What kind of Christian?

March  30, 2008  - Dale

 I met some people last week who said they had decided to call themselves “serious Christians”. They explained that this was instead of calling themselves “committed Christians”. The idea I think was that “committed Christians” has been over-used and needed to be replaced.

But the new term sounds a bit serious, doesn’t it? Almost dour. No jokes. Much stroking of the beard. Except I don’t think that is what these friends had in mind. They are not at all serious in that way. For one thing  they laugh too much.

They meant something else...  Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment [3 Comments]

Easter in Eden?

March  23, 2008  - Dale

Easter - the season of new life. The season of a spiritual Spring where life erupts again after the winter of death. Fair descriptions of Easter do you think?

Certainly Easter is connected with the creation. It is about the most dramatic and most terrible thing that has ever happened to the creation. It is about death. At least it is about undoing death. Or is it?

Much modern discussion suggests that people do not want to undo death. They just want to continue to exist in some form or other. As long as life continues… that is the main thing.  Greek myths and various images from the Bible can build a picture of a pleasant sort of life after death, that in a sense ignores death and leaves it behind.

So in a way death is denied.... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment.

Good/Excellent Friday

March  21, 2008  - Ian

What is so good about Good Friday? Is it the day off work? Is it the public holiday? Is it the Easter Egg(s) that is soon to come your way? Is it decorating the eggs? Is it the hunt for the Easter Eggs? Is it the hot cross buns that are so yummy to eat? Is it the school holidays? Is it going to church? Is it the cards or the sweets/candies? What makes Good Friday good for you?

There are lots of good things about Good Friday and all of the above are good.

But for Jesus on the first Good Friday was there anything good for him?... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment.

Anti-climax?

March  16, 2008  - Dale

Talk about anti-climaxes. The great entry of the long awaited King into the capital city of his empire was full of excitement and enthusiasm. But the King himself did not seem very happy.

It seems that when the King arrived in the capital he saw that it was in a mess. He closed down the worship in the temple for a few hours as a kind of warning of worse to come. He got stuck into the leading theologians and the religious power clique. He warned the crowds not to be misled by show and power and popular display.

The triumphal entry seemed to give way to a rather severe auditor looking over the state’s affairs and calling the authorities to account. And the tension increased as the week wore on. The supreme governing body of the nation decided the King was a fake and planned to get rid of him.

I wonder if Jesus thought it was a big let down? Was he disappointed? ... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment  [2 Comments]

Thanks and belonging

March  9, 2008  - Ian

This Monday night, the current Church Council meets for the last time. This Church Council has employed me and so my family and I wish to say thank you to this Council and all who were involved in interviewing, arranging, hosting etc. But the Council has done more; it has expanded Dale’s contract as Vicar and spent time planning for the next 5 years. There are some exciting possibilities ahead including starting a new church Service, employing a Youth and Children’s worker, being involved in mission and developing the Menteng property.

There have been some challenges and struggles, some joys and gains. Our Councillors have served us and our Saviour. Thank you Kayee, Robert, Ruth, Pek Swan, Shelley, Peter, Steve, Walter, Dave, Frandy, Danny, Alistair, Paul and Richard. A big thank you to Dave who has served us and the Council for about 10 years but who is not standing this year.

All Saints is an amazing church with people from all sorts of cultural and church backgrounds. We are God’s family and worship our God together on Sundays and as smaller groups and individuals our worship continues throughout the week. Belonging though is more than simply attending: it is also about taking responsibility for All Saints and its ministries and being interested in its leadership. ... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment

The place of suffering

March  2, 2008  - Dale

What should Job have done the next time? After his terrible series of disasters and in the middle of his personal suffering, he asked God for a debate, or a hearing in a court of arbitration, or a face to face dialogue.

And then God spoke to him and asked Job what he knew about creating and managing the universe. The series of sustained questions left Job speechless – but he had seen God with his own eyes. He recognised God could do anything, so he stopped complaining.

But having endured both the suffering and the dialogue, what would he do next time? What did he learn that might help him the next time such a thing happened?...

The question is hypothetical for Job. But the lessons learned are understood by Habakkuk. And also by Jesus. The prayer in the garden of Gethsemane is prayed by someone who understands the book of Job. “If it is possible…  if not….”

Paul understood the idea as well. But Paul had some advantages over Job. He had seen what happened to Jesus. ... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment

God Talk

February  24, 2008  - Ian

“Only one person has ever spoken to me about God at refreshment time after church”. This comment was made to me recently by one of our members at Don Bosco. That is very sad. Has that been your experience? And how often have you mentioned God in your after church conversation?

I want to challenge us all, including myself, to talk about God more, especially in the safe confines of church morning tea/refreshments at All Saints. After church is a safe time when we are with people who have similar thinking to us, after all they attend the same church. We have talked about God for the last hour, sung about him, sung to him and talked with him and even heard from him....So why end there? Surely God is worth talking about more than one hour per week! ... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment  [1 Comment]

Limits to tolerance

February  17, 2008  - Dale

It seems a bit hard to avoid commenting on Rowan Williams’ willy-willy**. The main issues have been well and truly explored by a variety of commentators. You can see a round up on Ruth Gledhill's blog

Some of the more significant religious issues are probably too sensitive to write about from here. But one which I think is relevant to those who live in the western world is the issue of accommodation. For a long time now the church in western countries has been under pressure not from followers of other religions but from those with a secular religion.

The pressure has come in the form of not offending others. So churches and Christians have been intimidated into virtual silence in case some group is offended by what Christians believe or practise. ...

Into this atmosphere of accommodation and privatising of Christianity has come another religion with clear and forward moving agendas. I think it has taken both the secularists and the Christians by surprise. ...  Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment [1 Comment]

A religious relationship

February  10, 2008  - Ian

It is easy to be religious here in Indonesia. This is an observation that I have made whilst living in Indonesia for just a short time. In Australia the religious affiliation question is non compulsory in the national census. You do not have to declare what religion you are in Australia. But in Indonesia you must declare to whom you belong as it appears on many official personal documents –Are you Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, or Catholic? Here in Indonesia you must have a religious label. But does this mean that here in Indonesia you will be more godly? Will God simply be pleased with a label? ... Read the rest of the Article. Post a comment.
 

More than enough

February  3, 2008  - Dale

What do you think of that famous occasion when the people of God were told to stop giving because they had given too much!? On other occasions they were told not to bother because their giving was entirely hypocritical. But on this occasion there was too much to handle. An unmanageable surplus.

Hard to imagine isn’t it? Not many people know about it. But it ought to be better known because it concerns the Great Grumblers. “Why have you led us up this road only to starve us to death?” they said. After one of the most astounding events in their history they settled back into self-pity, self-righteousness and grumbled like mad because they had run out of food.

So the Lord gave them food. As much as they needed. Some collected a lot, some gathered little but all had as much as they needed. No one had too much, no one had too little.  But some thought they needed to store some until the next day, despite the fact they were told that there would be enough every day and no one was to store any (what they stored rotted and was full of maggots).

The Great Grumblers were slow learners. Later they ran out of water. ... Read the rest of the article. Post a Comment

THE Wedding

January  27, 2008  - Ian

Recently, a friend wrote an article for a monthly Jakarta magazine about weddings and how late the invitations often arrive. He ‘complained/whinged’ about having to change weekend plans to make the wedding a priority to attend.

Weddings are wonderful events – lots of fun, joy and laughter, eating, talking, drinking – it is about celebrating relationships.

Two of our church members get married on Sunday the 27th; Yolanda and John Paul. As the person doing the marriage ceremony, I have had an invitation for a long time and have been preparing with them for this very special day. Not all of us have been invited though to their wedding.

But all of us have been invited to a wedding – THE wedding ... Read the rest of the  Article. Post a Comment.

(This picture is not of Yolanda and JP)
 

Choosing bananas

January  20, 2008  - Dale

One of my earliest scientific theories concerned the little brown bruises (about the size of a thumb print) that appeared inside a banana after the peel was removed. My theory was that certain shoppers (I must confess I have a picture in my head of a certain type of shopper) pressed the bananas to see if they were firm or soft before they bought them (actually in these cases before they decided not to buy them).

Sometimes in discussions about the relationship between God and humans, God can be pictured as a kind of divine banana shopper. Why does he choose this one and leave another? Is he looking for some kind of quality in us before he chooses us? Is it possible to predict whether one is a suitable kind of banana? Or to be sure he won’t throw us back? Are our unbelieving relatives the ones with the divine bruise of rejection?

These discussions always seem dismal and depressing but they arise from the mention in the scriptures that God does choose people. I think they also arise from our observation of the variety of those who believe. It seems hard to find a common factor that explains why God has apparently chosen this group....  Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment [1 Comment]

Christ remains the big attraction

January  13, 2008  - Ian

This article is from a friend…. In a long life largely devoted to sitting at airports or on airplanes, I have been told by a stream of fellow travellers that Christ, when on earth, was many things. He was, they say, (a) a non-smoker; (b) teetotaller; (c) a pacifist; (d) a rebel; (e) a capitalist; (f) a unionist; (g) homosexual and (h-z) countless other things.

The fact that those who told me these things were also (a) non-smokers; (b) teetotallers; (c) pacifists; (d) anti-establishment; (e) a company director; (f) unionist; (g) homosexual and (h-z) countless other things, might of course have something to do with it. They may, let us say, have fallen for the temptation of creating a god in their own image.

Then there was the man who assured me that Christianity began in England. He was, need I say it, an Englishman.... Read the rest of the Article.  Post a Comment [1 Comment]

The hijacking of history

January  6, 2008  - Dale

Have you noticed the way “historical” movies tend to adapt the story to fit the views or prejudices or interests of the modern audience? I am thinking of films like the Nativity Story, Alexander the Great, and so on. No doubt a certain amount of “adaptation” is necessary. The same happens with old drama. Shakespeare’s plays are regularly set in a modern context.

But history is different to drama. It is not that only a selected part of the history is described. Historical description is always selective. It is more that the history gets hijacked by modern concerns. At one level this may be a way of saying that the people of the past faced similar issues to us. But at another level it is a means of co-opting the history to support a particular modern point of view. As though the people in the past held the same view that we are supporting or opposing.

One example in the Nativity Story was the strong message that Mary’s arranged marriage was against her (and any sensible woman’s) wishes. While this is an important issue for many modern women, there is no evidence that it was an issue for Mary (or even that her marriage was actually arranged against her wishes).

History also seems to be co-opted fairly regularly in films in the cause of sexual propaganda (from the point of view of a variety of “preferences”).

One of the effects of this is to distort the history. Historical revisionism is not a new idea, ...Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment.

New Year Resolutions

December 30, 2007  - Ian

Having moved through the period of Christmas, we now celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of the next. And at this time, we humans often indulge in some promise making, called making New Year Resolutions. In this ‘ritual’ we make promises to ourselves. Is your New Year Resolution in the top 10?

1. Spend More Time with Family & Friends 2. Get Fitter 3. Lose Weight 4. Quit Smoking 5. Enjoy Life More 6. Quit Drinking 7. Get Out of Debt 8. Learn Something New 9. Help Others 10. Get Organized (source).

I have a few questions about your resolutions; how long do they last? Do you have a resolution that includes your relationship with God? Why do we make such promises? ... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment.

What kind of excitement?

December 25, 2007 - Dale

Christmas is such an exciting time. At least there is a lot of excitement surrounding Christmas. Or if not excitement, lots of activity. Lots of things to do, parties, shopping, lunches, dinners, shopping, bazaars, concerts, carols, shopping, – even church services. And all mixed in with a variety of cultural traditions that add colour and spice and sometimes confusion and bewilderment.

By contrast Easter is decidedly dull – a kind of brown chocolately colour maybe. Part of the reason may be the Bible stories themselves. The birth of Jesus has lots of amazing events surrounding it, angels – in blinding light and out in force- dreams, messages from angels, strange travellers from far away, massacres of little boys, prophecies coming true, old people saying strange things about the baby. ... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment. [1 Comment].