Author: Jimmy Day

The recently released IPSOS Global Poll [1] shows that a majority of Australians (63%) believe that religion does more harm than good. The Poll also indicates that we are comfortable, in our multicultural society, in being around people with different religious beliefs to our own; that is of course for those of us who have a religious affiliation.  The Poll also shows that we are a shrinking number, with almost 40% of Australians saying they have no religion or religious attachment.

The statistic that concerns me the most is the number of people in Australia who agree with the statement, “Religion does more harm in the world than good.”  It concerns me, but it doesn’t surprise me.  Religion, of course, includes all faiths and not just Christianity.  Uppermost in people’s minds, no doubt would be the increase in religion-inspired terrorism, as well as religious infighting (think Sunni/Shia; Protestant/Catholic).  Religious persecution and wars, evils committed against others by religious authorities and religions (or religious people) dictating to others how they should live also come into the equation. Some of these undoubtedly resonate with many Australians.

Over the past few years we’ve witnessed Islamist terrorism at home, and overseas; we regularly hear about religious wars; we see people of one religion’s brutal treatment of those whose faith is different (like the actions of the Buddhist Burmese toward the Muslim Rohingyas).  In Australia, we’ve had the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that has highlighted the awful treatment that thousands of children have suffered at the hands of priests and religious ministers.  Almost 2,000 Catholic Church figures were implicated in the child sex abuse report, where seven per cent of Australia’s Catholic priests were accused of abusing children in the six decades since 1950. In total, between 1980 and 2015, 4,444 people alleged incidents of child sexual abuse relating to 93 Catholic Church authorities. The abuse allegedly took place in more than 1,000 institutions. [2] And that’s just one denomination in one religion.

On top of all this is the weariness I hear from many of my non-religious friends of being told how they should live – or not live – by people of faith.  Add all of these things up, and it’s no surprise that 63% of Australians believe religion does more harm than good.

The words “religion” and “religious” are used sparingly in the Bible.  Sometimes the Bible refers to religious people who are superstitious (as in Acts 17:22; 25:19).  Other times religion denotes self-imposed restrictions or human-made faith (Colossians 2:23).  But James, the half-brother of Jesus, gives the most interesting insight into what it means to be truly religious, “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.  Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” [3] Notice the contrast between “worthless religion” and “pure and genuine religion.”  I dare say what Australians are referring to when they say “religion does more harm than good” is the incompetent, impure and spurious kind that even the Bible condemns.

Consider the three things that James says define religion that is pure and genuine: (1) people who control their tongue; (2) people who care for orphans and widows; and (3) people who are “free from censure, irreproachable, free from vice, unsullied.” [4] If you’re a religious person, does this describe you?  Does it define the religious people you know?  A principal reason why there are an increasing number of people in Australia who have no religion or religious affiliation is that they’ve seen way too much false faith rather than the real thing.  They’ve heard religious people argue & condemn. They’ve read the nasty blogs and heard about the abuse of orphans and widows. They watched on while people who professed a faith have been found incorrect, corrupt, perverted and disgraced.

What the world needs to see is a genuine religion where they hear kind words of inclusion, not exclusion; where they appreciate our good works directed to the poor, disenfranchised and marginalised people of society (you know, the ones Jesus hung out with). They’re not looking for us to be perfect but they are disappointed when we pretend to be but then don’t live up to the pretence.  As Andrew F. Dutney of Backyard Theology puts it, “Religious organisations need to get on with doing what they do – developing communities, practicing their faith, serving their own members and the wider community at real points of need. And they need to do what they do with integrity, fairness and transparency. That will be more than enough for Australians.”  [5] I agree!

 

[1] https://www.ipsos.com/en-au/ipsos-global-study-shows-half-think-religion-does-more-harm-good

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/feb/06/4444-victims-extent-of-abuse-in-catholic-church-in-australia-revealed

[3] James 1:26-27 NLT

[4] Kenneth Samuel Wuest (1893 – 1962), a noted Christian New Testament Greek (Κοινή) scholar

[5] https://andrewfdutney.wordpress.com/2017/10/13/religion-does-more-harm-than-good-in-the-world-agreed/

 

Assisted dying legislation in Victoria will be debated next week when Parliament returns.  No doubt there will be some robust discussion over the next few weeks until a conscience vote by the end of the year is reached.

I will write a blog on the Assisted Dying Bill next week, but the focus of this blog is The Right to Try rather than the right to die.  In the USA some states have laws that allow terminally ill patients to TRY experimental treatments (medication, procedures and other possible cures) that are unapproved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  These treatments have passed basic safety testing but are not freely available.

I believe in the right to try for two reasons.  Firstly, if I were dying from a terminal illness, I would want to be given every possible opportunity to beat it – not because I’m scared to die but because I have so much for which to live.  As a husband and father, I want to be around for my family for a long time to come.  One of my long-term prayers and goals has been to grow old with Christie.  So far so good!  I also have a wonderful relationship with our three daughters.  I love being “there” for them and want to be there for many more years.  I want to walk them down the aisle one day, should they choose to marry.  I want to meet my sons-in-law and my grandkids.  I want to spoil them rotten (the grandkids that is) and be a hip old pop.  I still have so many dad jokes up my sleeve too.

I also believe that God has so much more for me to accomplish.  I love leading our amazing community that is Bayside Church and I’d like to stay around longer to see what God has in store for us.  I have books to write, sermons to teach, people to love, disciples to make, places to visit and battles to win.  Longevity runs in my family (my gran was 101 and my great gran 103), and I hope I’ve picked up that gene or whatever it is.  Should I however succumb to a terminal illness I’d want to have the right to try anything that would help me beat it and stick around longer.

Lest you should think my motivation was only selfish, my second reason for believing in the right to try is to engage in experiments that could benefit others.  Yes, I would put my hand up and volunteer to be a human guinea pig.  Even if the treatment were unsuccessful for me, I’d hope that those behind the trial would gain useful information that would help other people and save their lives.

There are some who are against the right to try legislation because they say it opens people to elevated risk.  What could be riskier than having a terminal illness?  Of course, any right to try legislation would need to provide drug companies some legal protection if a treatment resulted in harm, but let’s not use that as an excuse to deprive people of a possible cure and an extension to their quality of life.

For a human face to this issue read Deborah Sims’ recent article in the Herald Sun.

 

 

 

Social media is abuzz with yet another prediction of the end of the world.  There seems to be no end to prognostications of the end!  This time it’s because of a mysterious planet called Nibiru (or Planet X) that apparently will crash into the earth this Saturday. Nancy Lieder, the founder of the website ZetaTalk, first mentioned Nibiru in 1995 after she received messages from extra-terrestrials through an implant in her brain [1].  Nibiru was supposed to destroy the earth in May 2003 and then December 21st, 2012, and here we go again!  According to Nasa, Nibiru does not exist.[2]

The forerunner event is said to have been the Great American Eclipse on August 21st, with September 23rd being 33 days after the eclipse. 33 is significant because it was Jesus’ age when he was crucified, the eclipse featured a black moon which occurs every 33 months, and the eclipse was the first of its kind in 33 years – 33 times three – three being the number of completion in the Bible.[3]  The only problem here is that the three things this prophecy is based on are not true. Jesus could have been much older than 33 when he died[4], black moons occur every 32nd month, and total eclipses happen every 18 months somewhere in the world.[5]

Those who are making this forecast of doom are quoting Revelation chapter 12 along with Luke 21:25-26, “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”  The video has had over 2 million hits and is intentionally disturbing.[6]

Why is it that some people are preoccupied with the end of the world?  Of course, it’s not a new phenomenon.  For centuries people have been prophesying the end of the world.  Many of them have given exact dates; all of them have been wrong!  More recently, people have been deceived by American radio evangelist Harold Camping who said that judgment day would be on May 21st, 2011 when God would raise up all the dead that have ever died from their graves. Earthquakes would ravage the whole world, as the earth would no longer conceal its dead.  Once again the prophecy was based on numerological “proofs” that proved incorrect.[7]

And then there was John Hagee’s now-defunct Blood Moon prophecy of the end of the world. Hagee, another American preacher with a huge following despite his numerous false prophecies and false teaching, taught of massive upheaval in the world between April 2014 and October 2015 when the sun and moon eclipsed creating a red (blood) moon (an unscientific term by the way).  The fourth blood moon was on September 28th, 2015 a time when Hagee suggested America and the world would face another economic crisis, perhaps as a result of a war in the Middle East or an economic crash. Hagee even wrote a book on the subject, Four Blood Moons: Something is About to Change and made a movie of the same name.  Nothing happened except the author made a bucket load of money from gullible church people – and he still is.

Last year was going to be the beginning of the end, with World War III starting in June 2016, according to Pastor Ricardo Salazar, a Peruvian lawyer who now resides in Japan.[8]  He has put together his very own timeline of events from 2015 until the second coming of Christ by 2023.  He prophesied that China would attack Japan in February last year; an asteroid would strike Earth on May 16, and shortly after the Yellowstone volcano in U.S. would erupt, obliterating a large part of California.  As a result, the profoundly weakened America would suffer an attack from Russia and China who would win the war on October 25th, 2016 resulting in the Chinese Yen becoming the new global currency by March of 2017. In late 2018, Russia will attack Israel. The Anti-Christ will arrive on Earth by 2020 and the Second Coming of Christ will rescue people in 2023. I think Pastor Ricardo had too much cheese on his pizza before going to bed!

All of these predictions should sadden us greatly because they cause people to harden their hearts to the truth of God’s Word just like the people who heard the boy cry “Wolf!” Jesus IS coming back but making endless predictions based on dates, numbers, times and seasons is pointless and counterproductive to the Gospel.[9]

It’s interesting to note that the vast majority of Bible prophecies concerning the end of the world deal with how we are to live in the here and now.  The Bible teaches that the world will end one day, so it’s important that we live pure and productive lives in the present.[10]

In the meantime, share the GOOD NEWS about Jesus with people who are open to hearing it; live a genuine and consistent life that makes this world a better place and love your neighbour as yourself. Resist getting sucked into these baseless and pointless predictions and look for the real Christ, not the anti one!

 

[1] http://www.paranormality.com/maya_prophecy.shtml

[2] https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html

[3] http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/no-world-not-september-23-article-1.3504874

[4] The Church Father Irenaeus claimed that Christ was about fifty when he died (Against Heresies II 22:5). His primary argument was that this information has been passed down to him by way of John and the other apostles (Courtesy of internetmonk.com)

[5] https://www.space.com/25644-total-solar-eclipses-frequency-explained.html

[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoNp8dkyYWU

[7] https://baysidechurch.com.au/the-end-of-the-world-not/

[8]https://www.reddit.com/r/WWWIIIPredictions/comments/3wl4w5/pastor_ricardo_salazar_predicts_wwiii_june_2016/

[9] Acts 1:7-8

[10] Matthew 24:36-44; Luke 19:13; 2 Peter 3:11 & 14; 1 John 2:28; 3:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; Philippians 1:9-11; Titus 2:11-14

 

McCrindle Research’s Faith and Belief in Australia Report was published in May this year and gave some excellent insights into the spiritual state of the nation.  A part of the paper that particularly interested me was the things that attracted and repelled people from religion or spirituality.

Attraction To Faith

The main thing that draws people to a religion, or to investigate spiritual things, is observing someone who has a genuine faith. Other attracting factors include experiencing personal trauma or a significant life change, or by hearing stories or testimonies from people who have changed due to their belief.  One the biggest turn offs is the telling of miraculous stories of healings or supernatural occurrences.  In other words, Australians are interested in hearing about someone’s life that has changed because of their faith, but they are not interested in everything working out miraculously.  Why?  It doesn’t reflect what life is like; it’s not genuine faith.

The Honesty of the Bible

The good news is that the Bible is full of stories where not everything works out well, and the book of Psalms is a particularly valuable resource of stories just like that.  The 150 Psalms can be divided into three main groups:

  1. Everything is wonderful, praise the Lord, hallelujah!
  2. Everything is not wonderful, I’m struggling like crazy, but the Lord is going to rescue me.
  3. Everything is not so good, I’m trying like mad, I’m praying hard, but God’s not listening, in fact, I think He’s gone missing.

A Psalm that fits into the last category is Psalm 88 – a contemplative song or poem set to a familiar tune from 645 B.C. titled “The suffering of affliction”.  Take some time to read Psalm 88, and you’ll be surprised at how honest the author (Heman) is.  He’s overcome with troubles, is feeling weak and overwhelmed, his friends and neighbours have deserted him, and he’s grieving as a result.  He’s praying to God every day, but he feels like God is hiding from him or just not listening.

You’ve probably read this Psalm but underlined little.  You may have wondered why it’s in the Bible, but I’m so glad it is because it reminds us that life is not always fair, and God seems to be completely comfortable with the author’s expressions of injustice.  Think about it, the Holy Spirit inspired Heman to write this Psalm, and the Israelites kept it for hundreds of years so that it’s in the Bible.  God wasn’t ashamed to have this Psalm included in His Holy Scriptures.  He wasn’t yelling out, “Oh, you can’t say that about me; I’m God!”

In the Bible, God challenges people over many things including idolatry and their failure to show justice towards the poor and marginalised.  He gets in the face of the hypocrites and the tightwads, but not once does he correct those who vent their frustration at him when they feel he’s disinterested, far away or has abandoned them, or when life is just not fair.

Jesus’ Struggle

Jesus could relate to Heman in that he too felt abandoned by God while he was on the Cross.  As he was dying, Jesus quoted a Psalm that he would have memorised when he was younger.  He thus used someone else’s experiences to express his own; that’s why Psalm 22 is “The Psalm of the Cross.”  It begins with, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?”  It’s encouraging for us to know that Jesus fully experienced the human condition including what it is like to feel abandoned by God and for things not to work out the way he wanted them to – that life is not always fair.

Our Struggles

The Bible tells of many great men and women of faith who experienced life’s unfairness.  For example, in Hebrews 11, the author takes the first 35 verses to tell great stories that all had miracle endings.  If you stopped there you’d feel that your own life was completely inadequate because you just don’t match up to these amazing people.  But life is not always fair, so he goes on to tell about “the others” “who were tortured … faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.”  All these people faced gross unfairness, significant difficulties and challenges in life.  They died without receiving the answer to their prayers, but they are all referred to as people with strong faith.

The people’s lives mentioned in Hebrews 11 didn’t finish well, and neither does Psalm 88, “You have taken from me friend and neighbour—darkness is my closest friend.”  The end!  Ever felt like that?  Ever blamed God?  Ever felt guilty about feeling like that and blaming God?  I have and I imagine I’m in good company.

Genuine Faith is Honest Faith

The fact that life is not always fair enables us to be honest and realistic about our faith and remember that people in Australia are looking for people of genuine faith, not a faith where everything works out miraculously.  One of the most honest conversations I’ve ever had was with Myuran Sukumaran in January 2015.  I was in Kerobokan prison, visiting Andrew Chan for his 31st birthday, when I found out that Myu’s appeal had been denied.  I asked him if he’d like to talk about it, and the next morning we spent about three hours talking this through.  During our conversation, I asked him how his faith in God was going, and he told me he was angry with God.  I said that I didn’t think that was a problem and that God was big enough to handle his anger.  I encouraged him to read the Psalms in which so many of the authors express their anger towards God.  Myu took me at my word, read the Psalms and started his journey back to faith in God over the next few months before his execution.

As Peter Enns states: “Expressions of abandonment aren’t godless moments, evidence that something is wrong and needing to be fixed.  They relay the experiences of ancient men and women of faith, and were kept because those experiences were common  … for us they signal not only what can happen in the life of faith, but also what does happen.” [1]

People are looking for a genuine faith that is honest and realistic, not one that always has to have a Disney ending.  I encourage you to be authentic in your faith and, if you’re considering finding out more about Christianity, realise that you’ll be coming to God who loves you just the way you are and that you can be completely honest with him.

For more on this topic listen to my message When Life Is Not Fair.

 

[1] The Sin of Certainty, Peter Enns (P. 60)

I realise that a joyful Jesus is not everyone’s experience.  I mean, I’ve met some of his followers and joy wasn’t the first word that sprung to mind.  When I was in Grammar school, my divinity teacher was Reverend Harry – the meanest guy in the school.  I came top in his class with 63%, and it looked like he’d been baptised in lemon juice.  Atheism seemed like a good option to me for some years afterwards.

Since converting to Christianity, I’ve met Christians who, in my opinion, are not necessarily good representatives of a joyful Jesus.  Maybe they are joyful, but it seems the joy was buried quite deeply!  It’s a shame because the Jesus we read of in the Bible is anything but joyless. 

Sorrowful Jesus

Now it’s true that Jesus was “a man of sorrows”.  He was despised, rejected and familiar with suffering[1], but that only applied to him concerning his work on the cross, and even that he endured with joy.[2]

The problem is that some Christians and churches emphasise Jesus as the man of sorrows and forget joyful Jesus.  Someone may object to this by reminding me that “Jesus wept.”  That’s the shortest verse in the Bible and one of my favourites because it’s so easy to memorise!

The Bible records that Jesus wept because it was news that is an unusual event rather than a daily occurrence.  The Bible doesn’t record that Jesus laughed because it wasn’t news; he did it all the time.

Joyful Jesus

The Bible tells us that Jesus was a happy man; in fact, he had the oil of joy poured out on him more than anyone else.[3]  He was filled with the Holy Spirit and thus had the fruit of the Spirit including joy.

Jesus attracted people, especially children, and no one finds a sourpuss attractive.  Jesus told people to be of good cheer.  Surely He practised what He preached!

Humourous Jesus

Jesus gave his joy to others,[4] and you can’t give what you do not have!  Jesus used humour in his teachings.  Although his humour doesn’t come through into English translations, statements like “take out the beam from your eye” or “strain out a gnat and swallow a camel” or “a camel going through the eye of a needle” would have been hilarious to his audience.[5]

The overly serious Pharisees accused Jesus and his disciples of being gluttons and drunkards.  Of course, they were neither, but in the eyes of the stern religious people of the day, they were guilty by association.  The first miracle Jesus did was turning water into the best wine at a seven-day wedding feast.  Unfortunately, some Christians over the centuries have tried to reverse the miracle.

 

Party Jesus

Jesus let Matthew throw him a great feast along with all of his sinful tax-collector buddies (Luke 5:27-39).  The happy party caused the religious leaders to criticise, complain and talk about fastingand prayer (obviously because that is more spiritual than eating with friends).  Jesus responded with humour, sarcasm, a story, and then a sigh that despite his presentation of truth they, like fools, will stick with their old glum ways (see The Humour of Christ). Even the morose and peevish John Calvin (known for burning opponents at the stake) had to admit in his Institutes of the Christian Religion (III: 19:9): “We are nowhere forbidden to laugh, or to be satisfied with food, or to be delighted with music, or to drink wine.”  Thanks, John, we were hanging out for your permission!

Rethink Jesus

I understand that a joyful Jesus may mess with your theology.  If that’s the case, I suggest your theology could do with it.  When I imagine Jesus, it is not merely as a person who healed the sick, raised the dead and preached the good news. It’s also as a man of considerable goodwill and compassion, with a zest for life, someone unafraid of controversy, free to be who He knew Himself to be and brimming with generous good humour and a playful and fun demeanour.  So let’s set aside the idea that Jesus was a humourless, grim-faced, dour, unsmiling killjoy and let’s choose to be just like him – joyful!

 

[1] Isaiah 53:3

[2] Hebrews 12:2; John 16:19-24

[3] Hebrews 1:9

[4] John 15:11

[5] In his book, The humour of Christ, Quaker author Elton Trueblood examines in detail 30 humorous passages in the Gospels.

 

 

 

In last week’s blog I highlighted something that the church needs to beware of, that is, outraged Christians.  They write blogs and social media posts that others share with little or no fact checking.  All they do is distort the truth, create fear and lead to further outrage which creates an attitude of culture wars.  Outraged Christians see themselves as a minority that has to lobby and campaign for their rights.  How different this is to the way the first century Church conducted themselves in even more adversarial circumstances than we face today (read the Book of Acts).

In recent times, I’ve noticed another falsehood being shared and re-shared by the outraged.  This time it’s about the Doctors in Secondary Schools program introduced by the State Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews.  The outrage goes as follows:

Daniel Andrews’ government has launched a program that will allow students to bypass permission from their parents and receive medical treatment, including the pill, without their parents’ or guardians’ knowledge.  The quoted example is of a girl as young as 11 being able to get a prescription for contraceptives from school without the parents knowing about it.

As the father of three daughters, I’d certainly be concerned if this were true. So instead of sharing the outrage on social media, I did some homework and here’s what I discovered:

The people who are outraged are missing the primary purpose of this program that is all about improving the mental health of youth in Australia.  The Doctors in Secondary Schools program is not about providing an oral contraception service to adolescent girls.  As suicide is the leading cause of death for the 15-19-year-old age group in Australia (which accounts for 31% of deaths in this age group), this program aims at removing a barrier and improving the mental health of this vulnerable population.

Regarding the issue of whether a doctor can prescribe the oral contraceptive to a young person without the parents’ consent, the concept of “mature minor” comes into play. [1]

This idea of “mature minor” was first adopted in England after a famous court case in the 1980’s when a mother of five daughters (Mrs. Gillick) took the family doctor to court.  The court rejected her claim, and it was at that time the law was changed in England to reflect this.  Australia followed suit shortly after.  So it has been legal to prescribe the oral contraceptive to “mature minors” for more than 30 years.  This practice goes on in Australian general practices every day.  It is not a new thing.

What this looks like in practical terms is that very few adolescents under 16 would satisfy the definition of mature minors.  They often do not have a thorough understanding of the risks of entering a new sexual relationship (unwanted pregnancy, STIs, etc.) or the consequences of their actions.  What most GPs do is spend a lot of time trying to persuade the young person to talk to their parents and include them in the decision making process.  They also screen to make sure that someone is not coercing the young person into a sexual relationship.  Older teens would still need to satisfy the GP that they have a complete understanding of the risk and consequences of entering into a sexual relationship.  It would only be if the GP felt that the young person was definitely going to engage in sex that they would prescribe it on the grounds that the risks of pregnancy were greater than the harms of being on the pill.

The concept of mature minor also comes into play in schools.  It is the Department of Education policy that principals can declare a child to be a mature minor and to make decisions about their education.[2]  In the same way that principals would always have the young person’s best interests at heart, so too do GPs.  It would be a very rare circumstance that it was not in the best interests of the adolescent to have their parents involved in decisions about their education or medical care.  GPs want parental involvement too.

Have people been getting up in arms about the Department of Education policy?  NO!  Has it been the policy for years now?  YES!

So this outrage that’s been doing the rounds online is just another example of people getting upset about a new initiative that is not so new but has been occurring for years in a different form.  And maybe this new initiative might save a few lives as doctors, parents and the education department work together to help prevent unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual abuse, self-harm, and suicide as well as to diagnose and treat mental illnesses.

So how should we deal with outrage when we see it?

First of all, rather than respond to or repeat the information, check it out.  Get the facts and see if the outrage has any foundation.  Secondly, how about we (Christians) get outraged about the genuine injustices we see around us?  Where’s the outrage from the church about the mistreatment of refugees and asylum seekers?  Where’s the outrage that leads us to help those who, for whatever reason, find themselves homeless on our city streets?  Let me hear some Christian outrage about domestic violence, human trafficking and the injustices faced by Australia’s Indigenous people.  Let’s start being incensed by the things that anger God.  Maybe then Australians will sit up and start to give some value to the Church again (instead of leaving it in droves) because they will see us not just looking after our interests but also the interests of others. [3]

 

[1]http://www.racgp.org.au/download/documents/AFP/2011/March/201103bird.pdf

[2]http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/spag/safety/Pages/matureminor.aspx

[3] Philippians 2:4

Unless a High Court challenge is successful Australians who are on the electoral role will receive envelopes posted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics from September 12 to have a say on same-sex marriage.  Responses will be due by 7 November and a result announced on 15 November.  The nation is divided on whether this is a good idea but if this is the only way forward on this issue, I encourage you to have your say and cast a vote.

In this blog, I want to outline some considerations on the postal vote that I hope will be helpful in thinking this through and having conversations with others especially when they disagree.  I also encourage you to read my blog Thoughts on Same-Sex Marriage. [1]

It’s important to note from the start, same-sex marriage is not merely an “issue”.  This debate involves people – people who God loves, people made in God’s image, people who are in our churches, that you’re related to and that you meet in everyday life.

Jesus is at the heart of Christian unity

This is the most important thing to remember at all times.  Christians have disagreed on many things over the centuries and sometimes those disagreements have led to poor behaviour and outcomes.  For example, both John Calvin and Martin Luther advocated for the death of anyone they considered to be heretics (read: “anyone who disagrees with me” – sound familiar?)  While Christians don’t usually kill each other these days, there are many keyboard warriors, preachers and others whose words hurt and wound.  Jesus is at the heart of Christian unity – who He is, what He’s done and what He continues to do.  These are non-negotiable to the Christian faith.  People don’t go to heaven or hell for what they believe about same-sex marriage.

Voting is a secret ballot

I’m amazed at the number of individuals who ask others what they’ll vote in this SECRET ballot.  You don’t have to tell anyone what you intend to vote.  I heard of a pastor who, last weekend, “implored” his people to vote “no.”  It’s my opinion that this pastor is going beyond his authority in doing this.  I never tell people what I vote, and neither do I instruct them on how to vote.  The church is beyond politics.  Our message and mandate are from another place; we are citizens of heaven and called to be ambassadors who bring heaven to earth.  In any church, there will be people of various political persuasions and who have differing views on ethical issues.  Disunity occurs when church leaders fail to recognise this.

Don’t be critical of others’ relationships

My understanding of the Bible leads me to believe that heterosexual marriage is a relationship that is like no other.  The coming together of a man and a woman in sacred marriage is a covenant that reflects both the image of God and the relationship that exists between Jesus and His church.  It is a relationship where children can be born and raised by both of their biological parents.  But my beliefs do not cause me to criticise or demean other people’s relationships.  Over my 40 years as a Christian, I’ve watched the church grapple with accepting divorced and remarried people and single parent families.  We now freely welcome such people into our churches (well at least most churches). People find themselves as single parents for all sorts of reasons, and they should never be made to feel like second-class citizens. Neither should couples whom for whatever reason can’t have or choose not to have children.

The Bible often speaks critically of divorce and remarriage, but we have come to realise there are higher laws that come into operation such as “Love your neighbour as yourself” and “treat others the same way you want them to treat you.”  We need to apply these greater laws to same-sex couples and singles who want to be part of a church community and grow in their relationship with God and others.  Remember, “a Christian’s job is not to be right about the Bible, our aim should be to fulfil Scripture.” [2]  Some gay and lesbian couples and individuals have children, and the church has a responsibility to minister to those children as well.  It would not be helpful to the kids for their parents’ relationship status to be criticised by their church.

Sometimes the Bible is just not clear

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard or read, “the Bible clearly states …” I’d be a very wealthy man.  Sometimes the Bible is clear, but on many things, it isn’t.  A favourite book series of mine is Counterpoints by Zondervan publishers. [3]  This set contains over 30 titles that deal with many views on various subjects.  There are four views on hell, three views on creation and evolution, four views of baptism and two views of women in ministry (yes and no) to name a few.  While the Bible is clear on the unique relationship between a husband and wife, it is not as clear on some other relationships.  Read my blog, “The changing face of marriage” for more on this. [4]

Like it or not, there are various views on the six verses in the Bible that appear to condemn homosexuality.  Those who take these verses literally and at face value should not be condemned as bigots and homophobes while those who come to a different conclusion should not be labelled revisionist or heretical.  People on both sides of this debate have studied the context, history and culture of these Scriptures and come to differing conclusions.  Some people do not see these verses as condemning of loving, monogamous same-sex relationships while others do.  I encourage you to read widely and come to your conclusions – and allow others to do the same.

Beware of outraged Christians

Lately, I’ve seen an increasing number of blogs and social media posts from outraged Christians, often posted and shared with little or no fact-checking, and all they do is distort the truth and create fear.  I think that’s the intended outcome and I don’t believe that is a good way for Christian people to behave.  For example, a recent email from the Australian Christian Lobby is titled, “It’s under attack” and includes a quote from Professor Jordan Peterson, a psychologist and academic at the University of Toronto.  Professor Peterson has become somewhat of an online celebrity in speaking out against political correctness (and is making a lot of money in the process).  The ACL says, “In the wake of same-sex marriage, Canada passed a new law making it a criminal offense for you to refuse to call someone by their “chosen” gender pronoun.  Refuse to bow to such rainbow totalitarianism by LGBTI activists and you could suffer legal prosecution.”  These claims are inaccurate as another academic at the University of Toronto shows [5] but they have been shared over and over by outraged Christians who fail to check their facts.

The “slippery slope” argument also attempts to instil fear, that is, if we allow “A” to happen then “X, Y & Z” will inevitably follow.  This fear causes people to fight to protect “A” at all costs.

Not all gay people want same-sex marriage

To think that all gay people are for same-sex marriage and all Christians are against is just wrong.  I’ve chatted with some gay and lesbian individuals who don’t support same-sex marriage.  One guy told me he thought of marriage as a heterosexual institution and wanted nothing to do with it.  One thing that is important to understand is that in countries where same-sex marriage is legal there’s a minimal uptake of it.  For example in the UK, civil partnerships, rather than marriage, are still preferred by the majority of straight and gay couples.  In Australia, about 3% of the population identify as other than heterosexual.  The last census indicated there were 33,714 same-sex couples and 4,650,986 opposite sex couples.  Considering that most of the same-sex couples won’t get married, I sometimes have the feeling we’re creating a storm in a teacup – albeit a costly storm.

Everyone needs to compromise

It is my belief that sooner or later same-sex marriage will become law in Australia.  That being the case it’s of vital importance that any legislation is carefully framed.  The Australian Government has to govern for all people but in any decision there will naturally be some who are happy with the outcome while others are not.  There will be winners and losers – the winners must choose not to gloat and the losers must lose well.  In the meantime, compromises need to be made.  The trouble is that people on the extremes don’t like to compromise.  Such was the case recently when Federal Member for Goldstein, Tim Wilson, along with Patrick Parkinson put forward a bill that defined two kinds of marriage – religious (sacred) marriage and civil marriage.  This bill offered widespread religious freedoms not contained in the other two bills (the Dean Smith Bill and the George Brandis Bill).  Some gay extremists, some conservative politicians and the Australian Christian Lobby rejected this Bill because they refuse to compromise.  In doing this, the losers may get little or nothing.

Finally, as mentioned previously, it’s important in all our dealings that we don’t see this as merely an issue.  This is a debate about people whom God loves.  And so any discussions have to be tempered with grace, understanding, and respect and include the Christian qualities of tolerance, kindness and patience because that reflects the nature of God. [6]

 

[1] https://baysidechurch.com.au/thoughts-on-same-sex-marriage/

[2] Shane Willard, Getting Unstuck https://baysidechurch.com.au/message/getting-unstuck-ps-shane-willard/

[3] http://www.zondervan.com/the-counterpoints-library-complete-32-volume-set

[4] https://baysidechurch.com.au/the-changing-face-of-marriage/

[5] http://sds.utoronto.ca/blog/bill-c-16-no-its-not-about-criminalizing-pronoun-misuse/

[6] Romans 2:4

In this blog, I’m continuing from last week’s discussion on the issues that are most important to you.  A survey of my Facebook friends revealed that matters of justice, particularly for asylum seekers and the homeless, ranked at the very top of their concerns. [i]

The third concern was equality – or at least the lack of justice we often see in the world around us.  Inequality features highly for asylum seekers and the homeless, but it also ranks as a big issue for Australia’s indigenous people, along with victims of abuse, trafficking and domestic violence.  There is high inequality between those who have access to clean water and those who don’t; and the poor and weak are frequently oppressed by the rich and powerful.

Right now 844 million people in the world – one in ten – do not have clean water. 2.3 billion people in the world – one in three – do not have a decent toilet. There are 289,000 children under 5 die each year due to diarrheal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. [ii]   Inequality for Australia’s indigenous people is massive compared to the rest of Australians,[iii] and there are over 30 million trafficked people in the world; half are children, and 80% are female.

Equality, or the lack thereof, is a constant theme throughout the Bible even though some of the earlier comments made in books like Leviticus look like anything but equality.  It’s of vital importance that we understand the progressive and changing nature of God’s revelation through Scripture. Reading through the book of Leviticus from a 2017 western perspective can be quite daunting. There are instructions on how much to pay for slaves and how to treat women. Some of these commands boggle our minds and we can easily wonder at the inequality reflected in what we read.

But when you understand that these things were written 3,500 years ago to an ancient Middle Eastern culture that had very few, if any, written rules, we get a different perspective.  In some instances, this was the first time written regulations gave slaves and women any sense of equal treatment. Until then, they were considered a man’s goods and chattel.  Leviticus was quite revolutionary in its day. It upheld human rights for disabled people (19:14), refugees (19:33-34) and the elderly (19:32).

Many of the prophets spoke out with a great condemnation against the wealthy and powerful that oppressed the poor and weak.  Consider Isaiah 1:17, “Learn to do right; seek justice.  Defend the oppressed (correct the oppressor). Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”  The prophet Micah summarised the importance of equality and justice like this: “what does the Lord require of you except to be just, and to love and to diligently practice kindness and compassion” (6:8).

Jesus’ teaching and actions continued this revelation.  He reached out to people that others (particularly the religious) would have nothing to do with –  such as lepers, the unclean, the sexually immoral and the mentally ill. The New Testament Scriptures also break down walls that divided people and communities – racial, gender and economic barriers are non-existent in Christ, says Paul (Galatians 3:28).

There is no place in the Christian faith for expressions of inequality because of differences in gender, race, creed or money.

On one occasion the Apostle Paul met with the other apostles in Jerusalem.  The outcome of the discussion was agreement that Paul and his team would continue to reach out to non-Jews with the gospel message.  Paul writes, “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.”  The apostle took this seriously and, everywhere he went, he received offerings to relieve poverty.  His stated goal was equality (see 2 Corinthians 8:13-14).

It’s interesting that amongst all the things the Jerusalem church leaders could have highlighted as the one most important thing that should accompany the gospel message, it was equality for the poor.

And equality for all people should still accompany the gospel of Jesus.  It saddens me when I hear a non-equal message preached by people who identify as Christian.  Their lack of equality contradicts all that Jesus stands for and, in the process, repels people from Him.  Justice and fairness for all must always be part of the real gospel of Jesus.  That’s why it’s such good news!

”Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream” – Amos 5:24.

 

[i] Blog: Is justice an optional extra

[ii] http://www.wateraid.org/au/what-we-do/the-crisis/statistics

[iii] http://www.australianstogether.org.au/stories/detail/the-gap-indigenous-disadvantage-in-australia

This week on my Facebook page I asked my friends and followers to give me their opinion.  My request went like this, “I’d like to get your feedback for a blog I’m writing this week. This afternoon the Federal Liberal Party Room will be discussing the issue of same sex marriage. Without minimising the importance of this discussion, I’d like to hear from you about what issue you (whether you are Christian or not) believe is the most important one that we should be focusing on right now. Is it same sex marriage or something else? What is ONE thing that concerns you at the moment particularly from a justice point of view?”  What followed was a mainly respectful thread (I only had to remove one “friend” this time!)

It’s important to note that my Facebook friends come from a variety of backgrounds – Christian people as well as those of other faiths or no faith, various political persuasions and diverse nationalities.  With that in mind, I thought it interesting that the number one issue that concerned people was Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers, followed closely by homelessness.  The third was equality, which covers quite a few issues that I’ll discuss in next week’s blog.  Other concerns that received more than one mention were safe schools, domestic violence & child abuse, energy costs, human trafficking, mental health, substance abuse and climate change.

There were no surprises here.  I’d presume that those who engage with me on social media would have a high awareness of the importance of justice and equality, as these are things I regularly write about and on which I work.

My Christian faith is the primary incentive for my justice focus as I see it as inseparable from the gospel message rather than an optional extra.

The gospel is not just about saving souls and getting people into heaven in the future, but also about bringing heaven to earth in the present.   That’s the heart of Jesus’ teaching in The Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come; your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

God’s will is the expression of his goodness that is fundamental to His character. In fact, Jesus revealed that God’s goodness is the number one attribute He wants to show all people (Matthew 7:9-11).  Jesus taught that God had delegated the responsibility of demonstrating His goodness to His followers (Matthew 5:43-48).  That’s right; Christians are to practically spread God’s goodness to all people and all creation.  Sometimes the church has done (and still does) a brilliant job at this; at other times we have failed (and continue to fail) dismally.

The focus of the entire Lord’s Prayer is what happens on earth.  God cares for all people and His creation, and He wants his people to care as well.  Many of the concerns raised on my Facebook page this week demonstrate this caring attitude.  The problem is that most of these important issues get politicised and people are then polarised around the issue.

For example: when you read the words “asylum seekers and refugees” most people will think of them through a political filter that then restricts or encourages action.  Some will lean to the Right where the primary emphasis is on border security and national safety. Others will lean left where there is often more compassion but less thought on the impact of increased immigration on our social problems, infrastructure, and security.  Rather than thinking politically we need to think Christianly, because one day God is going judge us on our treatment of people in need (read Matthew 25:31-46).

Refugees are people – people who are loved by God and people who need love, kindness, protection and their basic needs met. 

While I can advocate for the rights of refugees on a general scale, the most important thing is what I can do to make a difference on a small scale.  Christie and I and Bayside Church are currently helping a small number of refugees and we’ve been able to make a huge difference for them.  Just because we can’t solve the whole problem doesn’t mean we do nothing.  The same goes for helping the homeless.  I’d love to help every homeless person in Australia, but I can’t.  We have, however, given out well over 100,000 hot meals to homeless and disadvantaged people in bayside Melbourne over the past decade.

We can apply this same principle to every issue, thinking Christianly instead of politically, and asking the question “how can I show God’s goodness in this particular situation?”  For example, climate change is hugely polarising, but surely we can agree that pumping less pollution into the earth’s atmosphere is a worthy goal?  The ethical use and protection of valuable resources, such as trees, minerals, wildlife & water and to protect the sources of resources is a responsibility we must all bear.  I realise some Christians have the view that one day God will make a new earth, so why bother looking after this one?  This faulty logic is like saying “one day I’m going to get a new car, so I’ll just trash the one I’m currently driving.”

Praying “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” means that Christian people will pray and work for peace and justice amongst individuals and nations wherever possible.  We strive for economic fairness and equality between rich and poor and seek justice for all despite gender, race, sexual orientation or creed, but more on equality next week.

It’s no secret that I like to write and speak about current issues – be they ethical, moral, political or whatever.  It’s important to me to connect my Christian faith with the things people are talking about and experiencing in life, and not to be automatically AGAINST everything, which sadly is the message some Christians send.

If you read my blogs and social media posts you’ll realise that not everyone appreciates or agrees with my opinions and statements on these issues – and that’s fine!  But one comment I see time and again from well-meaning Christian people is that “they” (“they” being whoever I’m writing about) need to REPENT.

I spent the first few years of my Christian journey in a small Pentecostal church.  What they lacked in size they made up for in legalism and, every Sunday morning and evening, we’d get a healthy dose of it in the sermon as well as in “prophetic” words shouted from the platform.  God seemed to be permanently angry with us, and we simply weren’t good enough – ever!  We all knew what “REPENT” meant – God was ticked and we needed to change.  I get a similar impression from the comments I receive on blogs and Facebook posts that, “They need to repent.”

Now I’m not downplaying the importance of repentance to the Christian Gospel.  The word is found almost 80 times in the Bible, so it’s obviously a significant thing to God.  But exactly what does it mean to repent? Is God angry and shouting like my first pastor or does repentance indicate something kinder and gentler?

In the Hebrew tradition, in which the Bible has captured, the word translated as repentance is Teshuvah and means, “to return home.”  In Judaism and Christianity, this returning home is, “coming back into intimacy with the Father.”  Jesus beautifully illustrated the concept of Teshuvah in the parable of the lost (prodigal) son (Luke 15:11-32).  Notice that in the story the prodigal is motivated to return home because he’d run out of money and was starving.  He rehearsed a speech that he never got to finish because all he needed to do was return home to his Father who was looking out for his son.  The Father ran to him, embraced him, gave him a ring and a robe and threw a party.  The Father wasn’t angry with him; didn’t ask for an account of where he spent his inheritance or how many women he had sex with, and he didn’t ask his son to grovel and beg for forgiveness. I repeat, all the son had to do was return home (Teshuvah) and relax in the intimacy, grace and unconditional love of his Father.

Great joy and celebration should accompany Teshuvah – just as it was in Jesus’ parable. The Father told his grumpy oldest son, (who reminds me of some of those who comment on my blogs and posts), “we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”  When we’ve sinned and gone astray, it’s so easy for us to fall into regret, depression, helplessness, hopelessness and extreme sadness.  I saw people do that in the church I mentioned earlier and I’ve seen children do that when it seems they can never please a parent: “If I can never be good enough then why bother trying?”  Some people bring that attitude to their relationship with God and certain “Christian” teaching only reinforces this. I’ve seen people walk away from God because they see Him as unappeasable, angry and relentlessly demanding.

Remorse for our sin is important, as is an awareness of how we’ve hurt God, others and ourselves, but all of this should only drive us to return home and, when we do, our gracious Father is waiting with open arms.

Last week I watched a segment on ABC’s 7.30 Report about domestic abuse in the church. [1]

While the reporting of some statistics by the ABC was not entirely accurate,[2] it seems there is still a level of domestic abuse in churches – including traditional, evangelical and Pentecostal ones  – and any abuse is inexcusable.

It was a sobering report and one that left me feeling sad and frustrated that abuse continues in some churches (and at the hands of some “Christians”) – often supported by an understanding of Scripture that contradicts the whole tenor of the Bible.  After all, “If you really keep the royal law stated in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself,’ you are doing well.” [3]  Real love doesn’t abuse others, including one’s wife (or husband or partner or anyone else for that matter) in any way.

Using isolated Bible verses to justify verbal, physical, emotional or any other kind of abuse is unchristian.

One of the Bible verses used to rationalise domestic abuse is Ephesians 5:22-24, “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Saviour. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”  If you read these verses on their own, it seems pretty clear that wives are to submit to their husbands IN EVERYTHING.  It’s also clear how an abusive man could use this part of the Bible to justify his ill treatment.  However, if you read the verse before (Ephesians 5:21) it instructs husbands and wives to, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”  In other words, mutual submission is appropriate in Christian relationships.  The Apostle makes this general statement about submission and then proceeds to show how wives and husbands are to work this out by submitting to one another in their marriage.  Husbands are to love their wives deeply, give their lives for them and care for them.  Ephesians 5 does not authorise violence of any kind.

The other chapter of the Bible that is used as an excuse for abuse is 1 Corinthians 11.  The Apostle Paul begins this chapter by once again speaking about headship, but a few verses in he makes a statement that would have been considered very controversial in the patriarchal society of the first century: “woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.” [4]  Some people accuse Paul of being patriarchal and considering women as inferior to men, but nothing could be further from the truth.  Thomas Cahill writes, “Equality … is Paul’s subject: what he is doing here is taking the Genesis account of the Creation, which was the aboriginal Jewish locus classicus on the inequality of women, and turning it on its head by subtly reminding his readers that even the Messiah needed a mother.” [5]  1 Corinthians 11:11-12 is one of the first Biblical references affirming sexual equality, as well as one of the first in any literature up to Jesus’ time.

The bottom line is this: if you ever encounter someone who uses the Bible to justify abuse of any sort against another human being, rest assured that person is not understanding or using the Bible correctly.

It sickens me the number of times over the years I have heard of pastors, priests, or counsellors recommending that women in particular are to stay with husbands or partners who physically, verbally or emotionally abuse them.  As we’ve already seen, the Bible teaches that submission is to be mutual.  Love and respect don’t beat each other up! There is no room for abuse in any relationship, in any church or justified by any Scripture.

If you find yourself in an abusive relationship separation is advisable (at least a temporary one).  Reconciliation may be possible (with much support, prayer & counselling) but divorce may be unavoidable. [6] Whatever you do, don’t stay in a relationship where you are being abused in any way, and don’t allow others to suggest that you do!

 

[1] http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2017/s4704681.htm

[2] http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/andrew-bolt/andrew-bolt-abcs-apology-refusal-after-attack-on-christianity-was-all-wrong/news-story/4d3b7b1c70172e2e037e0ccfe739f695

[3] James 2:8; Cf. Romans 13:10

[4] 1 Corinthians 11:11-12

[5] Thomas Cahill, Desire of the Everlasting Hills, Anchor Books, New York, 1999, p. 141

[6] https://baysidechurch.com.au/divorce-and-remarriage/

Last week I posted on Social Media some concerns I have about certain comments Christian leaders have made to the media about ethical and moral issues.  In my post I upheld everyone’s right to free speech as well as the right of people to disagree.  What followed was a lively discussion.

My question on Facebook though was this: “do these sorts of comments tend to alienate people from the Christian message?”  When Christian leaders speak out on ethical / moral issues does it draw people towards God or away from Him? Does it attract or repel?  These are vitally important questions for Christians and churches to answer.  What is the church’s FIRST and MOST IMPORTANT message to communicate to those who are not Christian, and when does our other messaging cloud our main message?

Let me put this another way:  Most churches (be they Catholic or Protestant or neither) hold to the doctrine of eternal hell: that those who don’t accept Jesus’ sacrificial death and eternal life-giving resurrection will be eternally separated from God and tormented forever, without the possibility of a second chance.  Will people go to hell for supporting abortion or euthanasia or same-sex marriage or will they go there for rejecting God’s salvation through Jesus?  In the light of your answer to that question, what is the FIRST and MOST IMPORTANT message the Church needs to communicate?

If you were to ask non-Christians what the church’s view of same-sex marriage is (or abortion, or Euthanasia or….) they’d be able to tell you: the church is against it.  If you asked those same people what it means to be a Christian they’d probably tell you it’s about being a good person and going to church.  What that reveals is that the Church collectively, and Christians individually, have largely failed to communicate the true gospel to people who so desperately need to hear it.

The apostle Paul summarises this wonderful message of good news in his second letter to the Corinthians. In writing to this church he reminds them of what happened when they first believed in Jesus, “God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).  The church’s FIRST and MOST IMPORTANT message to non-Christians is the message of reconciliation. Reconciliation is being restored to friendly terms – we were once enemies of God but because of Jesus we are reunited with Him.  The original Greek word Paul used meant to change money. In Jesus hostility is exchanged for friendship.

Why do Christian people (including pastors) so often count people’s sins?   Does this draw people towards God or away from Him? Sadly, I think it repels rather than attracts.   Any message that clouds the message of reconciliation compromises the gospel we are to uphold. God sent Jesus to save, forgive and bring people back into a relationship with Himself. That has got to be the message Australians hear from Australian Christians – including pastors.

It should be noted that Corinth was one of the most evil and sexually depraved cities of the first century, and the apostle certainly addressed the importance of purity in the church community, but he also made it clear that the church is not called to be the moral policeman to the broader society: “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people — not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world… What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside” (1 Corinthians 5:9-10, 12-13).  What a very different message those outside the church get in Australia (and other Western nations) in this day and age.

Some of the people who commented on my Facebook thread reminded me of how important it is for people to repent.  I agree, repentance is a vital step in the salvation process, but it’s not the first step.  Many people aren’t ready to repent; they’re not even considering the Christian faith as an option, and a large reason for this is the messaging they get from the church.  In his letter to the church at Rome Paul wrote that it is God’s kindness, tolerance and patience that lead people to repentance.  That’s right, kindness, tolerance and patience not moral blustering and judgmental attitudes.  One attracts the other repels.

Others reminded me that Jesus told the woman caught in the act of adultery to, “Go and sin no more” (John 8).  Indeed He did say that to her, after He’d dispensed of all her hypocritical accusers and chosen not to condemn her Himself.  As the only sinless man Jesus is the only person qualified to tell someone to leave his or her life of sin.  The rest of us should walk very gently with our fellow sinners.

This week another famous Christian brought a message of good news to the thousands gathered for the One Love Manchester concert.  He’s a young guy who hasn’t always lived up to the “Christian standard.” It seems to me that its taken a few years for him to wrestle with his faith and his fame, but two weeks ago Justin Bieber posted three words on his Instagram page, “I follow Jesus.”  To the massive crowd in Manchester he said, “God is good in the midst of the darkness. God is good in the midst of the evil.  God is in the midst no matter what’s happening in the world, God is in the midst, and He loves you and He’s here for you.”

Now THAT’S the sort of message Australians should be hearing from our well-known Christians. THAT’S the kind of message that has the ability to attract people TO Jesus rather than repel them from Him!