Category: Culture

Most democratic book in the world turns 400

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“The King James Version is a Magna Carta for the poor and oppressed: the most democratic book in the world”, said Theodore Roosevelt on the KJV’s 300th anniversary in 1911.

Claimed by some to be the only version which should be read (sorry all you non-English speakers); by others to be outdated and outmoded (too many maidservants and thous); and yet enjoyed by many for its beautiful glimpse into Shakespearean English – the King James Bible is this year turning 400 years old.

This landmark is being celebrated in Australia by a Bible Society exhibition, The Book that Changed the World, that is touring the south east of Australia. It is in Canberra now but very soon will be around the corner in Annandale.

Read the full report at Australian Christian News.

What is your favourite King James Bible quote?

Islamic billboard benefits from Australia’s freedoms

Peter Hallett6 Comments

Imagine a large billboard in Saudi Arabia or Pakistan saying, ‘Jesus Christ, greater than Mohammad’. Not going to happen.

Happily, Australia is a land of freedom of speech and religion which is why the Islamic group, MyPeace, is able to display a billboard on one of Sydney’s busiest roads, declaring, ‘Jesus A prophet of Islam’.

My Peace also plans other advertisements to join the first on Victoria Road, with slogans such as ‘Holy Quran – the final testament’ and ‘Muhummad: mercy to mankind’

The Sydney Morning Herald reports the organiser of MyPeace, Diaa Mohamed, as saying the campaign was intended to educate non-Muslims about Islam. He said Jesus was a prophet of Islam, who was to come before Muhammad. ”The only difference is we say he was a prophet of God, and they say he is God,” Mr Mohamed said. ”Is it thought-provoking? Yes, it is. We want to raise awareness that Islam believes in Jesus Christ,” he said.

Interestingly, many Christians use the same tactic (referring to Jesus as part of Islamic tradition) in communicating with people of Islamic faith, but with the reverse conclusion. The pivotal issue being not if you believe in Jesus, but who you believe him to be.

Bishop of South Sydney Rob Forsyth, also quoted by the SMH, rightly points out that the Islamic group is free to express their views and if he could afford it, he would put up billboards countering those of MyPeace and suggested atheists put some up as well, in the spirit of engendering discussion. At some point, we all need to make a decision as to whether Jesus is God or just another man.

Another important discussion would be the relative freedoms of people of different faiths in Islamic countries…

Read the full SMH report
Leave a comment describing your view of the billboard.

Sex, drugs and terribly dull…

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‘Yes, even with a pretty, naked girl, full-frontal male nudity, prostitution, drugs and casual sex, Sleeping Beauty turns out to be very slow and a little dull.’

Sounds like a commentary of popular western culture really… but in fact is a review of Australian feature Sleeping Beauty which premiered at the opening night of Cannes Film festival this week.

The film, starring Emily Browning, is the work of Australian first-time director and novelist Julia Leigh and may well prove, yet again, that simply being willing to push the boundaries of what will be shown on-screen is not the same as making a good movie.

Or maybe it is a deliberately boring movie to show that the debauched lives it portrays are empty of anything vital and lively.

For more on Cannes, read the SMH report.

Anzac more prevalent but Easter infiltrates

Peter Hallett1 Comment

There has been some comment that Anzac Day on April 25 trumped Easter Sunday on April 24 with the SMH reporting that, ‘Media Monitors says there were 1878 mentions of the word Anzac in broadcast media over the long weekend, compared to only 44 resurrections.’

The unusual conjunction in the Australian calendar of the two ‘key foundation stories’ meant that the devout may have found themselves at a dawn service two days in a row!

No doubt coverage of Anzac Day did outstrip Easter commemorations, one reason being that most Anzac Day events took place out in the community with a degree of effort taken to ensure everyone was made welcome to attend. In many case Easter services took place behind church walls with the uninitiated left to work out for themselves how to attend.

For example, holidaying a long way from home, we received invitations both verbal and written, to the Anzac Dawn Service in the small town in which we stayed but were left to search Google to see if there was a church within walking distance. There wasn’t.

It may be that in some cases, the church has given up trying to make the amazing message of Easter accessible to all while momentum for Anzac Day continues to grow. I would say – more power to Anzac Day, but those of us who know the power of Easter truth should not be afraid of taking our joy outside in genuine, unself-conscious and welcoming ways.

The Divine may yet have the last headline in any case. Media commentators may not be aware, but in many Anzac Day commemorations, large and small, around the nation, Christian ministers are invited to give the address and invariably draw comparisons between the self-sacrifice, giving of life and courage embedded in Anzac Day and likewise in the Christ of Easter.

There is nothing closer to a national Christian service than Anzac Day, even though it is a secular event. The sentiments expressed are often as close to the Christian message as they two days were on the calendar this year.

Popular TV shows discuss faith and church

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Two prime time television shows and classic re-run featured characters discussing the merits of church attendance and Christian faith in the past week.

Channel 7’s Packed to the Rafters this week had character Nick ‘Carbo’ Karandonis telling his girlfriend Loretta ‘Retta’ Schembri that she would have to convert to the Greek Orthodox faith for them to be married. She replied she would not convert as she didn’t believe and it would be hypocritical. She also questioned the sincerity of Carbo’s faith, given that he claimed to be Greek Orthodox and never attended. So they attend church together and afterwards Retta says she felt the spirituality of the service and wants to attend every Sunday. Carbo is horrified that she might take faith seriously and the theme is set to continue in the show – next season.

Channel 10’s The Good Wife saw Grace Florrick challenging her mother Alicia about belief in Jesus. Mrs Florrick, the good wife, replies she believes Jesus was a person who lived 2000 years ago and she couldn’t see what impact he had on her life. grace replies that you either ‘love Jesus or hate him’, there’s no middle ground. She further argues that she is an intelligent person who believes in Jesus, and that the two things aren’t mutually exclusive. The episode finished with Mrs Florrick agreeing to take her daughter to church.

And a classic episode of Everyone Loves Raymond screened on one of the digital channels. Titled The Prodigal Son, it features Raymond arguing with his parents about going to church. Also, his wife and children go to church every week but Raymond refuses to go. After some hilarious interactions, the episode concludes with a serious discussion of church going and faith between Raymond and wife ?

‘Why don’t you go to church Raymond?’ she asks. And after complaining that all the kneeling is hard on his knees, the focus moves to ideas such as parents wanting to pass on their values, feelings of guilt and the need to believe in and be part of something bigger than ourselves.

When Raymond turns the questioning back on his wife, ‘Why do you go to church?’ she replies, ‘To say thanks for you and the children… and to pray for strength to get through another week with you and the children…’

Hopefully Australian households are discussing faith in a similarly open and revealing way and perhaps these episodes are a case of art imitating reality.

While the conclusions drawn, arguments used and theology displayed are not always satisfying, it is encouraging that writers and producers are willing to include spiritual, faith and religious issues (very occasionally) as themes for their shows.

Check out a small part of the final ‘church’ conversation in Everybody Loves Raymond…

http://www.tbs.com/video/index.jsp?oid=84388&eref=sharethisUrl

Bear grilled (lightly) on Aussie TV, Hillsong

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Bear Grylls featured on Channel 7’s Sunday Night  program tonight where besides  eating spiders and leaping out of helicopters, he was also shown visiting Hillsong last weekend.

Admitting that speaking to an auditorium full of people is scarier than most of his Man vs Wild adventures, he also revealed how he got his nick-name, Bear.

Rather than arising from ‘wrestling a bear when I was 3’, Grylls explained that his real name is Edward, which was shortened to Ted, and then Teddy, on to Teddy Bear and finally just Bear.

So one of the world’s toughest men is named after a soft toy…

Described on the show as a ‘man of God’, Grylls once again acknowledged the importance of Christian faith in his life and the importance of prayer.

For more on Bear Grylls and his views on God, visit my previous Bear post. He also has his own blog where he describes making a show in an Australian swamp as one of his hardest yet. You might also like to visit the charity page on the blog, and see how he uses his fame and fortune.

Speaking of which, he said fame and fortune were two things that caused him the most trouble which may be why he supports so many charities.

Oh, and the worst thing he’s eaten was a toss-up between raw goat testicles and bear poo…

Justin finds his voice for justice

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We’ve all had a chuckle or two at the Justin Bieber phenomenon and wondered how long it would last. I even thought of buying my son a Justin Bieber t-shirt as a tongue in cheek  joke.

But listening to the radio today I noticed someone crooning about closing their eyes to pray for a better day on behalf of those doing it tough. When the song credit was for Justin Bieber, I decided to have a closer look:

I just can’t sleep tonight,
Knowing that things ain’t right.
It’s in the papers, it’s on the TV,
It’s everywhere that I go.
Children are crying, soldiers are dying,
Some people don’t have a home.

Pre Chorus:
But I know there’s sunshine behind that rain,
I know there’s good times behind that pain (hey)
Can you tell me how I can make a change?

Chorus:
I close my eyes, and I can see a better day,
I close my eyes and pray.
I close my eyes and I can see a better day,
I close my eyes and pray.

When someone uses their fame to ask people to consider the needs of others, questions their own role in making a difference and encourages us to take time to pray, it deserves acknowledgement.

And to highlight the benefit that flows when popular culture turns its attention to serious issues, consider these comments on the Close My Eyes and Pray page on a popular lyric website:

‘every time i hear this song i cry and it is sooo sad and true im trying to change things too…‘ and
‘i think this song is very helpful to ppl out there because the first time i heard this song i cried…there’s so many ppl out there that don’t even care about the poor.so thank you justin for making this song.WE LOVE U!!!:)’
 
If you still aren’t sure, check out the YouTube clip and you may become a believer. Anyway, for what’s a worth, I’m a (kind of old) fan Biebs. I’ll be praying you don’t lose your way…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9tJW9MDs2M

For the complete lyrics, keep reading. Oh, and, find a moment to close your eyes and pray…

Flurry of faith covers chaplains, cricket and caravan parks

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The Sydney Morning Herald has started the year with a flurry of faith-related articles.

The church cricket competition, in which your’s truly plays (off to training this afternoon…), gets a mention in Cricket’s culture club hardest one to join.

That famous Australian Christian institution, beach mission, is covered favourably in Sun and salvation make a divine holiday for fun-seeking souls. And while this generous portrayal may be a pleasant surprise, it is unsurprising that David Marr has dug up some criticism of the highly acclaimed school chaplaincy program. Read his article (and what about sending in a letter to the editor in response?), Chaplains in schools are ‘inadequately supervised’.

It may be a new year, but the struggle in which all the world is involved, of ideas, reality, relationships and the true nature of personhood and love, continues unabated.

God apparently appreciates Gran Turismo

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God-Spotting:

A radio advertisement in Australia for the new Gran Turismo 5 PlayStation 3 computer game, has the following dialogue (paraphrased):

‘Hello, I’m God, and I made the world in seven days – look how awesome it is! Gran Turismo 5 took five years to make, think how awesome it must be!’

Two positives:

#1 God is acknowledged as Creator.
#2 You don’t have to shoot, maim or kill anyone in Gran Turismo – just drive the car of your dreams. Most be a lot of car lovers out there as the game sold more than 2.5 million units in its first week.

Don’t hide the Spirit behind sentiment at Christmas

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A mother plays the guitar while her two daught...
Image via Wikipedia

Hundreds of thousands of Australians will sing Christmas carols this month at services and events organised by Christian churches.

It is a great point of connection for churches and the community and many of the carols are deeply spiritual songs that proclaim core Christian truths such as the deity of Jesus.

And while for many Australians it will be the only time in the year that they actually give voice to the faith they hide in their hearts, there is a discussion among church leaders as to what carols are actually appropriate.

The decision not to sing Jingle Bells at a Christmas service may seem fairly obvious; whether to sing  Away in a Manger may not be as clear.

Christianity Today has a discussion going on the use of Christmas carols and some issues have been raised which, frankly, never crossed my mind, and I’ve sung a few carols in my time.Read More »

Cycling to revolutionise cinema

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A friend from UTS, Greer Allen, is helping to put together the first Cycle in Cinema in Australia where you can not only ride your bike to see the film, you can ride it to run the equipment!

Magnificent Revolution (UK) has built quite a few bicycle powered cinemas over the years, from a single bike generator Mini Cycle Screen to a Magnificent Cycle Cinema system which uses up to eight bicycles (16 legs!)  to power 600 watts of audio-visual equipment for public film screenings or projections.

A group of motivated Australians have approached Magnificent Revolution in the UK to get cycle cinema happening here in Australia.

Magnificent Revolution Australia (MRA) will be able to set up in parks, on the beach, in your backyard – anywhere. Imagine an outdoor cinema without any cars, where audience members can ride their bike to the event and use them to power the system, completely off the grid.  

MRA will be a not-for-profit social enterprise with a mission to inspire and empower a wider understanding and uptake of renewable energy technologies and create a movement towards Australians reducing their energy consumptive habits.

The Cycle In Cinema is one part of the MRA project, which aims to launch pedal power sounds systems for event hire and pedal power workshops in Australia early next year.

Check out how you can support Cycle-in Cinema in Australia.

Worshipping at the altar of popular culture: Hollywood Jesus

Peter Hallett4 Comments

Hollywood Jesus no doubt started out as a genuine attempt to engage with popular culture but is now dangerously close to blasphemy, certainly in regard to its Santa Paws at Your Church “sweepstake”.

A promotional email sent out by Hollywood Jesus, a US Christian movie website, invites readers to enter a ‘Santa’s BFF (best friends forever?) contest in which first prize is a visit by Santa Paws, a free screening of the movie and DVD give-aways. Check it out:

The church does need to engage with culture and to communicate in a language that touches the heart and souls of real people.

But there is a place for purposeful discernment – what are we trying to achieve and what do we risk losing by gaining some temporary popularity? And probably we should ask, who is making money out of it?

When I first saw this email I felt sure it was a hoax, with a virus hiding behind every link. Or perhaps the Chaser boys had sent it out to see how many tacky Christians they could snare.

But it’s real and sincere and obviously no one involved saw a problem with it. And unless you pull back and ask, who is meant to be influencing who at Christmas time, or anytime, it might just slip by as another great way to get lots of unchurched families dropping into the church building to have a great old time.

Except what kind of Jesus could really be communicated in the sickly-sweet company of Santa Claus (or Paws), Walt Disney, Hollywood and good old American (and Australian) consumerist tripe!Read More »

How to handle Halloween and engage with our culture

Peter Hallett1 Comment

Just as Christmas is one of the rare occasions (other than the deliverance of Chilean miners) when there is public reference to Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit and angels, so too Halloween is increasingly a time for the mention of demons, spirits and the devil.

Whether it is small boys wandering supermarkets with the devil’s pitchfork, as I ponderously witnessed last week, or  a television weather presenter claiming to be surrounded with demons and spirits, Halloween is to the Christian an unnerving public foray into the dark side of the supernatural.

Most know little of Halloween’s history – how the church long ago sought to supplant a Celtic pagan festival that honoured the dead with a festival to remember the saints – All Hallow’s Day (preceded by All Hallow’s Eve – Hallowe’en). The battle for the spiritual heart of the occasion is still up for grabs.Read More »

Farewell institutional power, hello grassroots influence

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Sermon on the Mount by Bloch. Image: Wikipedia

Churches have probably lost the fight against the NSW Government’s plan to introduce ethic classes in public schools at the same time as optional special religious education.

Education Minister Verity Firth is glowingly positive about the review of the classes and while there are no plans to remove SRE, the once ‘sacred’ right to offer Scripture without competition in NSW public schools will soon be a thing of the past.

Of course this is a manifestation of a wider truth that the church has lost much of its institutional power and perhaps in the future will lose even more.

There are positives though and the main one is that if churches and Christians learn they can’t rely on a privileged institutional role in society, they may finally revert to the ancient source of Christian vitality –  personal and community transformation through offering real life encounters with a living God.

This of course can’t be done any other way than through authentic relationship and engagement with people of all kinds.

Grassroots influence verses institutional authority – which one sounds more like Jesus?Read More »

Here on earth: an argument for God

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Tower of Babel by Lucas van Valckenborch in 1594
Tower of Babel by Lucas van Valckenborch in 1594

When Jesus told his small band of  followers that they would make him known to the ends of the earth, he unleashed a socio-spiritual revolution that continues to change our world today.

And the message they would carry was that as we learn to love God, love our neighbour and love ourselves – in that order – a new community of grace and truth is possible.

These largely uneducated and insignificant disciples never conceived of this mission and the community it would produce as being possible apart from a living encounter with the words and very reality of Christ himself.

On Monday, Tim Flannery released his new book Here on Earth: An Argument for Hope and some of what he proclaims sounds eerily similar to the mission proclaimed by Jesus, but with a new god at its core.

An extract from the book appeared in Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald under the heading, ‘To the ends of the earth we must go’ – either an accidental or deliberate recalling of Christ’s words.

And while the focus of the extract is human responsibility for causing – but also potentially repairing – environmental degradation, there is a deeply spiritual tone to the article.Read More »

Greens love cafes, asphalt and euthanasia

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‘If you travelled on a Sunday you would notice, as you moved out from the inner city to the outer suburbs, that the church services attract bigger crowds. Conventional religious belief is stronger. This explains why these electorates do not warm to the Green agenda of euthanasia, abortion, gay marriage and adoption. The fascinating thing about Green supporters is that their natural habitat is not the open spaces or the pristine forests but the crowded cafes and asphalt alleys of high-density, inner-city living.’ Peter Costello writing in the Fairfax press today.

It’s not the first time this inner city Green phenomenon has been pointed out but the first time since the Greens held the balance of power in the Senate, and to some degree, in the House of Representatives.

A few suggestions – more churches in the inner city; a viable alternate political party with strong environmental and social justice policy that more closely reflects Christian views in other areas; think, engage, critique and comprehend the culture in which you live.

Even atheists are sick of new atheism…

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I’ve had my share of run-ins with online atheists, ready to drive me into the ground for being a person of faith, and that’s fair enough, after-all I am sticking my neck out here, on purpose.

But it’s interesting to see that even atheists are getting sick of the new breed of aggressive atheism which spreads the message that anyone who believes in God is a moron.

Check out ‘Please God spare us the born-again atheists’  from The Punch .

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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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 »

Fake men, lots of kids and not enough housework…

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Sydney Opera House with a tall ship in the for...
Image via Wikipedia

The Opera House was a dangerous idea in its time and so it is fitting hat it hosts the Festival Ideas of Dangerous Idea in early October.

Having argued that there is no more Dangerous Idea than Jesus, let’s check out a few of the less dangerous ideas under consideration at the festival: Are all men fakes?; Why the religious will inherit the earth; and Australian husbands are the worst in the world and why it’s women’s fault.

Oh, and at the end of the story, check out my ‘Biblical perspective’ on the ‘dangerous ideas’ covered…Read More »