Aliens and strangers: The scope of the Kingdom and the logic of the gospel

Thought

This article was published in Issue #292 (January 2003).

No one approaches an emotionally and politically charged issue like refugees out of disinterested neutrality. The very labels we attach, whether asylum seekers or illegal immigrants, puts us for or against refugees from the moment we open our mouths. In such a climate, it is only fair that I disclose the standpoint from which I approach the subject, by way of reminder that for many of us certain topics in Christian ethics, as well as being academically challenging, are highly personal. (more…)

Christ and culture

Life

Culture is such a slippery word. It means something like ‘who are and what we do together’, which is about as broad a definition as you could hope for. A culture is more than a number of individuals—it refers to how those individuals interact with each other, and what those interactions produce. So, Australian culture is cricket, it’s opera, it’s Bondi beach, it’s Backyard Blitz. But it’s also Chinatown, it’s fine wine, it’s cynical humour, it’s Westfield Shoppingtown.

(more…)

Every green plant? Drugs and the Christian

Life

I have a folder of articles on the benefits of smoking. It’s a thin folder. There are, however, a few noteworthy benefits: relaxation, settling effects for people with nervous disorders, increased concentration, suppression of appetite. You can’t say that smoking is all bad. Everything that God created is good and ought not be rejected but received with thanksgiving (1 Tim 4:4)—even nicotine. And yet, anyone taking up smoking today, in an age where it has been medically and legally demonstrated that smoking causes cancer and is likely to be the major cause of death by 2020, hasn’t done much work on the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’. The devastating biological damage which smokers experience outweighs any positive effects of smoking.

(more…)

When too much sport is barely enough

Life

“Football is not a matter of life and death; it’s far more important that that!” said Bill Shankley, former manager of Liverpool Football Club. This may seem extreme, but what should our attitude as Christians be towards sport, both as participants and as spectators?

(more…)

Jumping the gap

Thought

As evangelical Christians, we are keen to read the Bible for all its worth. We believe it is God’s word to us. We still sing, “God is speaking by his Spirit, speaking to the hearts of men, in the age-long word expounding, God’s own message now as then“.

(more…)

Peretti: What’s the story?

Review

Walking out of the lounge room on Wednesday nights last year, I always performed a ritual of huge significance: the issuing of instructions to record the latest escapades of Mulder and Scully as they probe the unknown in The X-Files. As for many Australians, this show, with its extra-terrestrials, UFOs, supernatural occurrences, stories of the mysterious, the psychic and the bizarre has become required watching for me. Even though I have no time for the conspiracy theories and stories portrayed and implied, I’m addicted. There is something about this genre which captivates me.

(more…)

Christ vs culture

Everyday Ministry

When I first became a Christian and went to a Protestant church, I noticed two things: one was that the church buildings were very small compared to Catholic churches, and the other was that everyone was different to me: they were in the main Anglo-saxon. Over the last 15 years, I have spent time in six churches, and our church buildings are still too small, and most of the people inside them are still Anglo-saxon.

(more…)