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Number 61, AUGUST 2015 ISSN 1837-8447
Brought to you by the Bible Society
A million ways to hear the gospel Meet an online church that chats to you
Noel Pearson wants the NT translated for his people
Why we are in a golden age of Christian writing
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NEWS
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News page 2-3 In Depth 5-10 Books Liftout
Threats to religious freedom after US same-sex marriage decision
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In the US Supreme Court samesex marriage decision, the fivejudge majority held that the US Constitution grants same-sex couples the right to marry, which is another way to say that any State that does not define marriage to include same-sex couples is acting unlawfully (in the US, marriage is the domain of each respective State). They did so on four primary grounds: 1) “individual autonomy”; 2) that such “safeguards children and families”; 3) marriage gives access to “an expanding list of governmental rights, benefits and responsibilities”; and 4) that the right to marry “supports a twoperson union unlike any other in its importance to the committed individuals”. Although there are many differing constitutional distinctions between Australia and the US
beyond the scope of this article, we may be well served by considering how the theoretical bases underpinning each of these grounds may apply to us antipodeans. On the first ground, freedom to act in accordance with one’s conscience (including as informed by religious conviction) is at the root of individual liberal autonomy. In July, Australian Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson claimed, “The question of religious freedom has not been taken seriously. It is treated as an afterthought. We cannot allow a situation where the law is telling people they have to act against their conscience and beliefs.” Second, it is not clear to me how the equality-based arguments asserted in support of same-sex marriage can align with the right of a child to be reared by their mother and father. Certain surrogacy regimes within Australia leave the child’s right to access information on their biological parents to a government bureaucracy, and ultimately a court on appeal. Among the factors the court may plausibly consider is whether the biological parent wishes to be known. This leaves open the very concerning possibility that in our generation our government has precluded a class of people from knowing their biological heritage, against their will.
Quotable
Infographic:
Opinion 15-20
Obadiah Slope RIVER FEVER: Obadiah has always felt sympathy for Naaman, who was told by Elisha (2 Kings 5) to bathe in the Jordan rather than the rivers Abana and Pharpar of Damascus. “Are they not better rivers?” he asked. The Jordan today is polluted by sewage and industrial waste, according to the Living Church magazine. But the royal family of Jordan supplied river water to the British royals to baptise Princess Charlotte recently. Jordan has a national baptism commission that supplies water in bottles for baptisms – and you can do full immersion in the actual river. The Israelis and West Bank Palestinians provide similar services, too. WRONG PARABLE: Obadiah made a mistake in the last Eternity, mislabelling the “Parable of the Vineyard” which Peter Costello commented on as the “Parable of the Talents”. Actually he made the same error twice but caught it on page one, but not inside. He obviously lacks some talent. KEVIN’S BACON: He is now a major author, visiting Australia this month for the prestigious Moore College lectures which often become a book, but Kevin Vanhoozer was once a classical pianist seeking a theological college to go to. His problem was that it was only a few days before the start of the academic year. As Wesley Hill tells the story in Christianity Today, Vanhoozer sent 60 colleges a parody of a recommendation form asking the colleges questions like “What are the strengths and weaknesses of the seminary?” WE AVOID INVESTING IN: One professor, John Frame of Westminster Theological Embryonic stem the celljoke research Seminary, appreciated and Alcoholweakness: & tobacco“Totally wrote under depraved”. As Hill points out, that’s Pornography a Calvinist joke – “totally depraved” Gambling is how they describe our inability Weapons to seek God on our own. Anyhow that’s how this Child Labour theological heavyweight got into Fast food theological college.
AUGUST 2015
Mark Fowler on dissenting views
Third, it might also be said that the US Supreme Court majority’s desire to remove discrimination in access to the benefits (including superannuation, inheritance, tax, property rights etc.) is no longer a significant concern in Australia, due to legislation enacted by the Rudd Government in 2008, undertaken with wide community support, including that of the Australian Christian Lobby. The 2008 legislation also speaks to the Supreme Court’s fourth concern, as does the definitional debate over whether a redefined concept of marriage could continue to encompass the classical understanding. All four dissenting judges raised concerns that the majority was arrogating to itself the power of the Parliament to “say what the law is”. Justice Alito made the remarkable claim that a “system of government that makes the People subordinate to a committee of nine unelected judges does not deserve to be called a democracy.” By comparison, in 2013 the Australian High Court held that, whilst it was permissible for Australian law to define marriage to include persons of the same sex, whether it did so was a question for the Parliament. Hence, the current parliamentary debate. US Chief Justice Roberts, in dissent, warned that the majority’s decision left open a raft of yet-to-
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be-determined consequences for religious entities. He recognised that the tax exemption of US religious institutions who oppose same-sex marriage “would be in question” based on a 1983 US decision concerning a university that precluded from enrolment persons in an interracial marriage. His concern extended also to the effect on religious institutions engaged in service areas such as education and adoption. The scope of religious exemptions within anti-discrimination legislation will continue to be considered by Australian courts, one of the most recent examples being the Victorian Court of Appeal’s ruling last year that a Christian youth camp had breached Victorian law by refusing to take a booking from a group of same-sex attracted individuals. Roberts concluded that a “State’s decision to maintain the meaning of marriage that has persisted in every culture throughout human history can hardly be called irrational.” To quote Tim Wilson, religious objectors, “despite popular representations … are not bigots, and their genuine beliefs should not be slurred as such.” A democratic polity allows for respectful, considered debate with a view to the common good. People of religious conviction have equal right to be heard in that discussion.
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NEWS
AUGUST 2015
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Meet real people at church online STEVEN FOGG You may have heard of church being held in a pub or café or some other unlikely location. Now church services are happening in another place where you’d least expect to find them. Online. On 23 August, Crossway Church, a large Baptist church based in Melbourne, will launch Australia’s first interactive church online. It’s not just a video stream. It is an interactive service where attendees can chat on the site in real time with anyone else who attends, or chat with service hosts who are available to chat and pray with those attending the online service. Crossway’s Senior Pastor, Dale Stephenson, said, “We’ve launched church online because we know for all kinds of reasons people can’t actually attend church in person on a Sunday. For some they are housebound due to illness or disability. For others, it’s their stage of life; they could be a full-time carer or locked into incompatible working hours. Some may live in an area where there is no church. Or it may be that people just want to check out our church. All are welcome!” Dale said, “For those who are housebound, connectivity with others is vital. They want to be part of a community where they can feel like they belong, where they can have conversations and pray with others. People are craving community and for some their
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In brief MARRIAGE ALERT: A cross-party bill for same-sex marriage is likely to be introduced into Federal Parliament during the sitting that begins August 11, the day after Parliament returns from the winter break. The National Day of Prayer and Fasting group have called for Christians to pray for a “miracle of marriage” in the period leading up to August 11. STILL DEBATING: The Uniting Church National Assembly has voted to keep discussing same-sex marriage, especially with its ethnic church groups and its Aboriginal and Islander Congress. The vote means the church has not approved same-sex marriage. Their next National Assembly is not until 2018.
Crossway Church says Australia’s first online church won’t just stream the sermon, but is fully interactive. options are more limited than others and we want to open up this opportunity for anyone to come and connect.” Crossway also has Australia’s first dedicated church online pastor, Steven Fogg. Steven said, “Church online will be a brilliant opportunity for anyone to attend church on a Sunday – wherever they are. There are no walls in our church. Whether they are in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia in fact anywhere in the world everyone and anyone is welcome. They are just one click away from experiencing a contemporary
service. Starting with ten services each Sunday, there will be a time for people to chat with each other, receive prayer and attend church together online.” One couple, Don and Lisa Waters, have a young family. They said, “We have very young children and sometimes getting to church is impossible. The children may be sick or something, but now we can still attend, which is fantastic.” Andrew Gaskill, a member of the Crossway community who moved overseas a few years ago, said, “I’ve missed being at Crossway since moving to Scotland for work
reasons. Now I will be able to attend even though I’m living in a different time zone. I’ve also put my hand up to volunteer and help.” In her senior years, Maria is excited at the prospect of Crossway’s new online campus. “Depending on the week it is impossible to attend church due to medical reasons because I am housebound. Now I never have to miss a week again.” Crossway’s online church will be held at crossway.org.au from 23 August starting with ten services starting on the hour throughout Sunday.
CANBERRA PILGRIMS: Voices of Justice, the Canberra Workshop held each year by Micah Challenge, will enable grassroots Christians to engage with politicians on social justice issues from 10 to 13 October. Micahchallenge.org.au KHMER CATHEDRAL: Construction is set to start on the largest Christian church in Cambodia, the Khmer Times reports. The city’s Anglican church, Church of Christ Our Peace is set to begin work on an eight-storey church and community centre on the site of the former residence of the last pre-Khmer Rouge mayor of Phnom Penh. Approximately 60 per cent of the funding for the $3 million project has already been raised, the church reports. George Conger Anglicanink.com
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AUGUST 2015
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The Miracle Gift of Sight – Zawati’s story Zawati’s life has been one filled with tragedy and challenges. His mother died giving birth to him. And soon after, his father abandoned him. Zawati was left an orphan – alone in the world – until he was placed in the care of his Aunt Dorisi. Then, just when this tiny child felt safe at last...Zawati began losing his sight. Dorisi first noticed that there was something different about Zawati’s eyes compared to her other children. But without access to healthcare or money to afford it, she had no way of getting any medical assistance. Dorisi’s fears were realised when she enrolled Zawati in school. Staff told her that Zawati could not see the blackboard, or read his books, and it was going to get worse. She knew that Zawati would not receive the education he needed, and that he wouldn’t be able to support himself when he got older. He would face a life living in extreme poverty. Zawati needed a Miracle. CBM Australia is passionate about finding children like Zawati fast, before it’s too late to save their sight, or even their lives. When CBM found Zawati, every minute mattered.So CBM’s partner surgeons operated on him straight away. And the GREAT news is, when the eye patches came off the next morning, Zawati sat up in bed and exclaimed: “I can see properly now! I can see the window, the glass... and I can even see the trees outside!” And he has hardly
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In West Africa, Maseray Kamara buries the Ebola dead - Page 8
Noel Pearson (centre) is presented with a Kuku Yalanji dictionary (created by the Hershbergers in 1986) reprint by Wycliffe Australia CEO Barry Borneman (left) and translator David Blackman
Living languages need the Bible BELINDA FOX The ancient Guugu Yimithirr language of Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland reverberated around the room as Aboriginal Australian lawyer, academic and land rights activist Noel Pearson read from the Guugu Yimithirr words inscribed in German missionary Georg Schwarz’s own
handwriting. Translated back into English, it said, “My friend, you will soon forget what I have to say. I put God’s Word into your language in this book. This you must never forget. Always keep it in your mind and always speak it. Muni.” Noel Pearson accepted an invitation to speak at Wycliffe Australia’s recent conference in
celebration of 60 years of work. Pearson shared candidly, from the very depths of his heart, about the values of his family, the legacy of Lutheran missionaries in Hope Vale, and the importance of translating Scripture into Indigenous languages. According to Pearson, had it not been for Schwarz (who came to the Hope Vale mission in 1887 at only
19 years of age and stayed for a further 55 years), “the community would have perished”. For Noel, who, along with his father and grandfather, was born at Hope Vale, Georg Heinrich Schwarz was a “towering figure in [his] childhood imagination”. Though he died before Noel was born, Schwarz’s memory lives on in Hope Vale’s Guugu
Yimithirr community. Earning the name “Muni” (the word for black in Guugu Yimithirr), Schwarz “understood very early on that the gospel spoke through the Guugu Yimithirr language to the people”. Despite many voices over the years predicting the imminent death of the Guugu Yimithirr language, it has defied the odds. Noel believes that the language
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community was actually “revivified by the stolen generations” as it was taught to the children who came to the mission community. When Noel was in primary school, American linguist John Haviland compiled a grammar and dictionary of Guugu Yimithirr – an important foundation for language maintenance. And local pastor George Rosendale was a great exponent of the Guugu Yimithirr language through his sermons and oratory, hymn singing and Bible reading. As a result, Guugu Yimithirr has stayed alive through to this day. Nevertheless, Pearson yearns for the day when the New Testament is fully translated into Guugu Yimithirr. “The advent of a Guugu Yimithirr Bible is something that’s still a matter of great anxiety to me and the people of my community. I really think that I will feel reassured about the future of Guugu Yimithirr when we have a full translation of the New Testament.” Speaking cheekily, yet in all sincerity, Noel put the invitation out there: “anyone interested in 20 years of effort, we’d be really grateful to hear from you!” Noel is adamant about the importance of Bible translation, not only for the purpose of communication but as an important means of preserving Australia’s rich heritage. “I really think that the work that has been done on New Testament translations around Australia is just the most important work.” Apart from his beloved Guugu Yimithirr language, Noel also has strong connections with several other languages. In fact, the very first linguistic research,
AUGUST 2015
Ruth Hershberger and her class among the Kuku Yalanji tribe. undertaken by Wycliffe Australia linguists Bill and Lynette Oates in 1963, was in Noel’s mother’s language – Kuku Yalanji. Norman Baird, Noel’s uncle, was “the driver of the original Kuku Yalanji dictionary with Lyn Oates and very anxious about the perseveration of the Kuku Yalanji language”. Noel also acknowledged with appreciation the work of Wycliffe translators from the USA, Hank and Ruth Hershberger, who dedicated 25 years of their lives to completing a Kuku Yalanji
New Testament as well as the book of Genesis. Noel feels that his mother’s people are “really blessed with the work that the Hershbergers did”. In spite of the many adversities endured by his people, Noel reminisces on his years at the mission with fondness. “No more privileged life was there than the one I had. I heard of all the hardships of the past but I had a really keen sense that what the missionaries and my grandparents had achieved was a great
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achievement.” Even so, his distress over the “social unravelling of the last 40 years”, where “a whole lot of very precious things have crumbled and fallen apart” is very apparent. He regrets the failure to better prepare for the transition from mission life, the scourge that came from the introduction of and reliance on welfare, and the destructiveness of government policies. These things, Noel laments, tragically resulted in previously non-existent problems spreading “like wildfire through
[their] communities” as people failed to understand the “real things [they] needed to defend”. And yet, Noel has “every reason for optimism”. With their examples of great character from the past, and leaders in the present who are seeking a better future, he maintains that, through welldelivered education and taking a determined path, even the most horrific of situations can be turned around. In a moving conclusion to a heartfelt speech, Noel read from the Hershbergers’ translation into his mother’s language of Kuku Yalanji. For the second time in the evening another ancient language speaking of the love of God in Jesus Christ reverberated around the room as Noel gave an intermittent translation back into English from Romans chapter eight: “Jesus Christ tells us God really loves us. He gave us his son to die for us. He gave his son freely. He cleansed us. Jesus Christ died for us. He’s pleading with his Father for us. He loves us. Who can separate us from his love? No way. Nothing. We might have trouble. We might be sick. They might be talking bad about us. They might have anger towards us. We might be poor and hungry. They might want to kill us. He’s steadfast with us. God will never leave us.” Noel Pearson and his people well know the kind of trouble the Apostle Paul describes here. But into the deepest difficulties life throws at us, the gospel of Christ speaks great hope. Just as Muni exhorted the Guugu Yimithirr people, it is a message worth holding on to. “Always keep it in your minds and always speak it.”
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IN DEPTH
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One on one with Brian Houston
Hillsong
Eternity editor John Sandeman sat down with Hillsong senior pastor Brian Houston during Hillsong’s 2015 Conference, Australia’s largest Christian gathering. JS: I want to ask you about the theme of this Hillsong Conference: Speak: We’re listening. Can I ask you about a time in your life when you believe God spoke to you and said “Brian, just keep on with what you are doing, you are doing fantastically well” and maybe there’s a time when God said “Brian, I really want you to change something you are doing.” BH: Look, I could tell you many stories across my life of significant moments, when God has spoken to me directing a vision, which today has framed many different aspects of our work. I find it happens at the most unexpected times. It’s been on aeroplanes. I was on an aeroplane way back in the early years of our church. I really got just a dream in my heart. It was called International Power Ministries, which could actually fit in a box in a store cupboard. It was all about [building] “arms”: a Bible college, television ministry, praise and worship, and a teaching and preaching resource. It was nothing more than a dream. I got off the plane with it drawn out, a little graph of what today is not Power Ministries International anymore, it’s 1500 students, Hillsong International College
and we are on television in 160 countries around the world. The story of the music and worship is legendary. And so on and so on and so on. All of that came out of that encounter ... I am a great believer that God does speak and that we need to listen. JS: Many preachers I have met have had points of challenge in their lives – have you found it a challenge to be following God at various points in your life? BH: In my book Live, Love, Lead, I talk a whole lot about living a big life on a difficult path through a narrow gate to a glorious future, based on Matthew 7:13.
And so in the “difficult path” section I really open my heart up because the truth is that in our Hillsong world, when outwardly we were exploding (with growth), inwardly I was imploding. So decline. I go into quite a bit of detail about that 12-year decline. I ended up with panic attacks and being diagnosed with posttraumatic stress. Yeah – I have had plenty of the valleys and the reason for adding all that to the book is that I want to bless other people. It’s amazing how you meet God in the valley. I think somehow when we are desperate and we are hurting that
is when the Bible speaks to us. Magnified. Speaks to us ten times or a hundred times more than when we are just riding the waves of success. I am a great believer that if we do listen to God, he will speak. He will reach us in the dark. JS: The whole Christian community is at a certain point in history where we see things like the Supreme Court decision about same-sex marriage in the United States. Can you tell me how the church can bless the gay community? BH: For a start I think everyone deserves the right to be happy. And I wish people happiness. Don’t necessarily, personally, believe that gay marriage is God’s definition of marriage. But I believe that as a church we can exist in that world. As long as things are not forced upon the church in terms of what we have to do or don’t have to do. I just believe that the way that we can help is by praying for people, helping them, wish them happiness. I want to see people happy. I don’t want to see people live their lives feeling broken or disenfranchised. It saddens me if you are hated by the church. Some young people – they got rejected when they try to confront a youth leader or even their own parents when they ask things about what they are dealing with in their own life – and end up loathing the church, hating God and sometimes suicidal because they feel like they
are an absolute failure in a world that has rejected them. I think as a church it is so easy for us to wipe lives off. Hillsong Church is not like that. Unapologetically that is not what we are. JS: Brian, a question I have always wanted to ask you: what is the heart of Hillsong? BH: The heart of Hillsong is ... I have written a little paragraph that talks about our heart and our tone. It talks about being generous in spirit, faith-filled and inclusive in nature. That is exactly how I see it. I believe the church works the opposite way to the world. If you go to a club in New York City it is rated on how exclusive it is and how hard it is to get in. The kingdom of God and the gospel is exactly the opposite. It is arms wide open, whosoever will may come. That is what I believe is the heart of Hillsong Church. I see us as family. My wife describes our church – the way it is now spread all over the world – as “one house with many rooms”. And so we want that to be the feel of our church. You walk into any foyer of any of our churches anywhere, the first sign you see says “Welcome home”. That is how we want it to be. Our heart is to reach people and connect people with God. Love people, love life, love God.
+ Read the full interview at biblesociety.org.au/news/houstoninterview
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AUGUST 2015
A promise to God and my sisters BY MASERAY KAMARA AS TOLD TO KAREN HOMER
Jonathan Bundu, World Vision Sierra Leone
Last December, with West Africa reeling from the Ebola epidemic, Maseray Kamara became one of the first women in Sierra Leone to join a burial team established by World Vision, Catholic Relief Services and the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development to provide safe and dignified burials. Working in the shadow of Ebola, shunned by their frightened communities, the team workers have been the unacknowledged heroes of an epidemic that has claimed more than 11,000 lives in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. On 1 June, Maseray, representing the 803-member team, received the Bond Humanitarian Award, recognising inspiring individuals working on the front line in some of the most challenging contexts around the world. This is Maseray’s story, as told to World Vision’s Karen Homer. “I am an Ebola survivor. My husband and my sister are not. They are among the 3900 Ebola victims who have died in Sierra Leone in the year since the epidemic began. Life as my family knew it ended when Ebola began. Before, I was a multi-tasking mother, grandmother and wife. My husband, Issa, was a teacher, and I bought and sold used clothes to make money, earning about 80,000 leones ($9) per day. Together, we raised five children in Bo, Sierra Leone’s second largest city. My daughter, Augusta, gave us two beautiful grandchildren. We did not have much, but as I realise now, we were happy. In late May 2014, we heard rumours that a deadly disease had spread to Sierra Leone from neighbouring Guinea. Many people argued that Ebola did not really exist. They believed witchcraft was killing people, not an invisible virus. Others heeded the wisdom of pastors and imams who preached about Ebola prevention. They saved many lives. The Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone was the perfect storm: an unprecedented epidemic colliding with a collapsed healthcare system. In those early days, even the experts were unsure how to contain it. Few people understood that Ebola is spread through contact with infected patients and that the virus stayed in bodily fluids even after death. Our sacred tradition – shared by Christians
Maseray Kamara wearing protective clothing for World Vision’s “safe and dignified” burials in Sierra Leone and Muslims – of washing our deceased loved ones before burial soon became an unwitting suicide mission for grieving families. By the time the government reluctantly declared a national public health emergency on 31 July, about 500 people were infected. Fear and stigma mushroomed. Police arrested suspected Ebola patients; the corpses of others lay in the streets. Health officials organised “dead body management” teams, but often it took days for them to arrive. For Muslims who must bury their dead before sundown, this was horrific. Christians were denied their funeral rites that honour the deceased over several days. Mourners watched helplessly as overwhelmed undertakers loaded their parents, their children into trash bags and tossed them into pickup trucks, never to be seen again. “How will I live with myself if I let my mother be buried like a dog?” asked a friend. Soon people resisted the authorities – hiding the sick and burying their dead in secret. For months my family escaped Ebola, relieved and grateful. But then my world collapsed in October when Augusta, 30, died after childbirth,
leaving her two-month-old baby girl and her son, 11, in our care. Could I protect them from Ebola? Issa worked in Freetown and lived in the home of my sister, Fallay, and her family. The capital was an Ebola hot zone. I begged them to be careful. Stay inside. Wash your hands constantly. Don’t attend the funerals of even close friends. In November, I travelled to Freetown to see my family. While there, I visited a long-time friend, who didn’t know that he was in the early stages of Ebola. Shortly afterwards, I developed a fever. I was terrified when stomach cramps and vomiting hit me. I called 117 – the national Ebola hotline – and an ambulance soon arrived. Fallay and Issa felt ill, too, but they refused to come with me to the hospital. “No one comes back from the Ebola ward,” they said. “It is a death sentence.” How I regret not convincing them to get in that ambulance. I tested positive for Ebola. For one month and one day, I lay among the dying and the dead. The pain crippled me, and at times I almost gave up fighting the virus. I watched nurses trying to manage the mayhem. They lacked plastic gloves to care for contagious
patients let alone to clean the floors slick with vomit and faeces. They tossed food at us like prisoners for fear of touching the contaminated. Orderlies piled the dead in a corner, often dropping corpses on their heads. My heart especially broke for the women – naked, exposed – no one to protect their dignity in death. I vowed to God: if I leave here alive, I will do something to honour the memory of these sisters. Pumped full of fluids, I defeated the dehydration that ultimately claims many Ebola patients. I was so weak that I couldn’t walk, but finally I was released. The celebration was short-lived. Relatives broke the news to me that Issa and Fallay, as well as my aunt, Josephine, had all died of Ebola. Widowed. Unemployed. Unemployable. Ebola survivor. My new identity. At 53, I had two grandchildren to raise, but no one would hire me. Neighbours shunned me, blaming me for spreading the disease. While I was in hospital, they burned the goods I had bought to sell in the local market. My landlord threatened to evict me. In December, I heard that World Vision was hiring workers to conduct safe and dignified burials for Ebola victims and others.
As a survivor, I am immune to the disease and faced less risk. I recalled my promise to God and to my sisters on the hospital floor. I was the first woman Ebola survivor to join the team. Since then, I have buried more than 70 of my fellow Sierra Leoneans. My first burial was a one-year-old baby girl. Our team enables families a chance to say a proper farewell while protecting them from disease. As one of only ten women on our team of 803 workers, my role is to ensure that women are treated with dignity as we dress and place the body in a protective bag. A minister or imam is present to pray, and the family walks to the grave-site with the team. It is hard for people to put aside their comforting rituals and traditions of preparing our loved ones for burial ourselves. But extreme times call for extreme measures, as our President reminds us. Surviving Ebola is a miracle of God. As a Christian, I joined the burial team as a way of giving thanks to him. I also see this work as a service to our country in the war on Ebola. Recovering from Ebola will take us years. But we will find comfort on the hard path to healing knowing that we did right by our parents, our spouses and our children in death.” The World Vision-led partnership, known as SMART (Social Mobilisation And Respectful Burials Through faith-based alliance), is funded by the British Government and to date has buried more than 16,100 people – Ebola victims and others – with grace and dignity. Accepting the award, Maseray said: “I am of course elated and honoured to win this award, although I feel it belongs to many other selfless individuals – especially women – who are volunteering to bury Ebola’s victims in our country.” Ben Jackson, CEO of Bond, said: “The Bond International Development Awards are about recognising the bravery of hundreds of unsung heroes like Maseray who work on the front line day in, day out risking their own lives so other people are safe. They save thousands of people from deadly diseases and humanitarian disasters like the recent Nepal earthquake, and fight for social justice and equality in some of the most dangerous areas in the world.”
Fostering: making kids feel loved and safe TESS HOLGATE Wayne and Louise raised three adult daughters, but when their youngest was 17, they decided to look into fostering children. For many years they had admired the way friends of theirs loved and cared for foster children. Since they became registered foster carers with Key Assets, they have taken four young children into their home for varying lengths of time. “Louise saw it as a form of ministry that she wanted to get into,” says Wayne. “She was teaching full time, and not enjoying it very much, and she thought if she taught part time she’d be able to get into this ministry, and that’s
where her heart really lay.” As a teacher, Louise had taught foster children in her classes over the years. “I’ve been to some of their team meetings because they wanted to know about their education,” says Louise. “When you receive a foster child into your classroom you have a meeting with the parents and sometimes some of the people involved with the foster child outside of the family just to let you know some of their history and how you can help them in the classroom.” Wayne admits that, except for Louise’s teaching experience, they didn’t really know much about fostering. “We knew there was a need out there, we knew there were kids that through no fault of their
own were in circumstances that were really hard for them.” For Wayne and Louise, it comes down to need. Wayne asks, “Can we fill the need? You have to look beyond what the first circumstances are. It is what it is; kids are being taken away from their birth parents for whatever reason. What can we do about it? How can we help?” But they are realistic about the kind of impact it is possible to have in a crisis care situation: “We’re not going to fix this kid up; we’re not going to sort his life out in the short time they’re with us,” says Wayne. “I like to think that while they’re here they feel safe and loved,” says Louise. “Because usually they’ve come from circumstances where
they’re not safe. I’d like to think they’re safe, th0at they learn that this is how a family works, that this is how we might speak to each other, that this is how we love each other.” “But,” says Wayne, “if you acknowledge the fact that bad influences can affect a child through their life then the opposite can be true too: good influences can affect a child. It’s hard to say to what extent. You just don’t know.” Even though they both admit that the tough days can be really hard, they are adamant that fostering is worth the struggle. “You have to think beyond [the hard days],” says Wayne. “This kid is like that for a reason. Imagine if you weren’t being nice to them,
what would their life be? I just think every kid deserves a chance. If we’re in a position where we can do that, that’s what we want to do. “Anyone can do foster care,” says Wayne. “You don’t have to be a certain type of person.” Louise says, “Anyone who is able to open up their home to children, or wants to open up their home to children, is able to give them a stable place to live and look after them, love them.” Wayne and Louise don’t have any foster children at the moment because they’re in the middle of moving house, but they say, “Key Assets have a presence in our new location and are always looking for more foster carers. We’ll get more settled, and it might work out.”
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FEBC SPONSORED PAGE
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To Russia with love VICTOR AKHTEROV FEBC’s radio ministry is bringing God’s love to this complex and troubled part of the world. After the fall of communism, a new independent Russia was born on Christmas Day, 1991. Years of brutality, hardship and atheism had left a legacy of eroded community and family values. Alcoholism, drug abuse, homelessness and suicide are entrenched problems across the country. Offering hope instead of despair, FEBC Russian Ministries is speaking to millions via radio and internet broadcasts from Moscow, St Petersburg, Michurinsk (south of Moscow) and Norilsk (in the Arctic Circle) and in surrounding nations, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It all began in the 1950s with a 100kw shortwave service, now transmitted from the Philippines, covering the entire former USSR with programs in the Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Tatar, Chuvash, Kirghiz, MariLow, Osetin, Udmurt and Uzbek languages. Room for the truth In Russian society, social problems are covered up and ignored. However, at FEBC we talk openly about many issues from a biblical perspective. People are listening. One listener from Moscow wrote, “My husband left me and
Contact FEBC Australia www.febc.org.au Facebook (FEBC Australia) Twitter (@febcaus) Phone 1300 720 017 Email office@febc.org.au I am raising my daughter alone. Very often, I do not know how to help my daughter. Thanks to FEBC broadcasts, we began to attend an evangelical church. Please pray for us.” Broken lives are being healed by God’s words of hope and salvation. “I was raped when I was 17,” said Elena, who is now 35. “No
one talks about things like this. People like me are invisible. “As I listened to your programmes, I realised how much pain I was carrying inside. For the first time, I knew that there was hope for me, that God could help me deal with this pain. I will continue to listen to your station.” Despite government pressure, the evangelical church in Russia
continues to grow. Many young people come to know Christ through FEBC and then, following our daily advice, join the fellowship of believers in their city or town. I grew up under communism, in a strong Christian family. My father was imprisoned for his faith. I too listened to FEBC broadcasts. I was part of a small church, being hunted by the Government,
hiding in forests to worship together. It felt like it was us against the world. When I listened to FEBC, I knew that there are a lot of us, people who love Jesus. It’s an amazing feeling and one I am so privileged to share. Victor Akhterov, Director, FEBC Russian Ministries
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INDEPTH
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AUGUST 2015
Can feminism and Christianity be friends? SOPHIA RUSSELL
J. Howard Miller / Wikimedia
Although she considered herself both a Christian and a strong woman, Tamie Davis’ feminist lecturers at university were adamant Christianity was partly to blame for the oppression of women throughout history. On the other side of the campus, her student Bible study group disagreed. It was 2001: one year after Christian author Dr Kirsten Birkett published her critique of feminist ideology, The Essence of Feminism, which described the Bible as pro-women yet “simply unfeminist”. The consensus among many Christian students in the early 2000s was that feminism was a worldly ideology they needed to stand against. It’s a stance that Davis – now a missionary in Tanzania with her husband and toddler – has been wrestling with since her student days. Today, a growing number of Christian women are also grappling with the perceived divide between feminism and Christianity. One such Christian is university student Alison Benge, who moved to New Zealand after completing a diploma at Moore Theological College in Sydney three years ago. When Benge become a Christian, she was struck by the way Jesus honoured women. “Jesus treated women just like he treated men. He praised Mary in front of his disciples when she poured perfume on his feet. He stopped
In the early 1980s, this poster was rediscovered and became famous, associated with feminism, and often mistakenly called “Rosie the Riveter”. the adulterous woman from being stoned … I also know that today, by virtue of being female, I should expect certain types of mistreatment. Things like getting hollered at while walking down the street. I have a rape whistle on my key-ring; in the Australian army [where Benge served for three years] I slept with a crow bar near my bed.” Benge was staunchly against feminism when she first encountered the movement online. Although she found some of the articles fuelled by rage, she committed to engaging with them through the lens of Christianity. “I spent two years trying to sort through it myself – working out how much I agree with, how much aligns with my faith,” she says. One source of confusion she discovered was the definition of the word
“feminism”. While some accuse feminists of trying to control men, most of the online chatter about feminism focuses on creating equal structures of power. In her famous speech at the United Nations last year, British actress and Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women Emma Watson bemoaned the barb “man-hating” as contrary to the dictionary definition of feminism, which is equal rights for men and women. Davis agrees. “While there may be a small subsection of feminists that have, in the past, argued any interaction with men is inherently oppressive to women, the majority of feminists, both in the past and today, have argued for equality – men and women being and working together,” she says. Benge believes this definition means Christians can uphold male
headship while fighting feminist causes, especially if the notion of headship is tied to the Bible’s claim that men and women are equally created in God’s image. “When I was in the army, I wanted to be as strong as a man, but I can’t carry 80kg on my own. That’s just fact. So I interpret feminism as equal standing, but we are different,” says Benge. “I don’t believe that gender roles or complementarianism are oppressive. They’re harmonious ways of loving and serving each other – when done right.” Complementarianism or traditional gender roles may not fit with society’s perception of what a feminist is. But over the last decade, feminists have challenged this perception, acknowledging not all women within the movement think alike. This shift arose when feminism took up the theory of intersectionality: claiming people have multiple aspects to their identity that affect the way they experience oppression. “You are not ‘just’ a feminist; you might be an Indigenous Australian, or working class, or a Christian,” says Davis. “Those other parts of your life will interact with your feminism because they’re all part of who you are.” For Christians, this means it’s possible to agree with secular feminists on some stances, while challenging others – not as a combatant but as a participant in the movement. Davis likens it to building bridges instead of fortresses. In the former, you’re
conciliatory,” explains Davis. “I’m not coming from a humanist philosophy; I’m coming from a Christian worldview. We come from two different places, but it doesn’t mean I can’t come over and try to understand your world … I prefer the building bridges approach and feminism is broad enough to have a place for me.” Such bridges may create opportunities for Christians to be witnesses among secularist feminists, but they can create tensions. None of the women interviewed for this story could name a point where feminism has come into conflict with their beliefs as a Christian, possibly because the movement is currently so broad there is room to agree to disagree. Benge, however, cautions that feminism alone doesn’t have adequate answers to oppression. “We live in a system of male white privilege, but we acknowledge the far greater problem of sin … the way we discriminate against each other highlights how entangled our society is in sin.” For Christians, she says, “filtering feminism through a biblical sieve” is important. “I’m only a feminist where I see God’s plan for women not being met and gender roles being abused. It’s always feminism that bends the knee, and I’m very careful not to change my interpretation of the Word to fit feminist ideals.”
+ To read full article, visit biblesociety.org.au/news/feminism
SATURDAY 26 SEPTEMBER, 9AM – 3PM
Powerful Words A conference for chaplains
and others interested in pastoral theology and care Chaplaincy is a prayerful cross-cultural ministry that focuses on the needs of others. Chaplains meet people at times of special need, loss and vulnerability and offer a safe place to explore issues of meaning and belonging. This conference will explore how faith, love and hope inform pastoral relationships.
Keynote Speaker Dr Rhys Bezzant Our Days and God’s Years: Pastoral Care in Times of Change Rhys is Dean of Missional Leadership and a Lecturer in Christian Thought at Ridley College. He also leads the Jonathan Edwards Center for Australia. After being a chaplain for several years, Rhys remains passionate about mentoring.
Case Study & Seminar Leaders David Pettett (Prisons) Peter Ellem (Hospitals) Mark Layson (Emergency Services) Kate Bradford A radio-play performed live The Job Verbatim: What not to say Based on the Bible – Book of Job Venue: New College, UNSW Cost: $65 Book Online: www.newcollege.unsw.edu.au/events Enquiries: 02 9381 1999
case
OPEN DAY SATURDAY 22 AUGUST 10am-2pm
Join us at CHC’s Open Day and let us help you to Transform your World. CHC has over 20 courses to choose from, ranging from Diploma to Masters level. Discover your calling in -
• Business • Education • Ministries • Social Sciences Meet our friendly staff and students and discover why CHC has been the leading choice in Christian higher education for 30 years.
Campus Tours Course Information Uni Games Free Gift Bag
322 Wecker Rd, Carindale
chc.edu.au
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CHARITY FEATURE
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AUGUST 2015
CBM breaking cycle of poverty and disability TESS HOLGATE
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Formerly known as Christian Blind Mission, CBM now serves not only the vision impaired but also many people living with all kinds of disability. For over 100 years, CBM has been making life-changing differences in poor communities. It has recently appointed a new CEO, Jane Edge. Jane says, “making a difference in the world through my work has been a lifelong principle and intrinsic to living out my Christian faith in a practical way. “What I saw [in CBM] was an organisation that recognises a significant per cent of the population who miss out on development unless we’re careful about including them. That’s what really attracted me to the organisation,” says Jane. “I believe that those living with disability in extreme poverty are some of the ‘least of these’ (cf. Matt 25:40) in today’s world. They are often forgotten, abandoned and cast out of poor communities, as they are not seen as worthy contributors. There could be nothing further from the truth. “My first real insight into the work of CBM on the ground was when I met Gerald, a young man with cerebral palsy who lives in the Philippines. “His parents, Lita and Boboy,
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I believe that those living with disability in extreme poverty are some of the ‘least of these’ in today’s world. ” CEO Jane Edge
have five children. When Gerald was still a child, Boboy would carry Gerald to school every day so he could learn. They did this day after day, year after year. The family was too poor to afford a wheelchair. Through CBM’s local programme, Lita learned how to support Gerald with physical therapy and built her own confidence through parent leadership training. “Now 23, Gerald has completed training in electronics and has set up a shop repairing sound speakers and remixing music. He now contributes to the family income, has a good group of friends and gets invited to social events, often as the DJ! “Not only is Gerald’s life improved, the effects have rippled through to those around them. Gerald is even mentoring other local children and young adults with disability to show them that anything is possible. Jane says meeting Gerald really influenced her. “That was the moment that really crystallised for me what it means to intentionally include people with disability.” CBM’s work is focused on three areas: treatment, prevention and inclusion. It helps make sure people can access the necessary treatment for the illnesses and injuries that cause disability. This includes training surgeons to perform delicate operations, training
healthcare workers in rehabilitation processes, and training parents in physical therapy. It can also involve the provision of wheelchairs or crutches to help someone with a disability to move independently. Second, it works wherever possible to prevent the conditions that lead to disability. It immunises children against debilitating diseases like polio, provides access to basic healthcare and clean water, and works to keep mothers and babies safe during childbirth. Third, it works to make sure people with disabilities are included in their local communities. CBM advocates for those who have a disability and promotes their voices and human rights. “People with disability have a right to achieve their full potential but we’re not always really clear on the value they can bring to us and to their own communities. We are all better for that experience. “I’ve seen first-hand how CBM’s work transforms lives,” says Jane. “There’s nothing more humbling or inspiring than learning a blind person has had their sight restored, or that a lame child is now not just walking but running!” You can find out more about the work of CBM by visiting its website: www.cbm.org.au.
+ Next month’s charity feature will be World Share.
Each month Eternity will highlight a charity from a group that is bringing you this special page.
27 August 2015
$32 for a
www.compassion.com.au
Can you help evacuate Christians in danger?
Miracle gift of sight #makemiracleshappen
Tel: 1300 365 799
Call 131 226 or visit cbm.org.au
LIGHT IN DARKNESS
SHINES 2015 APPEAL
OPERATION SAFE HAVENS
barnabasfund.org/osh
Come on a Short Term Mission with us in 2016 Contact Phil Cogger (03) 9899 2044
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THE BIG PICTURE
AUGUST 2015
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Free speech doesn’t cut both ways MARK HADLEY The national moral crisis that erupted after the appearance on Australian television of a Muslim convicted of advocating the murder of ASIO agents was a reminder of why Christians have to be careful of the lure of freedom of speech. I tuned into Q&A knowing I would probably regret it. There are few programmes so capable of raising my blood pressure. And, sure enough, there he was – the sort of spokesperson for a radical view that host Tony Jones seems to salivate over. His position was ill-informed and built on the sort of emotional appeals that play so well with certain audiences. If panellists raised objections they were met first with cliches, then mockery and finally abuse, delivered with an increasing volume designed to drown out rather than answer their challenges. His presence on my TV led me to question once again whether Q&A was capable of seriously discussing any significant issue. “But then,” I thought, “Rock stars deserve benefit from freedom of speech as much as anyone.” While the rest of Australia seemed to be worried about the opportunity given to former terror suspect Zaky Mallah, I was hoping someone would curtail the rights of Antony Hegarty, lead singer of Antony and the Johnsons. And this, in a nutshell, reveals the problem with treating freedom of speech as a virtue.
Tony Jones anchors ABC’s controversial Q&A programme. According to ABC managing director Mark Scott, the essence of freedom of speech resides in Voltaire’s statement: “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.” Yet the energy of that defence depends very much on how well those words sit with the audience that hears them. In the weeks following the airing of Q&A’s June 22 episode, commentators vilified and defended the ABC for allowing Mallah the opportunity to speak. During the show Liberal parliamentary secretary, Steven Ciobo, stated he would be proud to be part of a government that removed Mallah’s citizenship without trial. Mallah responded with incendiary language that suggested the minister’s words were more likely to radicalise Australian Muslims than pacify them. But the following day the criticism levelled by Prime
Minister Tony Abbott focused not so much on what Mallah said but on the ABC providing him with the opportunity to say it: “They’ve given this disgraceful individual a platform and, in so doing, I believe the national broadcaster has badly let us down. I think the ABC has to have a long, hard look at itself and answer a question which I’ve posed before: ‘Whose side are you on?’ ” Christians might have been among those who felt threatened by either side of the debate. However, we would do well to remember that when it comes to freedom of speech, we are not discussing a bedrock of Christianity. We live in a time where ignorance of the Bible regularly leads us to conflate our faith with our Western values. Yet the Bible does not vouchsafe men and women any rights unless, possibly, it is the penitent’s right to the grace of God. This “rights” language is all
wrong for creatures. Humanity lives under the judgment of God for neglecting his rights. As our creator, God has the right to be glorified; we have the responsibility to obey. The Bible sees every civil right we might proclaim as not something we inherently deserve, but a gift from his hand. Christians defend freedom of speech not for theological reasons but pragmatic ones. We find ourselves defending the freedom of the Zaky Mallahs of this world to speak because it practically protects our personal right to witness. We encourage freedom of speech, not because it’s a virtue but because it’s a value that generally creates the best circumstances for spreading the gospel. Yet Jesus’ command to “make disciples of all nations” obliges us to witness even in countries where freedom of speech is not protected. That’s because our primary belief is one of responsibility to God. We shouldn’t be naive enough to think that defending freedom of speech will guarantee our right to exercise it. Free speech doesn’t cut both ways. It’s just as often a tool used by majority opinions to drown out minority views. Today we’re included on the “side” that was apparently outraged by Mallah’s words or the ABC’s choices. Tomorrow we may find the same rhetoric marshalled against us. But God will hold us responsible for speaking out whether we’re free to do so or not.
ON SCREEN WHILE WE’RE YOUNG “Hipster” is a subculture marker gone gangbusters. Amusingly nailing the good and bad of that culture is comedy drama While We’re Young. Available now on Blu-ray and DVD, this timely tale of 40-something Josh (Ben Stiller) and his wife Cornelia (Naomi Watts) is an excellent depiction of regret, envy, generation gap and whether truth still matters. Josh and Cornelia are in a mid-life-ish rut. They befriend a younger couple – hipster pinups Jamie (Adam Driver) and Darby (Amanda Seyfried) – who renew their passion for life. But as Josh spends more time with charming Jamie, the older man’s admiration and jealousy give way to disappointment and outrage. Stiller and Watts perform well, being representatives of those forced to confront how unhappy they are with where life is at. But more poignant is the subtle symbolism of Jamie’s manipulative ways. Jamie wants to make documentaries. But his approach to truth endorses creating his own. And even his version of the truth will vary, if it serves his purposes. While We’re Young should remind Christians to consider whether they have adopted Jamie’s approach when it comes to gospel truth.
See God’s word in action. An incredible overseas adventure to Cambodia for Schoolies and young adults. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! God’s life changing word at work! Visit vibrant ethnic cultures!
“Go and make disciples of all nations…” Jesus
GODSPEAK advocate
Help make a difference!
So what are you waiting for? Get in touch for trip dates and details. 1300 BIBLES (1300 242 537) mission@biblesociety.org.au biblesociety.org.au/mission
Congratulations! The research and writing of Ridley faculty has been recognised, with three faculty being shortlisted for Australian Christian Book of the Year.
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WWW. RIDLEY. EDU . AU
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AUGUST 2015
BIBLE @ WORK 1920s and 1945: the New the
Testament and a few passages from Old Testament are translated into Ila. But today the language used is hopelessly out of date, and it’s impossible for the Ila community to understand.
A long journey for Zambians to read the Bible KALEY PAYNE
2013: a project to create a new translation of the Ila Bible is launched. It’s part of a pilot to see if the New Testament can be translated in just 3½ years – half the time it usually takes.
the translation has 2016:rd-b reaking progress
made reco and the complete New Testament is due to be launched in July.
be BUT… few people will e six in
able to read it, becaus 10 people in remote villages are illiterate.
bian $30 couldreateadchanda Zam take the Christian to Bible to its final destination, into people’s hearts.
It’s been a long journey to get Scripture to Zambia’s Ila community. But we’re nearly there. You can make the final leg possible. Donate at biblesociety.org.au/zambiaep or call 1300 BIBLES (1300 242 537)
Want to read the Bible? Find one. Read it. It’s that simple for most Australians. Yet what can seem like such a simple act for an Australian Christian has taken Christians in Zambia many years to be able to do. In fact, many still haven’t quite got to the end of a long journey that will see them read the Bible for themselves. The process of getting a Bible into someone’s hands in Zambia is the same process that has been replicated by Bible Societies around the world many, many times. It’s a tried and tested, stepby-step system that Bible Societies are renowned for. The first step in the process is for the Bible to be translated into a language that Zambians can understand. There are seven official languages taught in schools in Zambia. But for those in rural areas, many tribal languages are still strong. Zambians want the Bible in the language they usually speak in their communities, the language that speaks to their heart. Zaccheus is a Bible translator working with The Seed Company in partnership with Bible Society in Zambia. He says that his people, the Ila people, like the sound of God’s word in their mother tongue, and particularly how easily young people can understand it. “Jeso wakaamba ati, ‘Ndime cinkwa cipa bumi. Kufwumbwa muntu uzhiza kwangu takafwi linji inzala, aze wezo uushoma mwangu takafwi linji inyota pe.’ ” That’s John 6:35 in Ila, a passage that Zaccheus and his translation team have recently been working on. “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’” Bible Society in Zambia has five translation projects that are either complete or nearing completion, including an Ila translation of the New Testament. An old 1940s translation of parts of the Bible in Ila is woefully out of date, says the Bible Society. It’s almost impossible for modern day Ila speakers to understand it. The Ila people live in southern-central Zambia, along the bend of the Kafue River. According to The Joshua Project, the Ila say that a rock that sits in the heart of their homeland is the “footprint of all creatures, including humans.” They say that God dropped man where the rock sits today, and from there they started migrating in other directions. There are approximately 83,000 Ila speakers in Zambia today and about 60 per cent of those claim a Christian faith. Yet a strong belief in animistic spirits and traditional practices, including ancestor worship, child marriage and widow cleansing – where a widow must have sexual intercourse with a male relative of her deceased husband to rid her of her husband’s ghost and protect her children
and her village – are still common place. Bible Society says these beliefs are a symptom of illiteracy and, for Christians, an inability to read the Bible for themselves. “Yes, most of the Christians practice sexual cleansing [and other traditional rituals] because of their cultural background,” says Benson Musuku from Bible Society Zambia. “However, through literacy, the people can develop the ability to read and understand the written word, which empowers them to abandon practices not supported by the teachings of the Bible.” Zaccheus, the Bible translator, is one of the lucky ones. Church leaders in Zambia claim that functional literacy levels in Zambia are as low as 40 per cent in rural communities like those of the Ila people. Yet he can read and write well. He knows it is a weighty responsibility. “[Bible] translation is a high calling,” he says, quoting 2 Corinthians 6:3-4. He says the calling echoes his commitment to live according to God’s word: “We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind.” (NLT) Zaccheus is also a preacher in his village, helping to make sure that even those who can’t read the Bible can at least hear it. The Ila Bible translation is
well ahead of schedule, following an ambitious plan to halve the amount of time a New Testament would usually take. A translation of the Book of Luke was published in 2014, welcomed with much excitement by the Ila people. The completed New Testament is due for completion by July 2016. And while that is being finalised, Bible Society is committed to the next step of the process: distribution and literacy. In particular, there is renewed emphasis on increasing the literacy skills of the Ila people so they can read it for themselves. Bible Society in Zambia, with the support of Bible Society Australia, is setting up literacy classes through local churches in five communities where Bible translations are in progress, including the Ila community. Across Zambia, the aim is teach 25,000 people to read and write in their mother tongue over the next five years. Bible Society Zambia’s project manager Benson Musuku believes Bible reading in the Ila community, and others across Zambia will serve as an intervention, helping Zambians to “discard wrong cultural practices and engage with Scripture. “Bible Society wants to see Zambia transformed by the Bible.”
+ Can you help? Bible Society’s current appeal for Zambian literacy classes is tax deductible. Find out more: biblesociety.org.au/zambiaep
AUGUST 2015
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OPINION
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Michael Jensen on the long search for Christian unity Tim Costello on joy and crisis You, lovely art, in how many grey hours, when life’s mad tumult wraps around me, have you kindled my heart to warm love ...
Facsimile of Franz Schubert’s score of “An die Musik” to words by Franz von Schober
The healing force of music Barney Zwartz receives comfort and joy
Those of us whose children have forced us to listen to heavy metal know that music can cause suffering. Hannah More wrote in 1775 that “going to the opera, like getting drunk, is a sin that carries its own punishment with it”, while critic James Huneker wrote of Schoenberg that he “mingles with his music sharp daggers at white heat, with which he pares away tiny slices of his victim’s flesh”. And music is put to many other uses that are not necessarily
uplifting, such as advertising, lowest-common-denominator entertainment, ritual and vanity. Despite this, many have found music to be humanity’s best and most accessible blessing, the quickest and most reliable route to the transcendent. As Protestant reformer Martin Luther put it rather more poetically, “Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent
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and delightful presents God has given us.” Oscar Wilde expressed the same thought: “Music is the art which is most nigh to tears and memory.” Which of us has never been lost, rapt, in inexpressible beauty at what in scientific terms is merely the designed disturbance of air? I, like many, have found that music can seem to redeem our suffering. In this it is closely connected to prayer: at its most effective, it can touch our inmost
being and alter our orientation towards our suffering, our sorrow, our very lives. Just as St Paul tells us that “we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words”, so music can operate deep below the conscious level. It liberates the psyche or the soul, it opens a channel and allows emotions to pour out that are too painful, too deep, to be faced by the conscious mind.
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OPINION
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Many people have experienced this flood of release, cleansing and cathartic, at least for a while. At times of terrible loss, I have turned in particular to the slow movement of Schubert’s wonderful String Quintet in C major, and also Beethoven’s last piano concerto, the Emperor. Both these composers were well acquainted with suffering, and their most sublime music is often suffused with pain. That is one of the reasons their music can speak so profoundly. My wife Morag and I lost our youngest son to leukaemia. She recalled in a reflection recently that one unrelentingly hot day not long before he died – just home from hospital, recovering from surgery for appendicitis on top of a brutal chemotherapy regime, close on the heels of radiation treatment – she and he lay on the living room floor and listened to the heart-achingly lovely Chopin’s Nocturnes. She wrote: “On that day, in those notes of profound beauty, we were gathered up together, it seemed, in an expression of all the suffering and joy of this one little life, of all the anguish and suffering and rage and hilarity and crazy happiness of its 17 years.” She continued: “Later in the year and on the other side of death I decided – not quite confidently – to attend a candlelit performance of Chopin Nocturnes by a visiting pianist. It is possible, I reasoned, to reach a point where tears can be bidden away and composure maintained. “But the heart was still raw. In the candle light and the stillness of the concert hall those same notes with their fresh veil of memories
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English translation of “An die Musik” composed by Franz Schubert (1817). were now unbearable. Unwilling to dab and blow, I let the tears dribble down to my chin and drip slowly onto my clothes, resigned to their irresistible release and reckoning that no one but me need know our Chopin secret.” Poets, philosophers, psychologists and others have pondered the link between beauty and the spiritual. At the simplest level it is obvious: both bypass our rational self and speak straight to our emotional or spiritual being. They break through our careful defences, hammer down our resolution and denial. I praise God that he created us with the faculty to enjoy music and the facility to create it. It’s not always that our desires and capacity to meet them are so beautifully matched. The great conductor Sir Georg
Solti spoke for many when he said: “Mozart makes you believe in God – much more than going to church – because it cannot be by chance that such a phenomenon arrives into this world and then passes after 35 years, leaving behind such an unbounded number of unparalleled masterpieces.” Of course it is not the number of masterpieces, but where they take one. I cannot explain it: I am content for it to be part of the blessed mystery of faith. I simply conclude, with Nietzsche, that “without music life would be a mistake.” Barney Zwartz is a Senior Fellow with the Centre for Public Christianity. He often writes about classical music for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. This article is an expansion of a Faith column that appeared in The Age.
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In one of my favourite episodes of The Simpsons, a character called Mo decides to convert his bar into a fast-food outlet. He buys an army surplus deep-fryer. It’s the size of a swimming pool and arrives on a semi-trailer. Mo tells Homer “This baby will deep-fry a buffalo in 30 seconds”. Homer’s reply? “Thirty seconds? I want it now!” We live in an impatient world. Car horns blow a nanosecond after the lights turn green. No one can wait 24 hours for American TV shows to be available in Oz; we just have to pirate them. And I’m the man who opens the microwave early because it’s just too slow. If you haven’t been overcome with agitation already, you’re going to want to take a look at The Oxford Dictionary’s definition of patience – it’s brilliant: “The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.” It’s easy to see why learning patience is one of the marks of the follower of Jesus: Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Colossians 3:12) Learning patience is one of the key signs of accepting, “I’m not
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God and the world doesn’t revolve around me.” In other words, it’s a key tool for dealing with pride: The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. (Ecclesiastes 7:8) I want what I want and I want it now – is that unreasonable? Often, yes. Learning patience is about learning to fit in with God’s agenda. God doesn’t work on our time-frame. He is very patient when it comes to moulding character and teaching lessons. Moses sat in the desert for 40 years learning humility. The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years learning that they didn’t live on bread alone. Joseph had 13 years of slavery and prison before he was ready to have power in Egypt. Knocking sharp edges off character takes time, and God is patient. God is particularly long-suffering about bringing the judgment day: The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) God exercises patience as he gives people time to repent and find life. The ability to “tolerate delay, or problems or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious” flows from understanding that God is in charge. We still need to act, to make the most of the time we have, but we can do it without being angry, short-tempered and anxious. We can be patient because we know the world doesn’t revolve around us and the one it does revolve around has it under control. So ask God to give you patience – but don’t get stressed. He may make you wait a while.
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OPINION
AUGUST 2015
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Flocking together Michael Jensen on the long search for Christian unity Recently, I asked on my Facebook page what things made Christians most likely to feel like giving the faith away, and asked people to “private message” me. There were quite a few things that came up, but one of the most common things that people said was that disunity and disagreement between Christian leaders and among Christian churches made them feel very discouraged. If Christians can’t agree on their own faith, and are constantly at each other’s throats, then the Christian faith itself looks much less compelling. This was, I think, increased for many people in recent years by the constant public wrangling that social media encourages (and of which I have myself been a part). While debates between Christians have, in my experience, nothing like the vitriol that you see in some other forums between (say) passionate followers of Star Trek or some sporting code, it is the case that the day-afterday barrage of back-and-forth argument is very wearing. It can make you think that Christians don’t agree about anything at all. In which case: can the faith they proclaim be true, really? There is no question that unity among the people of God is something that is commanded in the whole Bible – not just once but multiple times. Whether it is Paul in 1 Corinthians urging the church to prize the spirituality of
love above the spectacular gifts, or Jesus himself praying that “they may be one, as we are one” in John 17, or Paul again (this time in Ephesians) urging us to make “every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”, or John in his first letter, in his stark way, presenting us with the alternative of love for our fellow Christians or proving our faith to be false: loving unity between Christians is not just a peripheral thing but a deep manifestation of the gospel itself. But we need to be careful about what we mean by “unity” here. Does unity mean “lack of conflict or disagreement”? Some of us are conflict-averse by disposition, and so we experience any disagreement as deeply upsetting. And it can be, of course. The New Testament is certainly down on quarrelling. As Paul warns us, in a word for any social media addict: “Have nothing to do with stupid and senseless controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.” (2 Tim 2:23) But serious disagreement over the truth is not the antithesis of unity. It is actually an important ingredient of it. Paul himself models this, with his direct confrontation with Peter at Antioch over the circumcision of the Gentiles. And he is not opposed to using strong language to make his point! So how are we to understand Christian unity? First, the oneness of the people of God is intended to be a reflection of God’s own oneness. God is one: therefore, the people of God are one. That’s what we hear Jesus praying in John 17: that “they may be one, as we are one”. This is a very interesting prayer, the more you think about it. God is not simply a lonely, singular one. Rather, the Father, Son and Spirit form together the unity of God. God is a unity of three persons, which is why John will say that “God is love.” The unity of Christians then is a reflection of the unity of the God in whom and by whom we are united. And this tells us a second
crucial thing about this unity: it is something that is first and foremost a spiritual and heavenly reality, established by God, in Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit. It isn’t something that is built by human beings, like an empire, or a political party, or even like a family. It is a unity that comes down to us from above, as a work of the Holy Spirit in uniting people to Jesus. In the great psalm of unity, Psalm 133, the unity of God’s people comes down as a blessing from God like the dew on the mountains, or like the oil flowing down on Aaron’s beard. This means, thirdly, that Christian unity is already the case. Those in Christ are gathered together in the heavenly realms, and made one in Christ. That’s the marvellous work of God! If we are in Christ, we already are at one with one another. We shouldn’t then confuse the unity of the institutional church for the actual unity that exists between Christians. Church organisations may exist in a variety of forms and in many places and still contain Christians who are united to one another across boundaries. Fourth, Christian unity is not the unity created by an oppressive regime insisting on no diversity. Indeed, the genius of Christian unity in the Spirit, as 1 Corinthians 12-14 teaches, is that it is not a monochrome unity by authority, but unity of diversities in love. Christian unity is, then, like the Christian life itself, not something to be achieved but a spiritual reality to be worked out by individual Christians and by churches – within congregations and among them. And like the other aspects of the Christian life, it is to be lived out in the midst of this present evil age, in expectation and hope of a final experience of Christian unity as we gather together around the throne of God singing the praises of the Lamb. That means we should strive to express our unity with other Christians, but that we will always encounter moments of disagreement, tension and
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There may be points at which we even say: “I cannot, in good conscience, see how what you are saying or doing is authentically Christian, and so I cannot stand alongside you on this.” Perhaps we need to walk our separate ways.
disappointment. There are a number of temptations that then appear. One is to create an artificial unity by getting bishops and moderators to have long committee meetings and issue joint statements. I guess it keeps them busy, but I am sceptical of these
achieving anything of any substance. Another is to sweep important differences in doctrine and ethics under the carpet as if these don’t matter. Can’t we all just get along? While it is true that some Christians will split over incredibly trivial doctrinal differences, it is also the case that Christians will care about the truth of their faith. They will want to avoid false teaching, because our faith is an expression of a truth that gives shape to love. It is loving to speak the truth to one another with all due humility but also with integrity and directness. Another temptation is to do what some church leaders do, and enforce uniformity – making everyone behave and think exactly the same. But this notion of unity is un-Christian. The unity of the Christian church is not experienced in the adherence of believers to a church vision statement, or in the agreement of
believers on every single issue. But despairing of any unity between Christians would be another temptation to avoid. The Holy Spirit works to unify Christians, just as he does to make them more complete in Christ. He is a worker of miracles – including the miracle of Christian unity! We can be bold in seeking unity among Christians, because we are simply expressing a reality already established in Christ by God. What should we do, then? We have to realise that Christian unity is not achieved by avoiding conflict. In fact, our determination to speak to one another seriously about our differences, even when they are unresolvable, is an expression of the spiritual unity we share. Orthodox doctrine will matter for Christians – the activity of opening the Scriptures and prayerfully and lovingly disagreeing is in itself an act of unity, not of disunity. It may be that, as with Paul and Barnabas, a disagreement cannot be resolved and that there cannot be, this side of heaven, a full unity. There may be points at which we even say: “I cannot, in good conscience, see how what you are saying or doing is authentically Christian, and so I cannot stand alongside you on this.” Perhaps we need to walk our separate ways. When that happens it is sad, but because we have a hope that it is God himself who is at work, it is not hopeless. However: churches and church leaders could be more conscious of the detrimental effect that their doctrinal confusion and bad behaviour have on other Christians. The great eras of mission – especially among evangelical Christians – were the eras in which there was a great common effort crossing boundaries of denomination and theological difference. Think of the Arminian John Wesley and the Calvinist Charles Simeon, or the support of Methodist and Baptist missionaries by the first Anglican chaplains of NSW, or the amazing witness of the Billy Graham crusades. Wouldn’t it be great to see that kind of united action among Christians again?
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Tim Costello on joy and crisis Ten years ago London saw shining hope, joy and dark tragedy, all in the space of one week. July began with the Live8 concerts around the world, to coincide with the G8 leaders’ meeting at Gleneagles. Two hundred thousand people filled Hyde Park and thousands more gathered in Trafalgar Square, where they listened to Nelson Mandela on the big screen. This was the week that world leaders seemed to get serious about addressing global poverty and injustice. A few days later the city erupted with joy when London won its bid to stage the 2012 Olympics. Next morning, though, joy turned to shock and fear as trains and buses were ripped apart by terrorist bombs. Fifty-two people died and hundreds suffered horrific injuries. At the time it felt like day had suddenly turned to night, that the world was forever changed, just as in New York four years earlier. Ten years on, terrorism has indeed changed our lives. Every country, including Australia, has been touched by terror and people everywhere have become used to heightened security. Governments
and citizens have thought it necessary to trade some freedoms and privacy for safety. But while the terrorists created immediate mayhem and fear, the positive and optimistic notes of that week were not drowned out for long. London trumped terror by carrying on with its business. The Olympics went ahead and were a resounding success. Governments and citizens around the world strengthened their commitment to reducing global poverty and suffering. Our world remains challenged by war, violence, poverty, disease and lack of opportunity. Climate change looms and more frequent and intense natural disasters threaten. Economies still follow a haphazard trajectory, bringing boom and bust. Yet in that same ten years, child deaths worldwide have reduced by a third. The number of children missing out on primary school has been halved. The tide of new HIV infections has been turned. Hundreds of millions more people can access clean water. In moments of intense joy, and at times of deep crisis, we easily lose perspective and miss the long-term trends. But humanity is not condemned to helplessness or victimhood. Humanity has the God-given talents and resources to meet our challenges. We need to find the will to match. Faith in God leads to hope in the possibility of a world built with kingdom values, despite setbacks and doubts. Theodore Parker and Martin Luther King got it right – “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice”
AUGUST 2015
Look what happens when Jesus takes the wheel
Letters Burned up?
Myths or truths
Thank you Eternity for reporting on Jesus on Trial in Perth and the Boghossian / Shumack debate in Melbourne in your July edition. It is very encouraging to see the number of enquirers who are interested in these sorts of events around the country, as very clearly evidenced by our Professor Lennox Tour last year. Your report picks up on the limitations of rational arguments in proving or disproving the existence of God. This is quite true. Just this morning in my evangelistic Bible study with my friend John, we discussed how the Good News presented in John 3:16 is inseparable from our moral reaction to the “Light”. City Bible Forum seeks to create spaces where city workers
will be comfortable to engage with the news about Jesus. These spaces differ enormously including: industry groups, panel discussions, honest testimonies focused on life’s challenges, street BBQs, public lectures, exercise groups, even while building houses in Mexico. Notwithstanding their limitations, debates and mock trials will continue to have an important place in this diversified approach to evangelism. They certainly strike a chord with members of the rationalist, sceptic and atheist societies in our community, who have a disproportionate representation amongst city professionals. Peter Kaldor, Managing Director, City Bible Forum
The article on Aboriginal constitutional recognition by Ray Minniecon and Tom Mayne in your June issue is indignant but insubstantial. It does not contain a single justification of the claim that constitutional amendment is needed in order to achieve adequate recognition. Worse, it seriously misrepresents the spokesmen against constitutional recognition whom I quoted in my May piece, as well as Geoff McDonald’s authoritative book Red Over Black. Australian Christians should not allow well-deserved sympathy for our “first peoples” to mislead them into supporting unnecessary, unjust and potentially divisive legislation. Nigel Jackson,Belgrave, VIC
White flags and religious freedom They call them “earworms”, the sound fragments – often of pop songs – that stay in your brain, try as you might to get rid of them. One of my earworms is the lyrics: “I will go down with this ship. And I won’t put my hands up and surrender. There will be no white flag above my door ...” from Dido’s 2003 hit “White Flag”. When I read David Sandifer’s article on Christians standing resolute against gay marriage my earworm came back to provide the headline. Thanks a lot, David. As Christian groups emphasise their campaigns against gay
marriage, it has been left (in the main) for people like Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson and The Australian’s Paul Kelly to campaign for religious rights protection in any gay marriage legislation. At least they are the ones shouting about protections. Christian groups find it hard to campaign to retain traditional marriage AND lobby for protections in case they lose. It’s too much like waving the white flag. It will be an irony if the marriage law changes and Tim Wilson, a gay man, turns out to have been one of the better advocates for religious freedom. John Sandeman
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OPINION
AUGUST 2015
19
E
Marriage: Let’s not wave a white flag DAVID SANDIFER
flickr: William Murphy
The discussion about same-sex marriage has gained intensity in recent weeks. Ireland passed a referendum in favour of it; the US Supreme Court ruled that state prohibitions of same-sex marriage were unconstitutional; and here in Australia, the drum-beat in favour of “marriage equality” grows ever louder and parliament looks likely to consider a bill on the question in the next sitting. It is a good time for Christians to pause and consider what their attitudes should be. Some Christians have suggested that, while the Bible makes clear that homosexual sex goes against God’s design, we should not take a stance on the question of whether a secular state should institute gay marriage. In the first place, the claim is sometimes made that, since sex is a matter of “personal morality” (i.e., it only affects those engaged in it), it is not the place of Christians to seek to legislate biblical standards. Instead, we should seek to live our lives according to what we understand God’s will to be, and leave the world to its own devices (“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?” 1 Cor 5:12). Second, some have argued that taking a stance on gay marriage not only distracts Christians from our main job of preaching the gospel, it also undermines our effectiveness in doing so by associating us with a position viewed by many as mean-spirited and backwards. If we want to have a hearing in the broader culture, we should be known for our love and good works, not for opposing something that many now consider to be a fundamental right. Both of these arguments carry weight, and they should give us pause. Some Christians have been overly concerned with seeking to protect moral standards by political means, rather than focusing on the gospel and on godly living. It is also true, sadly, that some of these Christians have not always presented the most winsome picture of Christianity and have made the work of witnessing to Christ more difficult. Nonetheless, it would be a tragic mistake for Christians to walk off the playing field when it comes to same-sex marriage. In the first place, to conceive of marriage as merely a matter of “personal morality” is to hold too
This large mural by Joe Caslin was installed on a wall in Ireland for a referendum on same-sex marriage. narrow a view of its significance. There is a reason why in most cultures weddings are community events and vows are exchanged in the presence of family and friends: marriage is viewed as a public good. If we, as Christians, believe that marriage is something which was made by God at creation (Gen 2), and that it is organised around a core binary male-female reality, then for society to re-make it as something else will inevitably bring harm. Whenever human beings attempt to engineer society in ways that defy God’s good design, it brings harm – we only thrive when we follow the grain of the universe. This means that even if we could not identify particular “victims” of same-sex marriage, we know that real, concrete damage must come from its adoption. But, in the second place,
there will in fact be specific and identifiable victims of gay marriage. Leaving aside the gay couples themselves – for whom a synthetic simulacrum of marriage will bring no blessing, however fervently desired – it is the children in such relationships who will pay the highest price. For society to say that same-sex marriage is the moral and legal equivalent of the union of a man and woman is for it to say that children gain no advantage from being with their natural parents. It is to say that gay “parents” who produced a child through surrogacy or (some day likely) cloning are in every way interchangeable with a man and woman who conceived through natural means. It is to tear asunder the most natural and fundamental bond in all of human society, that of a mother and father
and their child. While there have always been children without one or both parents, previously society has invariably seen this as a deprivation; it would now be institutionalised as a positive good, leaving children the victims. It follows that Christians cannot fail to care whether or not society adopts same-sex marriage. We care because we love our neighbours and desire what is best for them. We care because we love children and cannot abandon the most vulnerable among us, even if that abandonment is cloaked under the banner of “equality”. And this is the answer to the second argument given for Christians not engaging on this issue: caring about gay marriage is part of doing good to those around us and seeking the best for our society. It is easy to see that caring
Talking to your gay friends
Y
ou may not want to talk to your gay friends about samesex marriage – it’s awkward, and probably not the best place to start in your witness to Christ. However, there’s a good chance the subject will come up. How should you handle it? Listen: spend more time hearing than talking. This is always a good strategy, but particularly with such a charged topic. Many gay people have personal stories which include a lot of pain. Most people
1
can accept disagreement, even on a subject they feel passionately about, if they feel they’ve genuinely been listened to. Don’t apologise: it’s tempting to feel as though the Christian view of sex is an embarrassment, a part of the “Christian package” that we wish we could leave out. But it’s part of the good news: God’s good design in marriage is a blessing both for individuals and society. Point to Jesus: ultimately we want to witness to the
2 3
truth about Jesus more than the truth about marriage. Bring the conversation around to the brokenness which we all share, including in the area of our sexuality, and how you have found that the only way to be put back together is through Christ. And, above all, pray. What we need most is wisdom from above (James 3:17) if we are to handle these conversations in ways that are loving, grace-filled and honouring to our Lord Jesus. David Sandifer
SUPER THAT’S CHANGING THE WORLD
for our gay friends and neighbours – building friendships, hearing their stories, sharing our lives with them – is part of our calling to love our neighbour. But, equally, so is caring about same-sex marriage. Of course, it is possible to care too much about this or any social issue, at the expense of proclaiming the good news of forgiveness of sins and new life in Jesus Christ. But if as Christians we believe we are called to care about any social issues – refugees, global poverty, domestic violence – then we must care about this one as well. Let us be done once and for all with the false dichotomy between “social justice” issues and “moral” ones. Admittedly, it is a difficult question to engage with others in today’s cultural climate. We are fools if we think that we can base our argument on Christian theological assumptions, and worse than fools if we seek to appeal to a “traditional morality” which has lost all resonance. We know that our moral argument seems immoral to many. We know that even with our best efforts to be gracious and measured, some – perhaps even our own friends and family – may take offence. Yet it remains that if “the law of God is written on their hearts” (Rom 2:15) then we still have access to a common language to appeal to. If in this case our work seems more arduous and dotted with myriad pitfalls, is that not a reason to try harder and pray for more grace rather than to give up? Christians should care about same-sex marriage not primarily because we are keen to protect our rights of conscience but because we care about Australian society as a whole. We do not engage the question as a special interest group clamouring for its rights but as Australians who want what is best for all Australians. What caring looks like will be different for different ones of us. Some of us may be called simply to pray. Others, to speak out and seek to sway minds, as graciously and winsomely as possible. Others still, to social or political action. But if we care for the people in the society God has called us to live in – if we love them as Christ calls us to love them – then we will care about same-sex marriage. The Rev. Dr David Sandifer recently completed a PhD in history from Cambridge University. He is the NSW and ACT Director for FamilyVoice Australia.
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OPINION
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AUGUST 2015
A million ways to make the announcement Greg Clarke on how we meet our Saviour
pippalon / bplemin
People become Christians in the weirdest ways. St Augustine famously heard some children singing “take and read” (in Latin) over the back fence while he was thumbing Paul’s letter to the Romans, and his heart was changed. Author Tim Winton’s family was converted due to the practical kindness of strangers tending his wounded father when Winton was five. 1 And former radical lesbian professor, Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, was converted because she wasn’t invited to church. Some are converted from “religion” to Christian faith when they see the difference between following rituals and traditions, and trusting in the loving goodness of a merciful God. Others have an encounter – a dream, a vision, a visit from a stranger, a brush with death – which they come to interpret as the touch of the Christian God. Many people can’t even name the moment or method by which Christ came into their lives (perhaps suggesting that it really wasn’t their doing!). And the biggest surprise of all is that I know people who were actually converted by televangelists. Which is a long-winded way of saying that there is no simple pathway into Christian faith. All Christians know that, in reality, we human beings are barely in control of anything. The spirit of God roams where he will, and the heart of God is to draw people to himself, to cleanse them of their unrighteousness, and to ensure they know that they are his beloved children. We are part of God’s scheme, not directors of our own. But still we make our plans for evangelism. Of course, that is
It’s a narrow path, but there are a million ways to hear about it, says Greg Clarke. a good thing. Among religions, Christianity is nearly unique for wanting to reach out across class barriers, racial walls, cultural hurdles and all the boundaries of taste and etiquette, just to let someone else know that Jesus is Lord and Saviour. It is an integral part of the faith to want it to be shared with others. Whether you have the gift yourself, or you keep praying for and supporting those who do, genuine Christians long to see evangelism take place, because “how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?” (Rom 10:14). But sometimes we think we know how people will come to faith. We confuse evangelism and conversion. We organise events (usually speaking events in a church) and expect that this will do the job of conversion. Or we thrust a book into someone’s hands. Or we put all our eggs in the basket of the famous visiting overseas celebrity (a friend calls this distinctly Aussie insecurity “over-seizure”). All of these acts of evangelistic
intent may be worthwhile. But can we broaden our sense of how evangelism really works? In New Testament language, evangelism is the “announcement” of the news that Jesus Christ is Lord. But the dictionary definitions usually focus on the activity rather than the content. They define evangelism as preaching or personal witness, which feels a bit narrow as a description of how people come to faith. That kind of evangelism is, more often than not, a link in the chain of the conversion experience. We have to think more broadly, especially in a culture such as Australia, where the activities of preaching and personal witness have a chequered reputation. In our context, other activities will enhance the chance of our “announcement” being heard. These might include songwriting, email, neighbourliness, dinner parties, movie discussions, talkback radio, academic debates, coffee shop conversations, text messages, tiny acts of social kindness, Facebook updates,
words of comfort in times of grief, questions asked about someone’s future at a BBQ. It’s all “announcement” territory. In short, there are a million ways to announce that Jesus is Lord, some quiet, some loud, some hightech, some very simple. They are all part of how we Christians ought to live in the world, as we seek to hold out the words of life to those who need to hear them. Which brings me back to Professor Rosaria Champagne Butterfield. It was not being invited to church that set her on a path to salvation. How strange! Put off Christianity by political views she despised, she came to Christ because of the openness of a Christian Pastor with an intellect to match. But it wasn’t just the ideas that drew her to faith; it was the kind of friendship that was offered, starting with a letter: With the letter, Ken initiated two years of bringing the church to me, a heathen … He did not mock. He engaged. So when his letter invited me to get together for
dinner, I accepted … Something else happened. Ken and his wife, Floy, and I became friends. They entered my world. They met my friends. We did book exchanges. We talked openly about sexuality and politics. They did not act as if such conversations were polluting them. They did not treat me like a blank slate … Ken’s God was holy and firm, yet full of mercy. And because Ken and Floy did not invite me to church, I knew it was safe to be friends. 2 Here’s a dangerous idea to ponder: perhaps church (or Church) is the problem for evangelism. Do we Christians just need to get out more, and stay out more, rather than expecting people to come to us where we are feeling safe? Greg Clarke is CEO of Bible Society Australia and author of the 2014 Australian Christian Book of the Year, The Great Bible Swindle. 1. http://sydneyanglicans.net/blogs/indepth/a_ beautiful_mind_an_interview_with_tim_winton 2. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/ january-february/my-train-wreck-conversion.html
Bible Stat Bible Society Australia distributed 248,067 Bibles and New Testaments, and 452,221 Bible portions and tracts in 2014
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Golden Age of Christian writers The shortlist for the 2015 Australian Christian Book of the Year awards has been announced. The awards are organised by Sparklit (formerly SPCKA), an organisation seeking to empower Christian writers, publishers and distributors in Australia. Sparklit’s director, Michael Collie, says compiling this year’s shortlist was especially challenging. “This year’s award drew strong entries from accomplished writers; many are leaders in their professions and fields of endeavour. Regardless of whether they address local or universal issues, Australian Christians are making a unique contribution to the written witness of the global church,” he said. The winner will be announced on Thursday, 13 August at a finalist supper in Victoria. The shortlist appears right.
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Rhys Bezzant explores the development of the doctrine of ecclesiology in the writings of American puritan Jonathan Edwards. Bezzant is the current Dean of Missional Leadership at Ridley College, Melbourne.
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John Dickson explains the key ideas and storyline of the Bible for the sceptical reader. Dickson is an Honorary Fellow of the Department of Ancient History (Macquarie University) and teaches a course on the historical Jesus at the University of Sydney.
The Wisdom of Islam and the Foolishness of Christianity by Richard Shumack
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Richard Shumack defends Christianity against some of the philosophical arguments made by Islamic apologists and philosophers. Richard Shumack has a PhD in Islamic Philosophy and is on the faculty at the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at Melbourne School of Theology.
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Captains of the Soul
Anne Winckels offers a number of sixty-second solutions for busy professional women to maintain a rich soul while being inescapably time-poor. Anne Winckel’s own career has included working in education, recruitment and law.
by Rhys Bezzant
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Dr Michael Gladwin draws on a wealth of original archival material and little-known sources to present a comprehensive account of Australian Army chaplains. Michael Gladwin’s lectures in history for the School of Theology, Charles Sturt University at St Mark’s National Theological Centre, Canberra.
The Suburban Captivity of the Church by Tim Foster 9780992447618
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Tim Foster ponders the extent to which our understanding of the gospel might be shaped by socio-economic factors and other cultural influences. Drawing on his own personal paradigm shifts, Tim Foster suggests ways to guard ourselves against a culturally defined gospel.
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Michael Bird explains the formation process of the four New Testament gospels and addresses other historical questions concerning their inclusion in the Bible. Michael Bird currently lectures at Ridley College in Melbourne.
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Kristen Young has written a short, engaging book for teens wrestling with doubts about the Christian faith. It is the most recent of several books she has written for teens and youth. Kristen Young is a youth and children’s worker at a church in Lithgow.
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Rod Irvine offers clear principles for fundraising in local churches, demonstrating that it is a faith-building activity. His practical guidance will give church leaders the confidence to communicate their vision, and to model and teach generosity. The book draws on Irvine’s experiences in fundraising at Figtree Anglican Church. Irvine now lives in Queensland.
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Urban Legends of the New Testament by David Croteau 9781433680120 Paperback
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The success of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code caused confusion and frustration; confusion for those not familiar with early church history and frustration for those who knew better. The storyline was based on urban legends derived from texts read out of their historical context. Yet, is it possible that in our own churches we are perpetuating urban legends about our own faith? David Croteau’s book identifies 40 such misconceptions about the New Testament. In the same way that The Da Vinci Code caused confusion, homegrown Christian urban legends can plant seeds of doubt in the minds of believers. As Croteau says: “We want to be precise and accurate... If we tell the story of Jesus’ birth with an inaccurately reconstructed historical backdrop, sceptics to Christianity will find out. When they point out the unbiblical and unhistorical picture being painted, it can cause panic and doubt for the believer.” Croteau uses three myth-busting tools to expose our own urban legends: Greek word studies, historical background material, and the literary context. However, Croteau reassures us that “At least thirty of the legends could have been resolved through a careful analysis of context without any knowledge of Greek or background information. This is encouraging because carefully reading the context is something that can be taught much easier than learning another language or becoming an
expert in an ancient culture.” Here is one example: Jesus says “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged.” These words are often used to discourage Christians from commenting on each others’ sin, or the teaching of false doctrine. However, examining the immediate context of the quote (the Sermon of the Mount) and then the broader context (the Gospel of Matthew and the whole New Testament) Croteau shows that such a reading is not possible. In fact, Jesus warns his followers to watch out for false prophets (Matthew 7:15) and commands them to rebuke each other when they sin (Matthew 18:15-20). Elsewhere in the New Testament people are called to “stop judging according to outward appearances”, yet they are still to “judge according to righteous judgment.” (John 7:24). There is clearly a place for Christians to judge each other. Croteau uses the context of the passage to clarify its more nuanced and accurate meaning. Rather than a blanket prohibition, “Do not judge” should be understood as an encouragement to “be more generous in our assumptions”. This book rewards the reader with a greater confidence in the biblical text and offers a strong encouragement to work harder at reading the Bible well. If you enjoy reading this book and want to explore the topic further, I would recommend D.A. Carson’s Exegetical Fallacies.
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Bullet in the Bible DVD
There are books that are sometimes unkindly described as “hard work”, by which we usually mean that reading should be a pleasure, and something about the writer’s style or prose has turned a pleasure into an unnecessary grind. (See also: most works of academic theology.) But when I say Growing Yourself Up by Jenny Brown is hard work, it’s a compliment: this is one of the most frightfully necessary books I’ve had the pleasure of recommending. Let me explain. Jenny Brown is the founder and director of the Family Systems Institute in Sydney, where she is both a counsellor and trainer of other mental health professionals. Her particular focus in her work – and this book – is what’s called family systems theory, developed by a psychiatrist called Murray Bowen in the 1950s. In brief, Bowen was a psychologist who developed a theory that issues might not develop just from the individual’s psyche but from your learned interactions with your family of origin. On one level, Bowen’s theory is unusual because it is based not on diagnosing and fixing the mental illness within you, but understanding and alleviating the common problem with all of us, and the way we relate to others. In the years since, Bowen’s theory has become an increasingly popular understanding within psychology, and in this book, Brown takes her understanding of family systems theory and brings it to bear on life. By which I mean, all of life. Through the book, Brown addresses each part of life in a cradle-to-the-grave chronology. So, part 1 looks at the foundations of adult maturity and the challenges of the adult coming to terms with their family of origin. Part 2 looks at leaving home, singleness and marriage, and parenting. Part 3 looks at relationships outside of the immediate family including work and religious beliefs. Part 4 looks at later encroaching issues such as divorce, depression and anxiety. And part 5 looks at midlife, ageing and illness. You may have noticed that word “religion” in part 3: it’s important to note that Brown is a Christian. However, this is not a book written directly to a Christian audience – anybody could pick it up and read it – but she is also appealingly open about her Christian faith and the difference that’s made to her in her increasing maturity. Maturity, as in the title, Growing
Yourself Up, is the thread that runs throughout the book. What does it mean to be a more mature person, a person who responds in balance rather than in anxiety? What does it mean to be part of your family of origin and not immediately retreat back into the persona of your childhood? How do you navigate a marriage where one person is the pursuer and the other is the turtler? These are some of the important questions addressed here. And the results, too, resound through all of life and relationships: “Growing maturity, based on seeing the patterns of relationship we’re part of, promotes more honesty, humility and improved health for us and for those we care about.” Brown writes in a practicalfirst, and sometimes startlingly honest way. And it’s also a book that shines full of thoroughgoing wisdom, all the more amidst a backdrop of the pseudo-Christian pseudo-wisdom miracle cure literature that populates the shelves. At this point, I’d usually add that “this book is not for everyone”, except I find myself in the strange situation of saying this book is for everyone: anyone who has had to negotiate tricky issues of family of origin; anyone who has had to work out how to be single; anyone who has had to navigate relationships with people at work; anyone who has had, or will have, to deal with ageing and dying. In short, everyone. The only people who might be exempt would be those who already know the territory of family systems theory, but even then, I’d find this a helpful first-stop reference point. Reading this book is hard work, but it’s hard work not in the sense of reading, but hard work in the sense of applying it to your life. It’s hard work in the sense that “growing yourself up”, and applying growing maturity to the key relationships in your life is hard work … and this book will make knowing that and doing that easier. As Brown herself says, “You’ve probably figured out by now that the message of this book isn’t about miracle pathways to growing up. It’s based on the view that … it’s possible to tone down immature ways of relating that get in the way of your and others’ progress. In a recent counselling session, a middle-aged woman wisely declared: ‘I used to get impatient about my slow progress but I now see that being more effective and mature in life is like running a marathon.’ ”
AUGUST 2015
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This month sees the international release of the new NIV Zondervan Study Bible. D. A. Carson led a team of scholars to produce this completely new Study Bible. Carson is Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He is also the president and a founding member of The Gospel Coalition, an influential network of evangelical pastors and churches. This Bible features full colour maps and photos, and notes on the genre, purpose and theme of each book of the Bible. There are thousands of cross references, verse-by-verse notes and a concordance with over 35,000 references. The most distinctive
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feature of the Study Bible is its incorporation of “biblical theology”. This may sound like a generic description of any form of Christian theology derived from reading Scripture. However, it is used by scholars as a technical term to denote the unfolding progressive nature of God’s revelation of himself. In the words of the general editor, D.A. Carson, “God did not choose to disclose everything in one moment of spectacular revelation. Rather, he chose to disclose himself and his purposes progressively, through events and words spread across many centuries, climaxing in his son, Jesus Christ.” This approach to reading the Bible both respects and seeks to understand the original authors’ intent and audience, yet ultimately
The Wayfinding Bible Men reading Bibles. Not as hip as whiskers, malt whisky, and pedal bikes. Yet, somehow so much more profound.
Perfect for
FATHER’S DAY!
understands all Scripture in reference to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Biblical theology has been popular in Australia, so it is not surprising that many contributors to the NIV Zondervan Study Bible can be found lecturing in Australian Bible Colleges. Contributors include Colin Kruse (Melbourne School of Theology), Anthony Petterson (Morling College), David Peterson (Moore College), Paul Williamson (Moore College), Brian Rosner (Ridley College). The contributions
of these scholars and the “biblical theology” approach to the study notes make this Bible an important new option for Australian Christians. Finally, an understated feature in the NIV Zondervan Study Bible is the single column Bible text. This is rare for study Bible’s but will make reading much easier for those of us who tend to lose our place. Hopefully we can find our place on the page and in the unfolding plan of God.
NIV Zondervan Study Bible 9780310438335 Softcover Releases August 26th – Preorder now
Order online at specials.biblesociety.org.au mail to Locked Bag 7003 Minto NSW 2566 call 1300 139 179 For mail order, please include the item numbers and titles of products requested, as well as your contact and payment details. Also add postage costs to your total order (Orders $0-$30 Postage $6.95; Orders $31-$60 Postage $7.95; Orders $61-$250 Postage $9.95). This book promotion is valid until August 31st, 2015 or while stocks last. All items in this catalogue are included in good faith from our suppliers. Any delays in supplier delivery may result in product being delayed or unavailable. While we endeavour to use correct illustrations in this catalogue, final product delivered may have changed design without our notice. All prices quoted are in Australian dollars and include GST.