Eternity - March 2016 - Issue 67

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Number 67, March 2016 ISSN 1837-8447

Brought to you by the Bible Society

Best Medicine When Christian kids are made to feel they are the enemy

Kids and porn: a national crisis

Main Image: supplied Bottom Image: flickr/forzadagro

Hannah Boland’s

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NEWS

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Obadiah Slope

WORDS OF THE PROPHET: as written on the phone ...

TOO FAR: Tim Minchin’s new song “Come Home (Cardinal Pell)” has had spectacular airplay, so even Obadiah has heard it. But a lefty fellow prophet, who we’ll call Francis Arabin (Trollope readers will get it, he’s Slope’s nemesis), surprised me in proclaiming, “It’s over-reach”. Being irrationally nasty might be too much. But can Minchin ever go too far? Actually the best response is to chip in for the Ballarat witnesses to go to a Royal Commission session in Rome. All can agree that justice needs to be seen to be done.

THE THIRD WITNESS: Obadiah normally sticks up for journos

The end of the Ellis defence TESS HOLGATE Far-reaching change in legal tactics by churches has meant that they can no longer skirt responsibility for the crimes or debts of their predecessors.

In late 2015 the Catholic Church of Australia passed new guidelines for church authorities in responding to civil claims for child sexual abuse. They came into effect on January 1, and require the Catholic Church to provide someone for victims of child abuse to sue, if the perpetrator of the crime is deceased.

In an historic outworking of these new guidelines, the Catholic Bishop of Ballarat Paul Bird has agreed to be sued for sex abuse claims dating back to the 1960s, as a stand-in for his predecessor, James O’Collins. Bishop Bird has volunteered as a defendant, which will allow victims to bring lawsuits against the Ballarat diocese.

Previously, it had been difficult for victims to get their matters heard in court, and many complaints have been settled out of court. In large part this is because of the Ellis defence (named for child abuse victim John Ellis who in 2004 lost – on appeal – a lawsuit against the Catholic Church in Sydney and the then Archbishop George Pell, when the court found that neither the Archbishop nor the body corporate of the church could be held responsible for the actions of his abuser, Father Duggan). This loophole has allowed churches

to be considered non-entities, meaning that they cannot be sued as a single entity.

Though the Ellis defence has not been used in any civil case since John Ellis, the threat of it has always stood as a powerful deterrent for any victims seeking compensation.

Bishop Bird appeared at the Royal Commission in the last week of February, but told the ABC, “In some way, the bishop carries the history of the community with them. I’ve inherited the history of the community, for good and for ill, Ballarat, Catholic Cathedral and therefore should be ready to address that history in so far as concerning changes to the it needs to be addressed.” conditions under which churches In the Anglican Church, a are able to borrow funds from financial dispute between the banks.

Diocese of Bathurst and its “Australian banks previously bankers produced a similar accepted an ‘episcopal pledge’ (a outcome. general charge over all diocesan Diocesan representatives argued assets including property, cash and that the diocese was not a legal trust accounts) from a diocese as entity and was therefore unable to sufficient security for a loan facility. enter into contracts (a form of the Banks now require loans to be Ellis defence). In late 2015 Justice secured against clearly identified David Hammerschlag rejected assets and properties rather than this, and ruled that the church was a general pledge,” said Bishop liable for its debt, and was required Robinson. to find the money to repay it.

Abandoning the Ellis defence In December, Bishop Stuart means that churches now have to Robinson issued a pastoral letter take responsibility for their debts to all Anglican churches in the and damages caused by their clergy Diocese of Goulburn-Canberra workforce.

Wikimedia: JohnArmagh

REVERSE CRINGE: Obadiah came across an article about Christian music while innocently browsing a US political blog. The writer was no fan of contemporary Christian music but what struck Obadiah was this zinger, “here we are in most churches all crooning endlessly: Oh, how He loves us so with our best faux Australian accents (because that’s what all the best worshipers use, don’t you know).” Oh dear. Whatever your taste in Christian music, Obadiah thinks we should take pride in our reversing the flow of cultural imperialism across the Pacific.

Talking of Hillsong (which we were), when Obadiah clicked on the preview of the new Hillsong channel on YouTube, the suggested shows that came up at the end were scenes from West Wing. What does YouTube know about Hillsong and the West Wing that the rest of us don’t know?

to be given a little bit of leeway.

We are a strange, but sometimes useful bunch. But he wonders why journalist Paul Bongiorno, who has a masters degree from the Pontifical University in Rome and as a priest shared a presbytery (priest accommodation) with paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale in Warrnambool (in similar fashion to George Pell sharing a presbytery with Ridsdale in Ballarat) does not get the heat that Pell does on this issue. Not even a mention in a Tim Minchin song.

Both men claim they saw nothing, and paedophiles are notoriously adept at concealment. Bongiorno, Obadiah is keen to add, is a great journalist.

MARCH 2016

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY CONFERENCE

Into all the world Wednesday 16 March 2016 We want to thank God that His faithful servants have completed their training and preparation, and now head out around the world to minister Jesus’ love and saving grace.

Venue City Recital Hall Angel Place, Sydney Time 7.30pm – 9.30pm Doors open 7.00pm (Seated by 7.20pm)

Speaker Rev Christopher Ash Enquiries 02 9577 9999 info@moore.edu.au moore.edu.au

All welcome!

Knowtothem Grow them Pastoring & Discipling Kids in Jesus SATURDAY 7 MAY 2016 MORE @ SMBC.COM.AU

More info at: smbc.com.au/events

NEWS

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When school makes Christian kids feel like they are the enemy KALEY PAYNE When her school held a “Rainbow” mufti day to celebrate sexual diversity, Clare* (name changed) decided to wear her uniform. She cried the night before.

That was two years ago. Now, at age 14, Clare is terrified of another day like it. Eternity spoke to Clare’s mother about some of the experiences her daughter has had as a Christian at school, and as someone who is learning to stand up for what she believes.

Clare’s mother wants to remain anonymous. She has been vocal at the Sydney government school her daughter attends, writing letters and meeting with the Principal to raise concerns about days like the “Rainbow” mufti day.

Clare’s school has also become a member of the Safe Schools Coalition, which has developed the All Of Us teaching material that has been widely debated in the media this week.

Like many parents Eternity has spoken to, Clare’s mother is worried about any implications her own activism might have on her daughter at school.

“She’s solid in her faith, but Christians at school are made to feel silly because they belong to a faith group that isn’t ‘politically correct’,” Clare’s mother said.

News page 2-3 In Depth 5-7, 9 Bible Society 10 Opinion 11-16

Quotable

Tim Costello

On “Rainbow Day” or “Wear It Purple Day” wearing your school uniform is a radical act.

The Rainbow Day at the school wasn’t compulsory, but Clare’s mother said it was “compulsory by default”.

The school put the rainbow flag on the flagpole that day.

“You stand out in the crowd if you don’t take part.” Clare and a few other Christian students turned up to school that day in their uniform. Other Christian students wore mufti, but didn’t wear bright colours. One student

wore jeans and a black T-shirt.

Now, with the school signing up to the Safe Schools Coalition, Clare’s mum is worried that a similar mufti day, or “Wear it purple” day and a lot of other things where students are expected to “celebrate sexual diversity” will be on the agenda.

“Clare found it difficult to wear her uniform last time. But we spoke about it and it’s what she felt she had to do. But she’s a kind girl.

forzadagro_flickr

She doesn’t want to discriminate against anyone.

“She doesn’t want to be singled out. She doesn’t want to be called homophobic.

“It’s becoming increasingly uncomfortable for Christian students in state schools to have a voice and raise that voice.” * Featured image is a generic school picture, and is not a representation of the school in this story.

Page 14 “The Christian hope is not of immortal souls but resurrected bodies, a hope secured in the resurrection of Jesus.”

Should Australia become a republic?

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KALEY PAYNE

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The Safe Schools Coalition is a coalition of organisations and schools “working together to create safe and inclusive school environments for same-sex attracted, intersex and gender diverse students, staff and families.” The Coalition has produced teaching materials called All Of Us, available to schools that have signed up as Safe Schools members, designed as part of health teaching for Year 7 and 8 students.

Under an anti-bullying banner, the All Of Us material incorporates the experiences of young people who identify as same-sex attracted, transgender, bisexual and intersex. But the materials have come under fire from Christians and other conservatives, who suggest it advocates a progressive sexual ethic, where all forms of sexuality are acceptable and gender is fluid: gender identity is about how you feel, not just a choice between male and female.

Eternity gathered a range of thoughtful responses to the All Of Us materials, which are now published online. They include: Gordon Preece, Director of Ethos, EA Centre for Christianity and Society: “There is

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Two Christian colleges have passed major milestones on the way to become universities.

AC College, Australia’s largest Pentecostal college, has achieved “self-accrediting status” bestowed by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Authority (TEQSA). This major achievement means the college can accredit its own degrees.

“We have been working on this long-term goal for five years” says

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Anglican Catholic Pentecostal Other Baptist / Lutheran Uniting Churches of Christ

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think, incorrect.”

Peter Abetz, WA state Liberal MP: “Australia’s cultural diversity should be celebrated – but All Of Us and other Safe Schools Coalition materials are intolerant of our cultural and religious diversity. They should not be imposed on students in our schools.”

To read the full responses, go to biblesociety. org.au/news/safeschools

Colleges on university road David Perry, AC’s Chief Academic officer. “We have set up three faculties: business, education, theology.”

That’s significant – the three faculties will allow AC eventually to become a full university.

Places like Moore College which specialise in theology can aim for a different target – becoming a University of Specialisation like the Melbourne-based University of Divinity.

AC joins an elite band of selfaccrediting higher education

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a particular, persistent, very personal assault on many young LGBTI people that justifies special protective and preventative measures … This does not justify the whole Safe Schools package or an ‘all the way with LBGTI’ approach they may be taking with some very young people.”

Wendy Francis, Australian Christian Lobby: “The lesson plan expects children as young as 11 years old to have formed opinions on transgenderism, bisexuality and sexual diversity, and to let the entire class know where they stand.”

Patricia Weerakoon, Christian sexologist: “This is the reality. We need to prepare our children early so when they’re hearing the message that all diversity must be celebrated, they can go ‘OK, I hear you. But what we’re saying is that all diversity exists, but that doesn’t mean all diversity needs to be celebrated.’ There’s a difference.”

David Hastie, education strategist with Sydney Anglican Schools Corporation: “These issues are not settled in society – they are still contentious within society. For it to be assumed that this material and these particular approaches are appropriate in schools, makes an assumption about society at large which is, I

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JOHN SANDEMAN

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providers including NIDA (the National Institute of Dramatic Art), Moore (Anglican) and Avondale (Seventh Day Adventist).

Excelsia College opened its new campus this week and Chief Executive Greg Rough announced that the college has formally applied for “Australian University College” status, which is another step towards becoming a university.

“The exodus is complete. The promised land is here,” the audience at Excelsia’s new Macquarie Park

campus was told. The college has moved in around the corner from Eternity’s office at Bible Society.

Excelsia has linked to Indian Wesleyan University, and this means TEQSA is happy for it to apply to go straight to Australian University College status. That’s a halfway house to achieving full university status.

Christians can be encouraged that a number of Christian tertiary education providers are keen to demonstrate excellence by becoming universities.

POWERING UP: Campus Crusade has a new name “Power to Change”.

The evangelism-focused group has a presence on 35 campuses in Australia. In 2011 the name “Cru” a shortening of “crusade” was adopted by their international network avoiding the sensitivities around the word “crusade” especially among Muslims. In Europe it is called “Agape” and in West Africa “Great Commission Ministry”.

OUTSPOKEN AUTHOR: Eric Metaxas, the author of the NY Times bestseller Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy is coming to Australia in April for a series of meetings in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney organised by the Australian Christian Lobby.

WARTS AND ALL: Marilynne Robinson, the author of Gilead, and Yale theologian Miroslav Volf have been interviewed by the Centre for Public Christianity for a new documentary, For the Love of God: How the church is better and worse than you ever imagined. It offers responses to the question: Does religion poison everything?

CUBAN STRIFE: 2000 Assembly of God churches have been declared illegal in Cuba. This led to Christian Solidarity Worldwide claiming a ten-fold increase in violations of freedom of religion or belief last year, with 2300 cases.

MARCH 2016

E MORLING COLLEGE SPONSORED PAGE 4

100 Years of Morling College 2016 marks Morling’s centenary and it’s a brand new day here at Morling College: some really exciting things are happening as we celebrate 100 Years of Morling.

Not only will we be reflecting on our history, with a special 100Year anniversary celebration on September 17, and a special 100-Year edition of our magazine, Summa Supremo, launching in June, but we will also be looking to the future, with six new courses commencing this year and the opening of our brand new accommodation building.

The six expertly developed new courses include: Our gap-year program for 18–23 year olds, Plunge, now has a 12-month Diploma option. This year there are two Plunge streams: our tried-and-true Certificate 4 Plunge stream continues and our brand new Diploma of Christian Studies Plunge stream is now available — and with FEE-HELP! The brand new Diploma of Christian Studies is also available as a stand-alone course, separate from the Plunge program. This specially designed course introduces students at a foundational level to the sources and content of the Christian story and message. It provides flexible training to equip students to serve in the world, including in their professional and vocational life.

Morling’s Associate Degree in Ministry will integrate studies in the Bible and Christian tradition with practical experience and

Some of the Morling Team at the construction site of the new residential college. includes supervised practicebased learning. Similarly, our brand new Master of Ministry (M Min) incorporates traditional, practice-based, and experiencebased learning. It is perfect for those who want more flexibility than our current Master of Divinity.

The M Min is available both to new students commencing in 2016 and to students currently enrolled in another ACT graduate-level award who wish to transfer.

And, of course, we have our two new Morling-pioneered, cutting-

edge courses: the Church Planting Certificate (SENT) and the Master of Missional Leadership (MML). SENT is a brand new, year-long learning experience that can be completed internally at Morling or as part of another ACT award. If you or anyone in your congregation is interested in church planting (regardless of academic background) then SENT is for you.

Morling’s MML is for church or para-church leaders, or leaders within other organisations and

institutions, who want to reorient their organisation around a missional framework. A key and unique component of our MML is a major project which allows students to design and implement a model for missional formation in their own organisation. If you are looking to keep developing and innovating as a leader, within a challenging and stimulating environment, then we encourage you to think about doing the MML. As part of our 100-Year celebrations on September

17 we will be officially opening our new accommodation building. The construction of the Morling Residential College is well underway and we are so pleased to see how it is taking shape. Please join with us in this celebration and at our special 100 Years commemoration at our Graduation Service on March 14.

For information on any of our courses or these upcoming events please visit our website www. morlingcollege.com or email enquiries@morling.edu.au

WANT TO STUDY THE BIBLE? STUDY AT MORLING COLLEGE STUDY AREAS ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈

Bible, Ministry and Theology Chaplaincy Evangelism and Mission Plunge (Gap-year) Master of Teaching (Secondary) Counselling

FEE-HELP available

STUDY OPTIONS ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈

Full-time Part-time Distance Intensives Residential

Wednesday 25 May – 6.45pm | Sunday 16 Oct – 2.00m | Thurs 27 Oct – 6.45pm

T +61 2 9878 0201 F +61 2 9878 2175 E enquiries@morling.edu.au 122 Herring Rd, Macquarie Park NSW 2113 www.morlingcollege.com

EQUIPPING THE WHOLE BELIEVER TO TAKE THE WHOLE GOSPEL TO THE WHOLE WORLD

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Presidencia de la República Mexicana

How a Baroness leads real change – Page 6

“Clean comedian” Hannah Boland is using humour to reach hurting people inside and outside the church.

The best medicine ANNE LIM As a child Hannah Boland found her quick wit often got her into trouble. Australia’s pioneering “clean comedian” regrets that back then she didn’t realise the difference between using wit to build people up and being an obnoxious smart aleck.

“It was a painful lesson to learn because I damaged relationships.

I hurt people and I really regret that,” says the young mum as we sit in the courtyard of her home in the NSW southern highlands.

These days Hannah, 33, treads a delicate tightrope of using humour as a tool to connect with people who are hurting without belittling

what they are going through.

In her new show, The Best Medicine, debuting at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in April, she has made an effort to reach out to people suffering from mental illness, chronic pain and grief.

A chronic pain sufferer since childhood, Hannah has suffered

www.biblesociety.org.au A national newspaper for Australian Christians, Eternity is sent free to any church upon request.

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multiple tragedies in her life. She lost two full-term babies – Stephen was born with a rare brain disease and lived just two days, while Esther was asphyxiated by the umbilical cord.

It was while she was lost in the blackness of post-traumatic stress disorder and clinical depression that Hannah discovered the power

of laughter. Watching a comedian on TV or having a laugh with friends gave her hope that she might one day recover.

“When I was at my lowest and my worst, if I was able to laugh at something it was just such a hope-filled experience,” she says.

“When you feel so low, you lose continued page 6

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Real change, led by a Baroness ANNE LIM A programme to relieve life-threatening childhood malnutrition in Timor Leste is becoming an “amazing mustard seed” phenomenon, says British Life Peer Baroness Caroline Cox. Speaking to Eternity after visiting Timor Leste last month, the Christian humanitarian said the programme is bringing about “phenomenal transformational change” in areas where malnutrition was growing because of ignorance and cultural superstitions about foods.

Working with local partners, the programme began with a residential centre built on land purchased by her London-based Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART) serving children with severe malnutrition.

“When they would come there with a relative, the child would get lovely nourishment and be a robust, happy little kid and the family member would learn how to grow and appreciate nutritious foods, organic fertilisers, organic pesticides and how to prepare, enjoy and eat them,” she said.

“Then the family member and healthy child would go back to the village and teach the local people.”

Now the local partner, HIAM Health, is working with the government to train agricultural extension workers to educate their communities in scientific

Medicine

from page 5 hope that you will ever feel happy again; and even though in those moments when you have a good laugh it doesn’t solve any problems, it reminded me what it was like to laugh and gave me hope that one day I might feel differently.”

As Hannah climbed out of her pit of depression, she felt a calling to use humour to give other people a way of glimpsing a brighter future.

“I think there’s always been a part of me that wanted to do entertainment on that sort of level, and I think God really helped me connect the dots,” she says.

“I remember having this big dream of wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could be someone who could be a conduit for giving other people a life and giving them a hope if they’re having a really tough time.”

As a mother of three small children living 100km from Sydney, Hannah faces multiple obstacles in making this dream a reality, not least the battle to promote and finance her shows.

But the enthusiastic feedback she received from her first tour in 2014 validated her belief that humour was a valuable ministry tool.

“After that first tour I knew people had had a great time,” she says. “For all the anxiety and the stress, when I step out on stage and get into the comedy, I know it’s what I’m supposed to be doing … And it was something that I never thought I would be able to do and somehow pulled it off by God’s grace.”

Hannah’s MICF debut will be the first time the former professional musician has performed for a secular audience and the first time she has branded herself as a “clean comedian” rather than a “Christian comedian”.

Her first tour was aimed squarely at church audiences because a lot of her material was

Baroness Cox: “We cross borders illegally and shamelessly to feed the hungry.”

Baroness Cox

nutritional approaches, providing monitoring and support so that it becomes a sustainable development.

“They’re amazing mustard seed people,” Lady Cox said. “It really shows the phenomenal transformational change that a

little bit of money can make if you work through the local people and they work for the local people.”

A nurse and social scientist by training and “a baroness by astonishment”, Lady Cox was appointed to the House of Lords by then prime minister Margaret

Thatcher in 1982.

She has used this forum to give a voice to the oppressed and persecuted wherever they are in the world. Her private member’s bill aiming to prevent discrimination against Muslim women in Islamic tribunals has passed the House of

about God and her Christian faith.

“So I am trying to get the word out there in the secular sense of just enjoying clean comedy, but I am also very much still trying to engage churches into seeing what a great tool it can be to connect with their congregation and people from outside their congregation,” she says.

Between gigs at the Fringe Festival in Sydney later this year and Brisbane Comedy Festival early next year, she is taking bookings for church events, ministry events and fundraisers.

“That’s my passion,” she says.

“It’s funny how that works because last time I tried to direct it very much at churches and a Christian audience and it was a real uphill battle. This time, it’s still an uphill battle but, being part of something like the Melbourne Comedy Festival, people are really starting to sit up and take notice and I’m pleased about that because it’s a lot of work.”

Hannah grew up in a Christian household in Melbourne but wandered away from God in her teenage years.

“Not long after I was married there were many ways God reached me and one of the deeply impacting ones for me was seeing my grandfather on his deathbed. It truly was a moment in my life where I looked at him and he was just so at peace. And it was more than being at peace; he was really looking forward to what was to come. I remember thinking ‘I want to be like that; I want to have that hope.’

“And then when I was expecting my first, Alison, I remember sitting in my lounge room and just feeling the weight and the burden of everything and just asking Jesus to take it away. I remember that physical feeling of someone reaching down and pulling it all off, and it was such a confirmation to me at the time that this was real.

It was a very spiritual but a very physical experience as well.”

Having struggled to complete our interview because of an attack of severe stomach pain, Hannah cites two favourite Bible passages that reveal a great deal about her vulnerabilities.

“I love 1 Kings 19 where Elijah is completely burnt out and I just love how God deals with him. He doesn’t ask anything of Elijah, he doesn’t tell him he needs to pray more or to be more holy or to go out and do things. He just lets Elijah sleep and lie under that bush and God provides food and drink and just lets him rest,” she says.

“That’s a very powerful passage for me because I think it’s really important to remember that God does love us and, in those times where we can’t go on and life is really hard, he’s not asking us to do more, more, more. Unfortunately, I think that is so countercultural to what we’re taught in the church a lot of the time.”

She also finds comfort in a verse in 2 Corinthians 12 where Paul complains of the thorn in his side and God says, “My grace is sufficient for you,” because she still struggles in her faith and relationship with God. “It would be very easy for me to pull the pin on this whole thing and say, ‘Well, I’m in such a bad place at the moment I can’t have any integrity in my faith’ and what God is constantly reminding me is my grace is sufficient for you. So I’m trusting that, even though I’ve got my personal faith struggles at the moment, he’s going to use that in a way only he can because it can’t possibly be coming from me.

“That’s where God’s brought me at the moment; he’s asking me the question every day ‘Is my grace good enough for you?’ And I’m so glad it is.”

Hannah Boland performs The Best Medicine on April 8, 9 and 15. Eternity readers get 15 per cent discount by quoting promo code CHBM15 when booking via hannahboland.com.au

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Commons unamended.

“HART’s principle is we work for victims of oppression and persecution who are largely off the radar screen of major aid organisations and of the media,” she said. “We work with and for local people; there’s no middle person.”

In the past year, Lady Cox has visited Burma (Myanmar), Uganda and South Sudan, where HART UK is working with partners in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile State. “We cross borders illegally and shamelessly in keeping with the biblical mandate to heal the sick, feed the hungry and speak for the oppressed,” she said.

“And it’s a privilege to be able to do that for people who are not being served by major organisations or the media, to be their voice. We’re tiny – there’s only 4½ of us in HART UK but we have a motto. ‘I cannot do everything but I must not do nothing.’ ” Lady Cox says the pain she has witnessed in the world is what gives her the passion and energy to continue as she approaches her 79th birthday.

While often dismayed and afraid, she reminds herself of her confirmation text from Joshua 1:9 and just goes for it.

“I have commanded you be strong and of good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou discouraged for I the Lord will be with you wherever you go,” she says.

When I was at my lowest and my worst, if I was able to laugh at something it was just such a hope-filled experience.”

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Building for the kingdom Iwan Sunito, is literally changing the face of cities – his property company has $4bn of residential developments in the pipeline – but that is not the most important thing about him. He is also a pastor invested in building people into the kingdom of God. JOHN SANDEMAN

Crown Group

We meet in his impossibly slick office looking out over Sydney and I revert to the architecture writer I once was, for a moment. “Design has become almost the number one driving force of the company,” Sunito tells Eternity. Note the almost – you’ll see why later. “It is not about being bigger first then better; it is about being better first, then bigger.”

Sunito is CEO of Crown Group, which brings real architecture into the apartment market. Their buildings are intelligent and boldly sculptural. Sunito wants buildings to be beautiful, but “if it is beautiful without a meaning then it is a gimmick. It has to serve a purpose.

“There are three things that make Crown different. It has to be iconic in its architectural look; it has to be beautiful in its entrance – it has to have a sense of arrival; and it has to have a beautiful garden. Everyone wants to follow a convention. Here’s a budget, build it within that budget and work within the norm. But I have learned that during the crisis time you are better off to be different.”

Sunito says that Crown’s policy is to be optimistic but cautious when it comes to the real estate market.

“There’s a difference between being brave and being stupid,” he says. Sunito suggests that being a Christian might be naïve, and lead you to take a riskier path. “Faith is very good but faith also has to make sense. If it makes sense spiritually it also has to make sense in the head.”

Eternity asks the obvious question about the farmer in the parable who pulls down his barns to build bigger ones.

“It’s fascinating about the rich man who builds. So that I can live (with the promised wealth) for the rest of my life. But God says, ‘You fool. Your life is required of you.’”

Sunito has a story of struggle, conversion, then God blessing him so that he can be a blessing.

“I am the product of a kid that struggled in life, struggling all the way from year one to year eleven.

I failed one year. Then I had an accident in Bali that almost took my life and I was in a coma for five days. Through that accident I was put in the top students’ class – I was from the lowest of the low and suddenly I was put in with the top five students. That accident becomes almost my miracle because of the change of people around me. I used to mix with people who were street-smart but not thinking academically, but then I was thrown into a class that was academically smart. They saw things differently and it changed my perspective in life.”

His dad sent him from Indonesia to Australia to study.

“My dad was not a Christian.

But he had these Pentecostal missionaries living at the back of our house. They came from a big town, and they opened up a church there. In the context of a Chinese community that was more Confucian rather than Christian.

He faced a lot of opposition. But somehow my dad began to help

Architect, CEO and pastor: Iwan Sunito him. I don’t know why. He was not a Christian but he helped him by supplying electricity. At that time we used generators. And we grew up going to that church behind the house. We jumped over the fence to go to church every Sunday.

“I grew up to be quite rebellious – in year 11 and year 12 I felt there were a lot of hypocrites – that was my perception; I was wrong.

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That was God fulfilling the vision. I have gone with the flow.”

“I said, ‘There’s no point in being a Christian.’ So I did not go to church. I was not believing until I came to Sydney. Then I did my year 12, then I met the person who became my wife. She went to Newcastle and became a bornagain Christian. She radically changed and began to visit with a friend. I said, ‘You are a fanatic.’ I was arguing about the whole thing.

I was arguing against what the Bible says.

“But one thing I could not deny was the love. ‘You guys keep coming from Newcastle and you want to share the gospel, you never give up and you just keep loving.’ They were persistent – I was in year two at UNSW doing architecture.

“And then in year four that persistence broke through. In trying to argue, I found the truth of the Bible. I was bored with being a ‘nominal’ Christian, going to church and not being any different from the world on the other days of the week. I just felt I wanted to

be different. In year four that is when I committed my life to Jesus Christ.

“There was a complete change in my life. I was born again. My marks started changing. The strength is relying on the power of God, who can do it through me. I am trusting his power and his ability to change me. My marks started to go from credit, to distinction, to high distinction, and stayed there until I finished university. It was a radical change.”

The story of early struggle followed by business success, is mingled with Sunito’s calling to be a pastor. His church is SCWC Sydney Christian Worship Centre which meets at Moore Park.

“Then I started my architecture business. We prayed as a family and we believed that God would use our business in order to be able to build a centre one day, which will train a lot of leaders – a lot of pastors of small churches.” He had a vision: “I saw a big building. I did not know who would pastor it. I didn’t know who would lead it. And we think we need a million dollars to do that – the rest can come from everybody else.”

So he started his architecture business with that vision in mind.

It began slowly. Too slowly it seemed. Sunito had a conversation with his God: “At the rate that we are growing there is no way I can bless your kingdom. If you want me to bless a million, you had better give me ten, so 10 per cent is for you and the rest is for building up the business.

“But we believe that everything belongs to God. Not 10 per cent or 20 per cent – everything.”

Humanly speaking, Sunito’s goal was a tough one to reach. “I did not

have the network. I did not have the experience. I was just straight out of graduation. I never had the experience of working in a big firm, There is no way I can build what God had given us the vision for.

“We had a recipe for just an average growth. And God gave us Joshua 1:7-9: Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.

Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.

Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’

“I called on that scripture all the time. It was about building the business God’s way. Whenever there was [temptation] like taking clients to a wrong place – let’s do clubbing and things – God’s word reminded me, ‘look, you will be successful not because of your ability, but because I will open the door.’

“So I keep on doing that and I start cracking it. In the seventh and eighth year I start making good money. Then the recession hits but we stick to it. And along the way, the calling that God is first.

“Making disciples for Christ is number one. The business, leadership, being known, is a tool for it. So it is not two things; it is one thing. I use my leadership skill, my business skill to do what I am called to do – for the kingdom.”

The path was not straight. God had plans that Sunito didn’t expect.

Eight years into the business,

in 2004, Sunito’s church was shut down by a pastor who decided to merge congregations. “I asked my senior pastor, ‘What do you want me to do with this church here? Shut down?’ He said, ‘Look, continue it. I will send you a pastor.’ I said, ‘OK, great, make sure you do.’ But he never did.

“From 2004 to 2007 I never wanted to be a pastor of that church. I was always looking for somebody else. That was the most difficult time of my life.I didn’t know what to do ... [I was] waking up with a cold sweat.

“During that time we were building the church with 20 people. Imagine this: Maroubra Bay public school hall, really basic.

Set up the chairs, put up the sound system. Mop the floor on Saturday.

And we did that for three years.

“I was in a conference and I saw a vision, a person speaking in front of thousands of people. And I looked at the person and I thought, that must be somebody else. But I was actually looking at myself and I said, ‘Why is it me?’ ‘Because I am calling you. Not because you are qualified. But I am calling you for that.’”

On a flight back to Sydney from a Full Gospel business meeting, Sunito was mulling over the issue of the pastor: “The guy I had asked to do it was not committed fully.

During the flight I was by myself and a question came to my mind.

‘Iwan, if the job is small, who looks after it?’ ‘Of course I give it to someone on the staff.’ ‘If the job is important and big, who looks after it?’ ‘Of course I do, God,’ I said.

‘Well, is reaching souls important for you? Why do you ask someone else to do it?’

So I kind of broke down and said ‘God, OK!’ “Within the year of that vision, I was speaking to thousands of people. I was invited to Seoul to speak to 5000 people: four services, 25,000. That was God fulfilling the vision. I have gone with the flow. The church is growing to reach multigenerations, multi-cultures, and multi-nations.

“In the last ten years it has become no longer a matter of reaching just one or two souls, it has been building a church. We are in Dubai, Jakarta, Brisbane, Israel – we have a church there.

“It’s been a joyful thing. Now I see all the leaders under me that are amazing – preachers, evangelists. We have always said to people we are not full-time. That’s the journey – I was forced to do it.”

Sunito believes that other business people should offer the church more, just like he was led to do. “I would like to encourage a lot of business people to realise their spiritual gifting. We often say this is my boardroom. I go to church and I serve by leading connect groups, I serve by listening, I serve by serving as an usher. I feel that professional business people may have a greater calling than just that. Most people don’t realise that if you can just move from developing [yourself] in being happy, to being transformed by renewing of our mind and beyond that, by being a spiritual leader ...

“I can work hard, yet I can only produce an eight-hour day reasonably. I can work with my mind, and I can become creative.

I can become a good leader. But when you work in the spiritual dimension it becomes unlimited.”

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CHARITY FEATURE

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MARCH 2016

Melding faith, action and everyday life ANNE LIM

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Ricardo Pessoa

An Interserve worker living in a rural town in central Asia joined some local men in setting up a savings group to help struggling families. Each month the men would put some money into a pot and then allocate funds for needed purchases such as a refrigerator or a small motorbike.

“There was some risk involved and cultural things that were challenging but it was seeking to be part of that community and interacting in ways that demonstrate Jesus’ love and forgiveness and to draw people into conversations about those things,” says Christine Gobius, National Director of Interserve Australia.

The story is a good example of faith and action coming together in everyday life, the philosophy espoused by Interserve, a missional community with a focus on serving people from Asia and the Arab world, wherever they are in the world.

It also testifies to the Holy Spirit’s creativity in enabling Interserve Partners to bear witness to the gospel in places that might be hostile to it.

“People from these regions tend to talk about religion and spiritual things more than Westerners do,” Christine says, “and so we have a great opportunity to talk to people.

“As we engage with them and

Interserve Partners work with local Christians to meet the needs of refugees fleeing conflict in the Middle East. hear their stories, we earn the right to tell our personal story about what we believe and why.

“That’s how God is using people in very sensitive areas to proclaim the gospel and also to live it out.”

While Interserve began as a Bible and medical mission, its brief has become much broader over the past 50 years, encompassing business as mission, education, community development, work with refugees, people with disabilities and even the arts.

“We have a couple in Pakistan who are musicologists and have been involved in writing music in

the local musical style for weddings and funerals. They get paid to go and play, and they can proclaim the gospel through creative music appreciation,” Christine says.

“So however God gifts someone, He can use them. We believe very passionately that faith and action must be integrated and it’s right to see faith and action integrated across the whole gamut of life, occupations and people’s needs.”

A group of visionary women set up the organisation that became Interserve in London in 1852 to bring education to the women of India.

“Through that interaction they saw the need for healthcare and Interserve was instrumental in lobbying to have women be able to train in medicine in England, so that they could go and serve.”

Interserve missionaries are called Partners because they see themselves as partnering in God’s agenda.

“Partnership goes deeply to our identity,” says Christine.

“We have the privilege of partnering in God’s work with him and we also see it very much as a partnership with the local sending church.

“We seek to work collaboratively and most of our workers will be seconded to another organisation on the ground, maybe to a joint mission organisation like UMN or INF, or to a church, or a denomination or to a small NGO in a country.”

The rationale is to build capacity at the local level so that it will survive after the missionary has left.

“We’re making disciples who will witness to the gospel in a contextually appropriate way.

We want to walk beside the local church and help that church to grow and to be missional.”

Christine says the instability in the world is making it more costly to enable Partners to minister in places where safety and security can’t be guaranteed.

But while there is a big need for funds, Interserve’s greater need is for more workers prepared to share the hope they have in Jesus and demonstrate that with the skills they have been given.

“There are opportunities to be building into communities and building into local believers that will provide hope for tomorrow for people,” she says.

“We live in a world that is so devoid of hope on so many fronts.

We want to challenge people to think about how they can be involved in sharing that hope.” interserve.org.au

Each month Eternity will highlight a charity from a group that is bringing you this special page.

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Walk alongside the local church

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CENTENARY APPEAL 1916-2016

“For the sake of My Holy Name” Ezekiel 36:22

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IN DEPTH

MARCH 2016

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Losing one life to save many The big picture BEN MCEACHEN reviews Eye In The Sky To save many people, is it worth sacrificing the life of one person?

No, I’m not going to jump straight to Jesus. The answer provided by his unique example on the cross is well-discussed (particularly at Easter). A much different example is presented by a new dramatic thriller at cinemas this month.

As Eye In The Sky follows a military mission to thwart terrorists, we witness impassioned debates about how to decide what loss of life is acceptable during war. The answer isn’t as easy – or “Christian” – as you might think.

Helen Mirren stars as Katherine Powell, a British colonel hunting the leaders of the al-Shabaab extremist group. These Islamic terrorists were responsible for the deadly attack on a Nairobi shopping mall in 2013. That reallife event is the backdrop for Eye In The Sky’s fictional account of Powell orchestrating a drone strike

Eye In The Sky is coming soon to Australian cinemas. on a Kenyan “safe house”.

Eye In The Sky credibly comes to a tense stand-off over a Kenyan girl near the safe house. Explored with vigour and tension are the legal, political and philosophical consequences of this “collateral damage issue”.

Despite the impersonal “rules of engagement” talk during arguments about bystanders

being killed, the human heart underneath cannot be crushed.

This is no training drill. “Dozens of lives are at stake, if these men leave,” warns Lieutenant General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman) about what might occur if suicide bombers in the safe house are not executed. However, as the British Attorney General cautions, killing one child could mean al-Shabaab

wins “the propaganda war”. The moral standing of the British government would crumble.

To save many people, is it worth sacrificing the life of one person?

If you believe that has a quick answer, Eye In The Sky suggests the opposite. The meaty and engaging drama also reveals a lot about the reality of ethics.

Making decisions is often

complex and messy. Even when applying Christianity’s framework of principles, teachings, rules and truth.

Apply it to Eye In The Sky’s extreme dilemma and you might be shocked to discover the solution isn’t clear-cut. Humans have equal value before God. That means the Kenyan girl in harm’s way, and the possible victims of suicide bombers. Forgiveness, mercy and care should be graciously exacted.

But how best to do that in the face of an enemy’s attack? Sacrificing your own life for others is the ultimate act of love. But what if the choice to sacrifice your life is being made by someone else?

I could keep going because navigating life from a Christian perspective is rich with consideration and intricacy. No matter what the situation is.

But here’s the good news: the framework Christianity provides will lead to making decisions in a way that echoes the perfect human, Jesus. Author Andrew Cameron offers a Christian account of ethics in his book Joined-Up Life. He summarises the Christian framework as a “unified field” for living. It combines an understanding of God’s created order and character, with Jesus’ modelling of relationships, hope and Spirit-fuelled love.

Sounds complex. It is – and we’ll never be able to do it like Jesus did.

But imagine what might happen if we decide to make decisions in such a Jesus-shaped way.

Kids and porn: time to wake up to a national crisis DAVID SANDIFER

must be sacrificed – well, so be it.

Christians have also largely been silent on this issue until now.

Yet, surely we, of all people, know the power of thoughts to shape behaviour? (“It is what comes from the inside which defiles a person.” Mark 7:23.) Surely we, of all people, feel the call to protect the most vulnerable in our society? (“If anyone causes one of these little ones to stumble ...” Matt 18:6.)

Perhaps our fear of wowserism is now so deeply engrained in our DNA that we have abdicated any voice on sex-related matters, however egregious the harm. Or perhaps we have been swayed by spurious libertarian arguments into believing that any attempt to regulate adult content on the internet – as we do for every other form of media – amounts to an attack on free speech. Or perhaps the truth is more insidious: since surveys show that over half of Christian men look at porn monthly, could it be that the topic simply hits too close to home?

As Christians, we have a moral obligation to do everything in our power to find a solution to this escalating crisis. In the words of Liz Walker, of Youth Wellbeing Project – who herself was exposed to porn at six, leading to years of addiction: “We already have a generation of kids who view degrading, violent sex as the norm” and if something doesn’t change “we are staring down the barrel of tomorrow’s sex offenders and a barrage of intimate partner violence.”

One possibility: the UK has introduced a regime of by-default filtering of adult content which is effective, affordable, and imposes minimal inconvenience on those adults who want to access porn – they can simply opt out if they choose. The UK system involves each internet service provider (ISP) instituting porn blocks, which both obviates concerns about government involvement, and provides a much more robust protection than devicelevel software. While no system is perfect, the ISP-level filters have shown claims of technical impossibility to be bogus, and have revealed a pent-up demand for such a solution: one ISP reported that 62 per cent of its users were choosing to leave the filter on. There is nothing keeping Australia from introducing such a system.

In early December, thanks to the leadership of Senators Joe Bullock (ALP) and Chris Back Pixabay: mojzagrebinfo

The following incident in a remote Aboriginal community was recently reported to health officials: on seeing a dog having an erection, a toddler – perhaps two, or two-and-a-half years old – proceeded to attempt to perform a sexual act on it. What would cause such a young child to engage in this kind of behaviour? The answer is not so mysterious: in this community, as in many others, porn is routinely viewed by men in the presence of children.

This horrifying story was told by Holly-ann Martin, of Safe4Kids, at a February 9 conference in Sydney on the harms to children from pornography. Also reported: child-on-child sexual assaults have skyrocketed, and porn viewing is involved in the majority of cases; experts now estimate that 100 per cent of children will view porn before their eighteenth birthday; porn is eroticising violence and subjugation for the rising generation of young men; teenage girls are increasingly experiencing internal damage from anal sex, which they are pressured into by boys, who are mimicking the porn they view.

Welcome to the new reality: it’s a porn world, and we all live in it.

If you need further convincing, consider these statistics: according to one study, porn accounts for 30 per cent of internet traffic; in a survey of 11 to 16-year-old boys, the porn site Pornhub was named one of the “top 5” most popular online destinations; an analysis of the most popular porn scenes revealed that 88 per cent of them contained physical aggression, and 94 per cent of it was directed

towards women. In addition, we now know that exposure to pornography rewires the brain to alter sexual responses, and that teenagers’ brains are especially malleable.

In a world where the average teenage boy will have seen thousands of sex acts before his first kiss, it is porn which is increasingly shaping sexual expectations and desires. Sex researcher Gail Dines describes the ubiquity of porn today as “the largest unregulated social experiment ever.” The Chief Superintendent of London’s Metropolitan Police, John Sutherland, highlighting the links between teen exposure to porn and sexual crimes, has described the sexualisation of young people as “catastrophic”. In his words, those who attempt to “brush off the risks of allowing boys unrestricted access to hardcore footage are either wilfully ignorant or wilfully stupid.”

So where is the outrage? Perhaps the only thing more shocking than the crisis of child exposure to pornography is that we are not more shocked by it. Sure, an occasional article will draw attention to the epidemic, but the conversation typically ends with anaemic calls for more resources for parents and better education for kids.

Appallingly, our society has accepted the present situation as more or less unavoidable: if the right of adults to view what they please online means that the innocence of children

(Lib), a Senate inquiry into child sexualisation was launched.

The February 9 conference in Sydney was the largest anti-porn conference in Australian history, and received significant media coverage. These are hopeful signs, but an enormous amount remains to be done for a cultural shift to take place. And Christians ought to be at the forefront of this. We need to speak out to highlight the extent of the crisis; we need to step up our support to parents and children struggling to respond to this new plague; and we need to pressure politicians to take concrete and effective steps towards a solution.

In 1785, a young Cambridge student named Thomas Clarkson had an epiphany: slavery, he realised, was not a nuisance to be tolerated but a great moral evil which stained the nation of Britain and shamed Christians.

Little by little, other Christians were recruited to the cause – most famously William Wilberforce – and what had been a quixotic crusade by a few Quakers gradually became a topic of national debate; the status quo was challenged, and eventually, in 1807, the slave trade was abolished. Christians had their conscience awakened, and they awakened the conscience of a nation.

When it comes to children and porn, will 2016 be our 1785 in Australia?

David Sandifer’s PhD in history, at the University of Cambridge (2014), looked at concerns for the protection of innocence in 19th century Britain. He is the rector at St Alban’s Anglican Church, Leura, NSW, and served on the organising team for the Porn Harms Kids symposium (pornharmskids.org.au.)

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BIBLE @ WORK Through Vietnam’s eyes In a country ravaged by war and poverty throughout the 20th century, God’s word is spreading and making a difference. The history of Christianity in Vietnam is a testament to the way God can work through hardship and persecution, and how his people follow the call of Jesus whether on the mountain or in the valley. Here, Bonnie Lepelaar, international communication officer for United Bible Societies’ work in South East Asia, goes on a journey through the history of Christianity in Vietnam. It’s a story that spans 400 years to the present moment, where translation work happening right now is continuing Vietnam’s Christian story into the future and carrying the Word of God to millions more people throughout the country.

BONNIE LEPELAAR The Church in Vietnam first began when Roman Catholic missionaries arrived 400 years ago. A French Jesuit priest developed a Romanised script for the language, which helped with the modernisation of Vietnam. It is estimated that there are six to eight million Catholics in Vietnam today, nearly 10 per cent of the population.

The Protestant church has only been around for a bit over a century. Christian and Missionary Alliance missionaries (C&MA) translated the first Bible, published in 1926 and the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (ECVN) was founded three years later. Growth was slow but steady and mostly in the southern part of the country.

When Vietnam was divided between North and South in 1954 after the First Indochina War, the ECVN was also split into two separate north and south churches. What followed was 35 years wartime which brought tremendous suffering and destruction.

When the war ended in 1975 and the two Vietnams were reunified under a communist government, all foreign missionaries had to leave the country. Yet despite significant difficulties, Christianity continued to grow, from about 160,000 to almost two million evangelical believers today.

In the late 1980s the house church movement began. The early house churches were heavily

Christianity among ethnic minorities in Vietnam’s north is growing rapidly through the house church model. influenced by Pentecostal and charismatic ideas and were soon receiving generous financial support from overseas. Growth was explosive and by 2009, there were an estimated 250,000 Christians in 2500 home groups belonging to 70 house church organisations in the south. To

discourage continuous splitting into new groups, the house church movement has organised itself into two major Evangelical Fellowships.

In the north, Christianity among ethnic minorities in the Central and Northwest Highlands has also grown rapidly in the past 20 years by adopting the house

church model. In the north, many minority groups have not been granted permission to build their own churches.

These Christian “montagnards” or “mountain people” heard the gospel through radio broadcasts from the Far East Broadcasting Company during the Vietnam

War, when ethnic minority groups were given radios by the northern Vietnamese army, mainly for propaganda purposes. But gospel broadcasts floating into Vietnamese radio waves from across the border saw thousands of mountain people commit to Christ. Christians in these areas now number in the hundreds of thousands.

The exciting growth of the church since the Vietnam War has led to an increase in demand for Scriptures in native languages.

In the 1960s, during the war, several Bible translation projects in minority languages had been started but were then interrupted for the next two to three decades.

In recent years, these projects have been resumed. Now, New Testaments and Bibles in various ethnic minorities’ languages are being published and made available to the Church.

Bible Society is working with churches and mission partners in more than ten minority translation projects to continue the work of spreading the gospel in a country that, for the past 50 years, has been officially closed to the word of God.

+ To help support the Vietnamese church with literacy or translation, please donate at biblesociety.org. au/vietnamep

Longing for God’s word in Tay KALEY PAYNE When Ken* became a Christian, living in a northern Vietnamese village, he couldn’t wait to share the love of God with his neighbours and friends. He was asked to leave the home he shared with two of his brothers because he wouldn’t burn incense to his ancestors, a popular form of ancestor worship in Vietnam.

Ken is passionate about his heart language, Tay. He joined a Tay Bible translation team with Bible Society because of that love. The Tay people are one of Vietnam’s largest minorities, with about 1.9 million spread mainly through the north of the country. But not many people can read and write in Tay, with the government pushing education in the national language, Vietnamese.

A Tay alphabet was developed by Tay people themselves in the mid 20th century, but written materials are scarce. Ken wants a complete Bible in his own language, the

language he thinks and speaks in, to be able to that there will be a Tay audio Bible so that share God’s love with his own people, in their many people can hear the gospel.” own language. His work is first to complete * Full name withheld for security reasons. the Tay translation, and then to record the new translation into an audio form. The first complete Tay New Testament is well on its way, thanks to Ken’s dedication.

The Tay people in Vietnam are largely untouched by Christianity in northern Vietnam. There is no registered Tay church, though small home groups are scattered across the landscape. In some places, Christians from several small minority groups come together for worship in Vietnamese.

Ken sees it as his life’s work to help build up a Tay Christian community, starting with providing access to the Word of God. “I thank God for his faithfulness and for calling me to work with the Tay Bible translation project. I have been praying that my people will have the Bible in Tay. But Ken travels for hours to meet with other translators. because few people can read Tay, I pray too

With your donation, we can take God’s word to “the ends of the earth”.

Right now, few of the Muong, Tay and Nung in Vietnam’s mountain regions have access to Scripture in the language of their heart.

• $50 will support final translator checks of the Tay and Nung New Testaments, for publication in 2017.

• $100 will help fund the translation of Paul’s letters into Muong this year.

But you can change this!

1300 BIBLES (1300 242 537) or biblesociety.org.au/vietnamep

MARCH 2016

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OPINION Benedict

William Wilberforce

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Michael Jensen on what really matters

Greg Clarke on a birthday for Bible Society

Benedict of Nursia (left), William Wilberforce (right) Two models of how to be Christian in a society that has moved on from traditional marriage have emerged in the US. John Sandeman asks whether Australians will have to choose one or the other.

JOHN SANDEMAN Time magazine is the unlikely venue that ignited one of the most interesting debates among Christians. In the aftermath of the 2015 “Obergefell” Supreme Court decision that saw gay marriage established as a constitutionally recognised right in the US, conservative Rod Dreher wrote a provocative piece, “Orthodox Christians must now learn to live as exiles in our own country.”

Since then a courteous-butdeadly-serious debate has raged between Christians in venues like (the evangelical flagship) Christianity Today, (the accurately named) American Conservative and the (liberal) Atlantic magazine.

“No, the sky is not falling – not yet, anyway – but with the Supreme Court ruling constitutionalizing same-sex marriage, the ground under our feet has shifted tectonically,” Dreher wrote.

“Voting Republican and other failed culture-war strategies are not going to save us now.”

In Australian terms, you can think of Dreher writing after, say, a loss for conservatives in a samesex marriage plebiscite. (This is

not a prediction; I am just putting Dreher in context).

He reminds his readers of what some of the dissenting judges, in the 5–4 decision said: “Justice Samuel Alito warned that Obergefell ‘will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy,’ and will be used to oppress the faithful ‘by those who are determined to stamp out every vestige of dissent.’

“We have to accept that we really are living in a culturally postChristian nation. The fundamental norms Christians have long been able to depend on no longer exist.

There will be no widespread popular resistance to Obergefell.

This is the new normal.”

Dreher says that Obergefell came as no surprise. It is a logical consequence of the sexual revolution, in which heterosexuals led the charge in devaluing traditional marriage.

Then comes his key paragraph: “It is time for what I call the Benedict Option. In his 1982 book After Virtue, the eminent philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre likened the current age to the fall of ancient Rome. He pointed to Benedict of Nursia, a pious young Christian who left the chaos of Rome to go to the woods to pray, as an example for us. We who want to live by the traditional virtues, MacIntyre said, have to pioneer new ways of doing so in community. We await, he said ‘a new – and doubtless

very different – St Benedict.’”

In the Middle Ages St Benedict formed communities – monasteries – that kept the light of faith burning through a time of cultural darkness.

They also preserved the Bible by copying it in their scriptoria.

The Benedict Option, which Dreher has championed since 2013, is a call for Christians to form “resilient communities” as exiles from mainstream society.

Dreher says “the church must do this not to hide away as a pure remnant – the church would be unfaithful to Christ if it did so – but to strengthen itself to be the church for the world.”

From the pages of the National Review, the conservative journal set up by William F. Buckley, Jr to combat the ultra-right John Birch Society, staff writer David French fired back, “Christian conservatives have barely begun to fight.

Christians, following the examples of the Apostles, should never retreat from the public square. They must leave only when quite literally forced out.”

This riposte was soon given a name: “the Wilberforce Option”, in the pages of Christianity Today.

“The main focus of Christian social engagement is not pluralism; it is personalism,” write Michael Gerson (a former George W. Bush speechwriter turned Washington Post columnist) and Peter Wehner (Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and New

York Times writer). “We should be known for, and distinguished by, a belief in the priority of humans – for defending their rights, well-being, and dignity. This principle is much at stake in an increasingly utilitarian society – a society that targets children with Down syndrome for destruction before birth; that uses developing life for medical research; and that increasingly signals to the elderly that they are a burden and therefore have a duty to die.

“This might be called the Wilberforce Option. William Wilberforce, the greatest political enemy of the 19th-century slave trade, believed Christians should be the first to respond to social injustices.”

Making it clear that a defensive response won’t work, they also state: “If evangelicals are known primarily for defending their institutions, they will look like one aggrieved minority among many.”

Taking a virtual flight back across the Pacific we can easily identify Australian Wilberforcians.

Lyle Shelton, the managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, often speaks of taking his inspiration from Wilberforce.

In an email to Eternity on the urgency of responding to the Safe Schools Coalition material, which goes beyond an anti-bullying programme to instructing children how to identify as a different gender, Shelton said, “No matter how much

of a minority we become (and I’m not convinced Christians are the minority on this), we should always stand up for justice and not make an accommodation with injustice.

“Wilberforce, Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King Jr did not lie down, despite their minority status.

Two of these paid with their lives and the other almost did. All faced opposition and swam against public and church opinion – voices which said this is the way the world is, we should learn to live with it.”

Another Wilberforce voice (and there are many) is Karl Faase, presenter of the “Towards Belief” apologetics videos: “It seems to me that it would be helpful for the church in Australia to recall and reinstate the focus of the Clapham Sect (the group of activists that Wilberforce led), Faase tells Eternity. “Our role is not meant to be a gentle and neutral organisation, conversing in polite conversation with the culture.”

The mantle of William Wilberforce is also held by the evangelical left in Australia. In last month’s Eternity, for example, Tim Costello said “faith gives ordinary people like you and me the courage to do extraordinary things. Over 200 years ago, the faith of William Wilberforce compelled him and others to start a movement to abolish the British slave trade.”

It is fair to say that Australia’s Wilberforces do not speak out on continued page 13

Wikimedia / Stephencdickson

Two ways to face the future

Wikimedia / The Yorck Project

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A short meditation on wealth Tim Crawshaw has written a short book on Jesus and wealth called So, You Want to Be Rich... But Jesus Doesn’t to give away.

TIM CRAWSHAW Because of the value placed on individual materialistic success in our society, we are surrounded by people primarily interested in getting something from others.

Their attitudes are characterised by selfishness and a lack of empathy or compassion.

Jesus came with a clear message about this kind of living. From him we discover that God values things very differently to humans.

People were chasing wealth and living materialistically in Jesus’ day too. From the very start Jesus says “You can’t serve God and money.”

(Matthew 6:24) Jesus said the heart is more important than material possessions: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21) Part of the treasure in heaven that Jesus talks about is the feeling of purpose and satisfaction a person has when they know they are performing the will of God. Those who put themselves and money first often complain about life feeling

Get the book at timcrawshawfoto.com empty and meaningless. Jesus pays those who serve him with meaning and spiritual abundance in their lives and hearts before money.

Where ambition to look after ourselves first is valued in Western society, Jesus tells us that God wants us to serve others. The gospels are full of passages about the importance of serving others: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.”

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God cares about who we are primarily, not what we do. It is our character and our approach to life that he cares about. God wants us to choose him and put him first, which ultimately means being a servant to him and those around us.

The unconditional love that God gives us when we are in relationship with him frees us and sustains us; we no longer feel the need to prove ourselves according to worldly standards; we are fine just the way we are.

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OPINION

MARCH 2016

13

Two ways

What matters in the end Michael Jensen on the reality of mortality

Flickr:Alexandre Duret-Lutz

Through a friend, I had been put in contact with David, who lives in my parish, and who has terminal cancer.

I went to visit him. He was pale, but not yet in an advanced state of illness. As we sat drinking a cup of tea and gazing out towards the heads of Sydney Harbour on a clear sunny day, he turned to me and said, “Well, don’t worry: we are all in the queue.”

Dying seems to make people wise. I was struck at that moment that this man was not in a different category to me, as if somehow the dying and the living are made of different stuff.

Quite the opposite. To come face to face with his mortality was to come face to face with my own inevitable terminus. I am dying no less than he is. He just has more information about when it will be, and what it will be like.

And yet, we have an extremely uneasy relationship with our mortality and with the mortality of others – more so than other cultures, and more so than our own culture in times gone by. I have been reading a truly excellent book by Atul Gawande, called Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine, and What Matters in the End. Gawande is a surgeon, and also a son. In both of these roles he has been brought face to face with the end of life, and the tragic decisions we are compelled to make as our health is taken from us, either by disease or by old age.

Our medical technology, Gawande notes, has given us a much greater life expectancy, and also an optimism that medical intervention will work, if not to cure disease outright, then at least to prolong life.

But the lack of an open discussion about what life is actually about has, according to Gawande, meant that the purpose of intervening to keep someone alive is often unclear. At the end of life, people are often confronted by a multitude of medical issues, and doctors wrestle with the tricky balance of figuring out whether their remedies will cause more harm and pain than they will prevent. Patients are given choices that they cannot fathom – in Gawande’s account, more often than not, false hope is offered by doctors who (who can blame them?) don’t want to deliver the worst possible news to a patient. As Gawande writes: “Being mortal is about the struggle to cope with the constraints of our biology, with the limits set by genes and cells and flesh and bone. Medical science has given us remarkable power to push against these limits, and the potential value of this power was a central reason I became a doctor. But again and again, I have seen the damage we in medicine do when we fail to acknowledge that such power is

“Well, don’t worry: we are all in the queue.” finite, and always will be.”

He later writes: “Over and over, we in medicine inflict deep gouges at the end of people’s lives, and then stand oblivious to the harm done.”

So what to do, then? Gawande offers the fascinating observation that we have a “remembering self” and an “experiencing self”.

Our brains help us to evaluate our experiences not simply by calculating an average of pain and pleasure over time. We tend to remember when pain was at its worst, and then the pain we last experienced. It doesn’t matter how long pain lasted for: it is the end experience that counts. Gawande reminds us of what it is like to watch a football match in which your team leads until the final whistle, when it suddenly loses.

You may have enjoyed the whole experience at the time, but your evaluation of the experience overall will be very negative.

Where are we going with this?

Gawande writes: “People don’t view their life as merely the average of all of its moments – which, after all, is mostly nothing much plus some sleep. For human beings, life is meaningful because it is a story. A story has a sense of a whole, and its arc is determined by the significant moments, the ones where something happens …”

How does this observation affect our decision-making as we approach death, or how might it help us?

“When our time is limited and we are uncertain about how best to serve our priorities, we are forced to deal with the fact that both the experiencing self and the remembering self matter. We do not want to endure long pain and short pleasure. Yet certain pleasures can make enduring suffering worthwhile. The peaks are important, and so is the ending.”

What this means is that patients will often accept very risky

medical procedures if the faint hope of enjoying one of their life’s great pleasures is offered out to them. And yet, the surgery or chemotherapy administered will take away whatever moments of pleasure and happiness they have left to them.

Gawande argues, very powerfully, that as a culture we need to help each other to practise the art of dying well. This may not mean “pain free”, though pain alleviation will be part of it. But in particular, it means dying, as much as we can, meaningfully – and giving each other the opportunity to do so.

But the Christian perspective gives an added dimension here which is extremely useful. And that is: Gawande is absolutely right about our storied existence. But for the Christian, life is not framed by death. Death is not the end of the story, but merely a phase we are passing through. The end of the story matters, but death is not the end.

It is interesting how often the Bible treats suffering this way.

In Romans 8:18, Paul writes, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Suffering, for the Christian, is actually a sign of hope, because it produces the endurance that will bear fruit beyond the moment of pain. As he says in 2 Corinthians 4:17: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

This is not saying that God has afflicted us with suffering in order to make us better for it. Rather, it is telling us that even meaningless and pointless suffering is woven

by God into his plan for those who love him.

As for death itself: in 1 Thessalonians 4 Paul urges Christians “not to grieve as those who have no hope.” Notice that

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he doesn’t tell us not to grieve. It is a different kind of grief – one that acknowledges the profound awfulness of dying and death, and which sheds many tears. And yet: those who have died in the Lord have just “fallen asleep”. When Christ comes, with the sound of the trumpet, he will bring with him all of those who have fallen asleep in him. Death is not, in the Bible, denied. But it is confronted, and defeated.

What does this mean for us all, since we are “all in the queue”?

I think we need to realise that, because of the age we live in, most of us will die slowly rather than quickly or suddenly. Without becoming morbid, I think we need to admit this to ourselves and not be caught unawares by it. We will be given, probably, options for surgery, chemotherapy, radiation treatment, experimental drugs and the like. We will have to consider what we would endure suffering for.

And if this is not our experience, it is likely that we will stand with someone we love as they go through it.

I think Christians can thank God for modern medicine, but realise with Gawande that it has very often become a deep distraction from what matters in the end. Technological and scientific knowledge is not the same as wisdom to know what matters. As Christians, we have an added reason to know that preparing for the end of one’s mortal life involves seeking to make peace with our families, with our friends, with those we have wronged, and most of all with God. We have been given the wisdom that it is relationships that matter more than anything else, and that the time we have on earth, however long, is for these most of all.

Michael Jensen is the rector of St Mark’s Anglican Church in Sydney and the author of several books.

from page 11 all the same issues as each other.

Australians are not as good as Americans at fitting ourselves into their theological or political boxes, it seems to this writer.

So it comes as no surprise to find the ACL’s stout Wilberforcian Shelton displaying Benedictine tendencies, telling Eternity, “I believe the most important way to ‘fight back’ is through the demonstration of God’s redeemed community living holy lives that witness to the world.”

And although I will cite his Benedictine tendencies, Sandy Grant, senior minister at Wollongong Cathedral, tells Eternity, “I’ve written and spoken in local and wider media on matters as diverse as domestic violence, pokies reform, refugees, Indigenous recognition and rights, euthanasia, responsible service of alcohol, marriage redefinition, SRE in schools, and defending freedom of speech, and in ways that (I think) defy straight right-left pigeon-holing.”

But Grant recently Facebooked a lengthy quote from lefty evangelical Scot McKnight (testimony to Grant’s wide reading).

“Politics is a colossal distraction from kingdom mission. Politics entails diminution of our kingdom message, because to speak well in the public forum means we have to turn our gospel-drenched message that focuses on Jesus, the cross, and the resurrection into an acceptable, common-denominator language and vision. Instead of talking discipleship and a cruciform life, we talk about value and soak it in the pretentious ‘Judeo-Christian’ ethic.”

Is it possible to hold Benedict and Wilberforce in some stable combination? At the start of the debate John Dickson of the Centre for Public Christianity had a go in this newspaper, in a piece called “The art of losing well.”

“Courage and boldness are givens of the Christian life,” Dickson wrote. “I do wish more of us were stepping out into the public square with our heads held high, graciously explaining the truth of Christ in this secularising world. But that is only part of our duty. If society rejects our case, we should not respond with an air of entitlement or demanding our rights. We should never be sore losers. No group in society should be better losers, more cheerful sufferers, than followers of the crucified Lord.”

Many American Christians are bruised by their Obergefell decision. It may seem that talking about the Benedict and Wilberforce options in advance of the plebiscite on gay marriage in our country is premature. But it is precisely the fear of being caught up in US-style culture wars and the identification of Christianity with one particular brand of politics that amplifies a Benedict effect.

Some will identify the Australian Christian Lobby as the issue – yet this group actually has good ties to a wide range of Christian leaders.

But there will be other “lone ranger” groups campaigning as well with a passionate intensity that may well upset more moderate Christians.

If (probably when) the plebiscite takes place, there will be outlier groups on either side that will cause hurt and dismay. In addition, the LGBTI lobby and conservative Christians fear the damage the mainstream (not just the fringe) of their opposition can do. Just as in the US, it is likely that a tilt towards the Benedictine way of doing things is inevitable after what looks like being a shouty, disruptive campaign no matter who wins.

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OPINION

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MARCH 2016

Tim Costello on the king on a donkey It is hard to imagine a war more cruel, violence more unspeakable, a political impasse more oppressive, than what we see today in Syria.

While we in faraway Australia argue about whether we can afford even a marginal contribution to relieving this appalling suffering, Syrians in their hundreds and their millions are driven from their homes and their homeland, and forced to endure nightmare journeys of fear, hunger and uncertainty, with real risks of violence and death.

As we approach Easter we remember the extraordinary story of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem riding a donkey.

Here was a king, but not as the world knew kings. As God proclaimed in the prophecy of Zechariah (9:10): “I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations.”

This king is simple, not haughty, riding a gentle and humble animal.

He has come to lead the world to its rightful path by teaching and example, to sow the seeds of peace, not to conquer by force of arms.

The Palm Sunday Jesus is a profoundly counter-cultural figure.

His words and deeds, and his ultimate triumph over death, turn the world on its head. In the face of despair his message is hope. Evil is powerful but it will not have the final say.

If we really believe what Jesus taught, if we really believe his life and resurrection offer the hope of victory over evil, then we should find the strength to live and act

Flickr: Pekka Tiainen, EU/ECHO

Jesus said that unless you act like a child you can’t go to Heaven.

Please pray for Syria, says Costello. according to our convictions.

We need not be prisoners of conventional wisdom or cultural norms. When we see evil being done and accepted as normal, we can name it, reject it, and choose to live differently.

When Australian churches offered sanctuary to asylum-seekers including children being threatened with removal to Nauru, they were following the example of Jesus.

What else should they do?

Too often we surrender to thinking that shuts out options, that declares there is no alternative to business as usual, even if that means scarring cruelty and obscene injustice.

Thank God our churches found their voice. Thank God for the guidance and inspiration of Jesus’ last journey towards the acceptance of death and his ultimate victory over it. Thank God for his affirmation that life and love will finally win.

As we approach Easter, let’s give thanks for the renewal of life and faith that it brings. Let’s think of innocent lives ripped apart by war.

Let’s find the compassion, the thirst for justice, and the courage to speak and act as if we really believed the faith we proclaim.

Join churches across Australia in prayer for the situation in Syria: worldvision.com.au/syriasunday

Letters Public schools and Christians First, I feel for the parent and her daughter confronted by a “Rainbow” mufti day (reported in Eternity Online and page three of this Eternity). I also have some constructive questions to ask.

I wonder how much this issue was discussed beforehand in the regular meetings of the school’s P and C. I imagine other parents share the concerns of Clare’s mother and hope those parents also attended their P and C and had previously thought clearly about what points to make. As one suggestion, I am sure that school has an anti-bullying policy and they could consider some questions about whether this Rainbow mufti day is a necessary part of their antibullying strategy.

Does Clare’s mother belong to a church that encourages parents to be active in their P and C, not only in case of difficult issues but for the benefit of the school?

Can Bible Society in future provide some articles about the good things that are happening in our public schools? Could you include news about ISCF groups and photos of the annual ISCF Leadership Conference? Why is it that in some Christian circles all we hear regarding public schools are stories of difficulties and problems?

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Therefore, I haven’t done my homework nor cleaned my room.

Clare is clearly one Christian pupil in a public school who would benefit from the Masterclass that Bible Society organises every year.

When can Bible Society organise the date within school holidays so that public school students can attend and be strengthened?

Steve Howes, Bathurst, NSW

Same God My response to “Do Muslims worship the same God?” in the February Eternity: Firstly, the Koran contradicts itself on a number of things and, in general, what is thought to be the latest view is accepted; this is called abrogation (Q.2:106 13:39).

As a result someone looking for similarities with the Bible may not realise that certain views have been annulled.

Secondly, this annulling of certain ideas fits in with the Muslim God who calls himself a deceiver (Q.3:54 6:39 8:30). The Bible calls Satan the Liar (Jn.8:44) and Deceiver (2Jn.1:7). Indeed, the Bible warns us that very clever deceivers will come so that even God’s chosen will almost fall for it (Mt.24:24). As such Islam denies the Trinity and that makes it an Anti-Christ (1Jn.2:22). In this respect some comment on John Stackhouse’s piece “A Cautious Yes” about the Trinity probably not being known before the times of the early biblical patriarchs: In the OT there is no change in the

word used for God in those early days – it was Elohim, a Hebrew word expressing a plurality of more than two. However, the Trinity was well known in the ancient world; the early Egyptians used a triangle to express their divine trinity; in Assyria this was expressed in a bird with a human body and face but with an extra head on each wing; in ancient Siberia it was three complete bodies in one showing three heads, three sets of arms and legs; and similar depictions have also been found in old Hindu temples. In India there is such an ancient idol, called Eko Diva Trimurti, in a cave and there is also the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and in Japan there is San Pao Fuh. When Islam criticises Christianity on this issue they generally do not attack the Trinity but Tri-Theism, that is three Gods, because that is easier to understand. However, the early Christians condemned the view of three Gods. Even so, in the Koran the Trinity is wrongly expressed as being God, Mary and Jesus (Q.5:116), not God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Nobody can fully understand the Trinity; we can merely see the vague outline because God is beyond our understanding. To say it is a pagan concept because of its plurality is absolutely ridiculous, for the pagan gods are all fighting each other. In contrast the Trinity is in absolute agreement about everything. This is pointing to perfection.

Harry Kloppenburg, Thornlie, WA

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OPINION

MARCH 2016

15

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The same God? Answer is to start by being friends with Muslims Richard Shumack on speaking of God to Muslims

flickr: amrufm

Evangelical Wheaton College has been controversially in the news lately. It suspended one of its professors on the grounds that she declared that Muslims and Christians worshipped the same God. But this is not an isolated incident. This debate rages outside Wheaton too. The Pope is weighing in. Yale theological heavyweight – and CPX pal – Miroslav Volf is weighing in. Nabeel Qureshi, the New York Times bestselling Christian apologist from a Muslim background, is weighing in.

Christianity Today has taken a keen interest, and even the previous issue of Eternity witnessed two excellent opinion pieces by John Stackhouse and Mark Durie highlighting some of the key theological issues involved. In virtually every setting where I teach on Islam and Christianity I am asked the very same question.

So at the risk of muddying the water even further, I’d like to add my two cents’ worth to the debate.

What I think is that when we get past the theological complexity and think missionally, the issue becomes pretty simple.

A complex theological question Some questions comparing Islam and Christianity are straightforward. Do the Qur’an and the Bible describe the same God? No. Do Islam and Christianity have the same doctrine of God? No. Do Islam and Christianity describe the same sort of human relationship to God? Again, no. But without further nuance, and because it’s asking about people not doctrine, the question of whether Christians and

Two sorts of Muslims with two sorts of God. Muslims worship the same God is extraordinarily difficult to answer with a simple yes or no.

For a start, notice that every single word carries significant meaning that shapes one’s answer.

So when we say “Muslims”, who exactly are we talking about?

There are millions who identify as Muslims, and they exhibit a wide range of theologies and forms of worship. And when we say “worship”, do we mean it in a very general sense of desiring to place our creator in the centre of our lives and to seek to do his will? Or do we mean it in a more specific sense of agreeing upon the particular sort of life and belief that constitute appropriate worship that will warrant eternal life? And when we say “God”, are we agreeing that we simply mean the necessary being that created the universe, or do we mean we are agreeing on the details of just what that God is like? And how

many details need we agree on to say it’s the same God? Clearly the underlying theological issues are complex. But we should have known this already from reading our Bibles.

The Bible, too, seems ambiguous on this question. It is true that there are some extremely stark examples where God identifies improper worship of a false deity as evil in absolutely clear-cut terms and treats it harshly. A classic example (and a cool Sunday School story) is Elijah’s battle with the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18.

It is also true, however, that sometimes the worship of false gods is viewed positively. The classic example in this case is Paul speaking to the Athenians in Acts 17 where, even though the Greek religion was unquestionably false, he commends them for being worshippers at heart and in some sense identifies God with one of their unknown deities.

What’s the difference between these two stories? Neither Baal nor Greek religions worshipped the true God. The key difference, I think, is in the mission context.

Put simply, Elijah was dealing with people (and religious leaders especially) who had clearly and persistently rejected the offer of worshipping Yahweh in favour of an evil form of idolatry. Paul, on the other hand, was reaching out to ordinary people who had had little or no opportunity to form an accurate understanding of God. It made sense, then, for Paul to at least speak in terms of common worship of God in order to share the message of how that God had visited in grace.

A simple personal question This biblical perspective reinforces that for those of us who live, work and play with Muslims, the question of how to talk about God and worship is not merely an abstract theological question.

I know Muslims who worship a clearly idolatrous deity that bears no relation to the God of the Bible and who utterly reject the gospel of grace. I have been in some very dark places in Muslim communities in which there were tangibly evil spiritual forces at work. ISIS is a clear example of this form of Muslim theology and worship that is evil, depraved and inhuman. In my discussions with these Muslims – some of whom were my close friends – I very deliberately made it clear that our conceptions of God and religion were radically different.

Yet at the same time I know many Muslims who worship an Acts 17-type deity. They have a theologically undeveloped sense of their creator God that resonates closely with my own. They exhibit a deep and beautiful longing for a personal connection with that distant and unknown creator and the only theological framework they have for pursuing that longing is their inherited, and often unorthodox, Islam. When I am speaking to these friends about worship, surely it makes the most sense to start with the assumption that we are talking about the same God – they absolutely will think like that and will find it totally weird, if not rude, if we don’t.

For me, this issue comes down to a fairly simple suggestion: in your friendships with the average Muslim, stick with Paul and give them the benefit of the doubt.

Until proven otherwise assume you are talking about and, more importantly, seeking to worship the same God. Differences will no doubt appear as you talk deeper and live closer – the key and vital difference being the person of Jesus, of course. I promise you will have ample opportunity to explore the doctrine of God, but starting out this way usually builds relationships and opens doors to share Christ. In short, remember that in the end this is a personal question, not a theoretical one.

Dr Richard Shumack is a parttime research fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity (CPX) and also Director of the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at Melbourne School of Theology.

Reading Revelation without the fear MICHAEL JENSEN Let me be honest. As a working preacher, I find most biblical commentaries don’t give me much help at all. Too many of them are brick-sized and even then can’t tell me anything about what a biblical book actually says. I don’t want that to sound anti-intellectual.

There’s a place for your standard biblical commentary and some are exceptional. But a preacher requires a different kind of help, especially when it comes to a book such as the book of Revelation.

The book of Revelation is a book that preachers – and many Christians – like to avoid, because it has been seen for too long as the domain of the lunatic fringe.

But even when you do take the bit between the teeth and decide to preach from it, your troubles

are only just beginning. The lengthy and lurid descriptions, the confusing imagery, the long chapters – it’s enough to make a preacher scurry back to the Pauline epistles or the parables of Jesus, (maybe after a couple of sermons on the seven letters to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3.)

But Paul Barnett’s new book, John the Pastor: Encouragement for a Struggling Church, is written in such a way as to be immediately of help to preachers and congregations alike. Barnett quickly gets to his point, and organises his material in an easily accessible manner. He offers discussion questions, and even sermon outlines.

Barnett takes much of the fear and trepidation about reading the book away, by clearly explaining how the symbols in the book work

“Barnett takes much of the fear about reading Revelation away.” and what they mean – that the number four, for example, refers to the four corners of the earth.

Likewise, he reminds us of how deeply enmeshed in Old Testament

images and language the book is.

But even more importantly, Barnett emphasises the pastoral nature of the book of Revelation.

This is a book to which Christians

of today need to pay careful attention – not so that they can figure out when the end times are coming, or who the beast is, but so that they can know how to survive in a sometimes-hostile world.

The world in which we live is in many ways like the world of the first century, with its gleaming, proud civilisations and its terrible wars. As Barnett shows, our world is no less violent than John the Apostle’s. Christians have the profound reassurance that, because of Jesus Christ, they are on the winning side. I hope, with Barnett, that the Christian church renews its interest in studying the book of Revelation. This excellent guide will be a great blessing in helping us to do that.

Michael Jensen is the rector of St Mark’s Anglican Church in Sydney and the author of several books.

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OPINION

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MARCH 2016

199 not out for the Good Book Greg Clarke sings happy birthday Turning 199 feels important, but scary – probably because I love cricket, and the thought of getting dismissed on that number is just horrible. Only eight batsmen ever have (and no women, yet!), including current Australian captain, Steve Smith. It’s just a number, but the adrenalin coursing through one’s veins as the bowler pounds in is that much harder to handle when you are on 199.

With adrenalin coursing, the Bible Society has reached that tremendous number. Back in March 1817, an auxiliary branch of the British and Foreign Bible Society was founded here by colonials who, among other things, went on to found the first bank a month later (now

Westpac). Governor Lachlan Macquarie, Samuel Marsden, William Cowper, Eyre, Redfern, Macarthur, Wentworth: names that we hear now as suburbs or schools or electorates. These were the founders of Bible mission in Australia 199 years ago, and we owe them a great debt.

On my desk I have the first Bible Society report from 1817, including the names and donations of all benefactors that year (the Empire produced impeccable paperwork). The Governor himself was the largest contributor, along with many of the colony’s leaders.

Their aim, eloquently expressed

by Rev Marsden, was “for no less a purpose than to aid and assist in distributing the word of God – the Bread of Eternal Life – to the poor perishing souls of our fellow creatures”.

My heart thrills at the emphasis on ensuring that Bibles were made available for the poor, for women, “poor prisoners” and “mechanics, labourers and others”. Clearly, they thought everyone deserved access to the word of God. “Men of all ranks and stations in a society stand in equal need of this blessed volume,” said Marsden (clearly implying women and children, as well).

How delightful are these words

Part of the first Bible Society report from 1817. of encouragement to families, published in the Sydney Gazette a week later (15 March 1817): “The lonely settler, who can read, or has anyone about him who can read, but is nevertheless without a Bible, will now find a means of collecting his little household about his fire side, and instead of passing away

his evenings idly and without delight, listen to those lessons of instruction that will at once amuse and gratify him more than any other book, or any other manner in which he could have employed the space of unproductive leisure”.

Contrary to the view that the Bible was merely wielded

from the pulpits, we are given a picture of Scripture reading as an entertaining, fulfilling part of a pleasurable evening together as a family. The Bible contributes to private and public good, a position that needs to be promoted more effectively today. People were encouraged to read from it “before you enter the labours of the day” with “delightful consequences to flow from the practice”. The Bible would change the feel of the day.

Taste and see that the Lord is good!

As a national organisation, Bible Society Australia will mark our bicentenary from this point: noon on 7 March 1817, when the society began in Australia. It’s not just a New South Wales celebration; it’s for everyone. We have made it through the nervous nineties and, God-willing, shall celebrate our double century and beyond.

Our task is not yet fulfilled, and so we assume many overs at the crease are still required. As Samuel Marsden said in that first report, “From the exertions that [we] are now making to disseminate the Scriptures, we may reasonably hope that the Bible will soon be found in every part of the world, when every enquiring soul may learn the mind and will of God”.

Greg Clarke is CEO of Bible Society Australia.

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