uber-popular Bible-reading app. Hammond estimates that only about 1 per cent of YouVersion Bible reading plans are written by Australians. So far, there are 15 Bible-reading plans offered on the app by BSA, with more to come. Series of 14-day topical devotions are initially sent to subscribers of Bible Society’s Daily Bible program, a daily email service containing a snippet of the Bible and short reflection. Users can find most of the series on the YouVersion app by searching “Australia” in the Plans section. Hammond says the two most popular BSA devotions on YouVersion are “Peace” written by BSA’s acting CEO Melissa Lipsett and “The Way” written by Hillsong pastor Catrina Henderson.

However, the federal Fair Work Act only prohibits termination of employment on the basis of religion. If Rugby Australia had merely suspended Folau for two years or subjected him to other forms of adverse treatment because of his religious belief, he would have had no remedy under the Fair Work Act. He would have a remedy under the proposed Religious Discrimination Act.” Early reports of Porter’s briefing back up this “no more Folaus” prediction. A relatively mild act is likely to be supported by Labor. Equality Australia (the successor body to the “yes” campaign in the marriage postal survey of 2017) wants “laws that provide a shield of protection to those who need it, but that don’t hand organisations or individuals a licence to discriminate against and attack others” – which means supporting mild religious anti-discrimination provisions. The Rolling Stones’ prophecy that you get what you need is set to be tested – what Christians need is the crux of the matter. Some groups – for example, the Australian Christian Lobby, have already expressed doubts that the Morrison government will bring in sufficiently strong legislation. If the bill is, as predicted, a religious discrimination act that lies alongside the other antidiscrimination acts, the courts will eventually have to balance the rights of religious expression against the rights of others.

Why Eternity had a dry July We dropped our July edition. Some of you noticed. Eternity is undergoing a review to work out the best way forward. As we are about to turn ten years old (in October), it’s high time to have a good look at how Eternity runs. As they say in the trade, sorry for the inconvenience caused – only we mean it. The decision to cut that particular edition was made after June had gone to press. So we know we would at least have created puzzlement. We don’t like to do this to you. Sorry. Maybe it meant some of you listened to a sermon at church – although being a tabloid size we have always been hard to hide. We are finding that some of our good friends who we thought only read the print edition are commenting on our online articles. If you need a regular Eternity fix, think about visiting eternitynews.com.au or sign up to our popular weekly newsletter at eternitynews.com. au/subscribe John Sandeman

AUGUST 2019

E FEBC SPONSORED PAGE 4

‘I lost my arm because I chose Jesus’

unsplash / Tambon mae la

Around the world, persecution against Christians is increasing. Attacks are more frequent and more violent than ever. For FEBC, this brings both challenge and opportunity. In persecuted countries, with no churches or pastors, FEBC broadcasts are often the only source of spiritual nourishment. This is why the persecuted church along with reaching the unreached has been a key focus of FEBC for over 70 years. The cost of faith has never been higher and because of FEBC’s faithful supporters, borders continue to be crossed with the Good News. On Easter Sunday this year, in one of the deadliest attacks targeting Christians in history, eight bombs exploded across Sri Lanka, including three churches where believers were gathered for worship. As Christians, hearing this devastating news while freely celebrating Easter Sunday, highlighted just how critical the situation for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world has become. In India, churches continue to be burnt, Christians are abused, discriminated and isolated from the communities and villages they once called home. In many rural, remote and restricted areas of Asia there is also a critical need for pastors. FEBC uses mobile apps to train, equip, nurture and develop pastors via online study. With no theological seminars or training

Entering the Kingdom of God can be costly. centers in many persecuted regions, FEBC broadcasts are training up leaders. An FEBC team member shared the following story after visiting a village in in South East Asia; I met a listener, noticing him because he only had half an arm. I can’t

mention his name, but we will call him Mr H. We sat down in his “open air church” (a roofed meeting place, with no walls), among cashew trees and black pepper plants. He had been a policeman – a highly desirable job. He’d risen to Captain and was the

highest ranking officer in his town. One day Mr H fell very ill, and eventually called a Christian friend to help him. The friend cared for him, prayed for him, and gave him an FEBC radio. This radio is how Mr H discovered the treasure of knowing Jesus Christ, and became a Christian. When he recovered, it became known that he had turned to Christianity. He was viewed as a traitor by his peers and was demoted within the police force several times, eventually losing his job. One night a group of police ambushed him on his way home, attacking him with machetes. This is how he lost his arm. Mr H shared with me what he had learned. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, and your Christian radio programs are like the map guiding the lost to where the treasure is buried.” Mr H found the field and its treasures, but entering the kingdom cost him his right arm, and nearly his life. “I lost my arm because I chose Jesus.” Was it worth losing his career and his arm to follow Jesus? He answered, with a victorious smile “Yes!” Mr H later escaped to another region and today he’s a farmer and pastor, and FEBC programs continue to encourage him as he shares the Gospel with the people around him. This story is a wonderful reminder of Apostle Paul’s words: “But whatever was to my profit I

now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.” Philippians 3:7-8 In places where it is risky to openly declare following Jesus, radio is one of the few safe ways to hear God’s word. Many radios distributed by FEBC require no batteries and are wind-up or solar. Even without radio, our programs can be heard online, through mobile apps, SD Cards and USB devices. FEBC broadcasts, either directly or through partners, into seven of the top 10 most dangerous countries on the Open Doors world watch list. Through radio broadcasts and ministry partners, FEBC is sowing into regions most at risk, equipping churches, restoring hope and strengthening faith. Every effort is being made to ensure God’s word and the truth is accessible to those most in need of hope and encouragement. 245 million Christians are persecuted for their faith in countries where it’s most dangerous to follow Jesus. Will you partner with FEBC and give a life-changing gift today? Your donation will be directed towards FEBC’s ministry to support persecuted Christians and the unreached. Please visit www.febc.org.au or call 1300 720 017.

Join FEBC today and help millions of Christians facing persecution How can you help: Pray for our Christian brothers and sisters facing persecution. $

Donate to FEBC to ensure the persecuted receive ongoing practical and spiritual support through radio programs. Write a message of encouragement for FEBC to broadcast to the persecuted at www.febc.org.au/encourage.

Supporting the persecuted church for over 70 years

FEBC Australia (Far East Broadcasting Co.) Phone: 1300 720 017 | febc.org.au FEBC Australia, ABN: 68 000 509 517 FEBC Relief, ABN: 87 617 872 287

AUGUST 2019

IN DEPTH

Prayer: the life changer Flickr / Britt-knee

Prayer as spiritual formation

Robyn Wrigley-Carr We generally think of prayer as being about changing the world. We pray about world peace, missions, health issues ... This functional view of prayer is partly true, but it is not the whole story. God doesn’t need our suggestions regarding our needs or where he should be at work in the world. He knows all of this before we do. Instead, prayer is a gift. God graciously invites us into the space where he is already working, raising us from being mere spectators into being participants in his ongoing work of creation and redemption in the world. Therefore, prayer is at least as much about the relationship between God and us, the participants in prayer, as it is about any outcome being sought. Prayer is relational rather than merely functional. When we deliberately press into our friendship with God through

prayer, we are opening ourselves up to him in two main ways. Firstly, when we pray we are sharing ourselves with God, deliberately choosing to reveal ourselves and our broken places to him, instead of seeking to hide them away. Prayer becomes a place where we practise honesty and transparency, opening – in P.T. Forsyth’s words – “the petals of the soul.” C.S. Lewis describes this aspect of prayer as “unveiling,” writing: “When we assent with all our will to be known, then we treat ourselves, in relation to God, not as things but as persons ... The change is in us ... Instead of merely being known, we show, we tell, we offer ourselves to view ... By unveiling, by confessing our sins and “making known” our requests, we assume the high rank of persons before him. And he, descending, becomes a person to us.” (Letters to Malcolm, 21). Lewis’ notion of “unveiling,” honestly speaking with God – “person to person” – is about authentic relationality, as opposed to trying to “twist God’s arm” to make him heal or convert, or whatever it is we want him to do. Which brings us to the second point. When we pray we are seeking to align our will with God’s, to search out where he is at work and participate in his action. In so doing, prayer becomes the place in which we practise obedience – aligning ourselves not according to our own interests and

7 PAGES OF PRAYER SPECIAL desires, but to God’s. So prayer becomes about God shaping us, not us shaping God. It’s not something we master, but rather something we become. It’s not about getting something done but about entering into what God is doing, cooperating with his work in us. So prayer becomes a vehicle, not simply for changing the world, but for God changing us. Eugene Peterson (author of The Message) argues that prayers are tools “not for doing and getting, but for being and becoming” (Answering God, 2). And as we pray, a certain “unselfing” occurs. Our focus shifts from self, to God, to others. Prayer is as much about changing the pray-er, as about changing the world. Through prayer the Spirit forms the life of Christ in us. So if prayer is so significant to our spiritual formation, what guidelines has God given us about how to pray? We have Jesus’ instructions to his disciples (“The Lord’s Prayer”) and the the prayer book of the church (the Psalms). Jesus teaches us to start our prayer with God – “Hallowed be your

name” – lost in adoration, gazing in wonder at God’s holiness and majesty. Friedrich von Hügel (a twentieth-century, Catholic, religious philosopher), argues that prayer without adoration is like a triangle with one side missing. I’ve personally found the Psalms the best teacher in helping me shift my eyes from self to adoration of God. Though two-thirds of the Psalms contain lament, all but one include an essential “reorientation” back to God. We’re given a voice for articulating the pain we feel in a broken world, but we don’t stay there, wallowing in the darkness. We are drawn into adoration – to gaze at God for himself only, not for his gifts. From wailing to resting. From raging to peaceful adoration. From lament to a reminder that in the midst of our confusion and pain, “You are God.” I can still vividly recall Eugene Peterson talking about his morning routine. He would make himself coffee, check out the weather of the day, then start praying the Psalms, out aloud. He didn’t wait to see if he felt like it, it was simply part of his everyday practice. And if he couldn’t find his place in a Psalm he was praying, he’d pray it for someone else. This act of daily, vocal prayer takes us beyond restless, supernatural shopping lists to adoration, as we are taken beyond our pain to worship God. Another aid in prayer I’ve found useful is joining in the prayers continued page 6

“Lord Jesus, you enrich my life with your peace, goodness and love. I need only you. Much else, like love of money, is a trap. Teach me to always follow you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

IN DEPTH

AUGUST 2019

Cancel everything but prayer REBECCA ABBOTT

“Lord Jesus, my Good Shepherd, you called me to follow you. You taught me to hear and know your voice. You opened the gate to heaven for me. May you use me to care for and mature your sheep. In your name. Amen.” • Doug Clements, formerly the minister of Sydney’s Newtown Mission, facebooks prayers daily. A selection of some of his recent prayers will appear on each page of this special. Clement’s prayers have enormous reach in Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh with just under 400,000 followers on social media. See each day’s prayer on his public Facebook page: New Growth Resources: www.facebook.com/ NewGrowthResources/

Recently retired church planting veteran David Jones has a dropeverything-and-pray approach to congregational prayer. When the Welsh-born Presbyterian minister is asked about the role of prayer in his 40 years of church ministry, Jones invokes the words of Dutch Christian, Corrie Ten Boom: “Prayer should be the steering wheel, not the spare tyre.” “Nothing can be achieved without prayer, so it should take priority over everything in our church programs,” says Jones, who certainly practised what he preached. A congregational prayer meeting was a key to success in all five churches he planted and the two he revitalised – from inner-city London, where he worked for 12 years, to 20 years of parish ministry in Tasmania and, finally, at Ann St Presbyterian Church in Brisbane. When scheduling prayer meetings, Jones took the radical step of cancelling every other church activity that week – including the Sunday service. He says this raised the profile of the prayer meeting, making it “the place no-one wants to miss out on.” This approach saw numbers at the monthly prayer meeting at Ann St increase from a handful of faithfuls to around 80 people – almost one-third of all church members. Jones gives this advice to church leaders: “Don’t let people push the prayer meeting to a more convenient time. “There is never a convenient time for everybody, so just expect everybody to be there at the stated time, even if it means rearranging their schedules and missing out on their favourite TV programs.” Noting the particular emphasis on corporate prayer in the early

Spiritual formation from page 5 of great men and women from the past. For example, in Evelyn Underhill’s Prayer Book, we are provided with passionate prayers from lovers of God in all branches of the Christian church that help

Prayer should take priority over everything in church programmes says church-planting veteran David Jones. church, as shown in the Book of Acts, Jones explains, “in the history of the church there is a clear connection between extraordinary congregational praying and revival.” He gives the example in Acts 4, where, after Peter and John are released from prison, the whole church gets together to pray the words from Psalm 2. “Nobody is missing, everyone is there – of one accord and of one mind to build a case together from Scripture and to plead with God to do what he has promised, and to exalt the name of Jesus.” In the same way, Jones endorses “kingdom-centred” congregational prayer; that is, “focussed praying for conversions” and for “the advance of God’s kingdom in the world. “It is so easy for us to slip away from that and become

preoccupied with our own personal needs and struggles. Of course God cares about that and we should bear one another’s burdens in prayer, but … this message of the kingdom must be taken to every ethnic group and people from every tribe and language brought in. That’s what should drive our praying.” This requires a shift in mindset – from “praying for the work” to “prayer is the work.” “It’s possible for us to be carried along by the momentum of our own programmes and ministries with a show of success, without prayer, so people don’t pray,” says Jones. “You can build a church like a McDonalds franchise and appear to be doing the Lord’s work, but is Christ building his church? We want instant results so we give up when we should prevail in prayer,

looking for God to work.” Jones gives one final piece of advice about congregational prayer: “look for and celebrate answers.” There have certainly been many astounding answers for Jones and his prayerful congregations. He shares: “In the ’90s in Hobart we saw God open a whole network of relationships with the gospel. This triggered off a church-planting movement across two denominations in southern Tasmania, with many conversions. At the same time God raised up a whole new generation of leaders for these new church plants. And that movement was birthed in a congregational prayer meeting, where people were praying fervently and persistently for conversions and for the raising of new leaders.”

us shift our eyes from self to God. I close with a couple of these prayers: Firstly, one from The Imitation of Christ, written by Thomas à Kempis (a fourteenth-century, Catholic monk): “Defend and keep the souls of your little servants among so many perils of this corruptible life, and your grace going with us, direct us by the way of peace to the

country of everlasting clearness.” Secondly, a prayer written by Evelyn Underhill (a twentiethcentury, writer in spirituality): “Let our lives run to your embrace … and breathe the breath of eternity. O God Supreme! Most secret and most present, most beautiful and strong. Constant yet incomprehensible, changeless yet changing all! What can I say, my God, my Life, my Holy Joy … You

are the only reality …” So, as we pray the next few days, let’s remember that prayer is not just about what God is doing in the world; it’s also one of the chief means in which he is at work in us. Prayer isn’t just functional, or even simply relational, but is also formational. Robyn Wrigley-Carr, Senior Lecturer in Theology and Spirituality at Alphacrucis College

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IN DEPTH

AUGUST 2019

Prayer works for Bible partners “Lord God, my heart throbbed when I first read your word. I was hungry for more. And you gave it! It multiplied in me, and my world expanded with it! I praise you Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

UBS/Andrea Rhodes

Koho Bible launch in Vietnam Eternity’s friends in Bible Societies around the world can shame us by showing how they rely on prayer. Here are two recent examples. VU IN VIETNAM

GEORGE IN SYRIA WRITES All of us know that we would not have made it without prayer through these eight years of war. Personally, I remember the first days of the war back in March 2011 when I ran for my life to get to our van and drive off, as people with weapons were running behind me trying to catch me. The whole time I was crying out to Jesus and I don’t think that I’ve ever been more scared than at that time. That’s the time I realised that the war had started and that it was a real war with very real weapons. I made it to the van and I still don’t know how I was able to start up

she’s still with us. A few months earlier several cars just down from her home had been hit by a rocket and a neighbour trying to take his car to safety was killed. Then she received the following Bible-verse: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Yes, we used the Bible verses that had encouraged her through the war for the Scripture Calendar of that year. Every time when she had come to the end of herself God had given her a Bible verse. 3) As we have travelled through Syria, the Bible has come alive for us. We and so many working or cooperating with us have been made sure that God is not only with us through his Son Jesus Christ, our Immanuel (God With Us), but that God is good. It took many troubles and challenges for us to realise this. Yes, he is always good. When my wife and son have seen the rockets fall right beside them, in front of them or behind them, they have known the truth of, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” And: “You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.” Yes, he himself is our protection and “the joy of the Lord is our strength.” To all the staff in Bible Society Australia, first of all I want to thank you for being with us through this “valley of death.” Pray that we will be able to continue to sow the seeds of hope in a country

where so many people have lost hope. Pray that our various programmes and projects will become a blessing, not only to the Syrian church but to the whole country. You might not have heard that there are now more staff in the Bible Society in Syria than ever before, and this is because of your prayers and support! There are more open hearts than ever before! The church has become a place of hope in this country and as a Bible Society in Syria it’s always been our desire to be an integral part of this church and we are getting there. There are many challenges and opportunities ahead of us and with your prayers we hope to make it. During this war Psalm 23 has always been part of our lives: The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need. He lets me rest in fields of green grass and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water. He gives me new strength. He guides me in the right paths, as he has promised. Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me. Your shepherd’s rod and staff protect me. You prepare a banquet for me, where all my enemies can see me; you welcome me as an honored guest and fill my cup to the brim. I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life; and your house will be my home as long as I live. Yes, he is our shepherd. He’s always walking ahead of us.

Flickr / Frank Ritchie

Prayer is perhaps one of the most important things that we can do at Vietnam Bible Society. Just last month, in April 2019, Vietnam Bible Society was able to import 4000 copies of highquality Vietnamese Bibles from the Korean Bible Society. This was the first time since 1993 that we were able to import Bibles to Vietnam officially. The staff in Vietnam Bible Society and our Korean colleagues were praying very frequently during March and April 2019 as we proceeded with this import. I believe God answered our prayer, and we were able to find favour before the Vietnamese government. I am appreciative that Bible Society Australia prays for us at Vietnam Bible Society. You make it clear that we are in the Bible mission together.

the engine and drive off, but Jesus gave me strength. At that moment, I knew that he himself was with us all in our work and that it was, and still is, up to him to keep us going and give us both joy and strength in our work. Yes, there are times when I’ve doubted his presence with us, but, looking back at all that has happened during these years of war, we have all been able to see how God has protected us. How else could we have kept our two Bible houses in both Aleppo and Damascus open day after day through the worst days of the war and with people with the worst of weapons some 500 metres away prepared to destroy us. Altogether we haven’t closed “our doors” for more than a few days. This is remarkable and it’s all because of prayers that people have prayed and still pray for us. Here are some answers to prayer we have experienced: 1) When we began our Trauma Healing Project, the roads out of Aleppo were all closed, but as a miracle all of the attendees were able to make it out of Aleppo and travel to the seminar. Coming back, they were stuck for a week in Homs but finally made it safely home. Those were the unforgettable days of the Siege of Aleppo when we didn’t have water, electricity, internet, wifi, yes, even food was scarce and no vegetables or fruit at all. How did we function? Even today we don’t know how! 2) The day when there was an explosion of incredible magnitude, which took many people’s lives in a building very close to one of our staff. She saw God take her fear away and while many, many that very day decided to leave both Aleppo and Syria, Jesus made it so clear that he would be with her that

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Apps to fuel your prayers “Father God, your love and purpose for me, and all humans, is so great. Jesus gave his life for me to give me life. I am worthy in your sight. Thank you for your grace to me! In Jesus’ name. Amen”

If you often promise to pray for people and circumstances, then forget all about it, it’s worth trying a prayer app, which is designed to organise when, how and who you pray for. Two of the most popular are PrayerMate and Echo Prayer. Both of these apps have improved significantly in functionality and design since they came on the market around eight years ago, so it’s a good time to give them a try.

PrayerMate The free PrayerMate app – launched for iOS in 2011 and Android in 2014 by Discipleship Tech – has been downloaded over 314,000 times and has more than 115,000 users, according to data released on the PrayerMate blog in December 2018. The app organises your prayers into personalised lists, which you can add to and edit. Swipe left to begin a prayer session and prayer lists appear as indexed cards that you can move between. You can schedule prayer lists to appear on particular days of the week or allow the app to decide what to display. The number of points you want to pray for in a list each prayer session can also be customised. You can set reminders to prompt you to pray, and the app can be synced with your address book to add contacts to your prayer lists. One of the defining features of PrayerMate – and the reason why the app was created by UK mobile

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Echo Prayer is pretty!

REBECCA ABBOTT

developer Andy Geers in the first place – is the ability to subscribe to the prayer letters or “feeds” of Christian organisations, missionaries and church workers, thus cutting down the content in your email inbox. These organisations include Operation World (which provides daily prayer points for the “country of the day”), Open Doors, Bible Society, Church Missionary Society, Bush Church Aid and many others. Last year the app expanded its offerings with prayer plans, such as the 14-day “Learning to Pray” plan and “31 Days of Purity.” These can be started at any time and picked up again the next time you use the app. Developers are continuing to increase the number of plans, with the Lent and Advent series proving popular last year. Two daily devotionals are also currently on offer: Solid Joys by John Piper (founder of desiringGod. org) and Heavenward by Scotty Smith (founding pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee).

In June this year, PrayerMate launched a major new feature: share groups. This is particularly designed to allow church small groups (as well as other personal groups) to share prayer points privately by inviting members to join their group. For smaller groups, PrayerMate Share is free (allowing the creation of up to three groups and one prayer feed), with the cost for more groups and prayer feeds ranging from $20 to $40 a month. Discipleship Tech is promising to continue to increase the functionality and features of PrayerMate – so long as they can afford to. They are currently seeking £125,000 (about $220,000), with almost half of this fundraising target already reached.

Echo Prayer

Echo Prayer shares many similarities with PrayerMate: it’s free, it’s easy to add and edit prayer items and organise them into prayer lists. However, in this app, prayers are categorised by adding a hashtag (for example, “#church”) in

the prayer’s title or description. You can easily choose which prayer lists you want to pray for by selecting an icon in the left-hand corner of the screen (including all those grouped under particular hashtags). Echo Prayer was also designed as a space for prayer points to be shared. However, in order to do this, you must be an Echo Plus+ member (at a cost of $3.49 a month or $24.49 a year), in contrast to PrayerMate, which allows you to share individual prayer points with friends at no charge. The Echo Plus+ subscription also allows you to form a prayer group, just like PrayerMate Share. In the free version of Echo Prayer you can follow prayer “feeds” from churches, missionaries, and Christian organisations, businesses and other groups. The app has also developed its own prayer feeds based on Bible passages, such as “Fruit of the Spirit,” “The Lord’s Prayer” and “Anxiety: Praying Scripture.” A unique feature of Echo Prayer is its integration with the YouVersion Bible app. Click on a link under the prayer feeds developed by Echo and it takes you to a Bible reading plan on these topics in YouVersion. While, according to Echo Prayer’s Facebook page, the app only has 20,000 users worldwide – one-fifth of the number who use PrayerMate – it does offer several unique features. Firstly, it’s pretty! Created by US web designers Ben Rugg and Jim Elliston, cofounders of Clover, the app has a clean design and colours, as well as an intuitive functionality, making it a pleasure to use. Another great feature is the prayer timer, which pops up in the right-hand corner of the screen when you start a prayer session, enabling you to set the length of time you want to pray for. This app also makes it easier to sort how you want to pray through your lists, with clear options such as alphabetical order, newest or oldest prayers first. Similarly, it’s easier to set reminders to pray for points at particular times in Echo Prayer, with the option to “add a reminder” at the base of each prayer item. Another lovely feature of Echo Prayer is the “Answered Prayer” category, to which prayer points can be added by simply clicking on an “answered” tick box. Seeing the list of answered prayers grow is surely a great way to fuel our passion for prayer.

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Ursula’s book of miracles REBECCA ABBOTT There are few people more convinced about the power of prayer than 72-year-old Ursula Ibaraki. In fact, she is a product of prayer herself. With a still thick German accent despite many years living in Sydney, Ursula delights in sharing her story: “I got saved at the age of 55 … because my sister prayed for me for 21 years.” Since then, Ursula has spent the past 17 years praying “for everyone – my family, my friends. And I’ve seen amazing salvations.” One of these was her Jewishborn mother who, after surviving the Holocaust, became interested in the Baha’i faith. Ursula explains how her mum came to Christ while still living in Germany, when Ursula was living in Australia and her sister in the UK. “My sister and I continued to pray and often spoke to our mum in teleconference style, with the three of us on the same phone line. On one occasion, we encouraged her to pray the sinner’s prayer and she did. From there on, we often prayed together and every time we talked on the phone, she wanted us to read from the Bible.” Her mother passed away just four months after becoming a Christian. Ursula has been witness to, and participated in, many other miracles through prayer. She has been “instantly healed” several times herself , which led her to start a Healing Rooms ministry in Chatswood, Sydney. Here she

and another volunteer prayed over a woman and saw her leg lengthen before their eyes, ridding the woman of back pain. Recently Ursula signed up to pray for visitors to The Healing Ministry of St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, where she is expecting to see more miracles. She records these experiences in two small “miracle books” that she always carries with her. “It’s a little bit like Joshua when he crossed the Jordan and he said you pick up the stones and keep them so the future generation will remember about the miracles,” Ursula explains. For Ursula, prayer is an activity that never really ceases. Since her husband passed away nine years ago, she fills every morning with praise, Bible reading and, of course, prayer. Once a week she meets with her prayer partner of three years. She is on several prayer rosters at her Anglican church on Sydney’s north shore, and fills the minutes before and after the service praying with members of the congregation. In her spare time, she has completed two levels of “prayer school” with the Australian Prayer Network, and takes part in guided “quiet days” at the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary centre in southwest Sydney. However, when asked about the secret to a successful prayer life, Ursula says, “In my opinion, it’s not so much about the amount of time one spends praying but

the willingness to believe that what you pray for will actually happen … You know the words in James 1:6: ‘You must believe and not doubt.’”

“Lord God of heaven and earth, I give you all praise and worship, as you sit in glorious authority over all humanity and creation! Stir my heart with desire for you, and your way, in my life and world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Ursula Ibaraki keeps a record of answered prayers in two “miracle books”.

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Inside Hillsong’s mega prayer KYLIE BEACH It’s a Tuesday night and Hillsong’s Hills campus auditorium in suburban Sydney is teeming with people who’ve raced from work and studies to do what Christians have done for centuries: pray. There’s nothing special about Christians praying – for their individual needs, the needs of the church, their community and country, or the expansion of God’s kingdom. Church members have met to pray since the church began, and prayer has existed for thousands of years before that. But how do you keep a local church prayer meeting meaningful when it involves thousands of people spread out across thousands of kilometres? Hillsong has worked it out over the past 15-odd years of running their annual “mega prayer” night. It was held in just one location – the original Hillsong campus at Baulkham Hills, Sydney, with attendees of the inner-city campuses driving out to the ’burbs to take part. Now, the annual event takes place in several locations across the country which are video-linked for the meeting’s duration: modern technology embraced to network an Australia-wide community into a local church prayer meeting. But before the “mega prayer” event starts, Hillsong’s Global Senior Pastor Brian Houston gathers his team of pastors together in a back room and tells them with a laugh, “We’re going to have a prayer meeting for the prayer meeting.” Bec Wood, whose husband Nathanael oversees Hillsong campuses in New South Wales, prays for the night ahead. Next door, the creative team is doing the same. Earlier in the evening, volunteer teams working as hosts, on coffee carts, in parents rooms and kids programmes have done the same. Prayer is clearly not just an ancient Christian practice, but one that Hillsong believes is significant – even in the build-up to a prayer event. “Come prepared,” Houston told the church on Sunday – and they have. His instruction is Hillsongspeak encouraging attendees to come emotionally, mentally and spiritually ready to pray: to call out to God for the needs of oneself and others, and with faith that believes God will answer prayers.

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Hillsong youth pastor Peter Toganivalu prays for the church’s prayer requests.

This is no small thing we do as a church.” Bobbie Houston

Some attendees will have prepared by reading Scriptures that speak about prayer or where God answers

prayer. Others have come with specific needs they are ready to express to God in faith that he will answer them. The worship team features Hillsong creative team’s biggest voices and a large choir. They start with a song from Hillsong Young and Free (Hillsong’s youth worship band) and transition into a new song by Hillsong UNITED. Next up, the 19th-century hymn How Great Thou Art, followed by Grammy Award-winning favourite What a Beautiful Name.

“You’ve come prepared, your hearts are hungry, and God is in the house. This is no small thing we do as a church,” Bobbie Houston tells those gathered in the auditorium and around the nation. She reads two passages of Scripture – Psalm 84:1-10 and 2 Chronicles 7. “Whether you realise it or not, we have his eyes and we have his heart … We’re going to pray, and by the grace of God, miracles are going to be put in motion.” Brian Houston joins her on

stage, carrying a huge stack of papers – 600 prayer requests by attendees at various Hills campuses. Each piece of paper describes a personal need that has been collected by the pastoral care team, either during the week over the phone, or submitted by someone attending the prayer meeting. At every other Hillsong prayer meeting around Australia linked by video, a pastor holds prayer requests from attendees at their location.

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r night

Tonight we’re going to pray with you and believe for the Holy Spirit to intervene.” Brian Houston

Let’s have an expectation of answered prayers.” Brian Houston like us” and whose prayers for rain were answered. He leads in prayer for spiritual rain – representing the blessing of God – in parched areas of people’s lives. “Lord, we believe for fruitfulness, we believe for harvest,” he prays. The worship team sings, “I hear the rain falling.” Next, this local church meeting on a Tuesday night begins to pray for desperately-needed physical rain in drought-stricken Australia. Clouds are gathering and rain is forecast, Houston declares: “Maybe we can only see the small clouds right now, but we are going to see this drought break.” A map of Australia goes up on the screens, showing “rainfall deficiencies” for the past 24 months. Nicola Douglass (Melbourne’s City campus pastor) and Nick Khiroya (Mt Gravatt, Brisbane campus pastor) each pray – via the screens – for physical rain. The worship team moves into a 2002 Hillsong classic composed by Darlene Zschech: Holy Spirit rain down, rain

Hillsong

All will be followed up in the following weeks and prayed for by local pastoral care teams. They will help Hillsong pastors know how to care for their members best. Hospital visits, meals and counselling will be offered in response. Houston says he knows attendees have come ready to pray corporately for the bigger needs of Australia, but he wants to start by praying for individuals. “Some people are desperate,” he says before sharing how he has faith for prayers to be answered with breakthrough, reconciliation and financial provision. “Even if you’ve prayed a thousand times for this, tonight we’re going to pray with you and believe for the Holy Spirit to intervene. We’ll believe we will hear testimonies that date back to this night. “Let’s lift the roof.” Youth pastor Peter Toganivalu prays and the church “leans in” (more Hillsong-speak that

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describes the crowd engaging emotionally). Some people stretch their hands toward the stack of prayer requests as a symbolic “laying on of hands.” Others look to the screens where prayer requests have been de-identified and listed. The thousands gathered at the Hills campus sings again: You have no rival, you have no equal, now and forever God you reign. Yours is the kingdom, yours is the glory, yours is the name above all names. Your name is higher, your name is greater, all my hope is in you. Your word, unfailing, your promise unshaken, all my hope is in you. Houston prays for victory, supernatural turnaround in situations, and miracles. “Begin to pray out loud,” he encourages. “You don’t have to name what’s confidential, but let’s cry out to God. Pray in the Spirit. This is a prayer meeting!” Hillsong is known for its praise and worship (another Christian practice that is foundational to them) and these considered elements play an important role in the prayer meeting. Song lyrics stir people’s faith and focus attention on the power and greatness of God, to whom all the prayers are directed. There is power in the name of Jesus, to break every chain, break every chain, break every chain Houston talks about Australia’s need for drought-breaking rain in Australia. He recalls the biblical story of Elijah who “was a man just

“Father God, your way is peace, love, patience, doing good and encourgement, with warnings. Teach me all your way and will with others around me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

down. Comforter and friend, how we need your touch again … Let your power fall, let your voice be heard, come and change our hearts as we stand on your word. The church prays for its social justice work through Hillsong CityCare and the Hillsong Africa Foundation, along with the organisations it supports financially: Vision Rescue, that serves the poor in in Mumbai; anti-trafficking organisation A21, that works to end human trafficking; and Preemptive Love in Syria and Iraq. “Help them, Father, to make a difference in the desperation that is there. Lord, to the people who are left without a home, whose houses are in ruin and who are in asylum. To be able to bring provision for the children there …” prays Houston. Hillsong Conference is only weeks away so a team of pastors commit preparations to God, praying for church unity, impact, the conference’s speakers and the Young and Free conference (the youth stream of Hillsong Conference). Dee Uluirewa, who has led worship all night, prays for the conference’s creative elements. “Father you see the preparations that are taking place; we place them all in your hands. Holy Spirit, you take control … “God, thank you for life, for hope, for joy, for salvation, for healing and miracles in Jesus’ name,” she finishes and guides everyone back into singing: All the earth will shout your praise, our hearts will cry, these bones will sing “Great are you, Lord.” Houston says there’s just one other group he really wants to pray for – prodigals. In particular, he wants to pray for church member’s children who are currently away from the Lord. This time it’s the worship pastor in Brisbane, Sloane Simpson, who leads praying for loved ones to find their way home to God. It’s your breath in our lungs so we pour out praise to you only. As Houston closes the meeting, he encourages the church, “Let’s have an expectation of answered prayers. Let’s believe for dramatic conversions – radical salvations and testimonies. “Thank you that these words don’t just go up into the ether, Lord” he prays. “You’ve been an hour and forty minutes on your feet,” he tells mega-prayernight attendees (Hillsongers stand for both worship and prayer). He thanks them for coming and sends them on their way – just as countless pastors have done for thousands of years.

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Ken Ham wants Aussie creationists KALEY PAYNE

The Ark Encounter

Ken Ham is the modern man who built an ark. Not just any ark – an ark built to biblical dimensions. On a human-made lake in the landlocked US state of Kentucky, the giant boat is seven storeys high, 200m long and the biggest timberframed structure on the planet. Such a monumental structure should show that one of Australia’s most successful Christian exports is serious about what he is doing, even if the majority of people around him (including some of his brothers and sisters in Christ back home) would see him, his ministry and his theme parks as a joke. But Ham is not worried. He believes the church in Australia is in decline because it has been too caught up in majority thinking. “The whole of the Western world is collapsing from our Christian worldview perspective,” Ham tells Eternity. “We have lost the younger generations from the church because the church, by and large, hasn’t stood on God’s word, beginning in Genesis. We have compromised God’s word in Genesis. We didn’t teach [our young people] a defence of the faith. We didn’t teach them how to answer the sceptical questions of the day that cause people to doubt God’s word.” He’s talking about questions such as, “How can the Bible’s account of creation in Genesis be true if science has proven the world is millions of years old?” Or “How could Noah get all the animals on the ark?” Or “Haven’t dinosaurs disproved the Bible?” Ham has dedicated his life to answering those questions. For him, everything comes back to Genesis. It’s why his ministry is called Answers in Genesis, where you can find his answers to the questions above and plenty more. As a young-earth creationist, Ham believes the world was created in six literal days. He disputes scientific findings that suggest the earth is millions of years old. In 2014, Ham shot to prominence in the media as he took on popular US science commentator Bill Nye in a publicly televised debate. The debate has been watched by millions of people, though most commentators at the time concluded that it had little impact in changing minds. Ham knows that creationists are “in the minority” but argues “there are more six-day creationists in our

Ken Ham built his modern-day ark to give Christians confidence to stand on God’s word. churches than people think.” Statistics in Australia are hard to come by. In 2002, the National Church Life Survey said a quarter of pew-sitters in Australia believed that God created the world in six days. Outside the church setting, research from the University of NSW found fewer Australian university students believe in creationism than ever before. The 2017 study analysing survey results from a 32-year-long annual survey of first-year biology students at UNSW found a slow decline from the 10 per cent of students who believed in creationism in 1986 to less than 5 per cent in 2017. The US is a stronghold for creationist beliefs, with more than 40 per cent of Americans believing that God created humans in their present form just 10,000 years ago, according to a Gallup poll (Ken Ham’s organisation says a strictly biblical view would put the earth’s age closer to 6000 years old). It’s one of the reasons Ham moved from Queensland to the US to build his theme parks as the focal point for his creationist ministry. But Ham is planning an Australian comeback, opening an Answers in Genesis office in Brisbane and planning a major speaking tour later this year. So, agree or disagree, we’ll be hearing more from Ham and his science-questioning ways soon. “The belief in millions of years does not come from Scripture,

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eagerness” and “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what [the Apostle] Paul said was true.” It’s a framework that has made him sceptical of anything that doesn’t allow him to say, “that’s what the Bible says.” The Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter were built to help others say just that with authority. The problem is that there are plenty of Christians who don’t think Ham’s answers stack up. Chris Mulherin, executive director of ISCAST, a network of Christians engaging with science and technology, says the debate over evolution versus young earth creationism “almost always” comes up when he is asked to speak. “It is a problematic issue for many Christians and also for those who are not Christians. Many simply think, ‘I believe in science so I couldn’t be religious,’” he says. But Mulherin argues it is possible to reconcile the Bible with science if we don’t view the Book of Genesis as an account of exactly how everything came to be but rather as an expression of the truth about God’s intentions for the world. “Commonly, people speak of the authority of the Bible in all matters of faith and doctrine. In other words, it is not authoritative about cosmology because it does not set out to be a scientific text.” In an article in The Conversation in 2014, Mulherin outlined the categories of “creationists”:

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but from the fallible methods that secularists use to date the universe,” says a fact sheet on the Answers in Genesis website. Attempts to “fit” millions of years into the Bible, according to Ham, entail invention of a gap of time that the Bible doesn’t allow if you take Genesis literally. “In other words,” the fact sheet goes on, “you have to add a concept (millions of years) from outside Scripture, into God’s Word. This approach puts man’s fallible ideas in authority over God’s Word. “As soon as you surrender the Bible’s authority in one area, you ‘unlock a door’ to do the same thing in other areas.” The loss of biblical authority prompted Ham to build the Creation Museum in Kentucky, his first “attraction.” Building museums and life-sized arks is not something Ham says he envisioned for himself. When he was 10 years old, he committed his life to be a missionary for the Lord. Despite being raised in a Christian household, Ham says he was encouraged to think for himself. “My parents weren’t ones who just said ‘believe the Bible.’ I was taught to go out and search for answers, to not just accept what everyone else is saying but to test things,” he says. Ham was taught to “be like a Berean,” the noble Jews in the Book of Acts who received the gospel message “with great

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• those who believe in a young earth, such as Ham; • those who believe in intelligent design (the earth is old but certain features of the universe are best explained by an intelligent cause, not natural selection); and • theistic evolution, the belief that God is ultimately responsible for life, the universe and everything, but accept evolution as the best explanation of the science. Mulherin, and a majority of scientists who hold Christian beliefs, hold to theistic evolution. A practical outworking of Ham’s young-earth creationism is the way he thinks about climate change. He argues there is no cause for alarm about global warming because it is a “natural phenomenon” that has been operating for thousands of years, not a man-made occurrence. Temperature histories, he argues, are unreliable and built on an evolutionary history of the world and time scale. God is in control, not humans. Carbon dioxide is Godcreated and good for the planet. “There is no viable justification, either biblically or scientifically, for limiting the generation of CO2 or restricting logging of forests,” Ham says on the Answers in Genesis website. Mulherin wants none of that. “Ham flies in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence for human-caused global warming. Climate science is not based on one thin line of evidence; it is robust, and the majority of experts in the field are in broad agreement. But of course none of them can prove it to the sceptic because that is not how science works. Science is like the law court: it’s about evidence ‘beyond reasonable doubt’, as weighed up by those who have dedicated themselves to the field of study in question. Of course CO2 is God-created but so is food, and we all know that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.” Yet, says Mulherin, there are things on which he can agree with Ken Ham: “That Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour. And that he calls us all to follow him.” Ham says he still loves those Christians who tend towards an evolutionary view of the world. “I’ve never said that if you do not believe in creation in six literal days, in a young earth and so on, that you cannot be a Christian. “Of course I love Christians who believe in evolution. But I will not compromise my position. I will stand boldly on it.”

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Walter’s story: a meth addiction, jail and a total eclipse of the heart ANNE LIM Perth-based tradesman Walter Ten Haaf blames pride and a people-pleasing streak for his stupid decision to turn to methamphetamine to work around the clock and keep his construction business afloat. Walter discovered that his staff had made errors while he was in hospital battling a severe infection in his hand – prompting his clients to stop making payments. Faced with the prospect of being unable to pay his wages bill, Walter decided to burn the candle at both ends, rising early to join one of his bricklaying teams as well as managing the business at night. “I made a stupid choice to start taking what I thought were amphetamines to help me stay awake at night to get through my bookwork and paperwork,” he says. “Before I knew it, we were five months in and I’d been taking meth and I was slowly starting to climb my way out, but my behaviour was becoming erratic. “I was making stupid decisions because I didn’t realise it had altered my thought processes. A lot of irrationality was coming out and aggression and then I had a car accident.” Walter still had meth in his system when he got behind the wheel of his Nissan Navara before sunrise one day in October 2016 and crossed into the wrong side of the road in Mundijong, an outer suburb of Perth, crashing head-on into an ambulance. Paramedic Wesley Ackerman was trapped in his vehicle for 45 minutes then flown to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Thankfully, he survived and eventually recovered, but Walter hit rock bottom. (He eventually spent nine months in jail on a dangerous driving conviction.) “At the time, I was done – I had nothing left. I had methamphetamine in my system – I was on the wrong side of the road; I shouldn’t have been there and because I shouldn’t have been there, I had to go to jail,” he says. A week after the accident, desperate to change his life, Walter checked into Shalom House in the Swan Valley, north of Perth, a Christian residential rehabilitation centre that helps men break free of addictive patterns. Shalom’s founder and CEO, Peter LyndonJames, is a former criminal and ice addict who became a Christian pastor after his final jail term. He sees Shalom House as a discipleship rather than a rehab centre, and has come under fire for his “tough love” approach to help addicts restore their lives and relationships. Residents pay for their own programmes and have to quit all drugs cold turkey, including Panadol, alcohol and cigarettes, hand over their keys and mobile phones, shave their heads, and avoid swearing and gossiping. They also attend three services every week at different churches across Perth to allow residents an opportunity to discover their own faith. Walter says he didn’t realise he was going to do a cold turkey detox, but at that point he would have done anything to change his life. “With getting off drugs – the hardest one for me was I had just

Fully restored: Walter and Nicole Ten Haaf. been in a car accident, I had a fractured sternum, three herniated disks, and coming in I received no painkillers at all. That was hard and because I was on prescription medications before that I went through withdrawals on that as well, so it was really difficult to get through.” Soon after Walter checked into the programme, his wife Nicole decided she’d had enough, sold all their stuff and moved back to Queensland with their three children. “And I reckon good on her!” Walter says. But a few months later, as she saw the positive changes in her husband, she moved back to the area to join the Shalom House couples’ programme to start rebuilding their relationship. Walter’s rehabilitation was so extraordinary, that when he faced court for sentencing a year later, his defence lawyer hailed him as a “major, major success story.” What the lawyer didn’t mention was that key to Walter’s transformation was meeting Jesus. “The best way that I could describe it is like if you cut an artery or need heart surgery, you can’t put a Band-aid over it – you’ve got to go on the table. And the only way you’re going on the operating table is if you submit to God,” he

says. “Now, most people can make basic changes themselves when it comes to habit – they can change the way they do things – but they can’t change the way that they think; they can’t change the way that they feel; they can’t change the way that they react. That’s all internal stuff that only God can do with the heart – you need to have a heart transplant to change the way you are and the only one who can do that is God … How important was God in my recovery? Fundamental.” Although Walter attended a Christian school and grew up in a so-called Christian home, he says he had no relationship with God and was just “going through the motions. “I grew up with all the right answers and throughout my childhood and earlier years it was like I was being programmed – I was learning the Scriptures; and then when I came to Shalom, it was like all the wiring had been done and then somebody turned the power on,” he says. He becomes emotional thinking about the first time he felt that electricity go through him. “When I went to church [from Shalom], somebody said ‘do you want to accept Jesus into your heart?’ and I was like, ‘oh, I’m pretty sure I’ve done this, but why

“

It’s pretty easy: Humble yourself – that’s it ...” not – I’ll give it a go.’ And I went up there and it was a heartfelt decision to actually invite Christ into my heart; and I remember that night just feeling like what I was on was better than any drug – it was just amazing.” His second encounter with Jesus happened after he started digging deep into his childhood trauma in counselling sessions at Shalom. “I had got to a place where I realised I’m stuck, I need help, and I wrestled with it myself and then I just prayed, ‘Lord, do what you got to do.’ And it was as if it was divine – within a couple of hours, I was sitting down with a counsellor talking about childhood issues, and I’d never talked about it. My wife didn’t even know about that. She only found out about that stuff through the programme. “The first time I disclosed it was with my counsellor and I remember feeling it was like a weight dropped off – I just felt

lighter, literally. It sounds clichéd but it actually was exactly like that – my soul was lighter. And because of that, that gave me the courage to do the next one and I started telling him all the stuff I’d done wrong. And I’ve done some pretty shocking stuff. And every time, something happened.” Walter says he copped a lot of abuse from his harsh disciplinarian father, who had suffered at the hands of his own father, who was in the Dutch special forces in New Guinea during World War II and took out his suffering on his family. “There was a lot of screaming and yelling in the night. As I grew up it was nothing to get a hiding for putting shoes in the wrong place or not setting the table the right way or not getting good grades at school,” he recalls. “I was the oldest of six, so my mum talked to me about it and I had nowhere to go with it. So I started talking to one of my teachers at school and then he molested me when I was 12, but I was too scared to go to my mum and dad about it. I didn’t have anyone else I could talk to and it played on my mind and I tried to hang myself with my dad’s belt.” Walter says he had grown up being angry with God because of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father and what he saw as the hypocrisy of church members. “So I had this disconnect and, because of my relationship with my dad, every time somebody said ‘God the Father’ – even though I loved my dad and I respect him – as a younger kid growing up, I was just angry and, because I was angry, I blamed God.” The goal of the programme at Shalom is not only to help residents give up drugs and alcohol but to mend fractured relationships and return to part or full-time work. Walter says: “It’s pretty easy: Humble yourself – that’s it ... Let go of the past, stop blaming everyone for your problems and why you are where you are and suck it up. “I believe just because you’ve been through a lot doesn’t give you an excuse to act in a certain way – you actually need to be respectful of people and that’s something that I’ve really learnt and understand while I’ve been here. “I used to blame everybody for my life, but I was always running, I was always chasing my tail, but peace is elusive if you’re blaming everybody else for the way you are. And it wasn’t until I actually realised that by owning my stuff I’ve got a chance of dealing with it that I got through it.” Now working as general manager at Shalom, Walter is confident that he wouldn’t have the life he now has without the Spiritfilled programme at Shalom. “We wouldn’t have a marriage if I hadn’t done what I did. We were 100 per cent on the road to divorce; our three kids would have grown up in a similar environment to what I did and in 20 years my son could have been in rehab,” he says. “But through this process we’ve had family restoration, which is complete, the kids have been able to receive a voice, where they never really had one before. Without Shalom House, there’s just no way that we would have been a successful family.”

AUGUST 2019

BIBLE @ WORK

Urgent need for the Book of Life Women in Shandong province welcome new Bibles with joy. MELISSA LIPSETT Something exciting was happening; that was clear. As we bumped our way up the tiny laneway in a village in China’s Shandong province, every available space on either side was filled with tiny farm vehicles and motorcycles. In front of us we could see a rough wooden cross rising above a tiled roof. It signalled that we had arrived at a small rural church, where hundreds of believers had gathered to receive a new Bible or to replace one so old it had pages missing. They were all waiting expectantly, and the excitement was palpable as we made our way in through the little courtyard to join the 300 in the tiny church. We were welcomed, songs were sung, prayers were said (including

The Lord’s Prayer in perfect unison), but it was the tears that moved me the most. Tears of joy, tears of gratitude, tears because the gift of a Bible was the most precious gift we could possibly give. One woman held her Bible to her heart and declared exactly that: “The Bible is the most precious book to me. Through it I see God.” I saw God that day too. I saw him in the faces of people for whom life is very hard and who look to him for their strength. I saw him in the tears of elderly women who held my hands tightly as I passed them the precious gift of his word, and who told me that life was better now that they had learnt to read using the Bible. I felt him in the gnarled hands of the menfolk who reached out eagerly for the Book of

Life, too. I saw him also in the eyes of the young woman who refused to take a Bible, even though hers was very torn and worn, knowing that someone needed it more than she did, someone who didn’t have one yet. And she’s right, because all across China there are millions of people who haven’t got access to a Bible yet. With the rapid growth of the church in China, it’s not unusual to see people spilling out of the worship hall into the church courtyard. Rural villagers walk for hours to attend services. And all these new believers need Bibles. Thanks to Bible Society Australia donors, and donors worldwide, funds were raised to produce 1.26 million (out of the target of two million) affordable Bibles for distribution in China last year. But there is still a huge

shortage. This year, 3.34 million Bibles have been approved for printing and distribution by the church in China. The only thing that’s missing is the funding for Bible paper.

New readers’ pride

The tiny room was crowded with smiling women. Clearly, they were very pleased with themselves. And no wonder. Each was a new reader, having learnt their new skill from the Scripture literacy class facilitated by the rural church. At first, they were shy about demonstrating their literacy prowess but, with encouragement, they opened their booklets and read to us. As they reached the end of a passage, they grinned broadly. One woman said, “I learnt how to read and write, and it has made my

life better.”

Precious jewels Nationally, on average, there is one ordained Protestant pastor to 6700 Christians. There is a great need to train pastors at Bible seminaries and provide lay preachers with Bible resources. Kong Jinxiang, a volunteer lay preacher in Shandong province, was immensely grateful to receive a set of Bible resources thanks to the generosity of Bible Society donors. “Receiving these Bible reference materials is like receiving precious jewels,” he said. Melissa Lipsett is Acting CEO of Bible Society.

+ If you would like more details, visit biblesociety.org.au/living

Your tax-deductible gift of $5 could help open up God’s word for a Christian in China. Text ‘CHINA’ to 199BIBLE (1992 4253) to donate $5 For more information visit biblesociety.org.au/chinaep

Charge $5.00 per SMS. Charity helpline 1300 783 035. Unavailable via pre-paid or Optus. Persons under 18 years must have parent/guardian permission to donate.

AUGUST 2019

OPINION

Michael Jensen on what the donkey saw

Balaam’s donkey

Folau, a Bible ban and turning the other cheek Pages 18-19

pixabay /Marzena7

What is the God of Jesus Christ doing in the world? Is he true to his promises? The hardest thing about these questions is, I think, when you realise that the chosen instruments of God’s blessing of the world are so unimpressive in many ways. God isn’t so hard to believe in, perhaps; it is the church that is the trouble. Is it not bitterly divided? Is it not prone to greed? Is it not weak and insignificant, always appearing to be fighting a rearguard action against change? Is it not faithless to its own Scriptures and to its own traditions? Is it not tainted by scandal and corruption? Are our numbers not few? Why then should we have confidence in the promises of God since his choice of methods is so plainly ill-advised? The church is a collection of people who act in a very human way – that may be your bitter personal experience, indeed. How can we believe that God is on the march when the church is persecuted, squabbling and faithless? The strange episode of Balaam the pagan prophet and his talking donkey will help us to see better what God is doing and indeed that God is the one doing it. Though it is one of the weirdest passages of the Bible, and it seems to come from a world very different to ours, it actually has a message for us in our world. But we need to put this apparently bewildering narrative in its context in the Book of Numbers. Numbers opens in triumph and optimism – the slave nation has been led out of Egypt, and is finding its identity as a people. They were the children of the great father Abraham, to whom God made the promise that he would have many descendants living in their own land. He also promised that he would cover Abraham’s back: he would bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him. He made another set of promises to the nation of Israel in the desert at Mt Sinai as if to seal the deal, spelling out what life would be like for a people who would be known as God’s special people, his treasured possession. But that’s not how the story runs, of course. Despite all they have seen, the people of Israel are a divided people, a grumbling people, a fearful people and a faithless people. Eventually they

are even an out-and-out rebellious people. The scale of the disaster is enormous, and it has totally tragic consequences. The old generation are to be shut out of the land. The travel plans are now in utter chaos. Even Moses suffers the judgment of God. There are glimmers of hope though; all is not lost. The Lord still provides for his people, and he still brings them through military challenges. He still gives them guidance and protection. Where we pick up the story today, they lie encamped on the plains of Moab, just outside the land they could not yet access. They could see it, but they couldn’t yet have it. But the story does an amazing shift of perspective – because we now have the point of view of one of the enemies of Israel, Balak the Moabite king. The local nations, it seems, are terrified by what they say. “Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites” (v. 3) as we read.

And so Balak does the only thing he can think of and calls for help in the form of a local prophet and diviner named Balaam. What an intriguing figure this Balaam is … for it turns out that he has an inkling of who the true God is – it is the God of Israel. And his famous advertising slogan “those I bless stay blessed/those I curse stay cursed” is not strictly true, even though it has a great ring to it. It reminds us of God’s promise to Abraham, doesn’t it? And, it turns out, Balaam himself is nothing more than a conduit for the will of God. He will only curse who the Lord has told him to curse – he knows full well that you can’t simply treat the true God like a vending machine. And this then is the problem for him: Balak his client wants a curse put on Israel. But God makes it clear to Balaam (22:12) “You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.” He’s in a bind, isn’t he? That’s the clincher for Balaam

– despite the entreaties of Balak, Balaam insists that there’s nothing he can do here. Money’s not the issue (v. 18) – it is the command of the Lord God that is the bottom line. It is interesting how this pagan diviner and sorcerer seems to be a more devoted follower of the Lord in his way than the people of Israel – he is insistent that God’s word is God’s word. Don’t get me wrong: divining of the kind he does is pretty strongly condemned in the law of Israel. But there’s something that he has got right. He is supposed to be the manipulator of divine things and yet, he is merely the mouthpiece of the Lord. The Lord relents and allows Balaam to go to at least see Balak … which brings us to the curious episode of the donkey. It all starts because God was angry with Balaam (22:21) – but why? Balaam seems to have complied with all that God would wish for up until this point. He seems to be the very model of an obedient prophet.

And yet something is concealed from us here – some motive in his heart, some taint in his business. In the New Testament we get a bit of clue from a couple of references to Balaam in 2 Peter and Jude that seem to suggest that he was more interested in money than in anything else. Whatever the case, the angel of the Lord stands in the way to oppose Balaam as he heads off to do Balak’s bidding – and his donkey doesn’t like it at all. The funny thing is that at this point the great seer and man of visions can’t see anything at all. It is the donkey that sees the angel, and not him – he doesn’t recognise God’s hand when it is right before him. Only the donkey sees, and three times causes the embarrassment for Balaam of turning off the path, or crushing his foot, or lying down in the road. It is not a very dignified spectacle and Balaam is certainly left feeling humiliated by it. So, continued page 17

AUGUST 2019

E CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP TOURS SPONSORED PAGE 16

Protestant Missionaries – a legacy of faith, education and democracy The work of missionaries in spreading the word of God in remote areas is vital. Yet whilst we laud the incredible work of missionaries today, many of us can feel uncomfortable looking back at historic missionary deeds because of their association with colonial paternalism (and sometimes outright racism). Yet in 2012 the publication of an article by Robert Woodberry in American Political Science Review – “The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy” – caused a seismic shift in how sociologists review the legacy of Missionaries past. After 14 years of research and in-depth statistical analysis Woodberry’s article offered proof to support his claim that – “Areas where (Conversionary) Protestant missionaries had a signiﬁcant presence in the past are on average more economically developed today, with comparatively better health, lower infant mortality, lower corruption, greater literacy, higher educational attainment (especially for women) and more robust membership in nongovernmental associations … thereby creating the conditions that made stable democracy more likely.” As European maritime explorers ventured into Oceania, Protestant missionaries followed in their wake and brought Christianity to the

“

We don’t ‘take’ God anywhere – God is already there.”

Missionary legacy - Christianity is now intrinsic to the Samoan way of life many Pacific Islands, Australia, New Zealand and PNG. These missionary clergy, teachers and medical staff brought faith, education, literacy and improved healthcare and today missionaries still work to improve outcomes in these areas. The introduction of Christianity in the Pacific Islands is one of the most successful stories in the history of Christian mission. In less than 200 years the vast majority of Pacific Islanders had become Christians and these nations are still strongly committed to Christ today. Samoa is a prime example of the rapid conversion to Christianity. In 1830 the London Missionary

Society (LMS) sent missionaries to the islands accompanied by missionary teachers from Tahiti and the Cook Islands and a Samoan couple from Tonga. Within a few years, virtually the whole of Samoa was converted to Christianity and soon Samoan missionaries were working throughout Melanesia. In 2017 Samoa formally declared itself a “Christian Nation”, amending its constitution to truly reﬂect the strength of its people’s faith. Christian Fellowship Tours (CFT) offers holidays around Australia and around the world. For over 40 years our company has organised the BCA Outback

tours that visit Bush Church Aid’s Field Staff in remote and regional area throughout Australia. Since 2008 our overseas holidays have seen us visiting Mission projects and organisations in Vanuatu, Cook Islands and Kenya. In 2020 Christian Fellowship Tours will travel to Samoa and PNG to see the work of both past and present Missionaries and to enjoy fellowship with local Christians. In PNG we will be concentrating our visit on the Northern Oro Province where the ﬁrst Anglican missionaries were appointed in 1885. Today 60% of Oro inhabitants identify as Anglican versus 3% nationwide and Mission works have established schools, adult literacy programmes, the country’s only Anglican Theological College and a much-needed Nursing College and hospital. During WWII the Japanese invasion of the region resulted in the death of eight Anglican clergy, teachers and

medical missionaries. Today they are known as the New Guinea Martyrs. Many Australian and American soldiers were also wounded or killed in the fierce fighting around the “Bloody Beachheads” of Buna & Gona and CFT will visit these significant WWII sites as well as the start of Kokoda Track and Bomana War Cemetery. The importance of seeing mission work in action is best summed up by Rev Prof Darren Cronshaw, an Australian Baptist pastor and missions studies teacher and our Christian Tour Leader on our PNG Holiday ‘Mission is all that God is doing in the world to bring it back into line with God’s dream for us. Part of the beauty of travelling and seeing what God is doing in other places is learning from one another’s culture’s, learning different things about God and how God is working in the world in mission. In Oceania, there is a wonderful rich diversity of culture and awareness of God, a vibrant enjoyment of worship and a warm hospitality motivated by the love of God. We don’t “take” God anywhere – God is already there.’ Come join us in Samoa, PNG or on our BCA North West Australia Tour. Be inspired … Jason Cronshaw, CFT Managing Director

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OPINION

AUGUST 2019

Another Handmaid’s Tale

“The statement has often been made, perhaps more vaguely than is desirable, that science is the handmaid of religion.” Rev. J. J. Coxhead, 1877. It is the year 2033, some two millennia since it all happened. The end may be nigh; indeed it is by all accounts. Thanks to technology and the ongoing labours of Christian love, the gospel of Jesus Christ has been heard in all of the world’s languages, and most of them have the Scriptures written down in a

Donkey from page 15 he takes the stick to the donkey. And his abusive treatment of the animal leads to one of the strangest conversations in recorded history, when the donkey opens its mouth and protests, “what have I ever done wrong that you are now beating me?” Thing is, the donkey is right. What are we to make of this Dr Dolittle-esque chat between man and beast? In this story, the talking donkey illustrates the fact that the spiritual insight that Balaam is paid for is a gift from God utterly and entirely. The miracle of the donkey speaking is, I think, supposed to make us laugh at how silly it makes

for it. Christianity is all about its sub-brands now: ValleySong based in California, a subsidiary of FaithBook, is the biggest. Christians can still be found in high places, they still tend towards lives of service, but few of them are trusted. Most Christians lie low, spending their time quietly sharing fellowship by hologram and growing vegetables. The exception is China, where a version of Christianity has exploded. After the Great Redirection of 2025, the ChristoCentralist party came to power and directed that all heads of government had to fear God and honour the Emperor. Suddenly, most of the population claimed to be believers and many older Christians redescribed themselves as non-conformists. Some sailed to New Zealand to start again. Others planted trees and loved their neighbours. In Australassian, the world’s first nation-corporate, life is difficult but easier than elsewhere. We have survived the horrific winter heatwave so far, thanks to the underwater coastal cities so brilliantly designed by the young cyborg architect, DigiBlacket, our

best body-machine hybrid yet. It’s amazing what a humanoid can do when things are desperate. People still aspire to water views. The President of Australassian has just announced that neuroimplants for four-year-olds must include an Awareness of Spirituality Module, so the opportunities for Christian witness remain. The Centre for SemiPrivate Christianity has been asked to provide the Jesus Insert. Laws have been passed to delay the Instant Seculariser Insert until after age 21. Aged-care homes are the only places Aussie Christians can

legally gather. Every day, joyous singalongs, Bible readings and prayer sessions take place, and the younger Christians work mainly as nurses, administrators and storytellers. These places are still exempt from the “Go@85” programme which has seen the population come under control. As long as the Christians are willing to self-fund and self-govern, their elderly are tolerated. We have much to thank God for, though we spend more time begging him for mercy. But it shouldn’t be long now. Greg Clarke has an unfailing interest in the end of the world.

Balaam, and by extension Balak, look as they seek to oppose the plan of the mighty God. And the miracle of the donkey speaking the words of God is no less incredible than the miracle of a human being speaking them. It’s certainly rather humbling for Balaam. The donkey, poor thing, is caught between what Balak wanted and what God had prohibited. Balaam – who discovers that he is perhaps in this matter a bit like the donkey – is caught between Balak’s will and God’s in the same way. He’s the meat, or rather the donkey, in the sandwich. To his credit, Balaam does keep insisting that he “must only speak what God puts in my mouth.” But isn’t that only what a donkey does after all? And that’s what Balak discovers

to his horror: his strategy to thwart the plans of the God of Israel fails at every turn. Balaam will not curse Israel – he will only bless them. Each time Balaam is set up to curse Israel, he blesses them instead and he complains to Balak: “look, I am only doing my job, I just work here, don’t blame me!” The frustration of Balak simply increases as the story goes on. He even cooperates with Balaam in producing a lovely sacrifice of burnt offerings for God – the Rolls Royce of sacrifices. But it doesn’t work. You just can’t twist God’s arm like that. Well, this part of Scripture seems so strange in many ways, and yet it is addressing precisely the world in which we now live. The people of God, you might think, are more “people” than “God.” There is

nothing spectacular about them. Indeed there are many who wish to curse them – in a modern way at least. Curses rain down on them – on us – daily. People wish for us to disappear. But here’s the thing: God will bless his people. Nothing will get between God and his people. They can’t be cursed, and it is a bit funny when people try to do it. The blessing of God is in constant flow upon them. It is their constant shield. We know this especially because of the cross of Jesus Christ. As always, the cross of Jesus sheds light on the Old Testament for us – for here we see just how singular God’s commitment to his people is. What does it mean when he promises that “those who bless you I will bless, those who curse you I

will curse”? It means that even the worst of hostility aimed against us he bears upon the cross. He himself becomes a curse for us that we might receive blessing upon blessing. He will heal the wounds of his people and pay for their sins by his blood. Even their sins are not an obstacle to him. This means however unimpressive and fractured the people of God looks today, you can have great confidence, because your confidence lies, or ought to, in the God who raised Jesus from the dead. Are you in despair? Have hope. Are you disappointed? Have an expectation that God will not fail. Even the donkey can see that. Michael Jensen is the rector of St Mark’s Anglican Church in Darling Point, Sydney, and the author of several books.

istock / fstop123

Greg Clarke may have read too many dystopian novels

way they can understand in their hearts. Many of the formerly great Christian institutions of the world have fallen. The Roman Catholic church is no more, buried by governments that determined its complicated past was too much to bear. “A poor church for the poor,” is what the assassinated Pope had wanted nearly two decades back, and that’s what he got. He was found dead in his sleep; no explanation was ever given, but those in the know know. The historic Church fell, and along with it churches that were associated with nations: Anglicans, Presbyterians, Orthodox. All gone, and all of their buildings either demolished or domesticated. The rise of Nation-Corporate governance meant there was no longer any place for them. The Vatican itself is now owned by Alphabet, and its walls are impenetrable, physical and digital. Notre Dame in Paris was purchased by Posh and Becks a few years after the fire and is now a Spice Girls interactive museum. But new churches have grown, indistinguishable from corporations, sometimes better

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OPINION

AUGUST 2019

Izzy Folau, a Bible ban and

Fumble: Rugby Australia drops the ball

John Sandeman on a scoop Just like a game of Rugby Union, the Folau Affair turns out to have two halves, with the revelation by News Corp journalist Miranda Devine that Raelene Castle (head of Rugby Australia) believed an accurate Bible quote would have been grounds for sacking the footballer. “You don’t have to agree with Israel Folau – and I don’t – to defend his right to quote the Bible without being sacked,” columnist Devine tells Eternity. “Castle’s comments in his code of conduct hearing are a game-changer because she admitted that it is the Bible itself which is the problem. “She admits Folau was sacked

because she views parts of the Bible as akin to hate speech.” A telling exchange between Castle and John West QC – head of the Rugby Australia code of conduct panel convened to discipline Folau – was released by Devine in The Sunday Telegraph. “West asked Castle: ‘What if Mr Folau had photocopied passages from the Bible and simply posted that on his social media pages, would that have caused a problem for you?’ “Castle replied: ‘I think it depends on which ones – which pages he photocopied.’ “West asked: ‘If he’d photocopied the passages that are referred to in the posts, would that have caused a problem for you?’ “‘Yes, it would have,’ Castle said.” In response, Bible Society Australia’s acting CEO Melissa Lipsett issued a statement: “Bible Society Australia does not support or reject Mr Folau’s decision to use the Bible in this manner. However, we are concerned by suggestions that even photocopying the same passage from the Bible would have been equally a problem.” Her full statement is on page 19. This broadening of the Folau dispute occurs as a draft of the religious discrimination bill began

The Sunday Tele’s promo box. to be circulated to MPs and, as Eternity goes to press, amid discussions with key stakeholders. Freedom For Faith, a Christian think tank, circulated a paper by Professor Patrick Parkinson which outlined the likelihood of a relatively mild piece of legislation. However, more conservative bodies are already responding. “We are concerned whether the government has the political will to drive positive reform in this area,” Martyn Illes, managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, told The West Australian. NSW Senator Concetta

Fierravanti-Wells has launched a petition urging the federal government to pass a Religious Freedom Act – with much stronger provisions. “Ordinary people of faith are now, understandably, asking the question: If I quote the Bible, will it get me into trouble?” Fierravanti-Wells told the Senate in July. “This is now the discussion at the kitchen table for Australians who hold religious beliefs. We need to make sure that the religious persecution of Israel Folau does not happen again.” Tim Costello, who has recently

joined the Centre for Public Christianity as a senior fellow, commented that Christians should “calm down” on the issue of persecution. “I would say to Christians, ‘If you wish to see persecution, let me take you to places where there is persecution of Christians and other groups – let me take you to Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan and I will show you persecution.” Costello told Eternity, “I have been consistently saying we must have the right to quote the Bible even if it offends. But in winning the battle – the real issue [to be able to] quote Scripture – we are losing the war. “Religious freedom is now baked into the cultural mind as the right to condemn gays.” (Costello’s latest piece is on page 19, and Eternity covers two significant religious persecution reports on page 2). Perth blogger Stephen McAlpine responded to Costello: “Tim Costello is dead right. We are not being persecuted like Christians around the world and we need to suck it up … The problem is not persecution. Tim is so right. The problem is privatisation: the withdrawal of Christianity from the public square.”

FAITH, HOPE & LOVE

Unchanging Virtues for a Changing World

ANTHONY FISHER

THE CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF SYDNEY

MODERATED BY

MEREDITH LAKE HISTORIAN AND BROADCASTER

GLENN DAVIES

THE ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP OF SYDNEY

In this landmark series, the Anglican and Catholic Archbishops will articulate the importance and relevance of faith, hope and love for contemporary Australian society at a time when competing voices and institutions wrestle to define and influence the national conversation.

LECTURE 1 FAITH TUES 24 SEPT 2019

LECTURE 2 HOPE WED 25 SEPT 2019

LECTURE 3 LOVE THURS 26 SEPT 2019

Each lecture commences at 7:30pm. Please be seated by 7:25pm for broadcasting purposes.

More info enquiries@newcollege.unsw.edu.au | (02) 9381 1999. Bookings are essential. Venue | New College, University of New South Wales

OPINION

AUGUST 2019

turning the other cheek

wikimedia / davidmolloyphotography

Don’t ban the Bible, let’s just use it well

Melissa Lipsett on the Scriptures challenge all of us, Christian or not

The now infamous Instagram post by former rugby player Israel Folau, in which he quoted from the Bible, resulted in his sacking and an ongoing legal battle. Bible Society Australia does not support or reject Mr Folau’s decision to use the Bible in this manner. However, we are concerned by suggestions that even photocopying the same passage from the Bible would have been equally a problem. The Bible should not be used as a weapon. The Apostle Paul writing in the New Testament reminds Christians to “let your gentleness be known to all” (Philippians 4:5). But nor should it be censored. While some of the concepts

presented in these sacred texts might seem out of step with our contemporary culture, Christians do not simply reject them. Instead, we seek to study, interpret and pray over the Scriptures, considering them within our own context as well as the context in which they were written. We wrestle with them! The Scriptures are not meant to make me feel comfortable. The Bible challenges the wealthy. The proud. The greedy. The unjust. Those who gossip. Who spread untruths. The powerful who ignore the needs of the powerless. It challenges governments and rulers who ignore God at their peril. And

it even discusses sexual morality. The Bible makes clear that all of us – that is every single person on this planet – are imperfect! We all fall short of the glory of God. Does that shock you? It doesn’t shock me. I know how imperfect I am! But the Bible is about humanity’s relationship with God. It captures the flaws and the beauty of people. It is ultimately about God’s love through his Son Jesus Christ, but it also presents a way of living, that at its ideal is selfless and focussed on “the other.” This is summarised in the two great commandments, “Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength, and

love your neighbour as yourself.” (Mark 12:29-31) None of us live up to this ideal – Christians and non-Christians alike – but it shouldn’t stop us striving for it. Part of that striving is in the dialogue, in our shared values and in our pluralism. Society is more likely to flourish when it listens to different voices. Bible Society’s mission for the last 202 years has been to champion the Bible to share the love of Jesus. We advocate for the ongoing voice and wisdom of the Bible, as one of these voices in our society. Melissa Lipsett is Acting CEO of Bible Society Australia.

Folau: let perfect love cast out our fear

Tim Costello on using words wisely Tom Wright says in his book The Day Revolution Began that the Reformation gave great biblical answers to medieval questions. Everyone then believed in heaven and hell. They were plagued by guilt and prepared to pay for indulgences in order to escape the wrath of an angry God. The Reformation taught them that in Jesus, guilt is dealt with through

faith, by grace alone. More than 500 years on, in secular nations like Australia, we seem to have shrugged off any sense of guilt. Faith has given ground and instead society has picked up its nemesis, fear. That fear is clear in our heightened levels of anxiety and social isolation, our decreasing trust of others and loss of connection in community. The Bible says ‘Fear Not’ 365 times because fear, not doubt, is the opposite of faith. Our secular society needs biblical answers to modern concerns of fear, anxiety, and the nihilism of a life without faith. So when our faith is articulated in the public square it should address anxiety and fear. The Israel Folau case has been confronting. For one thing it has highlighted how our faith is seen by our secular neighbours. People considered Folau’s warnings about hell as simply cruel and damaging,

and attributed the same to his motives. A friend told me his 14-year-old son was singled out at school by a bunch of mates – ‘A re you a Christian?’ He nodded and they said: ‘Well, you must hate gays’. This perception is a serious problem for Christians taking their faith into the public arena. The response of the faith community to the sacking of Folau has been vocal and at saturation levels; some have argued it is because Christian faith is under threat. Indeed, we can start to see every action, every headline, every water-cooler conversation through the lens of a faith under attack; rather than relishing in the comparative freedoms we enjoy, with a posture ready to engage, to serve and to respond with answers that show the reason for our hope. Last month an article in The Guardian quoted me as saying that fellow Christians needed to “calm down” about alleged persecution

against Christians and like Jesus, to “suck it up.” I gave examples of other nations where Christians are persecuted in the most horrendous of ways. It was meant as a loose paraphrase of Jesus’ injunction to turn the other cheek, and a way to maintain perspective. I don’t want to see our church captured by fear; walling ourselves in, forgetting we are at our best when, like the early church, we are living lives in our communities that reflect the boundless love and overwhelming grace of God. That is why I wanted to call Australian Christians to a bigger perspective on the issue of religious freedom. The same day as The Guardian article was published, our Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke at Hillsong Conference. When asked about religious freedom, he recalled the plight of missionaries in Soviet Russia, saying “you didn’t hear stories about them complaining about their rights

… They were just loving in that situation and they were out there for God. That was their response and this country needs more love and less judgment.” I was, and am impressed by that response. We are made by a God who is characterised by love. A God who in love sent Jesus to redeem us, so that we might flourish. Love is the biblical answer to the modern saturation of fear. There are important discussions to be had about religious freedom in our nation. I am fully supportive of faith communities being free to serve their communities in a manner that coheres with their beliefs. But when people of faith sound like they are fearful, the strength of the witness is diminished. Maintaining our faith in a God who sustains us by his love is a vital component of this current public engagement. Tim Costello is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity.

OPINION

AUGUST 2019

Let’s keep the good news new

The gospel is, literally, “good news.” The English word “gospel” is used for the Greek word “euangelion” which meant an important royal announcement. Likewise, the Christian gospel announces the timeless story of how the sovereign God went to all redemptive lengths to show that he is for us, not against us – whether we were for him or not. Of course, many don’t accept this news. Some don’t want the gospel to be true. They simply don’t want there to be a personal, sovereign Creator. Atheist philosopher Thomas Nagel

action. Lots of the time, we simply believe what appears to be true to us. We register the existence and nature of things through our senses. We intuit things. We accept things people tell us. We reflect on things and piece things together. We trust our experience of life to teach us things. None of these ways are infallible. We do have responsibilities: to pursue true beliefs, to choose where to direct our senses and who to believe, and to examine our beliefs to see how sensible they are. Nevertheless, it remains the case that we can’t just decide what we want. Our beliefs correspond to what seems true to us. This observation has big implications for sharing the Christian gospel. First, seeing belief as reflexive should lead us to recognise that virtually everyone is genuine in their beliefs. Yes, sometimes our discussions about these things can get heated or frustrating – but belief is rarely malicious. We’re all humans trying to sort out what we think about life in a complex universe. We all come from different places, have access to different evidence, and evaluate new things through brain “grids” of radically different existing beliefs. Second, changing our minds is also largely a reflex action. In the same way we don’t choose what

istock / KatarzynaBialasiewicz

Richard Shumack on faith barriers

famously said “It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.” Others think the gospel is too good to be true. I’ve known those who thought they were too bad for God to love them. One that immediately comes to mind was a WW2 veteran who literally believed he had too much blood on his hands to be forgiven. Yet others think it’s too unfair to be true. Many of my Muslim friends struggle with the idea that God could be properly for people who are against him and are harming his created people and world. Increasing numbers believe it is fake news: that it is simply untrue because there is a lack of supporting evidence. It is also becoming more popular to believe that, whatever the historical facts, this message is bad – read: harmful – news for contemporary society. These significant barriers to belief arise from different places: the will, the psyche, moral intuition, access to evidence, and imagination. There’s another, less discussed, barrier. We humans don’t have much choice in what we believe. Instead, belief is largely a reflex

Presenting the good news in a new way can help people change their minds. to believe, we also don’t choose to change our minds about things. Instead, we “come to realise” that an existing belief is false. How? By coming to believe a new thing that changes the way things appear to us. Sometimes this new thing is a fact or experience or piece of evidence. Other times it’s a new perspective on things – a new angle. So, trying to change someone else’s mind by telling them they are wrong almost never works. Instead, it comes from showing them a new thing that makes them realise they were mistaken previously. Third, this means Christians need to make sure that their gospel really is “new.” In Australia, the Christian message is an old story. It’s so vaguely familiar to so many, that we think we know it when we don’t. We may know lots of bits of it, but not know how it fits together. We may know all of it, but

not have the belief framework to understand it. If Christians want people to change their minds about Jesus, they need to present the old news in ways that bring new things before their audience. To do this, they need to listen carefully to unbelievers to see what they already believe. Then they need to come at the gospel from newly imagined angles, highlight lesser known features, identify unknown evidence, and testify to new ways they see God at work in their lives. All this opens possibilities for hearers coming to believe new things about Jesus. Yes, belief (and unbelief) is complex, but if Christians want people to “come to realise” that the good news is good, it helps to keep it news. Richard Shumack is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity and a philosopher of religion.

Bible Stat A challenge: 3,988 languages used by 246 million people don’t have any Scripture.

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