Eternity newspaper - February 2019 - Issue 99

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Number 99, February 2019 ISSN 1837-8447

Brought to you by the Bible Society

Close shave for masculinity Penties go middle class

Sam’s battle with leukaemia

Bibles for babies

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NEWS

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Obadiah Slope REVERSE MISSIONARY MOVEMENTS: The Economist magazine caught up with the news this month that Third World missionaries are being sent to Europe and the US these days. The US still sends out the most missionaries of any nation, and perhaps surprisingly receives more missionaries than any other nation as well.

FEBRUARY 2019

Exploring ‘the Edge of Eternity’ News 2,3 In Depth 5-8 Bible Society 10

BLADE RUNNER TO BIBLE RUNNER: From South Africa comes the news that Oscar Pistorius – the blade runner athlete convicted of the murder of his girlfriend – leads Bible studies in jail, The Times of London reports.

PIC YOUR MOMENT: It has been a long, hot summer, which is why St Peter’s Weston, ACT, should be forgiven for putting up this sign. “Too hot to keep changing sign – sin bad, Jesus good, details inside.” ABC Canberra’s Amanda Walsh took the picture and it went viral, possibly because it must have been close to 40 degrees in huge amounts of Australia on the day it went up.

GROUNDHOG DAY: For the first time in nearly ten years Obadiah looked at Eternity edition number 1 as part of getting ready for our 100th edition next month. One double-page spread asked “Does Australia need a charter of human rights?” with human rights activist Angus McLeay vs the Australian Christian Lobby’s Jim Wallace.

Seems the religious freedom debate has been with us forever – or rather for a 100 Eternities.

PEOPLE OF THE BOOK: After Marie Kondo, queen of tidiness on Netflix, proclaimed that nobody should own more than 30 books, causing a storm of protest, Karl Grice – a man brave enough to start a new bookshop – proclaimed his Little Lost Bookshop the Marie Kondo Recovery Centre. “We’re ready to help when you decide you want your books back.”

Opinion 11-16

Quotable

Over 3000 adults and children from diverse denominations and churches gather at KEC each year.

JOHN SANDEMAN The end times, the return of Jesus, a new heaven and a earth are subjects that some Christians – for example, our American friends – talk about too much.

But Australian Christians don’t take enough notice of it, according to Geoff Harper, who lectures at SMBC – Sydney Missionary and Bible College. He is one of a lineup of speakers tackling “The end of all things – Life on the edge of Eternity” at the Katoomba Easter Convention, Blue Mountains.

“I think it’s probably a perspective, at least in Australia, that we need to recapture,” Harper tells Eternity. “There are some places in the world that don’t have that same issue, but it seems to be an issue here.”

Having a view of the end times “means realising this world is not the end which in turn means a different focus for our lives.

“All that we see here is passing away and will be replaced with a new heavens and a new earth, and that reality ought to shape what we do, build for and invest in.”

Harper told Eternity that preparing to speak at the conference made him realise “how little talk of the end comes up” in Australia’s churches.

The Easter Convention is one of a cluster of events organised by Katoomba Christian Convention (KCC) which drew 16,000 delegates to a year’s worth of meetings in 2018. At 116 years old, KCC is the largest of a string of gatherings set up across Australia in the wake of England’s Keswick Convention, and the slogan “All one in Christ Jesus”. www.kcc.org.au

Steve McAlpine “The next week on pay day there was exactly one dollar left in mum’s bank account. It couldn’t get more rock-bottom than that.” Page 5

UCA keeps two marriage rites JOHN SANDEMAN Same-gender marriages have continued uninterrupted in the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA), after a campaign by conservatives seeking to temporarily halt them failed.

Last year the UCA’s National Assembly voted by a large majority to have two marriage rites – the traditional marriage service of a man and a woman, alongside a new one in which “two persons” marry.

However, conservatives pushed back in a series of votes to lead the national assembly to seek “concurrence” from other parts of the church. Under the UCA constitution, if sufficient presbyteries (regional councils)

in enough synods (usually statelevel bodies) agree, a matter can be reconsidered. After votes in the Northern Synod, and in Queensland, it came down to a vote in South Australia, which has a combined Synod and Presbytery.

The South Australian Presbytery voted to require a two-thirds vote for its decision. The porotes proposal (motion) was defeated by a margin of 51 against to 49 per cent in favour.

Clause 39b of the UCA constitution is a never-before-used provision to pause a decision of the national assembly in order to seek reconsideration. In this case, the movers sought “concurrence” from the other councils of the church (including state synods and

regional presbyteries). It applies to matters deemed vital to the life of the church.

“For many years, we have been a church in deep pain around the recognition of people of samegender orientation into the full life of our church,” the SA Uniting Church Moderator (state leader), Sue Ellis, wrote in a pastoral letter issued after the vote. “That pain has not ended for LGBTQI people or for others with particular theological views.”

The UCA Assembly President, Diedre Palmer, wrote in a pastoral letter. “I know that there are Uniting Church members who have been hurt and have felt distress – either by the decision on marriage, or the possibility of the suspension

of the decision. Let us remain conscious in the weeks and months ahead that this is a time for us as a Church to pastorally support one another, to act compassionately toward one another, and to hear Christ’s invitation to love each other, as Christ loves us, with grace, healing and hope. This call for us to love as Christ loves is at the heart of God’s mission.”

Some conservatives and a small number of congregations have left the UCA. Some evangelicals believe that they are called to stay in. Other churches have removed the UCA sign from their buildings.

“Non-geographic presbyteries,” which might gather conservative congregations, are under discussion in SA and other states.

NEWS

FEBRUARY 2019

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What’s next for religious freedom JOHN SANDEMAN 1. A NARROW WINDOW: Issuing an urgent call for Christians to pray for religious freedom legislation, Glenn Davies, the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, told a January gathering that there would be only a narrow window to get legislation through the federal parliament. It will sit for only a few days before the next federal election in May. Davies was addressing the NSW/ACT 2019 Church Missionary Society (CMS) Summer School, a key meeting place for evangelical Christians.

The Archbishop has made a good call. Chance of prayer: 100% Eternity understands attempts at achieving a negotiated outcome before parliament sits continue.

Chance of negotiated outcome: 5%.

2. SENATOR WONG’S BILL 1: Labor’s Senator Penny Wong has moved a bill to remove the ability of schools to discriminate against LGBT students – leaving the issue of school staff for later. The Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee took submissions with a report due back by Feb 11.

An Australian Christian Lobby submission argues to keep the discriminatory provisions “until such time as more comprehensive protections are enacted.”

In a lengthy submission, Dr Alex Deagon from QUT (in a private capacity) argues that the bill be delayed in the interest of further debate. Chance of the bill getting up before the election: 50%.

SCHOOL STAFFING School staffing will become the hot issue post-election. What compromise could we make?

1. AN UNWANTED DEFAULT SETTING: The “inherent requirements” test gives schools the right to discriminate in the case of staff whose job involves religious teaching. It can mean that judges or anti-discrimination panels get a big say in setting the boundaries.

2. THE DEACON OPTION: Give teachers a religious “office.”

Anglicans, for example, could ordain some teachers as deacons. Catholics could have “third order” lay members of religious communities sometimes called “oblates.” Uniting and Pentecostals could reinvent the role of deacon. Baptists might need to rethink their diaconate.

3. SENATOR WONG’S BILL 2: Senator Jacinta Collins, Labor Victoria, moved amendments to Senator Wong’s bill – which Wong accepted.

They state the Senate is of the opinion that nothing in the Sex Discrimination Act will make it unlawful to “engage in teaching activity” that is “in good faith in accordance with the doctrines, tenets, beliefs or teachings of a particular religion or creed” with the authority of a religious educational institution.

Frank Brennan says Collins’ words should form part of the law.

Chance of strengthening the Collins amendments: 50%.

4. COALITION PLEDGE: Morrison government says it will enact laws to protect Australians from religious discrimination and add a religious freedom commissioner. Chance of the Morrison policy passing before the election: 30%.

5.BREAKTHROUGH – THE LAWYERS MEET: The prestigious Australian Law Journal (ALJ) has called for papers for a conference on Saturday April 6, 2019, to consider the future of religious freedom in Australia.

This will attract heavyweight papers from legal experts of all shades of opinion. Chance of the conference boosting religious freedom as an election issue: 100%.

6. ELECTION 2019: Most likely dates for the federal election are May 11 and 18. Chance of a Shorten government: 60%.

3. A QUOTA SYSTEM: This could vary across schools with some schools having few “religious” positions; other schools could have a majority of “religious staff.”

4. SCHOOL STAFF REQUIRED TO UPHOLD RELIGIOUS TENETS: or be at least required not to speak against them. Without this right, schools will lose their religion.

This forms part of Labor’s preferred option. But this system has the weakness of the US military’s old “don’t ask, don’t tell” rules.

5. THE STATUS QUO: Some schools insisting on having all staff as Christians are unlikely to survive.

6. LABOUR CONTRACT SYSTEM: Some schools use contracts to enforce lifestyle rules. Only likely to survive if used with restraint.

Sweety Mathew reads the Toddler Bible to Eva, one, and Anaia, four.

Captivating young hearts ANNE LIM Sweety Mathew says her family has been greatly blessed by the Bibles for Bubs campaign. Sweety was one of 2500 parents who registered their babies, born in 2017, for the Bible Society programme. This year, Bible Society is giving another 2500 children, born in 2018, the

chance to engage with God’s word.

While Sweety registered her baby Eva, it was her toddler Anaia, then aged three, who really benefited from the programme.

“This Toddler Bible is not like the other Bibles – it’s very simple to read and simple to understand. I found it was really relatable to the toddler age,” says Sweety.

“It’s been such a big blessing because she knows all the stories now and ... when we get halfway through she recites it back to us.”

Visit biblesociety.org.au/bubs to sign up your baby by February 28. As well as a Toddler Bible and bookmark, your child will receive an annual birthday card and, at age five, a Big Rescue Bible.

Abortion: grim stats Muslim to tour PAUL O’ROURKE Emily’s Voice

Abortion remains a leading cause of death in Australia and around the world.

Globally, an estimated 56 million children die in the womb compared with 6 million children under the age of five who die from poverty. That’s 153,424 children per day, 6392 per hour.

Australia contributes an estimated 70,000 annual abortion deaths – significantly more than deaths from cancer (47,753), heart disease (18,590), smoking (15,000), suicide (3128), the road toll (1050), homicide (414) and drowning (249).

That equals more than 191 children each day, 7.9 per hour.

Australian figures show 95 per cent of these abortions are performed on physically healthy women carrying healthy children.

Women who didn’t want an abortion but felt they had no other choice due to pressure from parents, partners and the medical profession include • “Miss X,” the Sydney woman paid $50,000 and coerced into abortion by her footballer partner.

• A second Sydney woman, Jaya

A Christian School

PLC is a Christian school that celebrates its faith and is committed to reflecting the loving nature of God in all areas of school life. We actively promote and nurture the Christian faith within the school community and through the Christian Studies core curriculum program.

Scholarships

PLC offers a range of Day and Boarding School scholarships for Academic, Music, General Excellence and Boarding.

Christian families are encouraged to apply. Applications close 15 February 2019.

Apply via www.plc.vic.edu.au/admissions/scholarships

School Tours

Visit us during our School Tours to see us in action.

Wednesday 13 February and Saturday 16 February

ST RO NG FOUNDATIO N S – A M A ZING FU T UR ES 141 Burwood Road, Burwood VIC 3125 www.plc.vic.edu.au 9808 5811

Taki, came forward not long afterwards to claim she had also been coerced into abortion by another footballer. Women’s advocates were noticeably absent in defending these and other women from coercion.

Australia’s abortion toll has fallen 6 per cent (5000) in the past decade based on most recent figures from South Australia and Western Australia, the only two states keeping track of abortions.

Australia’s abortion rate is somewhere between 13.5 and 15.1 per 1000 women of childbearing age based on SA and WA figures.

The ABC reported abortion stats for Australia are at a 30-year low and under the commonly cited 80,000 annual figure.

Globally, about 25 per cent of all pregnancies result in abortion.

The Guttmacher Institute says while the number of global abortions is up six million from 50 million in 1990-1994, the rate of abortions per 1000 women has fallen from 40 to 35, most markedly in developed countries.

Guttmacher blames the numerical increase on world population growth. www.emilysvoice.com

JOHN SANDEMAN There is a civil war within Islam, according to Dr Zuhdi Jasser, founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy and cofounder of the Muslim Reform Movement.

He says “it’s imperative that we fight for Western values with the same intensity that Islamists fight to establish a global caliphate.”

Jasser represents the sort of moderate Muslim voice that Christians and others opposed to jihadist violence often call for.

Jasser will visit Australia between March 12-16, engaging in public meetings including with Christian expert on Islam Dr Bernie Power, the missiologist at Melbourne School of Theology, and a lecturer with the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths.

The Muslim Reform Movement, which links moderate leaders, stands for secular government, rights for women, freedom of religion and freedom of speech. vickiejanson.com.au/pages/tour

FEBRUARY 2019

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New year, new life, new spirit with radio By the time you read this story, FEBC International will have impacted upon the lives of 650,000 people in the first month of 2019.

Lives that have been changed thanks to hearing about the hope of Jesus Christ. 650,000 people in a month, many who also email, SMS, or call FEBC stations in response to what they have heard.

“For FEBC listeners across the world, many received a new life at Christmas thanks to hearing the Gospel for the first time. Over Christmas, FEBC broadcasted in over 100 languages, in more than 49 countries, penetrating physical, geographical, political and religious barriers,” said Rev. Kevin. Keegan, National Director, FEBC Australia. “Christmas is an incredibly important time for FEBC around the world - many seeds are planted when people hear the Gospel message at Christmas and then they come to know, love and follow the Lord Jesus as a result of the hope they hear, the hope that is offered.”

FEBC Vietnam broadcast Christmas messages, stories, music and dramas via shortwave radio. The station also distributed mobile speaker boxes to churches and communities with prerecorded Gospel messages on SD cards.

“The churches used the speaker boxes as Christmas presents to reach people in the community who have become regular listeners,” said Rev. Keegan.

“The speaker boxes were given

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Thanks be to God who, among other things, has made me a new creation starting from today and onward.”

FEBC Cambodia distributing radios to reach many with the Good News of Jesus. to children who joined various outreach activities in the churches, and they in turn took the speaker boxes home. There was also a strong focus on producing Christmas messages for minority language groups in the Central Highlands of Vietnam and beyond, as we are aware that there are still many more to reach with the hope of Jesus.”

FEBC continues to powerfully touch the lives of unreached people groups. In Malawi FEBC programs are leading to hundreds of new believers being baptised.

“God is so good to us, that our team in Malawi could reach and see transformed the lives of twenty five Muslims in Mangochi, Balaka,

Salima, Ntcheu and Zomba in one month alone,” said Rev. Keegan. “There are over 4000 FEBC listener clubs, resulting in many new churches being planted through them.”

Two years ago, FEBC Australia helped partner with FEBC Malawi to expand its impact.

Since then FEBC Malawi has broadened its ministry to Yao Muslims in the country as well as into neighbouring countries of Tanzania and Mozambique.

“Finally, the day of baptism is here for me to become and new woman in God and join His Church,” shared one of the women who was baptised in Zomba.

“Thanks be to God who, among

other things, has made me a new creation starting from today and onward.”

FEBC is a mission that communicates to people hungry for truth. “Many are eager to know more about this Jesus, longing to know they are loved, special and valued, and that they have been made in God’s image, for a purpose. This is a promise that lasts, and people are responding to God’s promise of new life,” said Rev. Keegan.

People like Saan-see-chai from Phao Yao province in Thailand.

Saan-see-cha is paralysed, needs a wheelchair to get around and has a limited ability to speak.

Yet mentally she is alert and she

listens to FEBC. This is what she shared with the FEBC team in Thailand after they visited: “I am thankful for the radio programs on the air. It is like a pastor constantly teaching and helping me maintain my faith. I have never missed a program until today. Thank you for coming to visit me. It is like welcoming a pastor to my home. I feel warmth in my heart. Thank you for the team praying for me, and giving me a new radio.”

FEBC develops programs addressing disabilities in Russia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand, seeking to give hope, help and life.

“Affliction or disability are not hindrances to God’s grace in people’s lives – quite the opposite.

People with disabilities are created, valued and loved by Him, and that is what FEBC’s programs are committed to making known,” said Rev. Keegan.

God is at work though FEBC.

Radio Speaks Volumes

Donate today $30 can give a solar or wind up radio to remote villages $45 can fund regular weekly radio programs $75 can fund a face-to-face listener visit

FEBC Australia (Far East Broadcasting Co.) PO Box 183 Caringbah NSW 1495 Phone: 1300 720 017 | office@febc.org.au | febc.org.au FEBC Australia, ABN: 68 000 509 517 FEBC Relief, ABN: 87 617 872 287

“Your broadcasts provide spiritual direction and comfort for me when I am confused. I’m so glad that God established FEBC. I pray that many will be awakened through your ministry” FEBC Listener

FEBRUARY 2019

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IN DEPTH

The day Jesus said ‘I’ve got this’

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“I could not believe my son was dying.”

Morag Zwartz talks with Anne Lim page 7

Steve’s dad, his second wife and their two boys watch Steve’s wedding to Jill from across the road (standing in front of McDonald’s).

STEVE MCALPINE I can, by nature, be a graceless man. I slip all too easily into a snakes-and-ladders works-based righteousness: up when I’m doing well, down when I’m not.

Sometimes I fail to extend grace to other people. With my bent towards being a chippy so-and-so, and my – how shall we put it – “exuberant” personality, I am far too prone to cut someone down with a smart comment.

Which is why I’m grateful for the grace expressed down the years by my mother, who experienced the trauma of being torn from a loving foster family in Dublin (kidnapped, actually) and placed back with her birth family – a family she had no idea existed until that nightmare day when, at age eight, she was whisked off a Dublin street and taken to Belfast.

I wish that had been my mum’s most traumatic life moment. I wish. But it wasn’t. That came later.

Aged 40, and now living in Australia, Mum watched her husband, my dad – the love of her life since age 17 – drive himself off to live with a stranger, the woman who would become his second wife.

Rock bottom

The next week on pay day there

was exactly one dollar left in Mum’s bank account. It couldn’t get more rock-bottom than that.

Except it could. She came home from church one Sunday not long after, and Dad – knowing she’d be out worshipping the God who gives and takes away – came and took away some stuff of his own, including his beloved stereo system and records.

Mum just sat on the hallway floor and wept in the arms of old Anne Gallop, the quintessential no-nonsense church lady, whose asbestos personality could not resist some tears of its own at that point.

Mum was bereft. We all were: my three brothers and I. Feelings of abandonment kicked in all over again for Mum, raising not only the old traumas she’d experienced being kidnapped, but the lowgrade trauma of moving away from her beloved Northern Ireland to set up life 15,000 km away in Australia.

Yet in the midst of all of that pain, with my father gone out of her life seemingly for good, and now having more children with his second wife, there was always one thing Mum did. She prayed for Dad. Every day.

“I’m not praying that I get back together with him – that’s impossible,” she’d say, “I just want

to see him back with the Lord in case something happens to him.”

I’ve gotta confess I didn’t pray for him much, if at all. It felt awkward.

Awkward and useless. It was a gaping hole in my prayer life where, I thought, prayers were sucked in to die a lonely, unheard death.

If something should happen …

One by one, first I, then a second brother, then a third, made amends with Dad, and I even spent a good deal of time with his second wife, (who I still get on well with) and his other two boys, one of whom is as close to me as my other brothers.

But Mum? She never saw Dad in all that time. Yet still she prayed, and urged us to do so at the same time. “If something should ever happen to him,” she’d say again, knowing that some day something would.

Even before I got married, Dad looked at the invitation Jill and I handed to him and said softly, and sadly. “You know I can’t go. I’d love to, but I don’t want to spoil it for your mum.”

Mum wanted Dad to go, but to be honest I didn’t, for her sake. In the end there’s a wedding photo taken outside the brick-and-spire Wesley Church in the main street of Perth, and if you look carefully

in the corner of the photo, there’s Dad, and his wife and the two boys – still very young at that stage – standing outside the McDonald’s restaurant across the road watching it all. I still wonder what he was thinking at that time.

And still Mum prayed. She worked more regularly out of necessity: moving steadily from house cleaning to typing jobs; learning how to use a computer; then to admin help; and finally, to running the front desk and admissions at an aged-care facility.

She always did more than the job required and the residents loved her – as did their families.

Caring for free!

When she retired, they threw a big party. “Time to think of yourself for a change, Pauline!” said the grand old resident with the perfect elocution who’d MC’d the event. And everyone agreed.

I assured them all in my speech that Mum, even though she had been paid to care for people, would care for people for free!

And she’s actually proved that to be so. Her former employers have leased her one of their independent living units. She lives where she used to work, and is always busying herself helping with shopping, gardening and making meals for the less-independent

residents.

And still, all that work time, she prayed for Dad. By this stage, Dad had gone quiet. Very quiet. I hadn’t heard from him for nearly a year. No calls, no call-arounds.

Nothing. Not a peep. Something was wrong.

Something was wrong. Dad’s second marriage had ended pretty much the same way the first one did, with him driving off in the car.

But this time by himself. With no one.

And the first I heard about it was on Mum’s birthday; she was now well into her 60s and had heard nothing from Dad for more than two decades.

God’s answer

We were having her party at our house. She phoned me. She sounded strange. Some old family friends from the UK, friends of both my parents, were visiting Australia, having lived here when we were all young.

“Can I bring someone with me?” she asked.

“Okay,” I said, slightly annoyed that someone was gatecrashing a family event, “Who?” “Your dad,” she said simply, “He phoned me to reconcile with me and say how sorry he is. I’ve always prayed for this day to come.” continued page 6

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FEBRUARY 2019

The Aussie church planters in Strasbourg JOHN SANDEMAN They are sitting in Sydney, but their hearts are in Strasbourg, France.

Peter and Mariella Demetriou are sitting in the Bible Society offices in Sydney, but their hearts and minds are in eastern France, where the death toll from a terrorist shooting is still rising as we speak.

The shooter started from just outside the church Peter and Mariella have planted.

“I have been being a pastor for the last 48 hours on the phone,” Peter tells me.

He’s been looking after his fledgling church. Liberté Church, planted by the Demetrious, meets in the historic centre of Strasbourg, the home of the European parliament.

“It’s been stressful. Imagine walking to work or school or church in that environment.”

The shooter started outside the church, ran down a lane and into the historic marketplace which was on our TV screens. As I wrote this, the toll had risen to five.

The beard is a lot greyer, but Peter – a former colleague of mine at Bible Society Australia – is just as passionate as ever. But he never expected to be the senior pastor meeting in a historic church on whose site John Calvin preached and edited his Institutes.

Liberté meets in Temple Neuf, “the new church” – though, as Peter says, “it has been there for about 800 years.” The church was originally a place where the Dominican monks worshipped, but “about 500 years ago, John Calvin started the first French-speaking services there for refugees,” Demetriou explains.

It’s a decidedly odd church destination for a Pentecostal from Sydney. You would expect some Aussie Pentecostals to set up in a warehouse or some funky space.

But instead they are in Temple Neuf, welcomed by the Lutherans.

“It’s a cathedral-like building,” says Mariella. “You have got these great

The day from page 5 I was speechless. But Dad turned up, looking like the puppy that’s peed on the carpet – half-expecting a belting for it. It was almost too much. It was too much. Mum spent her birthday alternately crying and laughing.

God had answered the prayer of the widow, but not the prayer of the fatherless, because I confess I really hadn’t prayed about it at all in all those decades.

Feeling the sting

Things got better slowly. Dad had to find his way again. Back to church. Back to family – though that never fully healed with everyone, and there was still the problem of not resolving the second break-up. Back to some old friends who embraced him. But he felt the sting. Felt it real bad.

“I know the Lord has forgiven me,” he told me in a moment of rare candour, “But I can’t forgive myself.”

He knew grace was there, but he could see that the stone he threw into the pond so recklessly decades before had caused ripples he had no control over now.

And so it went for eight more

Peter and Mariella Demetriou, (above), and Liberté Church (right). chandeliers. It’s awe inspiring.

“And because it is in the centre of town, every night we open the doors it is packed. All the tourists are coming in and they want to see what is happening.”

Five years ago, Peter and Mariella and their two daughters left Sydney, as part of a church planting team of 16 from an innercity Pentecostal church. Visa issues and work and language difficulties caused every team member except the Demetrious and one other person to leave.

Expecting to be a behind-thescenes helper, Peter found himself the leader of the church plant. It is the sort of struggle story many stay-at-home Christians only hear when missionaries are home on leave. Would he have gone if he knew the others would not stay? I wonder as the story unfolds. Maybe it was God’s way of getting him there.

Peter believes God has continued to open doors for their church.

As he met the pastor for the first time he saw a copy of “Ze Bible,” a new translation by the French

Bible Society on the pastor’s desk – which he had helped support in his role at Bible Society Australia back in Sydney.

“I know about this project,” I say. Bible Society Australia was one of the fundraising Bible Societies for Ze Bible. Then he informed me that he was one of the contributing editors. I think God opened up a door through that.

“But even when the others left, we were not there to be a onehit wonder. We had sold up (in Sydney). That was where we were going to plant. We just had that burning on our hearts,” says Peter.

But “France has been deeply on our hearts for many, many years,” Mariella, a fashion writer and editor, remembers. “Peter proposed to me in Paris 22 years ago and we always felt burdened for France.

“It is an incredible nation, but almost Third World in a spiritual sense,” she says referencing France’s spiritual poverty. “There are 55,000 full-time occult practitioners versus 35,000 fulltime Christian workers. Eighty per cent of French people have not seen

a Bible. The harvest is truly ripe – and plentiful.”

In Strasbourg “we feel like we are in a goldmine,” Mariella explains.

“We can actually get Scripture into schools, which is very special because in no other part of France can you do that.”

They went to Strasbourg, a very international city, expecting to reach internationals, but their church is 95 per cent French. That’s actually an achievement – other church planters ask them, “How come you can reach French people?”

“We have heavily promoted Alpha – it has been a wonderful way to reach out to people. As you know, the French are highly educated. Many French people have diplomas coming out of their ears – they come along to get that intellectual conversation about Christianity. But by week four, week five, they are just touched by the love of Jesus.”

So, along with some transfer growth, Liberté is living up to its name, with new Christians.

Mariella the storyteller chimes in: “Let me think about our baptisms

… We had a former Satanist – he had a God encounter in a car and felt compelled to go to our Alpha and he did – and rededicated his life to Jesus – he has walked away and gone extremely the other way.

“We had a former prostitute come into our church, and give her life to the Lord. We had a guy battling with many issues, who found a place of love.

“It’s been story after story. Even in the texts we are getting while we are here. I got one the other day from a lady who found the Lord three years ago and her life was just turned around. She’s evangelising to the president of this company where she works, and starting Bible studies in her workplace.

Mariella is buoyed by the unity in Liberté. “Look at the older women,” she says. “If one is going though a hard time, they are all there cooking the meals. It feels like [the book of] Acts. It is the church of our dreams. I feel honoured and overwhelmed that God would use a regular couple from good old Sydney.”

years. Mum would help Dad, who was increasingly suffering illnesses: buying food for him, cleaning his flat, making sure he was invited to stuff. He never got over that look of the peeing puppy, but he started to get how grace worked.

of the ward. As always the smell of Dettol hand sanitiser hits you first.

I’ve hated that smell since. And then the smell of faeces or urine, or a combination of those, with the waft of dinner being cooked somewhere.

When I walked in to Dad’s room Mum was there. I hadn’t expected her. And the smell in Dad’s room was overpowering. Dad had soiled himself and somehow, despite the best efforts of modern adult nappy/diaper technology, a good deal of it had got on to the floor of Dad’s room.

And Mum? She was on her hands and knees cleaning it up. I almost retched with the smell.

“I’ll get a nurse or a cleaner,” I said to Mum, about to rush out the door, and not wanting her to go through the ignominy along with Dad. And not wanting to see her do it either.

She looked up, and waved me away, “Sure, don’t worry about it, dear. I’ve got this. I’ve got this.”

I had to walk out of the room.

Not because of the smell but because hot tears were stinging my eyes so much that I almost had to gulp for breath.

I regained my composure and walked back into the room, then went to fetch the nurse to change Dad.

Pure grace

increasing circles. Or perhaps you’re the person who broke someone, and like my dad, you see those ripples and you know, technically, you can be forgiven, but you cannot forgive yourself.

Whatever it is, let me assure you that there’s truly something amazing about God’s grace in Jesus. Something amazing about God in Christ stooping down to us. Amazing enough to melt your heart. And, in my mum’s costly forgiveness and years of prayer for my dad, I’ve been able to see that grace. And perhaps it’s pulled me away from being as graceless as I could have been. It’s certainly made me see things more sharply.

I’ve been able to see, albeit in shadow form, what the God who longed for his lost creatures to return to him did for me. How in Christ Jesus, God set himself towards the cross for me, uttering those beautiful, grace-filled words as he did so: “I’ve got this. I’ve got this.”

Complete breakdown

His dementia, when it came on, came on quickly. Lewy Body Dementia to be exact. And it’s awful. It’s so awful that, rather than face the complete body and mind breakdown that accompanies it over a few short, sharp years, actor and comedian Robin Williams killed himself upon receiving his diagnosis.

Before long, memory loss became loss of speech, then loss of motor skills – first fine, then gross.

In quick succession, Dad went from a walking stick (which now stands in the corner of my room) to a walking frame, to a wheelchair, to a bed chair: finally lying completely bedridden – unable to move, speak, feed or clean himself.

And Mum would visit him in the aged-care ward. Constantly.

Bring him nice things. Sweets.

Chocolates. Articles to read to him.

And then she’d pray with him.

One day I went to visit Dad, and walked through the locked doors

After all the mess that Dad had left her to deal with, Mum was prepared to get down on the floor and clean up Dad’s mess: not when he was able or vital; not when he could do anything for her but when he was helpless, hopeless and dying – without even the words to express himself. It was a pure, unadulterated expression of grace from a woman who prayed for a man who did not deserve her prayers for so many years.

It still blows me away to think about. Tears still come when I think about that. It’s just such a huge thing. Yes, it is huge. But how much more, then, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ who, looking down at us lying there helpless, dying and wallowing in our mess, held up his hand and said “I’ve got this. I’ve got this.”

It was that grace of Jesus – and that alone – that softened Mum’s heart to pray for Dad down the years. And it was grace – and grace alone – that saw a broken, but still beautiful reunion between them in their later years.

Perhaps you’re hurt and broken because of the actions of someone you loved – actions that have, like a stone in a pond, caused bitter ripples to spread out in ever

Steve McAlpine is a pastor of Providence Church in WA. He has degrees in journalism and theology and enjoys combining the two through writing and blogging, especially on church planting and cultural negotiation for Christians in the increasingly complex West.

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I could not believe my son was dying Author Morag Zwartz shares the personal journey of Samuel’s leukaemia battle ANNE LIM

MAKE 2019 THE YEAR YOU SAID YES! Bible and Theology, Counseling, Chaplaincy and Education Enroll now for February 2019 morling.edu.au/apply-now

Sam had a wonderful sense of humour and a wonderful sense of irony. potential in his brain that he was know if his volatile behaviour was unable to mould into words and due to “chemo or chromosomes or actions of consequence. hormones!

“I still marvel that a child who “So a lot of my time with Samuel was not bright intellectually could I was anxious. When he’s not share so much gentle humour, just pleased with the world, that’s not subtle little things.” when I want to be out in public.

Another source of wonder for And added to that as he got older Morag was the fact that, unlike a there were these unpredictable normal child, he didn’t live under a outbursts and difficulties. So, as “canopy of dread” about the future. a mother, I was always tense and “Any moment there could be anxious about keeping a lid on this. another relapse, any moment However, other people don’t see it another round of chemo, more like that. They didn’t know how I surgery, more hideous treatment. was feeling. They remember the But he wasn’t lying awake happy, cheerful, comical aspects – wondering whether his cancer cells which I find fascinating.” were going to come and attack him Morag hopes her book will again. He was oblivious to all this; offer Christians a sense of “living he was incredibly and wonderfully with something pretty scary but in the moment. I tried to emulate trusting God through it and being him because we’re all encouraged kept by God through it. to live in the moment and there’s a “In a more general way, I biblical angle to that idea. would so love for it to be a sense “I tried all the time to trust of empathy with those who are God that I would find a way to struggling – a sense of ‘you are accommodate myself to God’s not alone’ because the biggest purposes and God’s plan.” thing when you’re going through Morag says her faith remained challenging stuff is feeling alone. rock solid during all the ordeals the “And, secondly, I would love family faced with Samuel’s illness. those thousands and thousands of “The thing that was a challenge people in so many different areas was how do I glorify God? I have who make time for sick people and no question whatsoever that God struggling people and disabled does as he chooses; he does as people to be encouraged in that. he pleases, he does not owe me It’s such a beautiful thing watching an explanation. We never asked, a carer with a gentle attitude ‘why me?’ If I do ask ‘why?’, my towards the person. biggest ‘why’ would be ‘why was “I hope I celebrate the beauty I fortunate enough to have five of love and healthy children and work and all gentleness and the things I have every day of my kindness and life?’ If you compare one major care in both unpleasant thing against all the professional benefits of blessings, it just doesn’t areas and just stack up.” in a life way.”

As Samuel went through puberty and had to take increasingly Being Sam is parenesis creative drug combinations to keepparenesisparenesis available from Morag Zwartz him in remission, Morag would Koorong or at sometimes lament that she didn’t beingsam.net Being Sam is a memoir of life and death, rascal chromosomes and rogue cancer cells, and a lot of love in between. Written

by Sam’s mother Morag Zwartz.

a delightfully real and personal story... heartfelt and tender - Down Syndrome Victoria

a very powerful account... courageous and strong - Dr Leanne Super, paediatric oncologist

Morag Zwartz

department and a wonderful doctor – an ear, nose and throat specialist – who sorted things out.

I’ve loved her ever since!”

A great deal of the pleasure of the book is Morag’s marvellously vivid portrait of her son’s creatively unruly but joyful spirit, which enriched all those who shared it.

“He had wonderful social intelligence,” Morag says.

“He couldn’t articulate or understand necessarily a conversation, but he would get it if you were joking … he had a wonderful sense of humour and a wonderful sense of irony.”

One example was the ironic way he would use the Makaton sign for “finished” – where you make a fist of your right hand, extend your thumb up and then move your thumb from side to side.

“That became the most used sign and it would be something he would do just as he was being taken in for treatment. And I’d say, ‘no, darling, we haven’t even started yet.’

“Sometimes he’d be lying on the bed about to be anaesthetised and he’d do it again. He was doing it in an ironic tone because he knew we hadn’t even started. He had quite a sophisticated sense of humour.

“And he was a great mimic.

He would sit and have long conversations with a mobile phone to his ear and he could do the generic male – laughing, talking to his friends, chatting, slapping his thighs, throwing his head back and laughing – he was such an observer. There was so much more going on there than you thought.

“And his astonishing piano performances. He would sit there for up to 15 minutes and thump out this very loud, rhythmical thing.

Every once in a while, he would suddenly stop and then throw back his head and laugh and then carry on with it. It was as though he was saying – ‘gotcha, world!’”

Morag believes these piano recitals were the best indication of Samuel’s “latent and inexpressible genius,” but she saw a wealth of

Being Sam

Morag Zwartz is still puzzled by her inability to grasp the reality that death was likely to claim her son, Samuel.

The Melbourne-based writer was taken unawares when her sixth child, born with Down syndrome, was diagnosed with leukaemia as a cute and active toddler not far off his third birthday. But unlike the overwhelming majority of children who recover from this common childhood cancer, Samuel kept relapsing and defiantly bouncing back until it seemed death could not hold him.

“Samuel had an incredibly rare experience,” Morag tells Eternity.

“It’s extremely unusual to die of leukaemia, but in Samuel’s case he kept relapsing. So he had two years of chemotherapy; he was fine for a while, then out of the blue he relapsed.

“He had more chemo, he was fine, then suddenly he relapsed; he had more chemo. And so it was very, very strange and we were all taken on this crazy journey.”

The third relapse “really hit us in the guts,” Morag says. “The more [relapse] happens, the more likely he was to die. Yet his pattern became to come back, so ‘he’s not going to die – that’s not what he does. He has horrible treatment and then comes back.’

“It was a really weird 15 years of up and down and round and round. ‘Oh, we’re dying, oh, we’re not dying!’ He’d be bouncing with energy and then ‘oh-oh!’”

Morag says that even towards the end, when Samuel had spinocranial radiation for the first time – as cancer entered his spinal fluid and brain – the evidence in his demeanour and behaviour always denied that things were closing in.

“He was smiling at you and saying something and I’d be thinking, ‘What do you mean, he’s dying?’ It was very, very hard to grasp.”

Morag says she embarrassed herself when she reacted flippantly to palliative care doctors. They

wanted to discuss a plan for him to die at home but “I just couldn’t get on board with all the serious talk.”

Her inability to believe the likely outcome of Samuel’s brutal war with a potentially fatal illness is a recurring theme in Being Sam, the memoir she has written and recently published.

“And I wonder about that: Am I unusual because I’m not very good at reality anyway – I live in a bit of a dream world – or whether I’m quite typical. I suspect that I may be fairly typical of a mother with a child who’s dying because it’s so utterly incomprehensible.

“Death is so incomprehensible; it’s not like anything else you’ll ever experience.”

Morag says Being Sam is a departure from her three other nonfiction books in that it’s so personal.

However, as with the others, she felt God led her to write it.

“It’s deliberately written for the mainstream reader, but my faith is unmistakeable. I’ve tried very hard not to turn off a non-Christian world because I really do want to empathise with people who are going through the difficulties of living with a loved one with a disability or serious illness or bereavement. I wrote it primarily to say thank you and honour that vast array of people who supported us and, secondly, to empathise with others.”

She did not, as everyone assumes, write it as a cathartic process, because, she says, that doesn’t make good literature.

The beautifully written book has been warmly received by medical professionals, especially those who were a semi-permanent part of the Zwartz’s family life for 15 years.

“In her launch address, ABC Radio’s Hilary Harper said that love spilled out of every page … one review said it’s the story of a mother’s enduring love. I think and I hope that there’s a lot of love from others as well. People who came to our rescue at terrifying times, like the time with a nose bleed … there was a race to the emergency

Being

PARENESIS PARENESIS

P A R E NP EA SRIES N E S I S

Morag Zwartz began her career in journalism at The Press in Christchurch, New Zealand.

This is her fourth book.

sam

...a beautiful story about the experience of cancer... but most of all, a mother’s enduring love. I read it and discovered in the process a little more about myself.

- Dr Ranjana Srivastava, oncologist and author

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Teaching Buddhists to be Buddhist to preach Christ ANNE LIM Former Buddhist monk Peter Thein Nyunt has discovered a novel but effective way to reach Buddhists with the gospel of Jesus – encouraging them to be authentic Buddhists first.

According to Nyunt, it is only when Buddhists realise their good works cannot save them from the endless circle of rebirth they believe in that they will be willing to look for a saviour outside their religion.

“Many Christians, evangelists, pastors, blame the Buddhists when they are doing good works. But we encourage the Buddhists to do good works so that they realise their good works are not enough for their salvation,” Nyunt told the Church Missionary Society NSW and ACT Summer School in Katoomba, NSW, earlier this year.

Questioning whether good works could save him was how Nyunt came to accept Jesus as his personal Saviour despite being brought up by fanatical Buddhist parents in Rakhine state in the western part of Myanmar.

“I really hated Christians – that’s why I came to know Jesus Christ,” he said, explaining that after he went to Yangon to become a Buddhist monk, he noticed two Christian churches near the monastery. He was aggrieved by their style of worship.

“One church was a silent church – a Baptist church; another church was a joyful Pentecostal church, so for a Buddhist monk listening to the music, listening to any entertainment and singing – that is sinful for the Buddhist monk.

“So this Christian church, particularly this Pentecostal church, is seen as shocking and I thought

‘they are fighting against us,’ so I went to find the head pastor,” he recalled.

“Actually, I had a very aggressive attitude and even wanted to kill the pastor. I was that angry. But the story was different when I met him and he talked about the words of salvation – and six months later I came to faith in Jesus Christ.”

Nyunt is now passionate about reaching Buddhist people with the wonderful news of grace on offer through Jesus and holds a PhD in missiology.

In 2016, Nyunt stepped down as vice-principal and head of mission studies at Myanmar Evangelical Graduate School of Theology, to focus on reaching the Rakhine Buddhists. They have proved resistant to the gospel despite 200 years of Protestant evangelism.

“We have a team to plant indigenous churches among the Rakhine community,” he explained.

They are achieving success where other Christian organisations have failed because they recognise the cultural and theological barriers to the gospel in Myanmar.

“If the gospel is relevant to all, why is it strange to the Buddhist?

The gospel is divine revelation, but it has to take place within the cultural context of the audience if it is to win the audience to Christ.”

The cultural barriers to communicating the gospel are a belief that Buddhism is “senior” to Christianity because it spread into Asia before Jesus was born.

There is also Buddhist solidarity on another level: “Religion and nationality are inseparable in their cultural identity. Religion is mixed with nationalism, so Buddhism is very strong and they think they don’t need any other religion.”

There are also theological barriers that mean Christians can’t assume that their audience will understand or interpret the message they intend.

“We talk about ‘believe in Jesus Christ and you will have eternal life.’ But for a Buddhist, eternal life is the worst curse. For the Buddhist, life is suffering so if you have eternal life, you will have eternal suffering.”

Nyunt also doesn’t talk about the biblical viewpoint that can be summarised as human as sinner, God as seeker and Christ as Saviour. In Buddhism, there is no concept of sin. “For their salvation they need to depend on their good works – no need for God ... They do not need any extra help.”

“So how do we communicate the gospel which is relevant to all? We need to find common ground.”

The way in is understanding karma – the bad and the good actions, the round of rebirth (or samsara), which determines a person’s life origin and fate.

In karma there are three types of demerits – physical, vocal and mental – which are transgressed every day. So for example, if you kill a mosquito, steal five cents, tell a lie or feel envious of someone, you have amassed bad karma. “If you have done any bad actions from birth till you die, no forgiveness,” said Nyunt about Buddhist beliefs.

“When you die you will be reborn in hell, no other ways.

“Biblical teaching is different – we will be judged. But in the teaching of Buddhism if you die, you will be

going around the circle of rebirth according to your bad action or the good actions. So whether you have done good or bad, there is no way for salvation – you will be going around the circle of rebirth.”

This is why Nyunt advises his team to preach Jesus by teaching the Buddhists how to be Buddhists.

“Why are we trying to make

Peter Thein Nyunt

the nominal Buddhists to be authentic Buddhists? They realise it is impossible to have salvation through their good works. When they realise it is impossible, they try to find a way where they can meet someone who can save them from this circle of rebirth.”

Nyunt said anyone in the circle of rebirth can’t help another. “At that point we say, ‘where does he need to come from?’ Because …

Buddhists want to be liberated from this circle of rebirth and stop the suffering. So Jesus can liberate them from samsara, which is their ultimate goal because that means nirvana. The goal of the Buddhist is the end of suffering ...

So the one who will save them must come from outside of this circle.”

“Where did Jesus come? Jesus came from outside of the samsara to save those who have sinned physically, mentally and vocally. If we introduce the gospel to the Buddhist in this way, they want to hear more.”

The man who built Camelot in Queensland BRUCE MULLAN Over 500 leaders from the Uniting Church in Queensland gathered this month to celebrate the life and ministry of the legendary Lewis Born. By the age of 90, Lew had accomplished much more than his many years should have allowed.

Born in Cooroy, Queensland, in 1928, Lew went into ministry studies straight from Nambour High School and was quickly recognised for his visionary and talented leadership. Ordained as a minister in 1953, he always had a larrikin element to accompany the enormous energy that fuelled the many ventures Lew undertook.

The story is told that Lew skipped the rehearsal for his ordination and pretended to be a doctor so he could sneak into the hospital, after visiting hours, to see his wife Betty and his first newborn daughter. He arrived at the church late and joined the line of fellow ordinands as they were entering. Attempting to follow his fellow classmates, young Lewis felt if you looked confident no one would notice.

Unfortunately, this was not the case and he found himself alone, facing the congregation in FRONT of the communion rail while his fellow classmates were behind it.

Lewis Born 1928-2019 Receiving a stern look from the organising official, he corrected his mistake with an undignified gazelle-like leap over the rail to stand next to his classmates.

People did notice and, after much muffled giggling from the congregation and more stern looks from the organising official, the ceremony began.

It was in the 1970s and early ’80s as Director of Christian Education for the Uniting Church

in Queensland that Lew found a canvas large enough to paint on.

As one of his former colleagues, Graham Johnson, said, “It now seems like some long-forgotten Camelot to talk of a time when the Queensland Church had 12 camp sites across the state, monthly youth rallies with up to 2500 young people attending, Regional Education Officers in every Presbytery, Day camps, Crossroads groups for people with disabilities and structured leadership training across the state.”

Under Lew’s leadership, that Camelot did exist, created out of his ability to dream dreams, choose the right people, weld teams, and enable those dreams to become reality.

One of Lew’s favourite mantras was to never be afraid to surround yourself with people who possess more ability than you do.

A passion for the gospel was not just a big-picture thing for Lew. During his time as a minister for the Church of Christ in Doncaster, Victoria, he and Betty hosted an international student Wai (William) Wong from Hong Kong.

Wai told Lew, “During the time I stayed with you, you never made me sit down or preached to me.

You would only discuss God, and the Bible, when I came to ask

you about it. Yet, you have shown me how to live our lives every day in God and that was the very first time I could really feel the existence of God.” Lew shared the good news of Jesus on many platforms. As a talented broadcaster, for two years he conducted the top-rating evening talk-back program on Brisbane radio five nights a week.

His youngest daughter, Ann -Margaret, recalls falling asleep listening to her father’s voice helping people. His son, Stephen, was amazed at the kids at school talking about his father and who he had helped on radio.

Lew’s daughter, Susan, recalls sitting in the studio listening to her father talking people back from the brink of suicide and hearing him despair that people in that situation had no one to turn to but a stranger’s voice on the radio.

Ever the innovator, Lew learned to fly at 50 years of age and used his pilot’s licence to fly around Queensland ministering in remote communities.

Long after his retirement, Lew reinvented his travelling padre role, convincing his wife they should buy a small motor home which they drove around Australia, encouraging the people of the church wherever they went.

Part of Lew’s passion was to attack every task with a superabundance of enthusiasm and energy. He took Betty and four children to the United States to complete a Masters of Theology.

While serving there as a minister at Southgate United Methodist Church, he also completed a doctorate at Claremont Theological College in Southern California in record time because he wanted to get back to Queensland and share his knowledge.

At the age of 89, Lew was diagnosed with leukaemia and was given six months to live. But he was never was one to follow someone else’s rules – and Lew lived another two faith and life-filled years.

He accepted his treatment with wisdom, stoicism and good humour. When one of the nurses commented on his upcoming 90th birthday and what an achievement that was, he replied, “Oh, it takes no effort really – you just have to not die.”

Among a legion of tributes to Rev Dr Lewis A Born AM, LTh, MTh, ThD, were the words from his friend, colleague and Uniting Church Past-President John Mavor, who said, “Lew accomplished so much, blessed so many and was a mighty force in the church in Queensland and beyond.”

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HOW BRIGHT IS YOUR FUTURE

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BIBLE @ WORK

Peace turns a questioner to follower

Ellaria’s life was transformed after she attended a Bible study in Nazareth.

KALEY PAYNE When Ellaria* turned up at a Bible study group on a random evening, she wasn’t sure what she was doing there. She had never read the Bible.

She wasn’t even that interested in God. But something had spurred her to go. She had been invited to attend by a worker with the Arab Israeli Bible Society, and the study was held in Nazareth, a city full to the brim with biblical history.

But that meant nothing to Ellaria, either. In fact, she came to the study full of questions, ready to attack whatever she heard.

But instead, as the Bible was read aloud, she felt an inexplicable peace rush over her. The feeling was so intoxicating that she kept

coming back to the study, week after week.

Dina Katanacho, director of the Arab Israeli Bible Society, said Ellaria eventually decided to pray and accept Jesus Christ as her saviour.

“She held the Bible in her hands and praised God for changing her life,” says Dina, who watched Ellaria’s transformation from questioner to follower.

Ellaria was given a Bible by Bible Society to read for herself. The first thing she read was Jesus’ sermon on the mount.

“I don’t know how to express my deep gratitude and love to you,” Ellaria later wrote to Dina and the Bible Society team. “You helped me to get to know Christ, which has

increased my faith … it is what has completely transformed me.”

Ellaria read the Bible over those weeks and her life was changed forever. She joins millions of people around the world who have had the same experience.

Bible Society Australia is supporting 38 international projects in 2019 which focus on the transforming power of God’s word, including ensuring the Arab Israeli Bible Society in Nazareth can survive and thrive in a difficult region. For Ellaria, that support meant she was able to receive an Arabic Bible to read and attend a Bible study.

Other projects throughout the world include Bible ministry in South Africa’s darkest prisons,

“

You helped me to get to know Christ, which has increased my faith … it is what has completely transformed me.”

Bible-based trauma healing for war refugees in the Middle East and Bible-centred support to teenage mothers and sexual abuse

victims in Cameroon.

“There are still 1.2 billion people who can’t afford a Bible,” says Bible Society Australia’s Head of Mission, Chris Melville.

“We can do something about that.”

You can donate today to be part of life-changing initiatives that fill empty hearts, such as Ellaria’s, with the transforming word of God. Just $44 provides a Bible to four people who are seeking something more for their lives. For more, visit biblesociety.org.au/changesep * Name changed to protect identity.

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

$44 offers God’s life-changing words to empty hearts Call 1300 BIBLES (1300 242 537) or visit biblesociety.org.au/changesep

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OPINION

Masculinity gets a close shave

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Lessons from turning 50 Greg Clarke page 16 Youtube/Gillette

Sexual harassment is taking over – It’s been going on far too long. The Gilette ad calls out toxic masculinity.

John Sandeman Gillette’s call for male responsibility Gilette, the shaving company whose tagline “the best a man can get,” normally adorns sleepy ads has scored a viral hit with their newest effort. It turns the brand slogan around asking “Is this the best a man can get?”

Mansplaining, sexual harassment and cyber bullying of women is shown with the narrator stating “It’s been going on far too long.”

Welcome to the world where the #MeToo movement meets capitalism. As the ad explains, “There will be no going back because we, we believe in the best of men.”

The #MeToo movement has had great cultural impact.

Take the furore over the song Baby, It’s Cold Outside. Maybe up to late last year this 74-year-old song from a Broadway musical was just an object of nostalgia; now it is now seen as date rape.

“I’ve got to get home,” a woman sings. “But baby, it’s cold outside,” a man whose apartment the song is set in, replies. It goes on.

The neighbours might think (Baby it’s bad out there)

Say what’s in this drink? (No cabs to be had out there) I wish I knew how (Your eyes are like starlight now) To break this spell (I’ll take your hat, your hair looks swell) (Why thank you) I ought to say no, no, no sir (Mind if move in closer?)

At least I’m gonna say that I tried (What’s the sense of hurtin’ my pride?)

I really can’t stay (Baby don’t hold out) Baby, it’s cold outside That song, acceptable for many years, is being pulled from radio station playlists.

A new sub-genre of cinema is being invented: movies that could not be made today. A Buzzfeed list of “problematic” scenes includes the “did she put up a fight?” line from Grease, and Revenge of the Nerds “packed with both sexual assault and murder.”

The #MeToo movement emerging from the AfricanAmerican community rapidly exposed sexual predation by men with power in the bicoastal centres of the media industry is beginning to have an impact in the products of Hollywood and New York. After all ,#MeToo was The Times 2017 “person” of the year.

Christians should be cheering the #MeToo movement. It can be seen as a defence of the dignity of women, reflecting the attitude of Jesus, who first called Jewish women “daughters of Abraham” (Luke 13:16), and Paul’s radical call that “husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.”

The emergence of a call for our culture to treat women respectfully, in real life and on

screen is a Mere Christianity moment.

The C.S. Lewis classic work begins with an argument from morality for the existence of God. “Conscience reveals to us a moral law whose source cannot be found in the natural world, thus pointing to a supernatural Lawgiver.” The #MeToo movement has awakened a dormant conscience in our Western culture about the rights of women to be free from assault and harassment. If he was Australian, perhaps Lewis would have argued from the idea of a “fair go.”

Writing at a time when the evils of Nazism were all too present, Lewis uses it as an example that atheists and Christians alike could see was morally wrong. An intuitive sense of justice comes with being human. #MeToo has allowed our society to regain an appreciation of justice for women.

From within Christianity the response may be mixed – starting with a sense of disappointment that it was not a Christian initiative. That is overreach – even the greatest example of Christian impact on Western culture, the anti-slavery movement led by Wilberforce, engaged significant non-Christian allies.

As a student, I recall allying with the feminist groups on campus to protest strippers at the orientation week ball. We won a fight we could not have won separately.

Other Christians will be wedded to a paradigm of cultural decay – that Western culture is headed ever downward. It has been ever since Plato suggested that democracy is one of the later stages in the decline of the ideal state.

Yet pessimism is not the natural home for a Christian, who, believing that “in him we live and

move and have our being,” knows that God is active in the world. And some social movements outside of Christianity such as, dare I say #MeToo, can reflect the echoes of his creation order.

Perhaps a more substantial critique will point to forces aiming at deconstruction of our culture, and its ethics derived from Christianity.

Yet that’s simply to say that social forces will be moving towards and away from God’s ideal in a complicated world.

Masculinity has needed a close shave, to get rid of the stubble that comes from men lording over women, from an attitude of superiority, to outright sexual assault.

Shaving your face is an activity that men use to get rid of what’s now longer wanted. Gilette has done the world a service.

‘A smear against all men’

The debate 1

Conservative lobby group Family Voice Australia strongly condemned the Gillette ad.

A decade ago, Gillette controlled about 70 per cent of the US market. However, last year, its market share dropped to below 50 per cent, according to Euromonitor.

In an effort to salvage its plunging popularity, Gillette has jumped on board the #Metoo movement. However, it makes unproven assumptions about what is going wrong. It assumes men are present and are guiding

the lives of young men who commit crimes and who act in a sexist manner.

Today’s men are being raised by the sexist, pro-exploitation porn culture of Hollywood, which, through #Metoo, has tried to virtue signal away its unchanged on-screen ethics. Many people are finding the ad offensive, as it paints with too broad a brush.

Certainly, when men (or women) do wrong, such behaviour should be called out.

But while it shows some men responding positively to misbehaviour, the ad comes off as a smear against all men, because

it blames masculinity itself as toxic rather than asking what selfish men are imitating.

Darryl Budge & Caleb Stephen

The debate 2 Eternity’s Podcast “With All Due Respect” tackles the Gillette ad in its latest edition. Spoiler alert: Michael Jensen and Megan Powell Du Toit have “strongly differing views” about the twominute ad.

“With All Due Respect” is available on iTunes, Googleplay and all the usual podcast services, and on www.eternity.com.au.

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Penties join the middle class JOHN SANDEMAN He doesn’t look the part but Stephen Fogarty is a cultural revolutionary. Here’s his memory of the church he joined as a teenager.

I’ll leave out the name for now.

“The X church at that time and well into the early ’70s was sect-like. For many of the people [attending], this was the one true church and the other churches were lukewarm at best. They did not want to be very connected to society.

“That notion of drawing apart from society was connected to a sense of the soon return of Christ that was being preached until well into the ’80s, so you have the heightened apocalyptic expectancy of the soon return of Christ – a notion that society was going down the tubes – so let’s just get ready for Christ’s return.”

Stephen is President of Alphacrucis College, which sits at the centre of Australian Pentecostalism, the movement he describes above.

Back then it was an inwardlooking movement, “from the wrong side of the tracks,” as Fogarty puts it. It was largely working class, with ministers with tradie-level certificates from a vocational college. The older sort of Pentecostal could be legalistic and suspicious of “academics.”

Today that college now called Alphacrucis is accredited to teach Bachelor and Masters courses, and award research degrees to doctorate level.

The heightened eschatology (end times) focus has gone.

Fogarty says it was unsustainable.

“Mountain top” experiences, can never last forever. The idea that Pentecostals would soon be taken out of the world has gone. So the world had to be faced. But it was Christians from outside the traditional Pentecostal churches that become a catalyst for change in Pentecostalism and its college.

“The charismatic movement caused a lot of the shift because people came into Pentecostal churches from mainstream churches where they’ve been taught the value of education – they were socialised towards essentially middle-class Australian society – and the impact of them upon our churches can’t be underestimated.

I think Pentecostal churches are shifting from the wrong-side-ofthe-tracks right into the middle of

Stephen Fogarty: “Every Christian business person needs Christian thinking.” aspirational, middle-class societies.”

The “spiritual gifts” or “charismata” practised in the Pentecostal churches spread to historically mainstream churches from the 1960s. Many of the people in that movement eventually moved into the Pentecostal churches, especially when there was pushback by others opposed to the movement.

“Look at something like C3 Oxford Falls and Hillsong – fabulous churches right in the middle of aspirational, middleclass Australian society – and I think they reflect the values of that society as well, I think – yet still authentic in preaching Christ and maintaining a Christian sensibility.

But, you know, it is a middle-class Christian stance, as opposed to Pentecostalism’s earlier sectarian and stalwart separatism.”

Australian Pentecostalism, transformed to be optimistic and ready to engage with society, is no longer the same as Pentecostalism around the world.

“It’s a little bit unique. Even though you can find Pentecostal/ charismatic contemporary churches everywhere in the world that somehow resemble what C3, Hillsong and/or one of the other churches in Australia represent, somehow there has been a

phenomenon in Australia.

“A melting pot occurred in Australia that created a vision of a sort of Christianity that is not quite as prominent in other parts of the world. I know the Pentecostals in America were really suspicious of the charismatic movement – or basically could not accept they were Christian, particularly with those with a Catholic background.

“But in Australia, I remember leaders strongly encouraging gospel churches and pastors to embrace outside people from other churches.”

For Fogarty, there is something like a chicken and egg conundrum in answering Eternity’s questions about whether his college has changed the denomination.

“That sociological shift has occurred, so is that calling for education, or is it going hand in hand with education? Probably the latter.”

Another way that Fogarty and his college interact with Pentecostalism is fostering a business culture. Uniquely – as far as Eternity is aware – the college offers double degrees in ministry and business. So someone can get a Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Theology double degree, or a Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Ministry double degree.

This bakes in a Pentecostal distinctive – a positive attitude towards entrepreneurialism. So much so that the college can place it alongside theology in training ministers.

“When I was a new Christian, the setting was definitely that you had to be a pastor,” Fogarty recalls.

“You were either a pastor or only a half-committed church member.

That’s changed.

“I think the big churches have been part of this change – they tried to raise up cohorts of business people within the churches that would provide financial support.

“The idea is that ‘ministry’ is not just professional church ministry, so that in any vocation, employment, or as an entrepreneur, my employment can be seen as God’s call and a way of contributing to God. “The idea behind the double degrees was just as every Christian business person needs some Christian thinking – they really need to expose themselves to Christian theology to get a deeper, more holistic understanding of what business is – on the other side, every Christian minister gains from business training. Effectively, all of our ministers end up having their own small business.”

Forgarty means their church

and goes on to refer to church growth. “Small businesses, and medium-sized businesses and large businesses.”

Learning to preach requires acquiring skills, and Alphacrucis puts these alongside the organisational leadership skills, finances, HR and strategic planning.

2020 has crept up rapidly for Alphacrucis. If they stick to their strategic plan, that’s when they will apply to become a “University College” – the first step towards becoming a full university.

“We want to apply in 2020. We almost certainly will do that. I guess it will take the government the whole year to tell us if we are successful, so it will be 2021. Then we would have a five-year period to demonstrate that we could function as an Australian university.”

The Protestant half of Australian Christianity has been left behind by its Catholic sisters and brothers.

One uncontroversial move George Pell made was to put together a bunch of small teachers’ colleges to form the Australian Catholic University, followed by Notre Dame Australia with its fully accredited law and medicine schools.

In Melbourne, the University of Divinity was formed from a coalition of denominational colleges. Its status is as a university of specialisation – a newish category of university with only one subject category or discipline.

They could be joined by Sydney’s Moore College and some other Christian colleges. Consolidation of Australian’s Christian colleges is needed, Michael Jensen wrote in the last Eternity. Fogarty agrees, but modestly expresses the hope that Alphacrucis will be one of the players. That is almost certainly going to happen.

Alphacrucis is heading for full university status, developing the required three disciplines – theology, business and education.

It’s a move that could only have occurred within a changed Pentecostalism. One measure of the college’s confidence is that it hires well outside its tradition.

Three relatively recent hires, two of them contributors to Eternity, are Anglicans – Associate Dean, Education Development, David Hastie, Dean of Business, Professor Paul Oslington, and the college’s new Director of Higher Education Research, Associate Professor Matthew Anstey, who used to head Adelaide’s St Barnabas’ College.

OPINION

FEBRUARY 2019

13

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The good life: ancient rivals

Justin Toh weighs up Stoicism and Christianity

“ Care , for us, means actually bearing the cost, when you actually do something about the person you allegedly care for.” comes across as cold and not the sort of thing you want to bring your kids to on a Sunday morning,” he writes).

But Stoicism ticked Pigliucci’s boxes: it was rational, sciencefriendly and agnostic enough on the question of God (more on this in a moment) to satisfy his scientific and philosophical bent.

It was also eminently practical and promised to help him prepare for his inevitable death – a prospect increasingly on his mind after he turned 50.

For Pigliucci, Stoicism was a source of life guidance and ultimate meaning in the absence of religion. Or, more specifically, Christianity: Pigliucci’s passing comments about Damascus, alluding to the conversion of the Apostle Paul, who previously persecuted the church, as well as church gatherings on Sunday, indicate that his reference points for his post-Christian life are Christian in nature.

In other words, the teenage faith that Pigliucci disavowed has nonetheless left its mark on his adult self. Maybe that’s a predictable mix: even leaving aside Pigliucci’s back story, there are undeniable similarities between Stoicism and Christianity.

But whether we are atheists, believers, or anything in between, all of us bear the stamp of Christianity – and not Stoicism – on our souls.

Stoicism and Christianity were closely associated in the ancient world: both counselled discipline and self-control in the face of pagan decadence, and a commitment to contentment despite hardship. For instance, the Apostle Paul’s declaration that he

“The secret to a more satisfied existence is to care less about what you can’t control.” has “learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (Philippians 4:12) seems straight out of the Stoic playbook. In fact, these convergences between Stoicism and Christianity even led to a cooked-up correspondence between Seneca and Paul, both prolific letter writers in their day – though never, in fact, to each other.

But Christianity and Stoicism are sharply opposed in one respect particularly – and it makes all the difference.

The Stoics’ goal was tranquillity, which sounds peaceful enough, but this tranquillity was the product of apathy – literally “without suffering” in the Latin. Apathy was how someone could preserve their peace of mind, and the route to that imperturbability lay in detachment. To involve yourself with others, then, was to risk the serenity of the soul.

Take the example of death: for the Stoics, not principally a personal tragedy or even an irreparable tear in the human fabric, but an occasion for selfmastery. Epictetus writes that we should discipline our fears of death: “to this let all your reasonings, your lectures, and your trainings be directed; and then you will know that only so do men achieve their freedom.” And if you encounter anyone grieving the death of a loved one, he writes, remind yourself that death itself is not the problem – only the judgments they attach to it.

“Certainly do not moan with him,” he sternly adds. “Do not moan inwardly either.”

Compare Epictetus’ words with the call of the Christian to “mourn

with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15) – to radically identify with the suffering of others, even to take it on. Jesus certainly did – as much is suggested by the shortest, and perhaps the most poignant, entry in modern Bibles: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). And he did so at the tomb of Lazarus, the text says, moments before he was to call his friend out of it. It turns out that even the one whom the Scriptures said conquered death could also be undone by it.

But that was the nature of the Jesus whom Christians knew as God. He cared. Even if both Christianity and Stoicism agreed enough on God’s existence – both were convinced that an all-pervading logos or rationality governed the universe – Christianity proclaimed an involved, loving God since the logos or word became flesh in Jesus (John 1:14).

The Stoics, like other ancient Greek philosophers, believed that only spiritual things could be good. That God would become human – take on a body – was a reprehensible thought. It was even worse that this God was passionately involved with people – identifying with their sorrows and weaknesses, even to the point of dying upon a cross for them.

And all this has influenced us no matter what we believe about God. Detachment was prized by the ancients, but we are passionate about passionate engagement.

Consider that very profane and very popular self-help book by Mark Manson. While it spends many pages arguing why you should care less, the book’s real thesis is that you should stop sweating the small stuff so you can

devote yourself to what you really care about. Manson channels Oprah when he asks his readers: “What pain do you want in your life? What are you willing to struggle for?” It’s revealing that our word “passion” is the Latin word for “suffering” because, to us, how much we’re prepared to suffer for something we love is a measure of how much we care about it.

Similarly, we value compassion: active involvement to relieve the pain and struggle of others. As Edwin Judge, Emeritus Professor at Macquarie University and expert on early Christianity and the Greek and Roman world, explained to CPX, “Care, for us, means actually bearing the cost, when you actually do something about the person you allegedly care for.”

The Stoics, on the other hand, practised “courtesy”: a distanced, polite awareness of others’ struggles but one that insulated the self from the other. “This is the real difference between the Stoic and the Christian bond between one person and other,” Judge said. “In the Christian case it is commitment to their problem. In the other case, it is recognition that there’s a difficulty. You offer politeness but that protects you from any grand involvement.”

Apparently, the ancient Stoics never actively sought converts, even if plenty can be found today.

But since we believe that true care is costly, it turns out that Christian compassion did convert us. When it comes to that, we – even the sceptics among us – are all true believers.

Justine Toh is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity.

wikimedia Paolo Monti / Pixabay Judam

“Everything old is new again” may be a phrase of uncertain origin, but it’s a reliable formula for the return of trends thought long over – like bell-bottom jeans, making your own jam and the revival, in some quarters at least, of the ancient Greek and Roman wisdom of Stoicism.

It’s an unlikely resurrection.

When we call someone “stoic,” at best we mean that they maintain a calm composure even in the grimmest of conditions – and this is roughly continuous with the ancient Stoic belief that the good life was one of equanimity and tranquillity no matter the individual’s circumstances. But at worst we mean it far more pejoratively: the stoic is seen as stiff upper lipped, even emotionally flat – the kind of person who kills everyone’s buzz by having no buzz at all. It’s not exactly a compliment.

Still, there’s enough interest in Stoicism to have sustained annual gatherings of Stoic Week across the globe since 2013, for seven days of Stoic scholarship, inspiration and practice. There, thousands might find themselves exploring how the technique of negative visualisation – imagining the worst that can happen – counselled by Roman statesman Seneca – can help them master anger and frustration. Or discussing a key Stoic tenet by Epictetus, a slave turned philosopher, who wrote: “Our thoughts are up to us, and our impulses, desires and aversions – in short, whatever is our doing … Of things that are outside your control, say they are nothing to you.” In other words, the secret to a more satisfied existence is to care less about what you can’t control.

Plenty are drawn to the practical advice Stoicism offers for life in our turbulent world today.

Among them are those looking to this ancient philosophy as a replacement for religion – such as philosopher Massimo Pigliucci.

In How to Be a Stoic: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living, Pigliucci recounts his own journey to Stoicism, “not on my way to Damascus, but through a combination of cultural happenstance, life’s vicissitudes, and deliberate philosophical choice.” Since abandoning Catholicism in his teenage years, Pigliucci found himself on his own – existentially speaking – in dealing with the meaning of life.

The angry and belittling tone of the New Atheists repelled him, Buddhism was too mystical and secular humanism too rational (“it

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OPINION

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FEBRUARY 2019

Faith and fear

A recent report from the World Economic Forum revealed that the biggest mental health issue in the world today is anxiety.

An estimated 275 million people globally are obsessed and distressed by anxiety and fears.

And, at the richest time in our history, more than two million

Unsplash / pablo-heimplatz

Tim Costello on anxiety

Australians are medicated for anxiety.

The late Billy Graham said historians will probably call our era “the age of anxiety.” But why should we fear? Fear, more than doubt, is the opposite of faith.

According to a Christian parable, not one sparrow will fall without God knowing about it. Jesus said that we are worth much more than sparrows and God knows every hair on our heads. In Luke 12, Jesus tells a multitude: “Fear not, little flock. Do not be afraid.”

The words “do not be afraid” appear 365 times in the Bible.

Jesus is saying we can’t help being anxious at times, but we should not give in to anxiety. Human anxiety and concern, though understandable, are not the key to the true understanding of our existence.

The English word “anxiety”

tellingly derives from a Latin word which means “to strangle or constrict.” And so many people, including too many Christians, appear to be bound by fears and anxiety.

Why is it that those who speak most loudly about their faith sometimes seem to be the most fearful? It troubles me that, increasingly, evangelical Christians, particularly in the US, trumpet irrational fears of refugees and gay people, reject climate change science, support

assault weapon ownership and want to build walls rather than bridges. They are being known by fear not faith.

Religion has often not been the antidote to fear. Indeed, too many churches have consciously and unconsciously taught fear of nature (particularly our own), fear of our bodies, fear of others and fear of the world.

Religions built on fear must keep preaching their fears to survive. They do injustice to the mystery of faith.

An African prayer states: “Lord Jesus, make my heart sit down.” It is a call to know that the dangers and uncertainties of life are many, but that we have the choice to live by faith or fear.

Faith, as the apostle Paul once said, is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. It’s a conviction that there is a loving purpose amid all the uncertainty.

We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we can know who holds tomorrow. Let us not be afraid.

The migrant story of Daniel

Lucy Gichuhi on new opportunities Every day, I marvel at God’s wonderful creation. If I were to pick an eighth wonder, it would be the Australian nation; why is this? It’s because of its multiethnic nature and way of life. It’s the nature of a migrant nation.

In parliament, we debate about migration and migrants until, unfortunately, the very process that God has used since time began becomes politicised.

I am Australian, but it is obvious that I wasn’t born in this country. I am a migrant from

Kenya, Africa but it wasn’t until recently when I was selected to represent my state of South Australia and my citizenship came into question that I discovered I was actually born a Briton.

Coming to terms with one’s identity can be a distressing and most uncomfortable process as a sense of belonging is a foundational component of our sense of self.

This awareness was heightened when I landed in Australia in 1999 with my husband and three young children. At the time, African migrants were visibly lacking in the streets of Adelaide.

Of course, I knew what I was getting myself into when I made the decision to move away from the culture I was raised in to come here, but that does not mean the transition was easy. I discussed some of the challenges and sometimes hilarious moments that we faced in my maiden speech.

As I have been reflecting on my journey, I have noticed a phenomenon that we rarely talk about – the “child migrant.” My daughters were children when I

Without doubt, these were difficult times for a young teenager.

Despite the obvious physical and cultural differences, Daniel, who was from Judea, still managed to thrive in the land of Babylonians.

A gifted young man, he was chosen to serve in the royal palace.

Daniel and his friends from Judea underwent an intensive training period. They were educated in the language, literature and culture of Babylon, gained knowledge and learnt good judgment, which made them qualified to serve in the king’s palace. The Lord gave them supernatural ability to understand.

Instead of wallowing in self-pity or rebelling against the Babylonian king, Daniel and his friends chose to put their talents to good use.

In time, Daniel’s achievements allowed him to be promoted. Later, he served as ruler over the whole province of Babylon as well as chief of all the wise men.

Daniel’s influence was so great he appointed his friends, who shared the same values as he did, to be in charge of the affairs in the province of Babylon.

made the choice to migrate, yet they had no choice but to come with me and live in this country.

Others are born to first-generation migrants and they still face cultural challenges. It is this group that I want us to think about and pray for so that God will grant them strength and courage to remain true to who they are and who they are meant to be.

I reflect on the wisdom of Daniel, whose experiences I can relate to and whose words I believe show some wonderful examples of how to overcome difficult times in a new cultural environment.

To begin with, Daniel’s move to Babylon was not voluntary; he was captured and exiled as a slave

by King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was from an aristocratic family in Judea and had lived a privileged life. When he was captured, he was alienated from his family, his nation, his culture and his way of life and even his name. He was introduced to a strange culture that defied what he had been taught and believed and he was given a new Babylonian name.

Daniel, just like other biblical characters such as Abraham, Joseph, Esther, and even our Lord Jesus Christ, all experienced exile.

Our heavenly Father has used the process to teach, refine, influence and transform individuals and nations. Joseph named his second son Ephraim because God caused him to be fruitful in the land of his affliction.

I ask – what excuse do we have not to thrive? Our heavenly Father weaves his divine purposes in Australia through all individuals – including migrant children who had no say in coming here and their parents – and opens opportunities they never had.

Daniel and his friends overcame loneliness, jealousy, treachery, threats of death by fire and lions, temperamental and vicious rulers, and many other challenges because they cooperated with God, who had caused them to be fruitful in the land of their affliction.

He is ready, willing and able to do the same for us.

Lucy Gichuhi is a Liberal Party senator for South Australia.

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OPINION

FEBRUARY 2019

Michael Jensen

left among the ruins in the city of Telanissa. He formed a small platform on the top, and there he stayed in the hot Syrian sun and in the bitter Syrian cold.

His disciples would climb up and give him what little food he determined to live on.

His first pillar was not more than a couple of metres high. But later on, he moved to a pillar that was more like 15 metres above the ground. The platform on top was believed to be little more than a square metre.

He would pray all night, bowing as he did so. There was a witness who counted 1244 bows one night.

After a brief rest, he would be ready for the pilgrims who came to visit him from all around the known world. In the afternoons, he would be available to talk to visitors, who scaled a ladder to ask him questions. He taught his disciples and he gave sermons.

Even though he himself was an extreme ascetic, he was known for his common sense and practical

wikimedia / Przykuta

I am afraid to say that the halfheartedness and decadence of Christians in our day is one of the greatest obstacles we have to mission in Australia.

Maybe what we need is for someone to show us what following Christ is like by sitting on a pillar for 40 years.

Living out the gospel of Jesus Christ takes people in many different directions. But none have been quite as bizarre as St Simeon Stylites.

Out of his devotion to Christ, Simeon (c. AD 390-459) lived on top of a pillar near Aleppo in modern Syria.

He was born in the town of Sis, in what is now Turkey but was in those days a Roman province called Cilicia. After the Emperors of Rome had converted to Christianity, Christianity had become quite popular and even widespread.

It was the end of the age of martyrdom. No longer were the Christians a battle-hardened, persecution-scarred group who could point to the heroic deeds of the martyrs as proof of the power of the gospel of Christ. What’s more, now that the church had become socially acceptable and not a radical underground sect, Christians themselves seemed to become more decadent and uncommitted.

In the Eastern part of Christendom, in Syria and in Egypt, these conditions led to the rise of monasticism. There were communities of monks living in the desert.

As a young man, Simeon was converted by reading the Beatitudes. Before he was 16 years old, he entered a monastery. There, he practised such a severe selfdiscipline that the other monks asked him to leave – he just wasn’t suited to community life.

So off he went, and shut himself in a hut for about 18 months. After this he sought a place in the desert to call his home. But the crowds kept coming to see him, such was his fame for his feats of endurance.

He was unable to keep to his own desired regime of devotions.

The solution? Simeon would live on top of a pillar. This was a pillar

‘Prioritising our lives according to Jesus may mean doing things that are, from the outside, completely nuts.’

15

St Simeon Stylites

everyday advice.

It was said that Simeon kept himself anchored to the pillar with a very rough piece of rope. After a while, the rope gave him a gaping wound. The wound started to rot, and became infested with maggots.

When the maggots fell out, he would pick them back up and put them into his wound again, saying to them “Please eat what the Lord has given you.”

Remarkably, Simeon lived to the age of 70 or so, and by the time he died (found in the posture of prayer) he had spent close to four decades on the pillar.

I’ve always regarded the story of St Simeon as a rather pathetically unnecessary case of fanaticism.

The gospel of Jesus Christ – the gospel of free grace – does not demand from us this kind of selfdenial. In fact, the obsessive rigour and austerity flies in the face of the New Testament’s insistence that ascetic rules do not make us more spiritual (Col 2:16-19, 1 Tim 4:1-3) – and, in fact, can lead to spiritual

pride. Likewise, asceticism can give the impression that the things of this world are somehow tainted.

And yet, the more I think about it, the more I wish we had a few St Simeons in modern Australia.

According to the world’s values, Simeon was stark raving bonkers.

Nutty as a fruit cake.

But if you know the grace of God in Jesus Christ, then what could be a higher calling or a more reasonable thing to do than to give yourself wholeheartedly to prayer?

The call to discipleship is a call to detach ourselves from worldly things – not because they are bad necessarily, but because they absorb our attention in a disorderly way. They take our focus from God, and we buy into a narrative of our lives that is dictated by our surrounding culture: I must be married, I must have overseas travel, I must eat out at restaurants all the time, I must have a fulfilling career, I must be a significant person.

Following Christ does mean

renouncing things when they get in the way. And prioritising our lives according to Jesus may mean doing things that are, from the outside, completely nuts.

That may mean not pursuing the most money. That will mean disciplining your sexual self. It may mean not having the travel experiences that you see everyone else having on social media. It may mean not FOMO, but actually embracing missing out.

I can think of two contemporary Simeons. One is Sophia Cameron, a member of our church who gave up a teaching career in a prestigious private school in one of the richest parts of Sydney to go and train teachers in Nepal. She doesn’t get to eat a lot of avocado on toast where she is. And I don’t think it’s been great for her social life. It’s a tough place to be.

The other is my friend David Bennett, the author of A War of Loves: The Unexpected Story of a Gay Activist Discovering Jesus.

David is one of four friends I have who experience same-sex attraction and yet have determined to live a celibate life because they believe this is what Jesus is calling them to in Scripture. David is renouncing what most of us feel is fundamental to our personhood and experience of life. And yet he says: this is nothing compared to what I have in Christ.

But our temptation is to see Simeon or Sophia or David as extraordinary cases of Christian discipleship. And yet: they are just examples for the rest of us to imitate in our own circumstances.

You may not be called to sit upon a pillar or to move to Nepal. Yet you are definitely called upon to have Christ first in your heart and to put aside the things of this world.

As I said before, forget the so-called “culture war”: it’s the decadence and half-heartedness of us Christians that is the biggest obstacle to the gospel in Australia.

We Christians are spending pots of money on our luxuries and throwing our loose change into the plate at church. We spend more on coffee than we do on Jesus.

It is now completely acceptable, it seems, for Christian couples to cohabit before marriage. We’ve signed up to a culture war on gay sex, and yet we are completely cool with heterosexuals doing whatever.

Fewer and fewer people are signing up for vocational ministry or the mission field.

These are just three areas in which we once again need the witness of a Christian like Simeon.

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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OPINION

16

FEBRUARY 2019

50 proverbs from 50 years

1 It really is who you know, not what you know. Especially if you know who it is that knows about you know what.

2 It is more rational to believe that God exists than God doesn’t. Take the odds and sally forth.

3 If your future wife says she wants five children, believe it.

4 There’s more to life than books, you know, but not much more (thanks, Morrissey).

5 Paying attention, and continuing to pay attention, is the best way to succeed at something.

6 Jesus is less a friend than a terrifying inspiration to be worshipped.

7 Words are incredibly powerful, and lack of words also distressingly powerful.

8 Most men want to be the hero

men understand. Until they watch Mean Girls.

21 One bass note can rule your heart.

22 Time won’t leave me as I am, but time won’t take the boy out of this man (thanks, Bono).

23 Friendships are mysterious, unpredictable and wonderful. I should tend them better.

24 You can watch yourself thinking and review what you observe.

Remarkable, really.

25 God’s control of things is more like that of a king than a computer.

26 The idea that justice and mercy could be enacted together is the genius of the Christian gospel.

27 Your children may not tell you much, but they have a lot to say. To someone.

28 Dogs grow on cat people as they (the cat people) lose confidence in themselves. And vice versa.

29 There is a C.S. Lewis quote for most insights you think you have had.

30 My colourblindness is probably more significant than I give it credit for. Surely all blindnesses matter.

31 The things you read before you are an adult may matter most.

32 Never underestimate human ingenuity, for good and evil.

33 Our senses tell the truth, but certainly not the whole truth, nor nothing but the truth.

34 Memorising Scripture is

istock / ajaykampani

Greg Clarke celebrates his half-ton

more than the villain but need to keep reminding themselves of this.

9 The way to lose weight is to eat less.

10 Personality seems to be the hard-wired part of us; but behaviour can change.

11 People don’t always mean what they say, and that’s OK. We are all tangled masses of contradictions.

And sometimes (often) words are used for purposes other than meaning.

12 You might need to change your plans.

13 Time does not so much pass as settle on you like a mist.

14 The Bible’s impact on the world is way out of whack with its stature as literature, which is relatively modest. Art is not truth.

15 Children are a self-consuming and effective way to learn about who you are and how to love. But I’m sure there are other ways.

16 Although being kind is always a good move, it is not always personally rewarding.

17 Lots of problems disappear if you just wait long enough. But some get much worse.

18 Contrary to Socrates, the unexamined life may very well be worth living. Most happy people are not very life-examining.

19 Plants die if you don’t water them.

20 Females are much more competitive with each other than

immensely valuable, especially if you actually reflect on what you are remembering.

35 You never really know which decisions are the important ones, and which the trivial ones.

36 It is better to have loved and lost than never loved at all, but probably only marginally (cf. 1 Cor 7).

37 If you want to have sex several thousand times, the way to do it is to get married (cf. 1 Cor 7).

38 Things make more sense when we accept that the world is God’s not ours, created for Christ, not us.

39 Thinking about death is always worthwhile.

40 Human beings need to be occupied one way or another.

We seek an occupation, and are usually happy when we have one, big or small.

41 Everyone does not have a book in them, but they do have stories

to tell.

42 Again, time - nobody knows what it is.

43 One person’s noise is another person’s music.

44 According to the Bible, Enoch and Elijah don’t die. We all find that bizarrely easy to imagine.

45 The idea that Christianity is wish-fulfilment is wonderful. Our wishes fulfilled!

46 Even if I wasn’t a Christian, I’d still admire Jesus more than anyone else.

47 Don’t wear Lycra.

48 Develop the best habits and you will be close to perfect. Habits rule.

49 What one thinks at age 50 could still change by age 60. If given the opportunity.

50 Love hurts.

Greg Clarke has just turned 50. He is CEO of Bible Society Australia.

Bible Stat Only 27 in 100 people own a full Bible.

The Bible is true and can be trusted!

WOMEN’S CONFERENCE G

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You can be kept informed on biblical apologetics by going to Gary's website: adefenceofthebible.com and subscribing to his fortnightly blog.

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►Word Online at word.com.au

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► Koorong In store, or online at koorong.com.au

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Where to buy? RRP: $15

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A Defence of the Bible is published in large-format paperback, consisting of 186 full color pages with 196 images and 584 footnotes.

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Scientist, Dr Gary Baxter provides clear and compelling evidence, based on scientific, archaeological and textual studies, for the reliability and integrity of the Bible.

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9 MARCH 2019

More info at: smbc.edu.au/events