Peacemaking for Christians in the 21st Century

I read this post on Matt Stone's blog last week. I thought it was well worth a read, so after seeking permission to copy the post, here it is...

I came across a speech by Peter Garrett, shadow minister for the environment, that I thought deserved some wider circulation within the Christian community in Australia, and amongst the evangelical left in particular. It concerns the continuing war in Iraq and the shape of Christian politics in Australia and is just as relevant for today as when it was first spoken six months ago.
In it, Peter Garrett states:

I should take this opportunity to speak on the values debate at this point, which has been in the news of late, in relation to three contemporary elements of the involvement of Christianity in politics.

First, there is a fair amount of fuzziness about where the line of demarcation between church and state, that is the separation of church and state, lies.

This separation is a principle I firmly believe in, while also believing that someone's personal values should and do inform one's day to day thought processes and decision-making.

But there is way too much selective following of the rule nowadays by this government. It invokes the authority and wisdom and so-called legitimate involvement of the church in politics and policy-making when that involvement is pro-government policy.

And the Howard Government directly uses various congregations and speeches to them to promote government policies; but when the church points out human rights and humanitarian values "shortcomings" and "failures” of the government, for example in relation to refugee policy, then the church is loudly deemed to have no place in such discussions and told, often not so politely, to go away quietly.

Second, it is very much "do as I say, not as I do" with this government.

It falsely promotes itself as having a monopoly on "Christian" values and upholding a set of ethics and principles which are in strict keeping with those values - yet its
actions do not accord with them.

What is ‘Christian’ about the treatment of David Hicks? What is ‘Christian’ about the treatment of asylum-seekers? What is ‘Christian’ about believing that sleep deprivation and other harsh treatment of arrestees is not torture?

Finally, let's by all means have a discussion about personal values, and Christian values, and humanitarian values, without the strong suggestion that there is only one correct set of them - the set the government claims sole ownership of - and anyone of any other religion, opinion or general set of beliefs is sidelined, or, at best, "tolerated", but certainly not respected or accepted.

The spectre of the West being involved in or effecting the use of torture, the forced removal of suspected terrorists to countries not connected with the war to enable interrogation outside the legal systems of Western countries, and the imprisonment of alleged terrorists without proper legal process is troubling many lawyers, church leaders and members of the public.

So what should the Christian response be in these circumstances?

In the first instance to oppose these practices. To say loudly and clearly that actions of this kind are contrary to the political traditions, including those that derive from Christian values, that make up our democratic system.

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My reading of Jesus’ call to turn the other cheek, is that not only is it a clear rebuttal of the literalness of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but it is also a practical insight into how arguments that justify the use of violence on the grounds that violence has already occurred can be countered.

It is a fact that it is that much harder to break a cycle of violence, once retribution has started.

The injunction to love your neighbours and pray for those who persecute you meant the early Christian writers, in the main, were clear that violence and war making was unchristian.

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Christian doctrine is not comfortably numb to the scenario of unmitigated, unlawful aggression.

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Unilateral pre-emption throws off the bounds of containment within which any nation operates in relation to others, and which is implicit in the Sermon on the Mount message; namely do unto others as you would have them do unto you (not before they do it to you) and explicit in the accepted rules of international law.

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The rule breaking that defines Christ’s mission as recorded in the gospels is the ushering in of an age where peace is pre-eminent, not one where war is justified.

As I read this six months after it's initial delivery, the war in Iraq continues, David Hicks is still in custody in Guantanamo Bay without any formal charges having been laid against him, the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, continues to cynically
manipulate mainline Christianity with his dog-whistle politics of 'family values' as if Christian values could be reduced to that.

And only yesterday my wife told me of the latest Christian Democrat ploy to demonize the Green Party as Pagan, consequently deligitimizing environmental concern in the eyes of many Christians. Jesus weeps.

[A note for my American friends. Yes, this is the same Peter Garrett who for many years fronted that quintessentially Aussie band Midnight Oil. He is now the environmental minister for the Australian Labour Party, your equivalent of the Democrats].

Matt has more great posts on Christianity and Australian politics, giving traditional views of Church & State a kick up the pants! Have a read...

Becoming Jane

I love Jane Austen's books, especially Emma. I am delighted that a movie of her life is now coming to the big screen!! My only wish now is that BBC would make Emma in the same way they made Pride and Prejudice ten years ago!


To see the trailer and other info, click...

Conference talk downloads

Interested in talk downloads from some amazing Aussie conferences by organisations like Forge and UNOH? Check out the Idea Ripple site here. This includes the talks from the latest Dangerous Stories 2 (Forge) conference.

Also, for news on Alan Hirsch's movements, read his blog post here.

Children, our future

An excellent post by Chantale here on children around the world!

Two weddings, two cities, two days...

One the weekend David and I went to two weddings which was lovely! The first was in Melbourne on Saturday and friends from church were married. The second was in Sydney on Sunday and David's cousin was married.

It was a lovely time, catching up with people we don't see often.

I was great coming to Sydney on Sunday and Monday! We went to my old church on Sunday morning... the first time we have seen most of them since our wedding in December! And yes, I did get a little teary :)

We also had the chance to catch up with my old mentor Di and her husband Phill from College on Monday morning for breakfast... it was great!! I enjoyed hanging out with David's family more as well.

I want to go back to Sydney for about a week and schedule in catching up with people for the whole week!

When being "Neutral" is a good thing

Recently, as the discussions about Global Warming have been chatted about around the globe, the idea of being "neutral" has been promoted. Not "sitting on the fence" or fart-arsing around, doing bugger-all, but being carbon dioxide neutral.

Being CO2 neutral is about reducing the emissions we dispence, and paying for offsets to counter the emissions we cannot help.

Alan Hirsch has a good discussion going about such issues here.

Some practical ways to be neutral, for churches, homes and businesses, and David and I are attempting these are:

a) install water tanks

b) use energy saver light globes

c) fix leaking taps

d) install grey-water filters and pipes for use in flushing toilets and watering gardens

e) turn off photocopiers, computers, lights, etc. when they are not needed

f) preach these practical measures

g) have tree-planting and Clean-up Australia day type outings

h) get our electricity from Green companies

i) get “neutral” by paying for iniatives that counterbalance the emissions and waste we make

j) drive hybrid or feul-efficient cars

k) use public transport, or better still ride a bike or walk

l) reuse bags, especially green, cloth or paper bags

m) use Tupperware instead of clingwrap

What some ways you can suggest? What are your thoughts on the Global Warming issue?

International Women's Day

Celebrate International Women's day by:

1. Showing the women in your life how much you love and appreciate them; and



2. Support Amnesty International's Stop Violence Against Women campaign.

I have two Hillsong t-shirts

Many people in the "emerging church" arena in Australia and in the "evangelical" arena in Sydney spend plenty of their time and energy bagging, slagging and snobbing Hillsong Church. I pose the question is this critising warranted?

Firstly, let me say that I come from the view point of a "Sydney born-and-breed" "Uniting-come-Baptist-influenced-by-FourSquare(Pentecostal)" who believes the future of Christianity lies in "incarnational mission" and "accountable-to-denominations communities of believers".

My Mercy t-shirt

The first Hillsong t-shirt I owned has butterflies on it and the word mercy written across the side. It is to support the social justice and transformation outreaches of Hillsong church.

Many people overlook the massive amount of social justice and transformation work Hillsong is involved in. They take advantage of there size and income, devoting a massive proportion of it to work in the community, with the broken and needy.

As the butterflies symbolise, they believe in the power of God to recreate broken and hurting people into who God created them to be. And as the word mercy indicates, nothing is expected or sought by Hillsong in these acts of compassion, they are just responding to the heart of God.

Question: For those of you who bag Hillsong, what is the social justice and transformation work in your church or community like?

My daughter, warrior, princess t-shirt

Despite the sword on the front, which I know Matt can't get over, this t-shirt supports the Colour Your World conference and associated womens ministries of Hillsong Church. It is based on Holly Wagner's book God Chicks. If you have been to a Colour conference, you will get this, but for the rest of you...

The Hillsong female pastors have a passion for empowering women, desiring them to be all God created them to be. And for many women this is vital. I can attest to this myself. Many woman (and men I know) struggle with insecurities, conformity, roles dictated by men, singleness, marriage and motherhood.

The daughter aspect focusses on being a beloved child of God. To know their identity as loved and treasured by God, that he delights to give good gifts to his children, that his discipline is healthy and his steadfastness is unmoving. This is a very powerful image and very difficult for insecure woman to accept, but basic for a secure and full life in Christ.

The warrior aspect focusses on the victory of Christ and the power in Christ to overcome lifes obstacles and hardships, to stand firm in onslaughts, to remain true, to survive. To know that they can survive singleness, or a difficult patch in marriage, or the terrible twos of your toddler, to the despair of losing a loved one. To know and claim the power of prayer in the name of Jesus and to know that other woman will stand by you and be your rock when you don't think you can stand anymore. This is very powerful for woman, and a true blessing to know and take hold of. This is what will allow woman to be great woman of God, great single chicks, great wives, great mothers, great business women, great pastors.

The princess aspect looks at being the Daughter of the King, the daughter of God. To know that you are a princess (or prince) because you belong to God is key to how you allow people to treat you. If you know that you are a princess you will not settle for second best in male-female relationships. You will not allow yourself to be trampled by others or bullied. You will act graciously and respectfully, honouring the King. This is especially important for teenage girls and woman of all ages to accept so as not to be used in relationships. It is also important for teenage boys and men to realise. They cannot treat their woman folk as they want for their own pleasure and personal gain. They need to realise that God the King is very protective of his girls, and these princesses need to be treated with dignity and respect, they deserved to be loved and cherished.

Question: How is your church empowering, supporting and treating women?

Although I would probably not myself regularly attend Hillsong Church. I do visit and I support their work. I am also proud of the way they handle wrongdoing in the church. Ps. Brian had to sack his own dad, the founder of the church, over sexual misconduct, and he sacked him without scandle. How does your church handle misconduct?

Yes, I know that every church has its faults. They are all made of humans! But instead of focusing on these faults, how about we focus on the good in churches, celebrate these, and learn from them!