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Number 77, February 2017 ISSN 1837-8447
Brought to you by the Bible Society
The year of the Bible What forgiveness looks like
WhenPlanting Bill met 1000’s of the Bible churches Anne Lim
Bible Society hits 200
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NEWS
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I was at Trump’s induction
News 2-3 Charity Feature 4 In Depth 7-12
LYLE SHELTON IN WASHINGTON
Opinion 13-16
Obadiah Slope ETERNITY IN MOLDOVA: Arthur Stace’s Eternity script (which he wrote on Aussie pavements for 37 years in a one-man evangelism campaign) adorns the “Sydney Cafe” in the village of Zirnesti, Moldova. The cafe workers include young Aussie Christians spreading the word to one of the poorest countries in Europe. The cafe is part of the work of Christian Mission International’s CMI-AID.
God’s story has been translated into the language of the Northern Territory’s Murrinh-patha people.
200 years of the Bible ANNE LIM
POSSIBLY AWKWARD FACT: 91 per cent of the new US Congress identifies as Christian. Does anyone happen to know the figure for the Australian federal parliament? JUST AWKWARD: Sitting down to dinner with a bunch of left-leaning Americans over the summer/winter break, Obadiah was struck by the continuing sense of incredulity that President Trump was elected. More concerning to Obadiah was the sense of betrayal and hurt AfricanAmerican Christians have been expressing about the vote.
Quotable John Dickson on answering sceptics Page 7 “We should take questions that zero in on history as a kind of compliment.”
The founding of the New South Wales Auxiliary of the British and Foreign Bible Society on 7 March 1817 has been hailed as a visionary move by the Anglican Archbishop of the Sydney Diocese, Glenn Davies. Noting that the same men who established Bible Society also formed the Bank of NSW a fortnight later, Davies said YEAR OF THE the move showed extraordinary foresight for a colony in its infancy. “The men who established both institutions 200 years ago put their deposit in the heavenly realm before the treasures in earthly vessels,” he said. “The word that they treasured so much still speaks to men, women and children today because the word of God is living, active and a two-edged sword.” He said he was grateful for the Bible Society’s ability to print Bibles in easy-to-read English so that the “living oracles of God” were accessible to today’s generation. Davies will address a National Celebration of the Bible on Sunday, 5 March. It will be webcast from the Hillsong Convention Centre in Sydney, and will also feature Hillsong’s Brian Houston. Any church can use the live stream of the webcast, or show a delayed stream. There are also “Lighthouse Churches” carrying the event live. Bible Society has been operating longer on these shores than any other organisation. The only change is the name. In 2010, the Bible
Build our future on the Good Book.
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Societies in each state merged into a single organisation, Bible Society Australia. As it has been doing for 200 years, it’s still involved in the translation, publishing, and distribution of the Christian Bible. BSA also aims to engage people with what it calls the Good Book, using traditional and new media. Two hundred years ago, the Bible was widely viewed as the bread of life and essential for spiritual sustenance. It was widely accepted, unlike today, that the Bible contributed to the private and public good. This is why, as the Bible Society Australia marks its bicentenary, what it really wants to celebrate is the Bible – and to advocate for it in every possible way. Bible Society’s CEO Greg Clarke reminds us that, 200 years on, “there is an enormous amount of work still to be done. We’re not
content simply to hand out Bibles. We want to help people engage with the Bible and answer their questions about it,” he says. “We’re celebrating our 200 years of sharing the Bible by doing more of what supporters want us to do – championing the Bible worldwide, from prisons in Australia to churches in China.” The Bible remains the world’s best-selling book with more than five billion copies printed. Many of our national values stem from the Bible. A common Anzac statement is from John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this – to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”. Clarke says the work of Bible Society will continue both here and throughout the world, adding “the Good Book really is here for good.” For much more about the 200th anniversary, visit bible.com.au
150 years of SU TESS HOLGATE For generations, young people around the country have benefited from the ministry of Scripture Union. This year, SU Australia celebrates 150 years of taking the gospel to young people. Scripture Union’s various ministries all support their aim to help children, young people and families know Jesus. The various branches of SU across Australia focus upon different ministries. The NSW branch focuses on beach missions,
while SU Queensland has a strong focus on school chaplaincy, supporting 873 chaplains in schools. For decades, the beach missions in NSW have been run during the Christmas holidays. Adam, who has served on the Huskisson Beach Mission on the NSW south coast for ten years, says, “it’s all about being there for people, year after year, and being the church to them that they might not normally know or be able to feel that they can connect with.” Watch our Beach Mission video: eternity.news/beachmission
Growing up in regional Queensland, I never dreamed I’d have the chance to be in Washington DC for a Presidential Inauguration. But that’s where I was when Donald Trump was sworn in on January 20. As a Christian, it’s been fascinating and perplexing trying to discern what the God of nations is up to. We know from the Bible that he raises up and sets kings down. I am as appalled as the protestors waving “fascist” placards by Trump’s narcissism. Campaign revelations of comments demeaning women were despicable. But whether we like it or not, Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. Security was tight around the Washington Mall, which extends from the Capitol Building in a vast rectangle to the Lincoln Memorial We lined up at a check-point bu eventually realised we were not going to make it through security. The queue we were in snaked for hundreds of meters. With 30 minutes to go, we made a bolt for a pub on Massachusetts Avenue, just a few blocks from Capitol Hill, and watched on a big screen. Protestors waving placards marched by but people in the pub clapped when Trump said he would make America great again. Meeting with Roman Catholic and evangelical Christian political activists in the days leading up to today, a few things stood out. Christians in this town involved in the big culture wars on marriage, freedom of religion and human rights for the unborn did not see a Trump win coming. They all agree that anyone who claims they did was lying. But now Trump is in, many have set aside reservations about his character and are looking to the policy positives he and his team have pledged. Christians in America knew that under Obama and under the prospect of a Hillary Clinton Presidency, they had big targets on their backs. They held their noses and were one of the main constituencies contributing to the Trump victory. Read Eternity’s full Trump coverage at eternity.news/trump Lyle Shelton is managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby.
This year, help Bible Society to give away over 100,000 Scriptures, engage Aussies with the Bible and advocate for it in the public square. Donate at biblesociety.org.au/aussie or call 1300 BIBLES (1300 242 537).
NEWS
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This is what forgiveness looks like Acorn joins BSA
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Nine-year-old Josiah Sisson died in hospital two days after being hit by an alleged drunk-driver on the evening of Christmas Day. Josiah was out with his family looking at Christmas lights in the south Brisbane suburb of Springwood. He was rushed to hospital but died two days later, after being taken off life support. Josiah’s father, Karl Sisson, who is the pastor at Potters House Church in Redbank Plains, has indicated the family believes in the power of forgiveness. Peter Field is the pastor of Potters House Church in Strathpine and oversees Potters House churches in Queensland and NSW. During the difficult time surrounding Josiah’s death, Pastor Field was a spokesperson for the Sisson family. “The family are grief-stricken,” Pastor Field told Eternity a few days after the Christmas Day tragedy. “They’ve got a lot of support from the church friends and family, but nothing can replace losing your son.” Pastor Field also told Eternity that one of the pastors of a Potters House church went to visit the driver on December 28, to invite him to church. “Sin is what caused this,” said Pastor Field. “We’re all sinners and we all need Christ.” In a media statement, Pastor Field said, “On behalf of Pastor Karl Sisson, [the family] simply want to say that they believe in the
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Josiah Sisson’s father Pastor Karl Sisson (in the blue shirt) hugs the accused driver, Adrian Murray. power of forgiveness. As Christmas is about Jesus Christ being born and coming into the world to bring forgiveness, they believe in the
power of forgiveness and they’re now processing this and moving forward,” said Pastor Field. Pastor Field thanked the hospital
Pastor Peter Field
on behalf of the family, as Josiah was being remembered as an “incredibly happy-go-lucky, joyful little boy.”
Bible Society Australia has acquired Acorn Press, one of the liveliest Christian publishers in Australia. For 37 years, Acorn has published books that aim to help the everyday Aussie Christian live and relate well with their neighbours. Announcing the partnership, Bible Society Australia CEO Greg Clarke said, “it will greatly support Australian Christian writing, while bringing Acorn’s immense skills and experience to Bible Society.” Kris Argall, senior editor at Acorn Press, said: “We only need to read some American literature to see that it doesn’t quite address the Australian situation. “Australian Christianity is quite different, so it’s good to have material published for Australians. “There’s a special flavour and language to the sorts of things we enjoy reading and what resonates with us. We are helping writing be more relevant to Australians’ lives.” Acorn Press chairman Paul Arnott believes the partnership with Bible Society will ensure a vital publishing avenue remains open for Australian Christian authors. Acorn Press will continue to publish under its current name.
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CHARITY FEATURE
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Reading the Bible in youth jail TESS HOLGATE Inmates at Reiby Juvenile Detention Centre in Sydney’s west love the Easter story because it’s a story of forgiveness and someone sacrificing love for them, according to Lee Bromley, who serves at Reiby as a chaplain. Most of the children and young people who are imprisoned at Reiby have never heard about Jesus, and so getting a Bible into their hands is truly something special. The chaplaincy programme at Reiby is part of Bible Society’s special YEAR OF THE appeal, which aims to equip frontline ministries across Australia with the Bible. “Bible Society gave us Bibles when we first started,” says Lee, “but we had a big problem because lots of the kids couldn’t read them.” To address this problem, the team at Reiby started a homework centre where volunteer teachers, speech therapists and occupational therapists come to help kids learn to read and write. “We wanted them to be able to read it and enjoy it, to have a wonderful experience and find Jesus in [the Bible],” says Lee. “The kids love their Bible, and they get attached to the Bibles. It means that someone’s cared for them, someone has loved them and not judged them, and [someone has] really cared and is interested
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and listens to them.” The chaplains run weekly Bible studies and Sunday services, and Lee says they have a 95 per cent attendance rate at both. Bible studies run on Wednesdays, and they often run a lot like a local youth group. Lee says that they often have members of local churches join them for the studies. But more than the structured
events, chaplains are focused on meeting the spiritual and pastoral needs of the kids in detention. “I know the church is very good on overseas mission, and yet I don’t think people realise some of the Third-World living conditions and the horrendous trauma some of our nation’s First People live through,” says Lee. “What are we doing as a church
about that? Is it that we just want people putting their hands up to become Christians, or do we want to see lives change and then [help them] see that the gospel has caused that to happen?” Lee thinks of her job as being the Bible to these young, wounded children, because, she says, “they’re really interested in hearing about someone who loves
unconditionally.” She tells a story of a young girl who was sent to Reiby because she got involved with a drug group and offended. Through conversations with Lee, it was revealed that she had suffered abuse as a child, and really wanted to know why a loving God would allow that to happen. “It was heartbreaking,” says Lee. “We cried together. I told her that a loving God doesn’t want that to happen, and that I don’t know why it does, especially to innocent children, but I know that God doesn’t like it. “She took a Bible, and she said she found Jesus there. “They seek us out for the Bible. We don’t have to sell it. Getting the word out is living the life, presenting the Bible for those who are interested in finding Jesus in there as the loving saviour that he is.” All the detention centres in NSW have chaplains, and Lee says, “we have a reputation within our own Bible studies. [The residents] know that we are Christians; we don’t have to tell them. We just love them, because God is love and we operate from that premise.” This Bible Society special appeal inspires chaplains to give the Bible to vulnerable young people who are at risk. This year’s aim is to distribute 100,000 free Bibles to help bring the life-giving word of God to those who need it most. Please donate generously: donations.biblesociety.org.au/ aussies
Spreading the good news of Christ in remote and regional Australia
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Mongolia: 6 to 90,000 Christians in 11 years You could be forgiven for thinking it’s the book of Acts all over again. Christianity in Mongolia is growing apace with, on average, 680 people each month turning to Christ since FEBC Mongolia first began broadcasting the hope of Jesus. As the Bible tells us over and over: the body of Christ sees growth and persecution go hand in hand – and FEBC Mongolia has had its fair share. The infant station was destroyed by fire in 2003, three years after its first programme went to air.
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FEBC Mongolia’s reach to half the population (1.5 million) is remarkable, in a country where less than 20 Christians lived in the early 1990s.”
Yet, with God’s grace, FEBC Mongolia’s WIND-FM offices reopened in 2008 – and now there are 11 stations serving Mongolia. Today it is commended by the government of Mongolia as
More than 1000 listeners per month make contact with FEBC Mongolia, to share how their lives have changed. one of the two most exemplary radio stations in the country and it reaches more than half of the total Mongolian population. It has a potential listening audience of 1.5 million through its 11 stations – a remarkable number for a Christian-based radio station in a country where fewer than 20 Christians lived in the early 1990s. Hear how FEBC Mongolia changes lives and inspires
people to follow Jesus FEBC Mongolia’s Director Bat Tuvshintengel will visit Australia between 14 February and 27 February. Through public meetings and church deputations, he will share how FEBC Mongolia works with other Christian ministries and NGOs to improve the quality of life for the Mongolian people through radio programming, community
outreach, radio distribution and several other outreach projects. FEBC Mongolia also works with the country’s small, growing churches to disciple and grow leaders and members. Radio gets in Listeners tell FEBC Mongolia that it is the friendly voices, music, Bible messages and community, education and health programmes they enjoy. Promoting family
values, responsible living and organising listener rallies which develop a sense of community, the biblical concepts of charity, kindness and grace are making a difference in people’s lives. In 2012, FEBC Mongolia’s education programme on the impact of abortion, Unsung Lullaby, won the Crystal Pen award. In 2013, it was recognised as the best radio station of the year by the Press Association. In 2014, it was selected as the Best Media Brand by the Chamber of Commerce. In 2015, it was awarded “Best Radio Station of the Year” by the Mongolian Journalism Association and, in 2016, the global National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) awarded WIND-FM the “International Radio Station of the Year” Award. More than 1000 listeners per month make contact with FEBC Mongolia, to share how their lives have been changed: “All of the changes in my family have been the result of listening to FEBC’s station,” said one listener. “I always feel like the broadcaster is talking directly to me.” How to hear Bat this February To attend a public meeting and hear how Christianity is growing through God’s word on the radio in Mongolia, you can register to hear Bat speak at the Brisbane School of Theology on 18 February and at Morling College in Sydney on 25 February – or at other churchhosted events. All details are in the advertisement below this story.
MONGOLIA
FROM SIX TO 90,000 CHRISTIANS IN 11 YEARS WITH RADIO FEBC Mongolia director Bat Tuvshintengel visits Australia to share the news of fast-growing Christianity in his home country via FEBC radio and internet. Hear him in person at one of his two public events in Sydney and Brisbane.
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To register for one of Bat’s two public events visit www.febc.org.au/mongoliavisit
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IN DEPTH
Why you can trust the Bible
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Anne Lim on the radical make-over of a ’60s rebel
“Papyrus 52” is a fragment of John’s Gospel, kept at John Rylands Library in Manchester, England.
Allan Dowthwaite
10 reasons not to panic about Bible scepticism There is so much scepticism about the Bible today and about Jesus, in particular, it’s difficult not to feel alarmed. The drip-drip nature of the challenges means that, just like constant, low-level criticism in relationships, many of us over time feel deflated, insecure YEAR OF THE and frightened to open our mouth. But the anxiety is psychological more than intellectual. Our sacred texts, and especially those surrounding Jesus, pass the test of history with flying colours. Frankly, I don’t think we need to know any of what follows in order to be a fulfilled and confident Christian. The word of God stands all on its own. But since so many
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John Dickson on being assured about sacred texts
of today’s criticisms of Christianity are historical in nature, it seems reasonable to me to offer these ten reasons not to panic about Bible scepticism.
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We should expect historical questions because Christianity is historical.
The Bible’s New Testament is different from the Scriptures of other world religions. The Koran claims to be a direct revelation from God, entirely devoid of historical markers and claims. The Hindu Vedas and Upanishads, and the Buddhist Tripitaka are the same. One can believe these writings but there is no way to verify their contents.
That makes being a Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist quite “safe” because their sacred books are immune to historical criticism. But it also means onlookers have no way to “test” the core content of these faiths. The Bible is different. The heart of Christian faith is a series of events recorded in a collection of histories and letters, gathered together in the Bible. As soon as you say, “This man Jesus said … and did …” you are making claims about history. It is only to be expected, then, that others would ask, “How do you know that happened?” We should take questions that zero in on history as a kind of compliment and a sign that our questioners understand the nature of our claims.
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The gospels are now widely recognised by secular experts as historical biographies.
There was a time when people read the gospel accounts as “myth.” The great German scholar David Friedrich Strauss (1808-1874) argued that the narratives of Jesus were never intended to be read as history but were only meant as poetical and metaphorical accounts of the spiritual and moral life. Jesus didn’t actually give sight to the blind, for example; such stories were really only about the religious “insight” we gain when we listen to the wisdom of Christ. This view may persist in continued page 8
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from page 7 the popular mind, but it has disappeared from scholarship. Between the 1970s and ’90s, a consensus emerged among experts that the gospels have to be read as “biographies” of a real individual. They share many similarities – in length, structure, design and content – with the 20-30 other biographies from the period. So they have to be read as real-world accounts of the sayings and deeds of a first-century individual.
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The New Testament contains a “collection” of independent evidence about Jesus.
The New Testament seems like one book today. It has its own ISBN, after all! But, originally, many of these texts were written independently of each other. The Gospel of Mark was written without a knowledge of what was in the letters of Paul. Paul himself wrote without any knowledge of the Gospel of Mark. James wrote his letter without possessing copies of Mark or Paul’s epistles. Here, then, are three separate sources, only later (in the second century) brought into a single volume called the New Testament. There are even sources within individual gospels, according to most secular experts today. Luke in his opening line tells us, “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us.” Today, scholars reckon they can detect at least three separate sources in his gospel. Overall, then, there are between five and seven sources in the New Testament which haven’t been simply copied from each other. The point of the observation – from the historical point of view – is that this fulfils one of the most important “tests” that contemporary historians apply when trying to work out what happened in the past: Do we have more than one source testifying to the event? In the case of Jesus, we have between five and seven different sources saying roughly the same thing about him. That puts the broad outline of Jesus’ life beyond reasonable doubt for most specialists working today.
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The New Testament sources are relatively early.
In ancient history, scholars
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are used to assessing sources written many decades, or even centuries, after the events under investigation. That’s the norm. Rarely, if ever, do we find sources contemporaneous with events. So, for example, our first detailed biographical account of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) was written by Polybius about 120 years after Alexander’s death. Likewise, the most important account of Emperor Tiberius, who ruled when Jesus lived, was penned by Tacitus some 80 years after his death. The New Testament documents, on the other hand, are significantly earlier. The gospel source known as Q and the earliest letters of Paul come from around the year 50, just 20 years after Jesus’ death. Several more documents (like Mark and James) come from the ’60s, just 30 or so years after Jesus. And the latest New Testament document in the opinion of secular scholars, the Gospel of John, was probably written around the year 90, just 60 years after the event. (Personally, I think John is much earlier, but I’m giving the dates used by most secular specialists.) That means that the latest New Testament record we have for Jesus is still earlier than the best record we have for Emperor Tiberius who lived at the same time.
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Before the New Testament was written, the words and deeds of Jesus were preserved by oral tradition.
In the ancient world only about 1015 per cent of the population could read. So people’s first instinct when important things happened wasn’t to write them down. That only preserved the news for a small, elite subset of the population. If you wanted the masses to know something – whether an important military event, a summary of a philosophical system or a particular teacher’s sayings – you relied on what scholars call “oral tradition.” In our instant, media-saturated world, we expect things to be on Twitter or our news feeds within minutes of them happening. But that’s not how the first century worked. We know beyond doubting that ancient Greeks, Romans and Jews were well practised in the art of memorisation and rehearsal of important material. (We have lost this art, to our great detriment.) For example, initiates in the philosophy of Epicurus, one of the most popular schools in the period, had to learn by heart about 2000
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John Dickson consults a medieval manuscript of Josephus in Cambridge, England. words of complex philosophical sayings of the founder of the movement. This wasn’t unusual. Jewish rabbis made similar demands of their disciples, and all of the evidence points to Jesus insisting upon the same with his disciples. These disciples then appointed others – known as “teachers” – to ensure that the same material was passed on and preserved in the growing churches. In reality, it is surprising that we have so much Christian material written down so soon.
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Non-Christian writings confirm the broad outline of Jesus’ life.
Scraps of information about Jesus can be found in writers with no Christian faith at all. Tacitus left us a passing criticism of the Christians that mentions Jesus’ title (Christ), time and place and the circumstances of his death. The Jewish writer Josephus mentions Jesus on two occasions. If you read the “scepti-net” you will find many ardent atheists
today dismiss Josephus’ evidence as a wholesale Christian forgery. They are confused. The consensus today is that one of Josephus’ two paragraphs about Jesus has indeed been “improved” by a Christian copyist in an effort to turn “a wise man” into “more than a man.” But once these additions are removed, the paragraph makes perfect sense as a neutral, passing remark about Jesus from a non-Christian Jew. And several of Josephus’ comments make no sense if all of them were a Christian invention: for example, he sounds surprised that “the tribe of Christians has still to this day not disappeared,” which suggests he expected Christians to dwindle any day now. In any case, Josephus’ other mention of Jesus falls under no suspicion. He certainly knew of “the one called Christ.” “The fact that Jesus existed, that he was crucified under Pontius Pilate ... seems to be part of the bedrock of historical tradition,” writes Christopher Tuckett, an Oxford University professor and no friend to Christian apologetics. “If nothing else, the non-Christian evidence can provide us with certainty on that score.”
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Despite the range and early date of our evidence for Jesus, there is still a great deal that cannot be corroborated by other sources. Some might see this as reason for concern. Surely events as significant as those in the Bible should be reported by everyone in the ancient world, right? Not really. This is one of those occasions where the study of history is very different from the study of yesterday’s news. 99 per cent of the written material of the first century is simply gone. We know of hundreds of writers – mentioned by the authors we do have – whose writings are completely lost from history. It is just a painful reality of ancient historical research that we are trying to piece together the past with less than 1 per cent of the relevant material. Loads of things can be affirmed from 1 per cent of evidence, but it’s not advisable to deny things when 99 per cent of the evidence is missing.
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more than the Aeneid. And keep in mind that “partial” can include manuscripts which contain entire gospels or several of Paul’s letters) • 1000s of papyrus fragments (scraps of paper with short or long passages from the New Testament) Because of the overwhelming number of copies of the New Testament, we are far more easily able to spot the variations and arrive at a high degree of confidence about the original text.
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Allan Dowthwaite
For example, there is no evidence outside of Luke 2 for a census of the Roman world around the time of the birth of Jesus. But with 99 per cent of the documentation missing, it would be unwise to say with confidence that Luke made a mistake. His evidence counts as evidence, even if it is not able to be corroborated. I remember debating someone from the Rationalist Society years ago. He demanded to know why we don’t have any mention of Jesus in any of the correspondence between governor Pontius Pilate and Emperor Tiberius. Governors were indeed required to issue constant reports to their superiors, so the absence of evidence is significant, he thought. But what he didn’t know (how, I have no idea) is that we don’t have a single piece of correspondence from Pontius Pilate to anyone. In fact, we don’t have a single piece of correspondence from Emperor Tiberius to anyone. Thousands of documents must have flowed to and from Rome and Jerusalem, but none of them survives. The absence of evidence from Pilate about Jesus is not evidence of the absence
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of Jesus from history. Scholars are usually far more cautious about such things. As Cambridge University’s famous Graham Stanton once put it, “every student of ancient history is aware, it is an elementary error to suppose that the unmentioned did not exist.”
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The New Testament is probably the best preserved text of all ancient history.
A rumour has spread that the text of the New Testament has not been reliably passed down through the centuries. It was copied from one document to another document, translated from one dead language to another dead language, and eventually it ended up in our pew Bibles. Who knows if what we read today is what the original writers first wrote!? Well, in fact we do know. The more manuscript copies of an ancient text we have, the better able we are to determine what was in the original document. Mistakes and changes certainly happen – in all ancient copies of documents – but if you only
have, say, two or three copies of a document and they vary from one another here and there, it is quite difficult to work out which wording is original and which is a variation. So how does the New Testament fare in the copying stakes? Better than any other ancient writing! Let me offer the fairest comparison imaginable. The most celebrated epic poem of Roman history is the Aeneid, by Virgil (it runs about the same length as the four gospels combined). It was so popular, it was copied over and over. And it is now considered the best preserved Latin text we have from ancient times. It has come down to us in the following manuscript copies: • three complete or nearcomplete copies • seven partial manuscripts (a partial manuscript could include 50 or more pages of writing) • 20 papyrus fragments (which might just be a page or two) Compare this with the New Testament manuscript copies: • four complete or near-complete copies (very comparable to the Aeneid) • 340 partial manuscripts (far
Archaeology confirms important facts about the world of Jesus.
Scores of digs are going on around Israel. Some are uncovering vital information about the world of Jesus. There are numerous chance findings that “prove” bits and pieces of the gospels – the Pool of Siloam in 2004; a house from Jesus’ home town of Nazareth in 2009; an early first-century synagogue on the shore of Lake Galilee in 2009 – but they are not the most significant results of archaeology. Two crucial features of the gospels have been verified by recent findings in Galilee and Judea. First, the thoroughly Jewish character of Lower Galilee (where Jesus was from) is confirmed by the discovery of Jewish pots, ritual baths and the absence of pig bones (a forbidden food for Jews) in the rubbish dumps of these towns. Some scholars used to claim that the Jewish nature of the story of Jesus didn’t fit with the more Gentile physical environment of Galilee. They were wrong. And, yet, secondly, the gospels were written in Greek. How could an authentically Jewish story end up in the “pagan” language (instead of Aramaic)? And does this mean there is a large cultural gap between the Jewish Jesus of Galilee and the Greek language of the later gospels? Archaeology has helped here, too. It is now known that a significant proportion of Jerusalem’s population spoke Greek as a first language. Scraps of documents and inscriptions in Greek make clear that the international “pagan” language was very widely used by Jews inside and outside the holy land. The discovery of a first-century Greek-speaking synagogue right next to the Jerusalem temple suggests that some of Jesus’ first followers in Jerusalem would have had good Greek (as well as Aramaic). The stories and teachings of Jesus would have been
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Jesus is more trustworthy than we are trusting.
In the opening paragraph of his Gospel, Luke reveals the historical nature of his subject. He mentions his earlier sources, insists that the information comes from eyewitnesses, and claims to have “investigated everything from the beginning.” He rounds off his introductory remarks with a highly significant statement about his goal: “so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” The word “certainty” is the Greek term asphalaia, from which we get the English “asphalt,” that mixture of bituminous pitch with sand or gravel that we make roads with. The term means firmness, safety, stability. While it is possible Luke just means he wants readers to arrive at cognitive “certainty” about Jesus, the precise wording suggests something different. He wants readers to perceive how firm Jesus is. In other words, this isn’t about us having no intellectual doubts. It’s about us developing a sense (however strong that sense might be) of the dependability of Christ himself. The difference may seem subtle, but it is significant. Having spent decades reading and researching ancient history and the historical Jesus, I have come to believe Jesus is more reliable than my subjective feelings of confidence. Our personal confidence in the Bible can ebb and flow. It is affected by whatever documentary we last saw on the subject, or by what our friends think of Christianity, or just by how much sleep we had last night! But I no longer stress about doubts. When a question arises in my mind about the history behind Scripture, I assess whether it is a doubt of substance or just subjective feeling of lack of confidence. If it’s the former, I do a little more digging; and I have found through the years that there are always answers to the intellectual questions. If it is the latter, I just relax and remind myself that the gospel of Jesus is far more substantial and solid than anything the discipline of history can uncover and far more trustworthy than I am trusting. John Dickson is Founding Director of the Centre for Public Christianity and Honorary Fellow of the Department of Ancient History at Macquarie University.
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When Bill met the Bible ANNE LIM Bill Vasilakis was a reluctant convert. As a teenager in Adelaide, he was self-described “spoilt Greek brat,” with long hair flowing halfway down his back, peace badges all over his chest and a notorious reputation. He first got into trouble with the law at the age of 12 when he stole milk money from outside people’s houses. By his mid-teens, he was “cigarette smoking, drinking, smoking marijuana, chasing girls and doing the normal things that sinful boys and girls get up to who don’t know Christ. “I was a typical child of the late ’60s, early ’70s. My parents were beautiful people, hard-working Greek immigrants; they worked a couple of jobs and you could just get up in the morning and do what you wanted,” he recalls. A left-wing activist, he took part in anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. Bill organised friends from high school to join thousands sitting in the middle of King William Street in Adelaide to block traffic. Bill was happy with the way he was living and, though he had heard the gospel as a child, he suppressed it because it didn’t fit with his wild lifestyle. YEAR OF THE So, when his best friend turned up at school in year 12 looking transformed after receiving Christ as his saviour at a Christian camp, Bill didn’t know what to make of it. “The week after Easter 1971 as he came to school, I’m looking at him crossing the asphalt and walking towards me and it looked like he was glowing,” Bill tells Eternity. “I said, ‘Reinhart, what’s up with you?’ ‘Oh,’ he goes, ‘I’ve had a really amazing weekend.’ “I go, ‘You look different.’ He was shining; his eyes were shining. It was like what had happened on the inside was showing in his face.” As Reinhart told Bill that he knew God and had a personal relationship with Jesus, Bill had no idea what his friend was talking about. “But because he was a friend, he was intelligent and good-natured, he had credibility, so I listened. He says ‘Bill, you’ve just got to come and see.’ ” So soon after Easter 1971, Bill joined his friend at the Sturt Street Church, where he was blown away
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by an “electric” sense of the power and presence of God. But with his long hair and left-wing views, he felt the church was culturally very “square” and he didn’t really fit it. “I did not respond very quickly. In fact, I was a reluctant convert because I was not really looking for the Lord. I knew if I followed this it would mess up the way I’m living, because I was quite happy with my smoking and drug-taking and girl chasing and all that type of stuff.” What made the difference was picking up a Gideon’s Bible that had been gathering dust on his shelf. Over the next four months, Bill read the four Gospels about half a dozen times each. “I kept on reading them and reading them, and I kept on going to the meetings,” he says. “Then I became aware of my sins, the outward ones anyway, so there were several areas that I knew I’d have to give up straightaway to receive forgiveness. But, of course, after you become a Christian, there is a whole pile of other sins that are hidden that you’ve got to deal with as well. “So I thought ‘this is messing with my mind and I don’t know if this is right for me or not,’ so I stopped going to church for a couple of months deliberately, but I didn’t stop reading the New Testament, the four Gospels.” When a friend from church – “the squarest of the squares” – visited him to find out how he was going, Bill confessed he was missing church but had chosen not to come until he had sorted out whether he believed in Christ or not. “So I just kept on reading the New Testament and I still remember it was a Thursday night. I didn’t pray; it was like I said, ‘Hang on, it is all true. It’s true.’ And the thought came into my head as I’m reading, ‘nobody could make this story up.’ And I said ‘this is true, God is real, he is alive, he has revealed himself in Jesus, he died for my sins, rose again, he sent the Holy Spirit. This is actually true, there is heaven, there is eternal life, I can be born again.’ And I just gave up. It was like unconditional surrender of the enemy. I just said ‘Yup, I believe.’ I just submitted myself that night and this great sense of release came on me.” The next Sunday, Bill couldn’t wait to get to church. He eagerly shined his shoes and put on his best clothes because he was so excited to receive Christ after the sermon.
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I kept on reading them and reading them, and I kept on going to the meetings.” Bill Vasilakis
“I just thought I couldn’t get saved until I put my hand up and walked out the front. I didn’t realise I was saved that Thursday night when I yielded,” he recalls. When Bill finally got to go forward, he was so happy that he talked with his friend and counsellor until midnight. “I remember as I was crossing Sturt Street right in the city, I actually stopped in the middle of the road and I thought ‘what has happened to me?’ I felt like I was floating. It was so weird. “The sense of lightness was amazing, and afterwards I realised it was the sense of the burden of my guilt being lifted. I knew that my sins were forgiven, I knew that I was accepted by the Father, I knew that I had the gift of eternal life. As I’m walking to my dad’s car, this white Valiant, the thought crossed my mind, ‘if I got killed tonight, I know where I’m going.’ And it was like I was happy, not because I want to get killed – but because I know where I’m going.”
Receiving Christ at the age of 17 was the most transformational experience of Bill’s life during the 39 years of ministry that followed, because of his deep and lasting conviction that he was saved by the grace of God and had an eternal home in heaven. “I think because it took me so long, I didn’t rush into it, the issue of discipleship and lordship was dealt with at my conversion. For me it was the unconditional surrender of the enemy. I was saying ‘I am wrong, you are right, I will do whatever you want me to do.’ “So there were issues of sanctification and overcoming all that I had to deal with in the old life, but the issues of lordship were dealt with because I got to know the four Gospels and the Book of Acts. Through that I developed an intimate knowledge of the words of Jesus, the works of Jesus and the death of Christ. To me they just had the ring of authenticity. God was convicting me and as I grappled with the message of the word, the
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reality of Christ did its work.” When Bill became a Christian and returned to school after failing years 11 and 12, he set up a club called the Jesus Club. “Basically the school was turned upside down through the power of the gospel in 1972,” he says. “We had dozens of kids coming to Christ; even some of the teachers and families responded. We were averaging 90 kids to a meeting out of a school of 750 and our largest meeting had 250 kids meeting every lunchtime and it was quite a significant ‘Book of Acts’ salvation move that took place. “So I got the taste for ministry there and I thought that nothing else would satisfy me in life except serving the Lord, so I went to university and theological college.” After setting up the Christian Family Centre in his garage, he worked as a teacher and a pastor until the church grew and he could work full-time. The church is now in 12 locations across Adelaide and Bill is in his 39th year of ministry.
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Acclaimed violinist plays language of God ANNE LIM Niki Vasilakis was at the peak of her classical career as a concert violinist when she first dreamed of recording an album of hymns and sacred music to be used as background music for prayer time or Bible study. At that time, Niki – the daughter of Bill Vasilakis (who is featured on page 10) – had won the string section of Symphony Australia’s Young Performer of the Year Awards. She also had been named young South Australian of the Year, and had bookings with major orchestras around the world. Niki spent her 20s travelling the globe as a concert violinist, giving performances with major orchestras as well as private recitals for royalty and politicians. At the height of her fame she played to an audience of 100,000 at the Symphony in the Domain and presented a popular SBS television series, Classical Destinations, which aired in 30-plus countries. But she never found time in her schedule to record that crossover album with a sacred theme. “Each year the need and desire to do the CD became a little bit more heightened,” she tells Eternity. “Five years ago I felt a bit down on myself that I hadn’t made time to make it happen – there was just so much else going on with my life and my work,” says the pastor’s wife and mother of three small children. Then Niki had a powerful spiritual encounter that persuaded
Niki Vasilakis hopes her music can bring people into God’s presence. her of the urgent need to record the album she had had on her heart for so many years. As a pastor’s kid, Niki had often played the violin to comfort people who were in hospital, so when she visited an elderly man, Bruce, from her church at a hospice, she played some hymns on the violin. “As I played I really felt like the room went still and I felt such a tangible sense of God’s presence in the room. I thought ‘wow, what’s happening here?’” “As I was playing I just felt the atmosphere of the room shift and Bruce was almost half-speaking with us in the room and he was half-speaking to God as if God was
in the room with us. It was the most extraordinary thing.” Niki remembers thinking it was as if Bruce had one foot in heaven and one foot on earth and was in the process of crossing over. “It was the most beautiful thing, seeing how the violin and that music was able to bring people into a sense of God’s presence … seeing this man at peace was amazing.” With a strong sense of God’s reality from early childhood, Niki made a commitment to follow him while still a child. But after she left her Adelaide home as a 15-year-old to study music in Sydney, she went through a period when she didn’t want to give her whole life to God.
“I suddenly had a lot of freedom and when I started a relationship with a guy who wasn’t a believer, it caused me to question myself and question almost everything that my whole life had been based upon. “I realised that my self-esteem had really gone and I was a bit lost in myself, not just in my faith but in my whole sense of what I was going to do with my future. I was even considering giving up the violin, which has been a passion of mine since I was a little girl. “In a very short period of time I’d lost my compass, I’d lost what drove me, I’d lost what brought me joy. I realised that was because in my life I wasn’t fully committed to God; I was trying to do everything in my own strength.” So at the age of 18, Niki decided to break off the relationship with her non-Christian boyfriend, with whom she was very much in love. Over the next six months in Sydney, she spent several Saturday nights alone reading her Bible rather than going out risking temptation. But she found a good church, focused on her violin practice and left the old life behind. Since then Niki has trusted God in all her major life decisions; she declined to do a second season of Classical Destinations because it would take her away from her new husband for four months. “I had to make a decision about the kind of life I wanted. I’m a Greek girl; families are a big deal for me. I wanted to be married and have children and I didn’t want to
be a mum that’s travelling all the time. It was a really good decision. I’m so glad I made it. I have had some amazing opportunities come up to work with musicians who I admired; if I’d been overseas I may not have had those opportunities.” Realising that God could use her violin playing to make his presence known to people, Niki felt compelled to go into the studio “because there are people out there – sitting in hospital rooms or who have got a terrible diagnosis – and they don’t know God. “I think often with people who are dying or sick, it’s really hard to broach conversations about God ... That’s where I think music is God’s language, the language of the soul; it has an ability to cut through and help people have a breakthrough.” At the end of September, Niki released Sacred, a collection of songs, hymns and prayerful improvisation, performed by Niki on violin in collaboration with acclaimed jazz pianist Deanna Djuric. The tracks include Amazing Grace, Cornerstone, It Is Well With My Soul, Psalm 23 and Great Is Thy Faithfulness. There are also three beautiful classical works. “I’m extremely delighted and honoured that God would use my music in such an amazing way. “Out of everything I’ve done in my career it’s been the most meaningful thing I’ve ever done and I can’t wait to get into the studio and do another one!” Sacred is available from nikivasilakis.com
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The beginning of an affair Michael Jensen on learning to love the Bible In my Christmas reading pile, I received the amazing book by Christopher de Hamel, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts. De Hamel gives us an up-closeand-personal introduction to some of the rarest and most valuable manuscripts held in libraries today. It’s as if we are sitting beside him as he carefully leafs through these priceless books. The most famous manuscript in the book is probably The Book of Kells, a ninth-century Irish illustrated manuscript of the gospels. A close look at these manuscripts reveals something striking about the people who spent their lives making them, and it’s this: they clearly delighted in the word of God. The Bible was not for them a YEAR OF THE book which could be produced in the millions on cheap paper and purchased with a few dollars, or found in a hotel room. On the contrary: the Bible – or even just a part of the Bible – was worth pouring your life into. They wrote not on paper but on parchment made from animal skins. A single book may require many hundreds of animal skins to be processed into parchment. The cost was astronomical. Then there was the labour. The attention of the scribes to the detail and appearance of their work was an expression of sheer devotion. The lavish illustrations were in themselves a sign of the dedication of the illustrators. Who knows how many hours in dim light in cold libraries went into the making of these books? How many eyes lost their strength? How many hands became crabbed with writing?
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Illustration of Christ enthroned from Book of Kells
Wilikedia / Abbey of Kells
And there’s another miracle to consider, as well. The Book of Kells is a manuscript of the famous Latin version of the Bible called the Vulgate, which was the work of St Jerome. In his turn, Jerome did his work in a monastery in far-off Bethlehem in the fifth century, translating into Latin from Greek and Hebrew. How is it possible that the writings of the Jewish disciples in the first century, in Greek, would find themselves reproduced, in Jerome’s Latin, in an extraordinarily beautiful form, eight hundred years later and thousands of miles away? When we stare at the pages of The Book of Kells¸ we are looking not just at a beautiful work of art, but at something far deeper. It is the evidence that the words it records are not simply any old text, but held to be as precious as jewels by the chain of people who, crossing massive cultural divides and the distance of centuries, would have agreed on little else. We could add to this story, of course, the dedication of Bible translators like Australia’s Lancelot Threlkeld, who translated the Bible into the language of the Indigenous people of the Lake Macquarie region in the 1820s; or Martin Luther, who spent his imprisonment in the Wartburg Castle translating the Bible into German; or Brother Andrew, who smuggled Bibles into Communist countries in the 1950s and ’60s at the risk of his life.
What is it about these words? Clearly, the Bible has been the great love affair of many people’s lives. It isn’t because there’s something magic or talismanic about the words in and of themselves. It is not a book of spells. Rather, those who gave up everything to translate, copy, comment on, transport, smuggle and share the Christian Bible believed that these words were the source of life itself. The great Jerome put it this way: Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and if the one who does not know Scripture does not know the power and wisdom of God, then ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. Put it simply: the Scriptures are Christ’s book. You can’t have Christ – the most precious gift ever given to human beings - without his book. It has become almost fashionable to pit Christ against the Bible – as if the Bible obscured rather than revealed Jesus. But the testimony of the makers of The Book of Kells – and of many others besides them – is that this is complete nonsense. Their love of the words and the pages of the book was because the real Jesus – the one in whom is found the mercy and love of God – is contained within it. The Bible is not a
replacement or an alternative to Jesus Christ. But it is the only window through which one may look at Jesus Christ. This book contains a saving word for us all. And so, devotion to the word of God in the physical text of Holy Scripture is not evidence of a false worship or a mistaken allegiance. One of the greatest pieces of literature in the Bible is Psalm 119. It is, to put it simply, a love song to the word of God. The poet simply can’t get enough of the words of Scripture. He delights in them; they are his guide. Let me quote just a few verses (9-16): How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. For the psalmist, love of the words of the holy text is the way in which he submits to God himself. His relationship with this book is his relationship to the Lord. It is his joy, his life. And he is quite deliberate about the kind of actions that he takes to make the word of God shape him. He meditates on it. He works hard at it, poring over the pages. He memorises the words, and repeats them to himself. It isn’t just in his head; it is in his heart – that is, these words are part of his innermost self, because he wants to be close to God and to have God’s mind. Let us not ever despise the Bible, or hold cheap the idea of knowing the Bible better. It is a tragedy
to hear that there are Christians who have had all the opportunity in the world and yet who don’t know the Bible at all well. It is simply staggering to hear “biblical Christianity” being despised – there is no other type of Christianity! We need to remember the remarkable benefits we have from this book. We have in it an insight into the mind of our creator. We have in it, as my friend the scholar Ashley Null puts it, his means of “telling us, turning us and tethering us to himself.” We have no other lifeline than we find here in its pages, no better guidance.
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We can’t live on bread alone – but we need the word of God.” We can’t live on bread alone – but we need the word of God. And here we have it! How could we ignore it? So often we live on a thin gruel, not realising there is a gourmet meal waiting for us – and then we complain about it, or somehow resent the gift we have been given. As a Christian, you should have habits and practices that embed the word of God into your life – that make it part of you. We are rightly afraid of a dry legalism that makes us think we are right with God just because we perform certain activities. Even reading the Bible can become like that. But that shouldn’t put us off – as human beings we need all the help we can get. We get tired, distracted and bored. Like anything else, reading the Bible takes practice – and practice inflames our love, as we experience in the Bible the amazing love of God in Christ. I don’t think that many of us will find ourselves in the painstaking copying out of the Bible, as the scribes of The Book of Kells and countless other hand-written manuscripts did. But if we could only copy some of their devotion to the word of God! Michael Jensen is the rector of St Mark’s Anglican Church in Darling Point, Sydney, and the author of several books.
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Michael Chamberlain kept his faith
Malcolm Brown reports on a man who was not bitter Malcolm Brown is a former reporter with the Sydney Morning Herald. From 1980 to 2012, he covered the high-profile case of the Northern Territory disappearance of baby Azaria Chamberlain. Across three decades of covering the case, Malcolm Brown came to know Michael Chamberlain and he was was asked to speak at a Memorial Service for him. I had not written out what I was going to say at the Memorial Service. I had simply taken a copy of Rudyard Kipling’s poem If, and spoken from the top of the head. I said Michael had been knocked down so many times, and each time had got up and started again – and that was what Kipling’s “Man” had done. Kipling’s If was one of the great moral lessons my father had taught me – that the most courageous and worthy man is not someone who automatically comes out swinging
Australian newspapers covered the saga of the Chamberlain family. and seeks vengeance, but the one who quietly surveys the scene and, using whatever resources are left, carries on. Michael did that for the entire 36 years of his life which were to elapse from that dreadful night at Ayers Rock in August, 1980, when he lost his baby daughter. In my address, I went through the poem: If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too. What did Michael do in the aftermath of Azaria’s disappearance? He kept his head. Even before the first coroner’s inquest began in December 1980 – and, officially, the tide was well in the Chamberlains’ favour – and coroner Denis Barritt found a dingo had taken the baby, there were dark mumblings. Michael quickly realised there was ill-feeling towards himself and Lindy. But he trusted himself and the justice system, which he assumed would come to the
right conclusions as to what had happened. When police raided the Chamberlains’ home and those of primary witnesses in September 1981, and the inquiry reopened in a blaze of publicity, that confidence was shaken. It continued to be shaken through the second inquest, and in the trial in 1982 which saw Lindy convicted of murder and Michael for being an accessory after the fact. From the time the first inquest finding was quashed, Michael had to wait 31 years for it to be reinstated. His wife did three years in jail; Michael’s career as a
Christian minister was destroyed, as was his marriage; and, all the time, he was a pariah in the eyes of so many. But Michael stayed at the helm, never succumbing to depression, never consumed by bitterness, never becoming neurotic or taking to drink. When the High Court dismissed his and Lindy’s appeals against their convictions in 1984, Michael felt it appropriate to step down from the Seventh-day Adventist ministry. But he never lost his faith. Along with Lindy, he felt that however impossible things appeared, God would ultimately be with them. In many ways, his attitude towards those who despised him was: “God forgive them, for they know not what they do” Michael Chamberlain had another serious misfortune when his second wife, Ingrid, suffered a debilitating stroke in 2011. This obliged Michael then to become a full-time carer for Ingrid. But he did that without complaint, and turned the knowledge he gained from that – about stroke victims and carers – into a new subject for his academic research with the University of Newcastle. The fact that Michael Chamberlain stayed at the helm long after people had written him off, never lost his faith or his determination, was an example to everyone. He indeed emerged as a Man among Men, and, I suggest, might have made a contribution to changing Australia’s culture.
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OPINION
FEBRUARY 2017
For the Bible tells me so
Tim Costello on the authority of God’s word Bob Dylan had it right in one of his most profound songs, when he wrote: “You gonna have to serve somebody.” Whether we like it or not, we can’t escape death, taxes YEAR OF THE or serving somebody – maybe ourselves, perhaps fame and fortune, the devil or maybe our Creator. Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew, “You cannot serve two masters.” Crucial in that message is the concept that everybody will serve one master. As Jesus goes on to explain, none of us will be able to serve two masters because either we “will hate the one and love the other,” or we “will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” The great global disease that is eating at our public life and our personal lives, in a corrosive way, is the lack of any credible or lasting source of authority. For many
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people, there is nothing and no one to appeal to. No one to trust. No one worthwhile to serve. It is very clear to me that the source of authority is the Bible, not in the simply biblicist proof-texting sense but because of the inherent story of purpose. The Bible tells me that God’s creation is good and that we can have a meaningful role in it if we choose to. I have a biblically inspired reason why I appreciate beauty. Most people love beauty but many don’t know why. The biblical story of “the fall” gives me an understanding of why humans can show great compassion and also huge malevolence and cruelty. The powerful appeal for repentance is a call for transparency; a recognition that God sees all and yet loves us anyway. The biblical witness to redemption and restoration of brokenness give me a reason for why I live and why I have a sense of purpose and mission. Without the word of God, I wouldn’t have any source of authority or legitimacy. I am embedded in the Bible story. One verse that motives me greatly is Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” It doesn’t matter what postcode or nation we live in, what school we went to, how financially secure we are or what tribe or religion we belong to. We have all sinned. None of us is superior. We all need redemption. We are all brothers and sisters. That’s a realistic perspective that is profound and healing.
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Ruth: “ Naomi, I think Boaz might like me.”
Letters Offensive position In the December Eternity you printed Tim Costello’s article “The Trump card.” I find it highly offensive and totally inappropriate that a Christian magazine should take it upon themselves to include such reporting. At least the secular and strongly leftist press have not stooped so low as to claim “The right wing Christians support for Trump has confused and deeply divided evangelicals... The President actively courted the evangelical vote. And some evangelicals seemingly sold their souls for access to power.” Tim Costello should wash his mouth out with soap. It would
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seem that of the two presidential candidates he would prefer “Wicked Hillary” as she is known in America. Israel now has a most powerful protector. All “Friends of Israel” and evangelical Christians praying for the peace of Jerusalem rejoiced. I would also remind Tim that President Trump was elected in a democratic election which was not a coup. It is very, very sad and of great concern I’m sure to Australian evangelicals, that the Bible Society could put its name to and endorse politically inaccurate statements. Helen Vaughan, Coowonga, QLD (Eternity has corrected some quotes from Tim Costello in this letter.)
Celebrate with us our National Christian Heritage on Sunday 5th of February 2017 http://www.nchs.net.au/
A new year’s message I am a prisoner here at Casuarina Prison. This is the first time I have read your newspaper Eternity. I just want to thank you for your efforts in bringing to us such positive and enlightening materials to read. Being in prison it is easy to feel down and low but the many great articles that you have incorporated into your newspaper with the great messages from Jesus Christ has really made my empty New Years Day more positive and uplifted my weary spirit. I would like to thank you and show my appreciation for your work to deliver such a great newspaper. Nguyen Truong Giang, Kwinana, WA
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Working in a trusting, open environment of mutual respect and shared mission, this role will allow you to further your call in Christian service as an integral part of an organisation with a strong heritage of excellence in all we do. As chaplain you will be provide pastoral care of our staff, as well as parents and children who attend our programs. The role will include one on one support; counselling; leading devotions where appropriate; working with staff, as well as working with local churches and clergy.
A Grand opportunity to share Jesus to the world. Along the way catch some amazing Riding and enjoy amazing fellowship. Starting 1st July in Dusseldorf to 23rd July Paris
Naturally, the successful applicant will be actively involved in their church community and will have refined their skills through a history of Christian ministry which may be supported by formal qualifications. They will have an easy rapport with all people, and be able to work without supervision. Training in clinical pastoral education would be an advantage. Remuneration and conditions commensurate with a role of this standing will be negotiated with the successful candidate.
1800 88 MAIL sales@intellimail.com.au
Join us for the full 21 stages, or just some
For enquiries and applications please contact Paul Betts, General Manager pbetts@integricare.org.au www.integricare.org.au
Kim 0424759577
A national newspaper for Australian Christians, Eternity is sent free to any church upon request. Eternity is published by Bible Society Australia (ACN 148 058 306). Edited by John Sandeman.
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E
OPINION
16
FEBRUARY 2017
Missing out on the stamp of approval Greg Clarke on when Australia Post says ‘No stamps for you’ Stamps are big business. Stamp use may have passed its heyday, but some 60 million people are avid collectors around the world. And even if you haven’t sent a letter in a while, you will no doubt have a few favourite commemorative stamps lying YEAR OF THE around; perhaps a special set to celebrate a sporting victory, Australia’s magnificent flora and fauna, or a particular anniversary. So it may surprise you to discover it is not permissible in Australia to depict a religious organisation on a stamp. I have to confess I was stunned and baffled when I read the Stamps Policy from Australia Post and also had it confirmed in writing from management. As Bible Society turns 200 in Australia, we have looked at various ways to celebrate and mark the occasion so that all Australians might witness and celebrate an organisation that has been around as long as anyone else, and to which every tenth person I meet seems to have some connection. When Bible Society turned 150, a series of stamps and envelopes was issued. In 1967, they were four cents each! It seemed a natural thing to do. But 50 years later, it would contravene policy to celebrate our bicentenary in philatelic form. Please don’t misinterpret me: this is not an outcry about religious persecution. Other groups such as political parties or businesses also cannot be depicted on Australia
2017
BIBLE
From top, clockwise: Stamps marking major anniversaries of Bible Societies in Australia, Germany, Poland and Pakistan. Post’s stamps, nor can “any subject likely to cause public divisiveness”. And there’s the problem. By this “don’t rock the boat” principle, Australians miss out on the breadth and character of our history and culture, at least when it comes to stamps. Why are we so timid in this area, when so many aspects of our society thrive on celebrating difference and making a loud noise about diversity? I find it stranger still when I look around the world. In 2013, when the Bible Society in Pakistan turned 150, a national stamp was issued with text about “providing the word of God.” Newspapers there heralded the occasion. And that was in Pakistan, where Christians make up a mere 1.6 per cent of the population!
The Bible Society in Poland, too, turned 200 last year and a lovely stamp was produced. In Germany this year, a stamp featuring Martin Luther’s handwritten Bible translation into the native language was not only produced but paid for by the German Finance Ministry. It’s a matter of national pride. We might concede that in pluralistic Australia, where Section 116 of the Constitution ensures that government cannot legislate any religious privilege to one religion over another, this makes some sense. But jumping to the “no religion on view” approach seems entirely unjustified and, in fact, bad for the nation’s health. From the position of birthday revellers, we at Bible Society don’t really mind. Culture changes, and
ours is now a very diverse one. And you could still get Christmas stamps last year with delightful and biblical imagery from the nativity stories. There’s no need to rise up in vehement protest. But there’s a reason stamp collecting is popular: stamps represent the culture of the times. They “date” and identify us, visualising our priorities and loves, and disseminating them around the nation for months and years to come, telling us who we are. To ignore the role of religious organisations in our colourful and changing society today skews reality and makes people unnecessarily fearful of issues where we hold differing views. But that’s nuts. Better to have it all out in the open, on our envelopes and anywhere else we
do our communicating. Religion, along with politics and business, too, are all part of who we are as a nation (a stamp to celebrate Westpac’s 200th, perhaps? Or more aptly, a coin). I’m hoping 2017 will see a new level of openness in Australia to consider the truth, beauty and goodness that we believe Christianity can provide. The more visible we can make the Good Book, the better. Please help us to stamp the place for good. Thank you to everyone who is supporting Bible Society in our bicentennial year. It’s our privilege to be part of Australia’s history and future! Keep up to date at bible.com.au. Greg Clarke is CEO of Bible Society Australia.
Bible Stat 301,008 Bibles were sold by Koorong in 2016. NIV was the most popular translation.