Author: Jimmy Day

Scripture contains fascinating stories and statements that allude to God’s growing, developing, and changing. Let’s explore those with open minds, ready to challenge our preconceptions.

Immutable

Christian theology teaches that God is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, and immutable. The prefix omni means all, so God is all-powerful, everywhere present, all-knowing, immortal, and unchanging. I want to question that last word in this blog because, in scripture, we see God shifting his decisions and choices and growing in understanding.

I realise my statements fly in the face of a common belief amongst Christians that God is always the same and never changes. What does the Bible say? Maybe you’re thinking of Malachi 3:6, “I the Lord do not change.” But a text out of context is a pretext. “I the Lord do not change” is in the context of God’s faithfulness to Israel. Change (Hebrew: shanah) means to fold or bend. We could translate that verse, “I the Lord do not fold. So, you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.” The statement is about God’s consistency in his dealings with his people.

Moses’ Example

When Moses descended Mt. Sinai after receiving the Ten Commandments, he found that the people had returned to their Egyptian gods. They had made for themselves a golden calf and were worshipping it. God then told Moses that He was ready to destroy the nation—”Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” God had changed his mind about his formerly chosen people.

The following discussion between God and Moses is fascinating as he intercedes for Israel. A summary of Moses’ argument is: “What would the Egyptians say? They’d probably accuse you of evil intent because your plan all along was to lead them out of Egypt and kill them yourself.” The result? —The LORD changed his mind about the disaster he planned to bring on his people.

Other Examples

Scripture says that God had second thoughts about making Saul the king of Israel. “I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not carried out my commands.” Samuel was angry at God’s statement, although it’s unclear whether he was angry with God, Saul or both. Samuel channelled his anger by praying all night.

In the Book of Jonah, we have a similar situation. God was angry with the people of Nineveh because of their wickedness, and he sent Jonah to warn them. Jonah eventually got there—in a roundabout fashion—after being asked twice by God. He preached a short message—”Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” That’s all it took for everyone from the king down to call on the Lord with fasting. “When God saw what they had done and how they had stopped their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.” Jonah was not happy. He was all ready for a good smiting.

Character or Actions?

Any time the scriptures affirm God’s unchangingness, it always concerns his character, not his actions. Consider these verses:

God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil? (Numbers 23:19)

He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind” (1 Samuel 15:29). In the future, God would be a human being, though.

God, who is enthroned from old and who does not change, will hear them and humble them because they have no fear of God. (Psalm 55:19)

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8). Context? Jesus is consistent, “So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas,” but instead rely on God’s gracious character. God’s character is static, but his actions aren’t. They depend on how WE respond to God’s instructions (Jer. 18:5–10; 26:3; Joel 2:13-14; Jonah 4:2; Amos 7:3,6).

When God Learns

I find one final aspect of God’s changeableness fascinating—what God learned in the person of Jesus. Ponder this for a moment. Until God was born into the human family, he didn’t know what it was like to be human.

The gospels tell us that Jesus [God] grew in wisdom, stature, and favour with God and man. The Hebrews author spells this out by telling us we have a high priest [Jesus] who can empathise with our weaknesses so that we can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need, something that would not have been possible before the incarnation because God lacked firsthand knowledge of the human experience.

Summary

God’s character is unchanging, but his mind and actions change when people or circumstances alter. Prayer appears to be able to change God’s mind. Through the incarnation, God grew in understanding what it is like to be human. Paul wrote, “In Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.” For the first time, God fully understood—by personal experience—what it was like to be a human being. Let that sink in. And as a result, God’s love and compassion, mercy and grace, were fully extended to humanity for our good.

I hope my words cause you to think, question, search, and wrestle with scripture. Your insights and views are welcome and crucial to our collective understanding. Please feel free to discuss this in the comments below.

This blog’s title comes from a catchy 1970s song that sounds as good today as it did then—Superstition by Stevie Wonder. The song cleverly lists popular superstitions and encourages us not to embrace them: “When you believe in things that you don’t understand, then you suffer. Superstition ain’t the way.” Maybe you now have that song stuck in your head!

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines superstition as a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, a false conception of causation, or a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary. Superstitions can be harmless or dangerous. How should Christians respond to them, and do we sometimes unknowingly embrace superstitions?

Rationalism

Some people consider anything outside the realm of science as superstitious. People who think that way are called rationalists because they believe everything has a rational explanation. Rationalism increased in popularity significantly throughout the last century. Interestingly, it’s been declining since the 2008 Global financial crisis because people’s certainty has been shaken.

For people of faith, rationalism needs to be revised because science can only explain some things. Science can often tell us ‘How,’ but religion informs ‘Why.’ That’s why I firmly believe that science and faith are not enemies but companions.

Superstitions

But there are superstitions with which Christians should have nothing to do with because they come from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation. For example, Jesus’ disciples thought that the man in John chapter 9 was born blind because he or his parents had sinned—a baseless superstition that had been perpetuated for generations.

A person’s sin may cause grief, but not all suffering is caused by sin. I have met Christians who have said, ‘If you had enough faith, you wouldn’t be suffering,’ or ‘Your sins cause your distress.’ Such statements are very superstitious and potentially harmful.

I’ve also met Christians who maintain an opinion despite evidence to the contrary. You can show them all the proof, but they’ll answer, “Well, that’s what I believe.” They are very superstitious.

Pure Luck

Some superstitions are funny or harmless and have much to do with good or bad luck—success or failure brought by chance rather than through one’s actions. There are plenty of examples of good and bad luck through various superstitions: Friday, the 13th, walking under a ladder, and breaking a mirror are all bad luck, as is opening an umbrella inside. Bad things always come in threes, but knocking twice on wood reverses this.

There was a pagan belief that evil spirits inhabited wood and that if you expressed hope for the future, you should touch or knock on wood to prevent the spirits from hearing and presumably stop your hopes from coming true.

And then there’s the tossing of spilled salt over your shoulder. A superstition says spilling salt will bring you bad fortune. But if you take a pinch of the spilled salt and throw it over your left shoulder, it cancels out the bad luck. The left shoulder was where the devil was supposed to be sitting, and tossing salt in the devil’s eyes kept him away.

There are other examples of good luck, too—an itchy palm is good luck, as is finding a horseshoe. Crossing your fingers for good luck is why people say, “Fingers crossed.” The intersection of the fingers was thought to mark a concentration of good spirits and anchor a wish until it could come true. These examples are meaningless superstitions, most rooted in pagan beliefs.

Responding to Superstitions

Firstly, don’t get anxious about them. Some superstitions are harmless fun, like breaking the wishbone on a chicken. Kids love it. Etruscans believed the collarbone was sacred, and breaking the bone with someone and getting the longer piece brought good luck. We still use this language today—”I need a lucky break” or “I never get a break.”

Saying, “God bless you,” for a sneeze, is also innocent, even though it’s rooted in ancient times when people believed that sneezing would allow evil spirits to enter your body and saying “God bless you” kept the evil spirits away. Centuries later, during the Plague, Pope Gregory I suggested saying “God bless you” after a person sneezed, hoping that this prayer would protect them from an otherwise certain death. If you say “God bless you” to someone, please mean it!

Secondly, take responsibility for your own behaviour. For example, I don’t live in fear of Friday the 13th. To me, it’s just another day. I neither cross my fingers for good luck nor toss salt over my left shoulder to blind the devil. But other superstitions make sense. For example, if I see a ladder, I don’t walk under it because someone might drop something on me, or I might accidentally bump the ladder and knock a person off it. I also don’t open an umbrella indoors because it could easily damage something or hurt someone. These actions are common sense.

Cause No Harm

God is love, and God loves people. God is opposed to anything that causes harm to people, and this can be applied to superstitions. Ezekiel warned of people being trapped like birds when they fall prey to the power of superstitious magic. God sent his prophet with a message of deliverance. It was the same with the ancient superstition that led to child sacrifice. Isaiah speaks of superstitious practices wearing people out (again, harm).

God seems to be particularly concerned with anything that could entrap and hurt people, and so the Scriptures warn against things like the occult, magic, sorcery, witchcraft, astrology and idolatry.

Other Examples

Finally, here are some other examples of superstitions and myths that Christians should avoid:

Displaying an open Bible (or wearing a crucifix) will keep evil spirits away.

God will answer my prayers if I pray hard enough or long enough.

If I don’t read the Bible daily, something terrible will happen.

Doing good works will put me in God’s good books.

These are just a few examples of superstitions and myths Christians should avoid. You might have come across others in your own experiences. If so, I encourage you to share them in the comments below. Your insights and experiences are valuable and can contribute to our collective understanding of this topic.

 

A few weeks ago, there was an outpouring of outrage about the supposed mockery of the Lord’s Supper at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. I blogged about it and mentioned it in my sermon the following weekend.

In response, one of our Bayside Church young adults asked if Christians should defend their faith and God and oppose sacrilegious things. It’s an excellent question, and this blog is my answer.

Clarification

In the blog and the sermon, I didn’t say Christians shouldn’t respond. We have as much of a right as anyone else to express our opinions and feelings. The sermon title was “Engage your filter,” and I taught about our need to pause when we feel hurt or outraged so that we don’t respond in an ungodly manner.

I had watched far too many Christian people get hot under the collar, vent and foam before they had all the facts. What was lacking from these interactions was the fruit (character) of the Holy Spirit, especially self-control and kindness. This behaviour does nothing to further the gospel. Instead, our complaining and indignation drown out the good news about Jesus, which should deeply concern us.

Defending God

The young man asked, “How can you not stand up for [God] and defend him?” My response is that I don’t believe God needs our defence. In scripture, God is OUR defender. Nowhere do the scriptures suggest we are to defend God. God created all things by his power—including us—why do we think God needs us to protect him? This understanding should bring us peace.

King Joash said, “If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself”—because that’s what real gods can do! When persecuted, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego told King Nebuchadnezzar, “We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.” These three impressive young men knew their God would deliver them one way or another—”But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” That’s what strong faith looks like. There was no blustering outrage and complaints of unfairness—just a settled sense of what was right, how to behave, and trust in God as their defender.

Our Daily Bread author Tim Gustafson wisely wrote, “God doesn’t need us to defend Him. He wants us to represent Him! That takes time, work, restraint, and love.” Let that sink in. Defend God? No. Represent God? Yes. This perspective should enlighten us on how to best represent God to the world he loves and for whom Jesus died.

WDJD?

No, I didn’t spell that wrong. What Did Jesus Do? Did he defend himself? Isaiah prophesied that [Messiah] would be “oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth.” Mark’s gospel revealed the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy when the chief priests accused Jesus of many things, but Jesus did not reply, and Pilate was amazed. Why? Because it’s so unusual.

Christians are called to be like Jesus, so why are we so often un-Christlike in the way we feel we need to defend God, Jesus, and the Christian faith? It takes courage to follow Jesus’ example, and we’ve confused this courage with the need always to speak out. Let’s be inspired by Jesus’ example and strive to emulate his actions.

What if we all stayed quiet the next time we felt offended? People would be waiting for the protest, but none would happen. It’d be a modern-day miracle.

Defending the Faith

Numerous ministries have been established to help Christians defend their faith; some of them do an excellent job of equipping believers with sound answers when engaging in faith conversations. It’s good to be trained in scripture, as Peter wrote, so we can always be prepared to answer everyone who asks us to give the reason for our hope. Peter reminds us to do this with gentleness and respect. In other words, engage your filter.

Jesus promised his disciples that he would give them words and wisdom that no adversaries could resist or contradict when they were brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities. He said, “Do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say.” Jesus said the defence was the gospel—testifying about him. Paul lived this out during his apostolic ministry. He wrote from prison to the Philippian church: “Whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.”

Our faith also needs to be defended against heresy in the church. Heresy refers to beliefs or teachings that contradict the core doctrines of Christianity, such as denying the divinity of Christ or the resurrection. Much of the New Testament was written to combat false teaching and maintain the gospel’s integrity.

Apologetics

Apologetics is a branch of theology that defends Christianity against objections. It involves providing reasoned arguments and evidence to support the truth of the Christian faith. The name comes from the Greek word apologia, a legal term referring to a verbal defence, particularly in an ancient law court—a well-reasoned reply to address the issue(s) that is raised adequately. Note that this defence is well-reasoned. We won’t fly off the handle when we defend our faith correctly and post angrily on social media. We will calmly discover the truth and decide if/how we will proceed. We will choose our battles wisely—not everything needs to be a fight—and if we do say something, it’ll be intelligent, logical, and composed.

Our failure to behave this way means our message is something other than the gospel, and we contribute to the decline of Christianity, especially in the West.

Defending Who?

In writing this blog, I examined every occurrence of the words “defend” and “defence” in the Bible, and it was an insightful exercise. God is our defender, and rather than defend ourselves, there are others whom God instructs his people to safeguard.

I find it fascinating that the main narrative I hear these days from Christians is all about defending OUR rights, including our right to discriminate—even though discrimination is a sin—and we protest when we feel even the slightest bit offended. Our behaviour is un-Christlike, selfish and petulant. It repels people from Jesus rather than attracts them.

Repeatedly, scripture calls God’s people to defend the fatherless, widows, oppressed, afflicted, poor and foreigners:

  • “Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:9)
  • “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17).
  • “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.” (Deut. 10:18; cf. Psalm 10:18; 68:5; 72:4; 82:3).

What if Christians focused their energy on these things and defended the purity of the gospel message? The faith that Jesus initiated would suddenly become much more attractive. And remember, God doesn’t need us to defend Him. He wants us to represent Him! There’s a big difference.

I’ve had several conversations recently with Christians—and former Christians—about the Bible stories in which God appears to command or sanction genocide. For numerous people, it’s been a deal breaker as they’ve been unable to reconcile a God who IS love with a God who appears to endorse unloving things.

My Journey

I began wrestling with this about two decades ago. I resonated with Bible stories of battles and vengeance in my younger years. The stars of the stories were my heroes. Then, I began to feel uncomfortable with them and would skip over these descriptions, pretending they weren’t there—except they were. We need to face it. The Bible records some pretty awful stuff. As I matured, I observed inconsistencies between these portrayals and Jesus’ teaching.

I love Jesus and wouldn’t consider leaving my faith, but I needed to reconcile the irregularities I saw in scripture and the multiple questions that begin with “How could a loving God…” You can fill in the blanks.

Awful Examples

Consider Deuteronomy 20:16–18, in which Moses instructed the people, “However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave anything that breathes alive. Completely destroy them…as the Lord your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshipping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God.” In other words, I know you people lack self-control and might get led astray, so let’s kill everyone and remove all temptation!

The Hebrew word “destroy” means to devote something to God by eradicating it. We are outraged by the terrorism we witness in the world, yet here it is encouraged, indeed commanded, by God.

From Joshua chapter six onwards, we see the systematic destruction of thirty-one cities and their inhabitants – men, women, children, and all the animals. Entire towns were slaughtered with no terms of surrender and no chance to relocate to another land. And according to the author, God is right there cheering on the massacre. How can we reconcile these events with the God of love? Here’s what I learned.

Ancient Stories

As I’ve taught on many occasions, the world of three or four thousand years ago was very different from today. People were tribal, and the tribes often went to war. They viewed God as “on their side” and would give them victory over their enemies. We see this reflected many times in the scriptures. We still see this echoed in some Christian circles today where God hates all the same people they do, votes as they vote, and is against everything they are.

In ancient times, the role of women was to give birth because more babies made the tribe bigger, more prosperous, and better able to defend itself in battles. The men spent their time hunting, fighting, and participating in the early stages of the baby-making process.

Most tribal people had multiple gods and presented offerings to them, frequently with human sacrifices. Israel was different as it became increasingly monotheistic, and there were recurrent warnings to the people to remain faithful to the one true God and not to engage in pagan revelry. We must appreciate the Old Testament narrative through this framework.

The Tanakh

Our Jewish friends call the Old Testament the Tanakh. I like that name and frequently use it myself. The Bible is a collection of Hebrew books, first and foremost written from an Eastern perspective. That’s a challenge for Western people like myself, who’ve been raised to see things differently. Invariably, we see things as black or white, right or wrong. Our history has to be accurate, but Eastern thought is different.

Easterners tend to view history as stories with a meaning. The details can change over time to convey truth to people living in different circumstances. We see these changes reflected in the Tanakh. Jews see the sacred text as the fluid narrative of the relationship between humans and the Source of all creation. The Tanakh tells the ever-evolving story without editing. And like all evolving narratives, the lines between the “players” get blurred. The attributes of humans and the divine “bleed” into each other because the relationship is vital. The Tanakh is relationship-centred. And it continues to be played out today, demonstrating the ongoing relevance of our faith in the modern world.

A Question Book

The Tanakh also observes how people sometimes justify their actions and consequences. It is not a book of answers; it is written to provoke questions. When you read the genocide stories, what questions come to mind?

  • Why do you think the people acted in the way they did?
  • Could trauma hold the key? Under specific pressures and with enough accumulated trauma, even good people will do horrific things.
  • How would you suggest they act?”
  • How would you act in similar circumstances?
  • What would Jesus do?

A question has power that surpasses the answer. My Jewish friend Tal says, “The Tanakh and God are supposed to be argued with. It is a good conflict that, if done with respect, causes growth.” He continues, “Spots within the Tanakh that are completely good or evil are rare. And that’s why I love the narrative. It reflects our life experiences more, which is very messy. After all, the name Israel means ‘one who wrestles with God,’ and that gets messy.”

Christians should respectfully discuss the scriptures and listen to other people’s insights. Scripture has done its job if the discussion causes powerful positive change.

Important Lessons

In chapter 10 of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he gives insight into the Christian purpose of the Tanakh: These things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. (6). These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us. (11)

Followers of Jesus need to read these stories in the Tanakh and learn the lessons that still apply today.

Jesus’ Example

In the fullness of time, God was born into the human family to show us what he was REALLY like. Jesus shows us a much better way. Consider his words in the sermon on the mount:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?

And so, love your enemies, and don’t kill them. That’s Jesus’ way, as he said, “The Son of Man did not come to destroy people’s lives but to save them.”

 

Further Study

How the Bible works

Digging Deeper #72: The Wrath of God

Digging Deeper #84: The Bible’s Genocide Stories

 

One of the things I find fascinating about the Scriptures is that they contain many divine signatures that set them apart from other writings. It’s like God touched the book and left his fingerprints. One of Scripture’s divine signatures is the inspired system of numbers we find throughout its pages.

Meaning NOT Power

The ancient Babylonians were the principal developers of astrology. In their worship system, they had 37 supreme gods, and one of these, the god associated with the sun (Shamash), was foremost over all the other gods. The Babylonians believed that numbers, in some way, had power over the gods they worshipped, so they assigned a number to each of the 36 lesser gods. To recognise Shamash as the greatest god, they added the numbers from one to 36 and assigned the sum to him. Interestingly, adding those 36 numbers together equals 666.

What sets Bible numerology apart is its unique approach. Unlike the Babylonians, who believed in the power of numbers, the numbers in Scripture are used for symbolic reasons. This distinction is what makes Bible numerology so fascinating and worth exploring. Let’s delve into the main numbers that feature prominently in the Scriptures.

Number 1: Unity; New Beginnings

For example, the unity of God is expressed in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Jesus described the unity that existed between him and the Father: “I and the Father are one.” There’s also unity between God and humanity: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus.”

Number 2: Union

There are lots of twos in the Bible that speak of alliance and cooperation.

  • Jesus sent his disciples out two by two (Luke 10:1)
  • Union of husband and wife in marriage. (Ephesians 5:21-33)
  • Partnership between Christ and the church (1 Cor. 12)
  • The Christian Bible is the union of two covenants.

Number 3: Divine Perfection

Three, the number that signifies divine perfection, is a recurring theme in the Scriptures. The Trinity, consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, embodies the fullness of the Deity that lived in Jesus. Israel has the three righteous fathers of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus, the epitome of divine perfection, prayed three times in the Garden of Gethsemane. Significant threes marked his crucifixion: he was placed on the cross at the third hour of the day (9 a.m.) and died at the ninth hour (3 p.m.). Three hours of darkness shrouded the land while Jesus was on the cross, and he remained in the tomb for three days and nights. Such divine perfection is truly awe-inspiring and calls for our reverence.

Number 5: God’s Goodness and Grace

The apostle John wrote five books about God’s goodness and grace. As a tremendous act of kindness, Jesus multiplied five loaves of bread to feed 5,000 men, plus women and children—a crowd of about 20,000 people.

Number 6: Human Weakness

Six is sometimes called the number of Man or humanity’s number. People were created on the sixth day and were to labour for six days. Six is one short of seven—the number of perfection. If God is a seven, the best we can do is a six because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The Greek word for sin was an archery term meaning to miss the mark or fall short of the target. Without God, we’re a six, but with God’s grace, we hit the bullseye every time.

Number 7: Perfection

Seven is God’s number, as God is the only one perfect. Seven appears 518 times in Scripture (74 x 7) and 35 times (5 x 7) in Revelation.

Number 40: Tests and Trials

Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for forty days. Israel was tested in the desert for forty years. We sometimes see the numbers forty and seven interacting together in Scripture, signifying the completeness of a trial or test.

For example, Noah’s flood combines seven and forty in Genesis 7:1-4, “The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. Seven days from now, I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.”

The tests & trials brought about completion and perfection. Noah’s flood created a renewed world. After Jesus’ temptation, his ministry commenced. After forty years in the desert, Israel entered the Promised Land.

Number 1000: Divine Totality

The most well-known one thousand in Scripture is in Revelation chapter 20. Remember, Revelation is symbolic, and so the numbers represent something. In Chapter 20, Satan is bound for a thousand years, and the martyrs come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead don’t come to life until the thousand years have ended. They will be priests of God and Christ and reign with him for a thousand years. When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison.

Understanding that the number’ one thousand’ represents divine totality is the key to unlocking at least some of the truth here. Remember, this book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. One way to read chapter 20 is to see the comprehensiveness of Jesus’ work of salvation. He has defeated death and Satan and set people free. He reversed the curse that kept people bound. The first humans were barred from the Tree of Life lest they live forever. In Revelation, the Tree of Life appears again, this time with an invitation: Let the one who is thirsty come, and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

Why Numbers?

God hides things in Scripture to encourage us to seek and find. Scripture is like a Divine treasure hunt. Immature Christians will want to be spoon-fed like little birds squawking at their mother with beaks wide open. The maturity of our faith should lead us to dig deeper into the pages and pursue manna from heaven.

Solomon wrote, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” Followers of Jesus are kings and priests, and searching the Scriptures is one of our privileges and responsibilities.

Bible numerology is a fascinating study, and you can dig deeper into it if you want to. But I caution you to be careful of weird doctrines and getting hung up on this. There’s some pretty crazy stuff online about this, so be aware.

 

Further Study

The Digging Deeper Podcast.

The Biblestudy.org website.

I’ve just had seven weeks off—my first long service leave in 32 years of leading Bayside Church. My time away included a break from social media. But that all changed on Monday, my first foray on Facebook for almost two months. And what greeted me? Numerous posts from Christian people who were outraged about the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

Now, it wasn’t the entire ceremony that got their goat; it was just one scene, an apparent mockery of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper by, wait for it, drag queens.

Christian Outrage

Our history is rich with instances of Christian outrage. When I transitioned from atheism to following Jesus in the late 70s, I was a DJ on a commercial rock radio station. The Christians I encountered were outraged about Rock ‘n’ Roll being the ‘devil’s music.’ We were cautioned about backward masking and how the drums in songs could summon evil spirits. This influenced me for a while, and there was pressure from my church to leave my radio job and stop playing ‘that’ music. I resisted the pressure, and I’m grateful I did. Radio has been a rewarding career for me. When I established Bayside Church, I supported myself, my wife, and my family for many years by working on the radio, as the church couldn’t afford to pay me much.

The outrage has shifted through the years from the satanic panic of the 1980s to the New Age movement and various movies and works of art. In 1988, Martin Scorsese’s movie The Last Temptation of Christ caused an uproar from multiple churches. The commotion gave the film all the free publicity it needed, and people went to see what they weren’t supposed to see. If Christians had ignored it, the movie would have flopped.

The same happened with an artwork called Piss Christ, a 1987 photograph by the American artist and photographer Andres Serrano. It depicts a small plastic crucifix submerged in a glass tank of the artist’s urine. Due to the controversy, Serrano received death threats, hate mail and lost grants. What if Christians had used the photo as an example of the gospel and presented the good news of Jesus entering the mess of humanity? But all we did was complain.

Nothing’s Changed

What concerns me most is that our default mechanism often appears to be outrage. We hear or see something and go straight to anger rather than calmly investigating the facts. We need to strive for a Christlike response, one that is rooted in love and understanding.

If people had done that with Andres Serrano’s photo, they would have realised it was a protest by the artist, who was concerned that people wore the crucifix as a fashion accessory rather than acknowledging it as an instrument of torture and death. To quote his own words, “When you see it, you’re not horrified by it at all, but what it represents is the crucifixion of a man.” What if we had listened and asked and investigated rather than protested? Piss Christ would have made a tremendous springboard for Christians to share the gospel—the message people need to hear from us, the message Jesus told us to spread—but all they hear is us whining. However, we still need to learn the lesson, as evidenced by many complaints about the scene at the Olympic Opening this week.

Appropriate Outrage?

If we had just calmed down, asked questions and investigated the truth, we’d have discovered that the scene had nothing to do with da Vinci’s The Last Supper but was a nod to Greek mythology and the Greek god Dionysius, the god of celebration connected to the gods of Olympus from which the Olympic games were named. The ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, said, “You will never find in me a desire to mock and denigrate anyone.” This underscores the importance of investigating the truth before reacting, as it could prevent unnecessary outrage.

So, what have outraged Christians achieved? Has anyone heard the good news about Jesus? Are people getting the message that God loves them and has reconciled them to himself? Not at all. All they hear is the same droning from Christians who get irritated when they don’t get their way. Our actions and attitudes are the opposite of Christlike behaviours and the teachings of Scripture. We must remember that our main goal as Christians is to become increasingly like Jesus and reflect his nature to the world he loves, the world he died to save. This should guide our response to controversial issues.

Paul’s Writings

Paul often used the Olympic games as examples of Christian living in his letters. (Consider 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20; Galatians 5:7; Hebrews 12:1-3. There are many other references, and I encourage you to explore them).

And here’s the thing: There wasn’t a hint of outrage in anything Paul wrote about the Olympics of his day. Not once did he warn Christians not to attend the games, which were centred around pagan worship of foreign gods. Paul didn’t fume that all the athletes who competed in the games from 776 BC to 393 AD did so thoroughly naked. He did not complain that only men were allowed to attend the games. Women were banned. Paul’s tent-making in Corinth with Priscilla and Aquila likely was to build the athletes’ accommodation for the games. Maybe Paul was a fan.

But Emperor Theodosius changed all that in 393 AD by banning the games as a blasphemous pagan festival because he was a, you guessed it, Christian. The modern Olympics were resurrected in 1896 with clothed athletes.

Fun fact: the word gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnos, which means “naked.” So, if you’re an outraged Christian and you go to a gym, you might like to reconsider.

Jesus Outrage

What made Jesus angry? It’s an essential question because it serves as a model for legitimate indignation.

Jesus was outraged by:

Jesus taught his followers the law of love: love God, love one another, love your enemy, and love your neighbour. He said to treat others as you would like them to treat you. He explained that when we feed the hungry, visit the sick or prisoners, and welcome the stranger, it’s as if we were doing those things for Jesus himself. These are the things the followers of Jesus are to be known for, and plenty of that is happening quietly and without fanfare.

But the world invariably hears our complaining, as it has once again heard this week. Our message is good news, and anything we do or say that detracts from the main message is an enemy of the gospel. How about we stop getting offended on Jesus’ behalf and get on with the incredible work he’s called us to?

In last week’s blog, I explored the context of 2 Corinthians 11 and 12. I specified the nature of Paul’s thorn in the flesh: “I believe Paul’s thorn in the flesh resulted from the harsh experiences, particularly the persecutions he endured for the gospel’s sake.”

Paul’s experiences can teach us some essential lessons, which I’ll explore in this week’s blog. Do you have a thorn in your flesh – a continuous problem or annoyance that makes life challenging? More importantly, like Paul, what can we learn from our experiences?

Prayer

I like the way Eugene Peterson expresses Paul’s words in The Message Bible, “Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees.” When we experience a thorn in our side, does it push us to our knees? Do we pray about it or complain about it? Does it define us and our conversation, or do we Take it to the Lord in Prayer?

A couple of things are worth noting here. Firstly, don’t use the thorn as an excuse not to pray. I’ve heard people say, “It’s just a thorn in my side that I have to bear”—a fatalistic attitude that is the opposite of faith.

Secondly, praying about the same thing more than once is fine. Paul pleaded three times with the Lord to take the thorn away. Pleaded is a legal term “to put forward reasons for a case strongly.” Our youngest daughter, Trinity, who wants to be a lawyer, does this whenever she wants something. She writes a proposal stating why she needs a (rabbit, kitten, new phone, etc) and then asks Christie and me to sit down so she can plead her case. She’s very convincing, and sometimes her “prayers” are answered with “yes.” We can put this same kind of effort into our prayer life until God answers.

Paul pleaded in prayer three times until he got an answer from God. The answer was not what he expected, but it was still an answer. Jesus prayed three times in Gethsemane, “saying the same words.” Jesus prayed twice for a blind man because his sight was only partially restored the first time he prayed.

I encourage you to practice persistent prayer until God answers and then, like Paul, accept God’s answer.

What else can we learn from a thorn in our flesh?

Humility

At the start of 2 Corinthians 12, the apostle writes about visions and revelations from the Lord, of an experience of being caught up to the third heaven or paradise and hearing inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. One can only wonder at these experiences. I’ve had some overwhelming times feeling God’s presence, but nothing like this has ever happened to me.

Paul says, “In order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh.” The weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties Paul endured kept him humble. It’s important to note that the degrees of responsibility will equal the depth of suffering. Jesus put it this way: ” Everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” We may be tempted to want the same experiences Paul had, but we must also realise that those encounters and responsibilities led to immense suffering. Do you want that too?

Dependency

Paul learned that his weaknesses were an opportunity for Christ’s power to rest on him. The change in perspective allowed him to delight (take pleasure) in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties. Why? “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” This is an amazing lesson—one I’m still working on.

Paul told the Philippians that his sufferings had helped him learn the secret of being content in any and every situation and that he could do this through Jesus, “who gives me strength.” We can only learn dependence and contentment when we face adverse circumstances. So, discipline your mind to view these things from a different perspective.

Grace

Have you noticed that God invariably answers our prayers in a way that differs from our expectations? Sometimes, God answers before we pray. At other times, God may answer immediately. But more often than not, the answer is “yes, but not now” or, as in the case of Paul’s thorn, “No, but here’s my grace.” God always answers prayer; as I tell my kids, “No” is an answer!

When the answer is “No,” God provides the grace we need to bear the thorn—this is God’s sustaining grace. Eugene Peterson again: “[God] told me, ‘My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.’ Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness.”

When facing tough times, I encourage you to change perspective and focus on God’s grace and strength, moving in on your weaknesses. You don’t have to enjoy the hard things life dishes up, but you can endure them. By doing this, you’ll witness God refining your character and providing strength and grace. Learn the lessons from the thorn.

 

Over the years, there has been much conjecture about what Paul called a thorn in his flesh, which he was given by a messenger of Satan. All kinds of assumptions have been made, and we’ll explore these before investigating the context of Paul’s statements.

Guesswork

Context is everything, but if it is ignored, we resort to speculation. For example, some have suggested Paul suffered from a chronic disease like epilepsy, even though there is no evidence for such a claim.

Others have proposed it was an eye disease based on Paul’s comments in Galatians: Although my illness was a trial to you…If you could have done so, I can testify that you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Some have interpreted this to mean that Paul had an awful eye disorder, but the original language does not support that interpretation. The word “illness” is not in the Greek manuscripts and has been added by the translators.

Investigating the book of Acts, we learn that Paul had been in Lystra, stoned by an angry mob, dragged out of the city, and left for dead. Lystra was in Galatia, which was a region and not a city. Because of the injuries resulting from being stoned, he remained in Galatia, where the Christians cared for him as he recovered.

Others have suggested the messenger of Satan had harmed Paul in some way while he was visiting the third heaven, but again, this is just pure conjecture and highly unlikely. Still, others say it was Paul’s anxiety or a specific opponent.

Investigation

With all that in mind, let’s investigate what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10: “Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times, I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

The term Thorn in the flesh is an Idiom, one of many that we find in Scripture and still used in everyday life like:

A leopard can’t change his spots (Jeremiah 13:23)

A little bird told me (Ecclesiastes 10:20)

Escaped by the skin of your teeth (Job 19:20)

Fly in the ointment (Ecclesiastes 10:1)

Take someone under your wing (Psalms 91:4)

A thorn in one’s side is a continuous problem or annoyance that makes life difficult. It could be a person, thing, experience, or habit one can’t overcome. The word thorn refers to a bodily annoyance or disability. Paul experienced this in his body (flesh) as a human weakness. The messenger was an angel (in this case, a fallen one!). To torment means “to strike with the fist” and is the same word used for the treatment Jesus experienced before His crucifixion when he was beaten and punched.

Context

The above description is vital to our understanding of Paul’s thorn. Remember, Paul wrote 2 Corinthians as a letter without chapters and verses. Before speaking about the thorn, he had outlined the persecutions and sufferings he had endured for the gospel’s sake:

I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times, I was beaten with rods; once, I was pelted with stones; three times, I was shipwrecked; I spent a night and a day in the open sea.

Paul informs them that he is constantly travelling and faces multiple dangers. He often goes without sleep, food, drink, and sufficient clothing.

He summarises all this by confessing the weaknesses that result from his sufferings. Imagine the result of these experiences in this little man. The physical effects would have been severe, leaving his body scarred and disfigured.

And so, in chapter 12, Paul has had enough and asks God three times for things to change. God answers Paul’s prayer by offering grace, so Paul has to modify his attitude and expectation of God: Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” There it is; the thorn is clearly outlined by Paul in those five words.

I believe Paul’s thorn in the flesh resulted from the harsh experiences, particularly the persecutions he endured for the gospel’s sake. Context is everything.

Paul’s experiences can teach us some extremely important lessons, which will be the subject of next week’s blog.

Jesus taught us not to swear oaths, but there are occasions when we are required to. Should I swear an oath in a courtroom, for example? I’m asked this question occasionally, so writing a blog on this topic would be helpful. Here it is!

The Scriptures

Jesus taught this during his famous Sermon on the Mount. He said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”

Some translations end with “comes from the evil one,” suggesting that Satan is somehow behind the swearing of oaths. But that’s not correct. Swearing an oath does not originate with a personality such as Satan. More on that in a moment because the word “evil” actually holds the key to what Jesus is teaching.

Changing Scripture

In this section of Jesus’ Sermon, he modifies some of the Scriptures. If you read Matthew chapter five, you’ll notice Jesus say several times: “You have heard that it was said to those of old… But I say to you.” Jesus quotes from the Tanakh (The Christian Old Testament) each time and updates the meaning. His statement about oaths paraphrased several verses from the Tanakh:

  • You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. (Exodus 20:7)
  • Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:12)
  • You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. (Deuteronomy 5:11)
  • If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. But you will not be guilty if you refrain from making a vow. Whatever your lips utter, you must be sure to do because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth. (Deuteronomy 23:21-23; plus, Numbers 30:3-15).

Jesus argues for a better way by teaching that vows are unnecessary. He agrees with Ecclesiastes 5:5: It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.

The apostle James quoted Jesus in his letter: “But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” The Greek word “condemnation” refers to an accusation against you by others and does not refer to God’s judgment in this context.

Unnecessary Oaths

Jesus teaches against the use of oaths because they are unnecessary. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from evil. In other words, oaths are worthless or pointless.

Jesus showed that oaths are unnecessary and have no value. He taught simplicity and integrity by encouraging people not to make things more complicated than necessary. Rather than getting into all kinds of oaths, just a simple YES or NO will do. Keep your communication uncluttered. Be an upright and honest person.

One of the lessons my recently departed dad taught me was always to make my word my bond, a phrase that originated in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. From there, it became an accepted English Proverb: “An honest man’s word is as good as his bond.” “Word is Bond” has been used by several rap artists, stressing the importance of speaking the truth and standing by what you say.

If I tell someone, “I give you my word,” they can rest assured that I will do what I say and do not need to swear an oath to add assurance. My word is my bond. When we live like this, no one can accuse us of failing on our promise, as James suggests.

Everyday Life

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches people how to live everyday life. I don’t believe his comments address an oath like one would give in a courtroom. Jesus is teaching about our communication with one another where just a simple YES or NO will do rather than attempting to back it up by swearing on God, yourself, or something else.

When I’m asked if I would take THE oath, my answer is Yes, most definitely. I have done so on many occasions and always do so with great sincerity. I have appeared in a courtroom several times as a character witness for someone accused of a crime. I have professed an oath on the Holy Bible: “I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

I also swore an oath when I became an Australian Citizen in the 1980s: From this time forward, under God, I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.

These days, Conferees can choose between two versions of the pledge: one that refers to God and one that does not. I will always choose the one that refers to God, but that’s a personal choice.

There’s nothing wrong with saying that kind of oath, but keep your communication simple and sincere in daily life.

My interest was piqued in early April when I noticed people posting online about “Draw Out Some Cash Day.” On 2 April, Aussies were encouraged to withdraw some cash to show their banks and retailers there was still a demand for cash.

Draw Out Some Cash Day was a clever and successful protest, with long lines reported at banks as people waited to get cash out – something I do regularly. Wherever I go, I take my credit card and some currency. It proved very useful last year when the Optus Network crashed, and we couldn’t use our phones or Apple Pay.

Plot?

It’s important to realise that the phasing out of cash is not some government plot to control us. Instead, it’s something we’ve driven. In 2007, almost 70% of transactions were made by cash (26% by card). By 2022, these figures reversed; only 13% were paid by cash and 76% by card. The Pandemic accelerated this transition, although cash use has increased slightly since 2022.

At this rate, Australia will be functionally cashless by 2030—earlier if the Commonwealth Bank is correct. Banks are responding to this trend, and cash will be more challenging to get in the future, with ATMs closing or limiting cash withdrawals.

Prophecy?

I realise that for some Christians, talk of a cashless society is frightening or exciting, depending on their temperament. I was first introduced to Christianity in the late 1970s. Bankcards were widely used, and Christians were all abuzz about this being a forerunner to the mark of the beast—if you look closely, I was told, you’ll notice that the “b” looks like a 6. I kid you not!

Since then, sections of the Christian community have been caught up (pun intended) in lots of conjecture about credit cards, microchips, and a cashless society – a “prophesied” scheme of a one-world government to control the masses and persecute Christians.

False Prophet

This view of Bible prophecy is based on a dispensationalist interpretation of Scripture. This relatively modern creation was developed in 1827 by John Nelson Darby of the Plymouth Brethren and spread widely with the 1909 publication of the Scofield Reference Bible. Darby founded the Exclusive Brethren cult after George Mueller (and other Brethren) challenged him about some of his unbiblical doctrines.

Charles Spurgeon also claimed these teachings were false. Thus, much of the modern understanding of Bible prophecy originated from a heretical cult leader and was popularised in recent times by some “Christian” books and movies—hardly a good foundation for understanding Scripture.

Cashless Society

The notion of a cashless society as prophesied by the Bible comes from Revelation 13: [The beast] forced all people…to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.

We must remember that John wrote Revelation to seven churches in the First Century. When John told THEM to “calculate the number of the beast“ to identify this man, he wasn’t teasing them to try and recognise someone who would exist two thousand years later. John wrote about a well-known code of the day (gematria) that his readers would understand. Letters had numerical value, and John’s readers would know that he was referring to Nero Caesar (a Greek form of Nero’s name, rendered into Hebrew, gives a combined value of 666).

Currency

John’s words indicate that the Christians’ problem was an economic one. The pagan temples functioned like banks, controlling who received finance and who didn’t. If someone needed money, they’d visit the temple, and the priests would tell them what Artemis (or whatever god was responsible) required. The offerings invariably demanded sexual favours for someone of a higher class or with temple prostitutes. You can see that this could pose a problem for Christians.

What was the mark without which no one could buy or sell? John tells us it was “the name of the beast or the number of its name.” The term “mark” (Greek, charagma) was most commonly used to imprint documents or coins. Charagma was also an imperial seal of the Roman Empire used on official documents during the first and second centuries.

The mark was likely the Emperor’s (Nero’s) inscription on Roman currency, without which one could not buy or sell. Loyal Romans would wear coins on the back of their right hand or forehead to show allegiance to the Emperor.

New Testament scholar Craig C. Hill notes, “The Mark symbolises the all-embracing economic power of Rome, whose very coinage bore the Emperor’s image and conveyed his claims to divinity. It had become increasingly difficult for Christians to function in a world in which public life, including the economic life of the trade guilds, required participation in idolatry.” In 66 AD, the Jews revolted against Rome and coined their own money. Before this, money changers at the Jerusalem temple would exchange coins with the Emperor’s mark with temple coins so that no graven image could enter the temple and defile it.

Fear Not!

I have watched Christians become very fearful about the mark of the beast, a cashless society, and a one-world government, and this fear is ungrounded. Any doctrine that provokes fear is not from God. John writes about this, too, as he encourages his readers to live lives based on love: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Christians today should not be looking for the antichrist or the great tribulation, and we certainly shouldn’t worry ourselves about the mark of the beast or a cashless society. We should occupy our time doing good works, living productive lives, making the world a better place and sharing the good news of the Christian gospel. Let’s be looking for the genuine Christ, not the anti-one!

Warning: Some of the content in this blog may be triggering.

Last weekend, thousands of people rallied to protest the increasing levels of violence and other abuse against women by intimate partners. There comes a time when people say enough. That time has come. Among G20 nations, Australia ranks eighth for rates of domestic violence against women. There’s been an almost 30% spike in the rate of Australian women killed by intimate partners last year.

In the Church

A church community should be a safe place where abuse is named, victims are not blamed or shamed, and unequal gender roles are challenged. Sadly, this is not always the case. Domestic violence and other kinds of abuse occur in Christian families to the same degree as outside of the Christian community. Churches can do better. An excellent place to start is the Safer Faith website, which has abundant information, guidelines, resources, and Bible studies to help Christians and our communities be safer.

So, let’s explore some reasons why churches are not always safe and free from domestic violence.

Church Structure

Some church structures can be a critical factor in causing domestic violence. It concerns me that we still have patriarchal churches that are run by men and invariably support men at the expense of women. You can pick these churches a mile away. Check out their websites and observe the leadership structure. I’m not talking just about the staff. Who’s on the Board, the senior leadership, and are women permitted to teach and preach? If they’re all men, run away.

 

These churches invariably espouse Complementarianism, the belief that men and women are “equal but different.” I’m not suggesting that all complementarian churches have an abuse problem, and I don’t deny that there are clear differences between these two genders. Still, complementarianism usually places men in the superior role of leading and women as their “helper,” supporting the man of God. It’s all very Orwellian: All humans are equal, but some humans are more equal than others!

As Matthew Henry once wrote, “Eve was not taken out of Adam’s head to top him, neither out of his feet to be trampled on by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected by him, and near his heart to be loved by him.”

Church Teaching

It’s easy (and lazy) to quote isolated verses out of context. I heard of one guy who beat his wife while quoting scriptures on submission: “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord,” clearly ignoring the previous verse: “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Paul affirms that husbands should love their wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. I’m pretty sure Jesus doesn’t beat up his church (or anyone else, for that matter). Jesus stood up for the victims and showed compassion and grace. We are to follow his example.

Submission has been used for centuries to suppress women. I have heard of multiple occasions where a pastor has instructed a woman to stay with an abusive partner, to submit to him and to be the best wife she can be. The inference is that the violence is somehow her fault, and if she were a better wife, he wouldn’t hit her. If you’re in a situation like that, THIS PASTOR encourages you to get away to safety as quickly as possible and reach out for help.

Church Emphasis

Another woman told of her minister advising her that her husband might stop hitting her if she had more sex with him. This stereotype is emphasised by some of today’s megachurches that stress the manly man versus the feminine submissive woman who looks after the home and keeps her husband happy. Consider the recent Stronger Men’s Conference, complete with monster trucks, a sword swallower, a wrestling match, motorcycles, and pyrotechnics. In contrast, the upcoming women’s conference is all pretty and pink and looks like a promo for Barbie. Aussie megachurches are much the same.

Pastor Josh Howerton recently got himself into trouble for propagating this same trope at his church in Dallas, where he gave a “gold nugget of advice” that his mentor had given him for couples intending to marry. He encouraged men to do whatever their fiancés wanted in the lead-up to the wedding and then told the women they needed to do the same thing for their husbands on the wedding night: “Stand where he tells you to stand, wear what he tells you to wear, and do what he tells you to do.” With this level of objectivation and misogyny, this guy needs to get a new mentor.

These churches encourage men to be Wild at Heart and to recover their masculinity, strength, and roughness. Women are to delight in their men’s strength, look up adoringly at them, and think how lucky they are. Teaching like this leads to all kinds of abuse that, sadly, we see regularly reported by news outlets.

Other Causes

In the same way that some churches and Bible teachings characterise women as subordinate to men, pornography does the same thing. In porn, “females are characterised as subordinate to males, and their primary role is the provision of sex to men.” Much porn is gonzo, a genre that depicts hard-core, body-punishing sex in which women are demeaned and debased. It won’t be long until the man who consumes this rubbish wants to try it.

Domestic violence can be caused by alcohol abuse or drug use, which can lead to higher levels of aggression by perpetrators. Pregnancy may also intensify the risk of domestic violence, as can financial hardship and unemployment.

Solutions

What I’ve written about here is complex; we all have a role. If we know someone who is violent or abusive to their wife or girlfriend, we need to act. Dads can talk to their sons about respect for women and healthy models of masculinity. All men can behave considerately towards others. Appropriately, the focus for International Men’s Day for 2024 is Positive Male Role Models.

We guys can also teach others to resist the sexist rhetoric of public figures, be they politicians, pastors, or influencers like Andrew Tate. We can warn of porn addiction that can lead to sexualised violence and be educated on the dangers of social media and the sheer vitriol and hatred of the online space, and the algorithms that continually dish up more of the same.

We can advocate for women’s rights and believe that women deserve equal rights to men in every sphere of life. We can nurture our children, nieces, and nephews by having honest, frank, and healthy conversations about these challenging issues.

And that’s where the church can shine by modelling respectful relationships in which everyone is equally worthy of respect, dignity, and love, regardless of who they are. We can healthily teach the scriptures focusing on the Royal Law and the Golden Rule: love your neighbour as yourself and treat others as you would like to be treated.

 

For Further Help:

National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counselling Line.

Phone: 1800 737 732 Web: www.1800respect.org.au

First point of call for access to all services across Australia (24 hours a day).

Bayside Church Pastoral Care Phone: 0401 721 912

Next year will mark the 110th anniversary of Anzac Day when thousands of brave young men went ashore on a foreign beach in a distant land.

In a display of courage, determination, and mateship, these Australians and New Zealanders created a legend that, when retold today, evokes pride and passion in a new generation of Australians.

1915

In 1915, Australian & New Zealand Soldiers scaled the heights as they were met by merciless fire from Turkish guns, but they hung on, dug their trenches, and prepared to attack.

From April to December of that year, the Allied forces held on till the order came from London for the withdrawal. By then, 7,600 Australians and nearly 2,500 New Zealanders had been killed, and 19,000 Australians and almost 5,000 New Zealanders had been wounded. French casualties were as high as the ANZACS, and Britain lost three times as many. Turkey lost 86,000 troops.

ANZAC Day

From 1916 onwards, ANZAC Day was established on 25 April—the day the ANZACS landed at Gallipoli—as a memorial to honour and remember those servicemen who lost their lives serving their respective countries. Since then, ANZAC Day has been extended as a memorial to all people who sacrificed to preserve the freedom we enjoy today.

The battles at Gallipoli forged the Anzac spirit of courage under fire, selflessness, unwavering loyalty, tenacity, and mateship. The legend of the Anzacs has transcended time to become a symbol of what we value as Australians.

The Man with the Donkey

On Anzac Day, we stop to remember and reflect on the sacrifices of people who served our nation in times of war and peace. One such person is John Simpson Kirkpatrick, a swaggie, cane cutter, miner and sailor from Australia, who landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula on 25 April 1915 at a place now known as ANZAC Cove. With his donkey Duffy, he became the best-loved figure at Gallipoli as he carried the wounded to the dressing station.

Known as “the man with the donkey,” he transported the wounded day after day amid fierce shrapnel fire. He was shot dead on 19 May that year. Kirkpatrick served in this way for just three weeks, and we remember his heroism, courage, and sacrifice over 100 years later.

One thousand nine hundred years earlier, another man with a donkey rode into Jerusalem, also on his way to sacrifice his life for others.

Lest we Forget

ANZAC Day is a Memorial Day lest we forget those who gave their lives to purchase our freedom in this world. We Christians also recall and reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus to buy our freedom not only in this life but also in the one to come.