Category: News

Philanthropy as a catalyst for meaningful change: Royal couple

Peter HallettLeave a comment

If actions display priorities, then the choice of the first official event attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge says a lot.

William and Kate attended a star-studded charity dinner for Ark – Absolute Return for Kids as their first official engagement since their wedding.

While what the duchess wore captured the usual attention (“a shimmering nude gown by Jenny Packham”) it was the sentiment that took them to the Ark Gala that captured mine.

The duke announced a joint venture between Ark and the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry.

Prince William said he, his wife and brother wanted to use philanthropy as a “catalyst for meaningful change”.

Ark sponsors academy schools in the UK and programmes for disadvantaged children around the world.

Acknowledging the privileged education and upbringing he enjoyed, the Duke of Cambridge said, “So many young people do not have these advantages and as a result can lack the confidence and knowledge to realise their full potential.”

This comment carries forward the theme of the sermon preached at the Royal couple’s wedding: “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”

Read More »

Forget billboards, Islamic leader calls for Bible ban

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At a time when Christians and Muslims are conducting (mainly) respectful debates about large billboards with Islamic messages in Sydney, there has been a call in Pakistan for the Bible to be banned because it is blasphemous for Muslims.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party’s leader, Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi, at a press conference on May 30 in Lahore, informally petitioned the Supreme Court, complaining that the Bible includes stories about some of the biblical prophets that include “a variety of moral crimes, which undermine the sanctity of the holy figures.”

Pakistiani Christians, estimated at 3 million, fear the call for a Bible ban is a sign of a trend of deepening persecution against them.

Now might be a good time for people of Islamic faith enjoying democratic rights and freedom of religion in Australia to raise their voices against this call.

Read the fully story in Christian Telegraph

 Related articles

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?

One stop site for Australian Christian news

Peter HallettLeave a comment

Australian Christian News is a convenient way to catch up with news from a Christian perspective.

While it includes some breaking news posts of its own, the best feature of ACN is that it contains daily news feeds from some of Australia and the world’s best Christian news sources.

In an easy to navigate display, visitors to ACN can see the top stories from sites such as Christian Today Australia, Christian Post, Christianity Today, Eternity newspaper, ABC Religion and more.

Twitter feeds from some of the world’s most incisive Christian commentators are being added and if you have a news source that you believe should be added, you can email your tip to ACN.

A quick sample of some of the stories that can be accessed on ACN right now include:

  • Fearful teen commits suicide due to end of world prediction;
  • Christian Microfinance stays on mission;
  • Justine Bieber Jesus tattoo
  • Libyan leader ready to talk to rebels
  • Rick Warren interviewed by John Piper
  • The Bible comes to Canberra
  • Anglicare warning on budget
  • Latest on Christian school issues

And from the Ship of Fools Twitter feed, some news bound to bring joy to Presbyterians everywhere, or not…

Visit Australian Christian News now and bookmark it or make it a favourite in your browser today.

If you have a news item that you would like published on ACN, please email it.

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.

Camping’s end of world prediction proves Christ’s infallibility

Peter Hallett1 Comment
Harold Camping in 2008
Harold Camping

The inevitable failure of Harold Camping’s prediction that the world would end on Saturday, May 21 once again confirms the infallibility of Jesus’ own words about his return.

Knowing that we would be inclined to want to pin down his return to a day and hour and knowing that people like Harold Camping would claim to do just that, Jesus said (2000 years ago), ‘No one knows about that day or that hour…’ (Matthew 24:36).

Knowing that earthquakes, disasters and wars would start us thinking that perhaps the end of the world was near and knowing the advent of instant worldwide communication would mean we hear about more earthquakes, disasters and wars than ever before, Jesus said, ‘You will hear of war and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is yet to come… famines and earthquakes in various places… the beginnings of birth pains.’ (Matt 24:6,8)

Knowing that people would try to cash in on the uniqueness of Christ and claim to be him, such as the recently publicised Alan Miller, and knowing that many are desperate for a tangible, physical sense of hope and will follow these false Christs, Jesus said, ‘…if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Christ!” or “There he is!” do not believe it.’ (Matt 24:23)

And knowing that many who were among the first to hear the message of the Gospel would forsake it; the Western world for example, which has grown so fat and comfortable and clever in its own eyes, Jesus said, ‘at that time many will turn away from the faith… increase of wickedness… love of most will grow cold’. (Matt 24: 10,12)

Thank you Harold Camping for confirming once again that Jesus’ insight into human character and history is impeccable, infallible, believable.

Alpha course (very) distinct from Alpha Dynamics

Peter Hallett1 Comment

An attempt was made to list on Wikipedia an article about Alan John Miller, the Australian man claiming to be Jesus who was featured on A Current Affair this week.

The article was deleted due to a lack of substantiation and references, however a discussion sprang up on a forum about the article, mainly among people concerned about relatives who have begun to follow Miller’s Divine Truth teaching.

Part of Miller’s technic is to reach searching people through a course called Alpha Dynamics, which ostensibly is about improving the use of your brain in relation to concentration, memory and better sleep. It also draws on New Age references to alpha and beta waves. The course is coordinated in Australia by Peter H. Heibloem.

As the course progresses, attendees are pushed towards the ‘real  answer’ to their worries, Divine Truth, as taught by, you guessed it, Alan Miller.

Coincidentally, or perhaps not, one of the most popular training courses being run by Christian churches recently is called Alpha and while it has nothing to do with Alpha Dynamics, there is potential for confusion.

For example, a person who contributed to the forum (mentioned above) expressed his concerns for friends entangled with Miller and refers to Alpha training.

Read More »

God helps Hawking find the media spotlight again

Peter HallettLeave a comment

God is once again assisting British scientist Stephen Hawking to receive world-wide media publicity, even though Hawking is saying nothing new.

In an ‘exclusive’ interview in Britain’s Guardian newspaper on May 16, Hawking said there was ‘no heaven or afterlife… that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.’

The author of international best-seller A Brief History of Time admitted his views were influenced in part by his long fight with motor neurone disease.

‘I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components  fail.’

Hawking’s has moved from a position where belief in God was not necessarily at odds with a scientific understanding of the universe – as expressed in A Brief History of Time – to one where God no longer has a place in theories on the creation of the universe  – expressed in his 2010 book The Grand Design.

Baroness Susan Greenfield, one of England’s most distinguished scientists, said in response to Hawking’s (and other scientists’) comments on God: ‘Yes I am [worried]. Of course they can make whatever comments they like but when they assume, rather in a Taliban-like way, that they have all the answers then I do feel uncomfortable. I think that doesn’t necessarily do science a service.’

So before you throw away your Bible and consider yourself nothing more than a computer on legs, check out these responses to Stephen Hawking.

Stephen Hawking, God and the role of science by Alister McGrath
Science meets Religion site

Alan Miller aka ‘Jesus Christ’ living in the Qld scrub?

Peter Hallett2 Comments
Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...
Image via Wikipedia

Alan John Miller, 47, met Mary Luck, 32, in the lounge room of her parent’s home. The only thing unusual is that Alan makes straight-faced claims to be Jesus Christ and says Mary Luck is really Mary Magdalene who just happened to be living nearby. The Apostle John, a first century disciple of the historical Christ, is also living in Australia, according to Alan Miller.

Miller says that there are probably a million people who say they are Jesus Christ and ‘most of them are in asylums. But one of us has to be. How do I know I am? Because I remember everything about my life.’

Interviewed tonight (May 16, 2011) on A Current Affair, Miller came across as reasonable, calm and gentle (oh, there was that small thing about meeting Elvis) and several of his followers were interviewed and clearly have a strong belief in his messianic claims.

Up to 40 people have moved to the tiny town of Wilkesdale near Bundaberg and hold meetings on a 16 ha property, where they plan to build an international visitors centre. This is despite claiming Alan does not desire a following.

Of course where there is a Jesus claim, there are also miracle claims as well. News outlets are reporting that a giant cross has been inadvertently created by land clearing near the cult’s property.

‘In a bizarre coincidence, land clearing has created a giant cross on neighbouring properties that can be seen from space using Google Maps. Local residents insisted it was not carved deliberately,’ News Ltd reports.

And while Miller says that all he wants to do is communicate Divine Truth that people can choose to accept if they want, he seems to be ignoring the truth of the first century Jesus who warned his followers about false Christs.

‘At that time if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Christ!” or, “There he is!” do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect — if that were possible. See, I have told
you ahead of time.

‘So if anyone tells you, “There he is, out in the desert,” do not go out; or, “Here he is, in the inner rooms,” do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.’ Matthew 24:23-27Read More »

Bridge protest coincides with the end of a caseworker

Peter HallettLeave a comment
Sydney Harbour Bridge at sunset

On the day a frustrated father protested on the Sydney Harbour Bridge over access to his children, I finished a nearly nine month stint as a Community Services caseworker.

Although Mick Fox’s grievance centred on custody arrangements after divorce, Community Services, forever to be known as DoCS, was also a target of his outrage.

A former girlfriend said, ‘I was with him for a lot of the time when he was trying to get in contact with DOCS [the Department of Community Services] and the police, purely because his kids were in danger every day.’

However the police and even the Minister for Family and Community Services Pru Goward denied it was a case in which Community Services were involved.
 
Without commenting on this particular case, it is sometimes one of the less attractive strategies of battling partners in divorce and custody cases to ring the child protection Helpline to accuse the other party of harming the children.
 
For a child protection system already stretched to the limit, these calls are always investigated thoroughly but soak up the precious time of caseworkers.
 
And so the day began on that dramatic note and proceeded to by a relatively typical day for my final one as a caseworker. Read More »

Mental health gets healthy $1.5 billion

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The mentally ill are the most invisible of sufferers in our society and this has often been reflected in government policy and funding.

Having worked for years at a grassroots level with the chronically mentally ill, there are few issues I feel more strongly about than increasing support for people with mental illness, their families and those who care for and treat them.

Keep reading to see what Treasurer Wayne Swan said about his mental health funding initiatives in tonight’s 2011 federal budget speech.

And check some early response to the announcement in this report from the ABC. It qualifies Mr Swan’s announcement by showing that the funding is slow to be rolled out and there will be other losses along the way.

Read More »

School chaplaincy gets promised $222 million

Peter HallettLeave a comment

The promised $222 million extension of the school chaplaincy program is part of more than $870 million invested in Australian schools in tonight’s federal budget delivered by Treasurer Wayne Swan.

Rewarding Australia’s top school teachers heads school funding initiatives with $425 million while helping disabled school students attracted $200 million.

Read the Sky News report on education funding in the 2011 federal budget.

Tonight’s federal announcement follows the Victorian Government’s announcement on Friday of an additional $200,000 to train chaplains for Victorian schools.

Read the Australian Christian Lobby’s response to the Victorian announcement.

Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good conspiracy theory…

Peter HallettLeave a comment
The Sydney Morning Herald has taken a cheap shot at Hillsong and the Seventh Day Adventist church by linking them to federal budget legislation that ‘will put a lid on the practice of so-called charities using their tax-free status to  generate business income for no charitable purpose whatsoever.’ (SMH, May 11, pg 4)
The story reports on changes to legislation expected in Tuesday’s budget which will require not-for profit organisations to pay tax on profits kept for commercial purposes.
The article then lumped Hillsong and the Seventh Day Adventist Church into that category: ‘The Hillsong church has links with the Gloria Jean’s coffee shop franchise,  while the cereal company Sanitarium is owned by the Seventh Day Adventist  Church.’
The SMH has been like a rabid conspiracy theorist in relation to Gloria Jeans and Hillsong for some time and failed again to acknowledge or understand that the fact that the owner of Gloria Jeans attends Hillsong does not equate to the church owning the business. Hence the nebulous ‘has links’ in the article. If every charity or church is to have its tax status changed because it has ‘links’ with a business, then most would be impacted.Read More »

Politics aside, it was two blokes surfing

Peter HallettLeave a comment

The coverage of Opposition leader Tony Abbott’s surfing lesson with former refugee Riz Wakil focuses heavily on the ‘political dialogue’, with most media outlets using exactly that term courtesy of AAP’s report.

And while there was indeed a sharp political edge to the event, due to the Federal Government’s current bungling efforts to come up with their own ‘non-Pacific-solution-Pacific-solution’, I am more interested to learn if there was any ‘personal dialogue’ between the two men.

It is amazing what can happen when we get to know someone from another stream of life. Our tightly held prejudices, misunderstandings, ignorances and apathies often fall away.

Many differences in society could be resolved if opposing sides actually got to know one another as real people rather than stereotypical objects.

This was an opportunity for such an interaction to occur, but at this stage, the only reports show two men shoring up their so-called political agendas.

‘Mr Abbott can teach me a thing or two about surfing, and I’ll teach him about what refugees go through to build a new life in Australia,’ Mr Wakil was reported as saying before the event.

Likewise, Mr Abbott was widely reported as looking forward to the surfing lesson largely because of the political mileage he would gain amidst the Government’s woes.

Read More »

Bin Laden death ‘welcomed’ by all who believe in peace, human dignity

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US President Barack Obama has today announed that US forces have killed Osama bin Laden.

He said the death would be welcomed by those who believe in peace and human dignity.

Read the latest report in the Sydney Morning Herald:

See the latest coverage from Reuters.

What’s your reaction to this news? Welcome, disbelief, or something else? Please comment.

Royal couple kiss us (twice) into a new day

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Whatever interest there has been in the Royal Wedding to this point, it has almost been overshadowed by one small act of affection, the Royal Kiss.

As much as people have been caught up in the pageantry, celebrity and history of the Royal Wedding, humanity seems to crave even more  the intimacy, reality and spontaneity of two people touching lips to show their love.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana were the first royal couple to kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, and it is rumoured that Charles first paused to ask permission of the Queen, which was duly granted.

Now William and Catherine have given their own romantic demonstration, as if to anoint the vows that went before, accompanied by the oohs and aahs of a couple of billion television viewers.

Many television commentators, swept along by the great sense of good ‘will’ accompanying the wedding, have spoken of the couple as carrying with them the hopes of a new generation and a renewed era.

But a marriage is more than a wedding service and balcony kiss (or two), and hopefully William and Catherine have taken time to learn the lessons of the past and will find their way to live with wisdom, balance, faith and, as their prayer from the wedding mentioned, generosity.

Be who God meant you to be… Royal Wedding sermon

Peter Hallett5 Comments

The Bishop of London, the Right Reverend and Right Honourable Dr Richard Chartres gave a stirring Address at the wedding of  Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton.

Billions around the world heard Rev Chartres urge William and Catherine and all listening to set the world on fire by being who God meant us to be.

He also highlighted that every wedding is a royal wedding in the sense that every bride and groom are kings and queens of creating new life.

Rev Chartres said that in marriage we are to make our spouse our ‘work of art’ while at the same time not placing on them a burden of expectation that only relationship with God can carry.

Interestingly, the sermon included a prayer composed by William and Catherine which asks God’s help in keeping their eyes fixed on what is real and important and to help them to be generous with their lives, ‘to serve and comfort those who suffer’.

Read the full sermon:

‘“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day it is today. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves.

‘Many are full of fear for the future of the prospects of our world but the message of the celebrations in this country and far beyond its shores is the right one – this is a joyful day! It is good that people in every continent are able to share in these celebrations because this is, as every wedding day should be, a day of hope.  

In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and the groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future.Read More »

Two giants rise leaving us to rise up

Peter Hallett2 Comments

On April 26, outstanding Greek-Australian preacher, evangelist and teacher, Con Stamos, died after a three-year battle with cancer.

Always larger than life, Con’s outstanding ministry reached many areas of Australia, notably the Aboriginal communities of northern Australia and the eclectic residents of inner city Sydney.

In a letter to friends written in early March, Con acknowledged the seriousness of his condition but was far from subdued:

‘Time is God’s domain. Mine is to live this life to the fullest.’

On April 27,  Rev David Wilkinson, the founding pastor of Times Square Church in New York City and author of the well-known book The Cross and the Switchblade, posted a blog titled When All Means Fail.

As if writing for Con and his family, he had this to say:Read More »

New Last Supper theory interesting, but not so new

Peter Hallett3 Comments

Media outlets are today reporting claims from a new book that Easter celebrations are a day late in marking the celebration by Jesus of the Passover before being crucified.

Many close readers of the Bible who have studied the Gospel accounts of the last week of Jesus’ life would have already considered the possibility of the Last Supper occurring on the Wednesday, rather than Thursday, before Good Friday.

The Gospels are not motivated by a desire to inform readers of exact dates – presuming early Christians were already well aware of these,  or because they were focused on the content of Jesus life and teaching rather than chronology.

However as an historic faith, it is heartening to see scientists seeking to test accounts and find explanations for these eye-witness accounts, handed down over many centuries.

And while this latest book is unlikely to change the way Christians celebrate Easter (although perhaps we could argue for an extra Easter holiday?) it is a useful reminder that Easter is more than religious tradition, it remembers extraordinary events in the lives of real people, one in particular.

“‘One of the most famous meals in history is commemorated a day late, a new  book by a Cambridge University physicist claims,” the SMH report says.

“Professor Sir Colin Humphreys, who was knighted last year for his  contribution to science, argues that the last supper Jesus Christ shared with  his disciples occurred on Wednesday, April 1, AD33, rather than on a Thursday as  traditionally celebrated in most Christian churches.

“The theory would explain the apparent inconsistencies between the Gospels of  Matthew, Mark and Luke – which say the Last Supper was a Passover meal – and  that of John, which says Jesus was tried and executed before the Jewish  festival. It would explain another puzzle: why the Bible has not allowed enough  time for all events recorded between the Last Supper and the Crucifixion.

“Sir Colin’s book, The Mystery of the Last Supper, out this week, uses  astronomy to re-create  calendars, plus  detail drawn from texts such as the  Dead Sea Scrolls  to propose a timeline for Jesus’s final  days.”

Read more at the SMH’s New theory on date of last supper.

Check out a previous Easter Utterance post

Flurry of faith covers chaplains, cricket and caravan parks

Peter HallettLeave a comment

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.