Category: Australia

Change comes from global action and the smallest deed

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Millennium Development Goals
Image by jiadoldol via Flickr

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on world leaders to attend a summit in New York next week, to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, aimed at halving world poverty by 2015. Newly appointed Foreign Minister, Kevin Rudd, will be attending.

In the meantime, some good news from Britain today with these comments from British PM David Cameron in an article regarding the Pope’s visit:

‘The Holy See is a partner in pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals, which will be discussed at United Nations headquarters in New York again next week. For our part, we are totally committed to meeting the UN target of spending 0.7 per cent of our national income on aid by 2013. And we want to ensure that the money we spend goes to those who need it most. Sustainable economic development is closely linked to political stability and security. A world in which there is a yawning gap between the rich and the poor will be more dangerous and less secure for all of us.’

Come on Jules and Kev, don’t let the Brits get the jump on us!

Meanwhile in the same article, which touches on the beatification of Cardinal Newman while the Pope is in the UK, David Cameron says: 

‘Cardinal Newman once said that one little deed, whether by someone who helps “to relieve the sick and needy” or someone who “forgives an enemy” evidences more true faith than could be shown by “the most fluent religious conversation” or “the most intimate knowledge of scripture”.’

Oprah’s visit recalls other Christmas arrivals

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Oprah Winfrey.jpg
Photo: Wikipedia

So Oprah is coming to Australia just before Christmas, including a show at the ‘Oprah House’ on December 14.

Made me think of some other great arrivals around Christmas time and the counter-cultural nature of the Messiah’s mission – just as shocking today as it was then.

While Oprah is bringing her own audience of 300, Jesus had a few animals, shepherds and mum and dad.

Oprah is arriving on a jet plane with a crew of 150, while an unborn Jesus arrived on a donkey with no room at the inn.

Oprah will take over the Opera House with her American audience, crew and ‘thousands’ of Australian fans. When Jesus arrived at Christmas, the angels sang opera but only a shire of shepherds noticed.

Oprah’s visit is expected to be great for Australian tourism although we expect Austria may also get an unexpected boost. Meanwhile Jesus’ visit has sent people travelling all over the planet for 2000 years starting with Persian magi and including many who died for their efforts in pursuing His purpose.

Oprah no doubt will have her detractors but ‘all publicity is good publicity’ in the wild world of television. Jesus had a few detractors too and we know how that turned out.

I do love Oprah’s generosity in springing this great gift on her audience, self-serving as it may be, to a greater or lesser extent.

I do love God’s generosity in giving Jesus, the one purely altruistic act of history, which can be received freely, no strings attached. And the good news is that it is good news forever, not just for this season’s rating period…  

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Balancing freedoms as Bibles and bodies are burned

Peter Hallett1 Comment

The threatened burning of the Qur’an by a Florida pastor created international headlines and now a Brisbane atheist has used pages of the Bible and the Qur’an to roll fake joints and smoke them. 

And while journalists waste time over these peculiarly western debates, we hear nothing about the very real plight of millions of Christians, many in Muslim countries, where such freedoms are not enjoyed. 

For example a young Laotian woman had her Bible burned (pictured) by villagers who believed it was causing her mother’s illness. 

‘My villagers still hate me and mock me, like they mocked Jesus on the cross. It is the world’s right to hate us or to love us. But for me, I will follow Jesus.’ 

 Many people like this young woman are assisted by Voice of the Martyrs. You might wonder why we need such an organisation in the 21st century but there are more Christian martyrs today than ever before. 

VOM says, ‘In restricted nations around the world, Bibles are burned, shredded or confiscated every day. Those opposed to the gospel can destroy Bibles, but they cannot destroy the faith of those like ****’. 

To read many other heart wrenching stories of the persecution of Christians – the burning of their Bibles, churches and bodies – visit Voice of the Martyrs. 

We do enjoy remarkable freedoms in the west, rarely known on our planet or throughout history, very much brought about by a Christian world view that says every life is sacred and deserves dignity, freedom, opportunity and life. 

This should be extended to people of all faiths and Koran burning or Bible ‘smoking’ are ridiculous parades of ego. 

But there is something that would help balance the debate. Whenever we stand and affirm that Muslims, for example, should receive the same freedoms in Australia or America as anyone else, it would be inspiring to hear those voices, especially Muslims, speak up and say they would like to see the same freedoms for those persecuted for their faith in Muslim or other restricted countries.

Somewhere to stand

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After two days of rain – warm and still relaxing – the sunshine invited us out for an early morning walk, along the breakwall and down to Port Macquarie’s Town Beach. And a reminder of where we stand…

Kill the church but go easy on the gurus…

Peter Hallett1 Comment

As a wobbly sounding plane flies over head through the cloud and light rain of an early Leichhardt morning, I consider another staple of inner west life, the Inner West Courier.

It has thrown up a spiritual conundrum, a coded message of religious reality in our time. Actually, it’s just demonstrating the bleeding obvious…

On page 12 of the August 31 edition, a story celebrates the awarding of the Australian Writers Guild Kit Denton Fellowship Award to Petersham resident George Casti for his script I Want to be Slim.

Great, I think. Good to see some local talent being rewarded and $30,000 can make all the difference as a writer seeks to stave off poverty and establish their craft.

I read on to see what his script is about: ‘…award judged on courage and excellence… Catsi’s “anti-Hillsong” script won… religion is a very polarised area… satirical script is about the Rev Slim Limits and his performance in getting the masses to follow his evangelical ways.’

Mmm, so George gets $30,000 to perfect his script, poking fun, in a courageous and excellent way, at a section of society that, obviously, it is perfectly appropriate to ridicule. The Courier report is matter-of-fact, as if we shouldn’t be surprised that a local church is award-winning, satire material.Read More »

Swans win emphatic, election less so

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While the nation pondered its electoral fate last night, 40,000 Sydneysiders were in no doubt who won the Swans verses Bulldogs clash at the SCG.

When the ABC’s Adam Spencer gave a half time election update it was like instant polling as the crowd cheered and booed various results.

And for the record, that’s not me singing in the audio post…

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How to cast the perfect vote… and not cast the first stone

Peter Hallett2 Comments
Australian and I Vote
Hands up who votes for Australia?! Image by Stephen Mitchell via Flickr

Many Australian voters will be hoping to cast the perfect vote on Saturday – one that represents the best policies, the best candidates and the best future for themselves and the nation.

Christians, and many other thoughtful people, are trained to be intentional and purposeful in all that they do, conscious of rights and wrongs and doing what is best in the eyes of God or their own conscience. This brings a kind of moral pressure to bear as we sift through the competing arguments from candidates and commentators alike.

Sometimes casting a vote almost becomes a battle to see who will cast the first stone – is there any among us worthy to pass judgement on the poor, political sinners scrambling exposed in the dust?

The hard, but relieving, truth is that the perfect vote does not exist, and never has because none of the parties or candidates are perfect. So if perfection is your goal, your are looking in the wrong place. I can think of Someone perfect, but He doesn’t need your vote. He would appreciate a chat though…

So take the pressure off, sit back and read my summary of the various options based on years of journalism and a relentless reviewing of parties, policies and posting more than 110 articles on the election in the past two months. 

 Oh, and one thing I won’t be doing is telling you how to vote… That’s your decision.

Visit Australian Christian Voter to read the full article.

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Huge Chinese mattress hides $US1.4 trillion…

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There is no political, social, educational or philosophical quick-fix for human nature. Figures showing the growing gap between the rich and poor in so-called communist China highlight this once again.

Despite decades of communist indoctrination and more recently, greater freedoms and openness to world markets, the Chinese people still like to keep money under their mattress so they can spend it on ‘things’.

And like anything in China, or India for that matter, that’s one big mattress.

A study conducted for Credit Suisse Group shows that China’s households hide as much as 9.3 trillion yuan ($US1.4 trillion) of income not reported in official figures – 80 per cent of it by the nation’s wealthiest.

One reason economists believe this figure is because the strongest area of economic demand in China right now is the domestic purchase of consumer items from designer handbags to flat screen televisions.

Taking the mattress cash figure into account, it turns out the average urban disposable household income is 32,154 yuan, or 90 per cent more than official figures. The bad news is that this means China’s rich-poor gap is most likely much bigger than realised.

The Gini coefficient is a single statistic used by economists to summarise the distribution of income across the population.Read More »

Chattering and tractoring classes worlds apart on election day

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In the inner Sydney seat of Grandyler where I live we have as a choice of candidates, starting on the left:  two varieties of socialists, the Greens, a rare Democrat sighting, the sitting Labor member and a Liberal candidate who is so young that the picture of youths being sent off to war as canon-fodder comes to mind.

Compare this to, say, the rural NSW seat of Riverina and you have, starting at the right: One Nation,  Independent, Christian Democratic Party, Family First, Liberal Democrat, Nationals, Liberals, Labor and Greens although there may be some discussion as to the relative ‘rightness’ of some of these candidates.

In other words, we have remarkably different worlds just a few hundred kilometres apart. It’s a common divide between the city and the bush and grows wider with relative distance from major city CBDs.

While there are overlaps and exceptions, we would do well to understand and respect the differences in priority and perspective between the inner city ‘chattering classes’ and the rural ‘tractoring classes’. 

One lesson is that the Greens have taken a step up from being a minor party that falls into an organisational hole when elections drawn near. They are mobilised even in electorates where they have more chance of being mistaken for a vegetable than winning.

If parties such as the CDP or Family First aspire to real political influence they must find their support base, represent it powerfully and broadly and do the hard yards of political foot soldiering.

As for making sense of it all, an election article of mine has been published in Sight Magazine or visit my Australian Christian Voter blog to find a link and vote in an election day survey – what’s your tip for election day?

Some Friday fun at my expense: City2Surf photos

Peter Hallett1 Comment

Ok, so it’s the end of the week, we are four weeks into an election campaign and two and a half months through a cold winter. On that basis you could probably use a laugh, so I’ll go out on a limb and share my City to Surf photos.

Firstly there are the photos taken by the official photographers, Marathon Photos, who through the wonders of modern technology, allow runners to view a range of photos taken during the race. Keep in mind that nearly 70,000 people finished the City to Surf so to do this is no mean feat.

When a certain member of my family first saw these, they were in such agony of hilarity that they rang me 50 times to tell me to look. Very funny. All I can I say is that they reveal the agony my legs were truly experiencing by this stage. To view the video of me finishing and a small collection of photos, click here. You’ll see some small thumbnails which you can click on for a larger view, if your game.

Secondly, I took a range of photos on my phone before and during the event and, once again, there are some mildly amusing results. I admit, I’m not good at the whole self-portrait thing… Enjoy, and go for a walk or a jog this weekend!

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Will we remember the world’s poor this election?

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Everything from ear lobes to budgie smugglers to Mark Latham’s handshake has received media attention during the election campaign but quite a few serious issues have gone missing in action.

One life and death question for millions is this: Will Australia as a nation, and in particular, it’s would-be leaders, remember its responsibility towards the world’s poor?

When walking towards the start line of the City to Surf on Sunday I noticed one of the many homeless people who sleep rough in the city and was glad of two things – firstly that I noticed him and secondly that I can be grateful for what I have while sharing it to the best of my ability.

I’m sure many of my readers are the same, so let’s make sure our nation is committed to that path.

Check out Australian Christian Voter about how we call all put the poverty question to our politicians this Wednesday.

City to Surf audio posts here tomorrow

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After walking and jogging a couple of hundred kilometres in the past few months, Jeremy and I are ready for the City to Surf tomorrow.

We’ll hop on the 440 bus just before 8am in time to join our exclusive back of the pack starting group in the city. Due to the large crowds expected to watch our special orange group, we won’t get away from the start line until about 9am.

But our times will be carefully synchronised thanks to the start of the art shoe lace chips we’ll be wearing so our spectacular times will not be interfered with.

For you, the listening public, we will phone in breaking news blog audio posts direct from the race. So watch this space tomorrow morning (not during church though…) for a starting summary, a mid-race review, and a eulogy at the end. Did I say eulogy? I meant wrap-up.

If you are watching on television (and checking out this blog at the same time of course) you will probably spot us, notable for our orange bibs, my Jesus Saves goalkeeping t-shirt (thanks Bek) and Jeremy’s huge stature. If you see an ambulance, that also may have something to do with us…

I know various other people completing the event and have decided to let them all beat me in the spirit of self-sacrifice. On the day, the City to Surf will be the winner…

My secret preparation tip was a carbohydrate-laden Pad See Ew, purchased on the way home from the Swans v  Hawks game, from official City to Surf Thai restaurant, Thai La Long. (I just made up the official bit.)

My other secret weapon was to work night shift last night and have just three hours sleep this morning as I plan to sleep through the last half of the race tomorrow so as not to notice the pain in my curly toe.

I know you don’t believe me about the curly toe but it’s the stuff of legend in my family and I have learned from my mother that she gets it too and so did my grandmother. We come from a line of curly toed people…

I have just realised my sleep deprivation may be becoming obvious in this posting so will say farewell and go upstairs to see if I can make out what Jo is singing in the shower. PH

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Christians get moving on election action

Peter Hallett2 Comments

We’ve passed the half-way mark of the election campaign and the temperature could be rising just a little.

Waking a bit groggily this morning, the result of working split night shifts so that my already insomniac tendencies are exacerbated, I heard a promo for ABC Radio’s AM in which a determined-sounding woman was telling the reporter she wouldn’t be voting for Julia Gillard because she’s an atheist and she knew ‘hundreds of people’ who had the same view.

You can check out this story at Australian Christian Voter.

As if to keep the ball rolling, the Australian Christian Lobby launched its Australia Votes website today and once again you can get a good rundown  at ACV.

Finally, candidate electorate forums are up and running, check out a list of the ACL ones organised so far.

Or perhaps you would prefer the Make Poverty History/Micah Challenge variety. Learn about them here.

Possum’s magical parade across Parramatta Rd

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While driving to work at about 11.45pm yesterday, the normally frantic Parramatta Rd heading into the city was refreshingly quiet.
Which was just as well with a dignified, if slightly wobbly, possum deciding to cross the road in Camperdown.
Setting off from near Bridge St School, the possum crossed the first three lanes with one or two hesitant moments before hopping on to the median strip like some street-savvy Sydney-sider. Having slowed down to watch this part of the journey, I stopped completely as the possum continued a metre or two in front of my car.
Having seen the creature safely across I moved on, wishing I’d got my phone out to video the unusual city sight.
My last glimpse of the possum was of it sitting patiently in front of the glass sliding doors of AGL. Maybe it had a gas bill to pay…

Social engagement not just for the few

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Scott Stephens is probably a good bloke doing a hard job, as editor of ABC Online’s Religion and Ethics portal.

But his July 19 blog post pretty much wrote off any Christian that engaged in politics (except maybe those he agrees with) and was full of stereotyping, arrogance and perhaps a slight trace of envy.

We are all good at that, if we are honest, aren’t we? So lets pray for him as on balance it is a positive thing that such a forum exists and a Christian is the editor.

His post attacking the Australian Christian Lobby, and among other things, Hillsong, gave the impression that unless you are a trendy, left-wing intellectual who reads Eureka St you shouldn’t climb the ivory tower of social engagement for fear of embarrassment.

That’s a pity because what we really want to do is educate Christians about social engagement, for the sake of the gospel, and the best way to do that is for us all to have a go, get kicked in the head a few times, learn some lessons, grow in humility and wisdom, and keep going…

Check out my response to his post.

Are we missing the very frontline of faith?

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The Australian community is engaged in an extremely active and vigorous debate about the reality of God and I’m not sure the church at large is even aware it is going on.

While we faithful pray in our services and gatherings that God would move in our land, we may be missing the very answer to those prayers. (Try and stay with me my atheist readers, I know your blood pressure just rose at the mention of answered prayer.)

One of the first signs of spiritual revival might well be that people are even thinking about first order issues such as the origins and nature of life, is there supernatural or spiritual reality or only a material universe, and if religious claims are true how do we deal with many apparent contradictions and problems.

These kinds of questions are often and vigorously debated mainly in online forums and often in response to an increasing number of articles in the media addressing these questions from one perspective or another.

I can assure you this was not the case 10 or 20 years ago when most Australians didn’t want to discuss faith at all and where apathy and materialism (in this sense of material gain) seemed far more important.Read More »

Politicians fail to deliver on asylum seeker policy

Peter Hallett1 Comment

Check out some comment on the asylum seeker issue I’ve made on my other blog, Australian Christian Voter.

Christians, along with just about every other section of the community, are divided about how best to respond to the arrival of refugees by boat.

The politicians have no hope of coming up with cohesive policy because they are playing to political audiences. But Christians are often not much better, sniping at each other from behind entrenched views.

If a forum of Christians across a variety of perspectives could provide a united voice, we might actually lead the nation in a prophetic way. We need national Christian leadership to do this – it’s there I’m sure but where do we find it? PH

Bear Grylls soon to appear on Aussie buses

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Bear Grylls has been in a lot of tough places but the side of a Sydney bus might just be the toughest of all… But that’s exactly where he’ll be shortly, featured in an advertising campaign encouraging fans to discover life’s ultimate adventure, The Alpha Course. Apart from Sydney, the campaign will also run in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to coincide with the visit of Alpha’s international Chairman Ken Costa.

Bear Grylls is the star of Man vs Wild, the Discovery Channel’s most popular program and also screening Monday nights on SBS.

Recently Utterance reported that Bear is a Christian and a big fan of the Alpha Course – check out his promo for it below. As well, Alpha Australia are recommending that now is a good time to encourage friends to do the Alpha Course, especially if they are fans of Bear Grylls. Check out the Alpha Australia website for details.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz9oTbBUtR8

Gretel, Gillard and ‘god’ in an age of convenient Christianity

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Gretel Killeen is now a columnist for The Sun-Herald and, I believe, we did the same communications degree too long ago to remember. Known to most as the host of Big Brother for many years, she is actually an acclaimed author in various genres and did time as a stand up comic.

She counts her most important achievement as being a single mother to her two children and apparently believes in a small ‘g’ god, whatever that means.

Gretel made a fairly intelligent contribution in Sunday’s column to the commentary on Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s declaration of non-faith:

‘And despite the fact I do believe in a god, I’d like to give praise… to Prime Minister Julia Gillard for declaring her atheism last week. In a hypocritical world, it’s not uncommon for allegedly God-fearing politicians to treat the Ten Commandments as though they were a smorgasbord rather than a set meal, choosing their own custom-made combinations to both impress others and serve themselves. It’s therefore thrilling in this age of convenient Christianity to hear someone tell the truth on an issue that could actually lose them votes.’

If she was seen wearing sackcloth and ash and saying some of those things, especially ‘Ten Commandments as… smorgasbord’ and ‘impress others and serve themselves’ we might easily mistake her for Joan the Baptist.

It is possible (and not mutually exclusive) to respect the honesty of a Prime Minister and the measure of faith of a newspaper columnist while still earnestly praying that they would both encounter the living Jesus. PH

Gillard: trust, consensus and sleeves rolled up

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In announcing today a breakthrough agreement over the controversial mining tax, Prime Minister Julia Gillard emphasised consensus over confrontation and ideals such as trust and hard work. She also made a point of sharing the glory with her colleagues Wayne Swan and Martin Ferguson.

While she may have moved away from an early faith in God, it would seem she has gained some positive values from her Welsh Baptist upbringing. It remains to be seen how some other influences on her life will come to the fore.

For details of the mining tax outcome and to hear Julia Gillard answer the question, ‘Do you believe in God?’ check out my other blog  Australian Christian Voter.