Christian Hope

Will Donald Trump be welcomed into heaven?

/ MurrayCampbell

Will Donald Trump be welcomed into heaven?

 I didn’t expect that question to be going viral this week! But then again, we are all living Alice’s Wonderland of the late Roman Empire. 

This week, during an interview on Fox & Friends, President Trump was speaking of the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. As he spoke of the hopes for the war coming to an end and for some kind of peace to be established, he mentioned his hope for heaven.

“I wanna end it. You know, we’re not losing American lives … we’re losing Russian and Ukrainian mostly soldiers…I wanna try and get to heaven if possible. I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.” 

Whatever one might think of the sitting American president, he has a sense of humour, and even these remarks contain a touch of jocularity.  Part of the problem when writing about President Trump is that people are so entrenched in their opinions, any thought bubble not fitting prior judgments of the man simply blows away. No doubt, Trumpites are trumpeting his sainthood and have already assumed he is the 13th Apostle. Others are equally convinced Donald Trump is the Devil incarnate and worse than Hitler!

Later on, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked if the President was “partially seeking peace in order to get to heaven. Was he joking or is there spiritual motivation?”

She answered, 

“I think the President was serious. I think the President wants to get to heaven as I hope we all do in this room”.

I’m not God (obvious), and so I don’t have access to the President’s heart. He certainly has a public record that spells out danger. If, however, there is something to the rumours circulating since the first attempt on his life one year ago, President Trump has, at the very least,  been forced to examine the question of mortality.

The question of heaven is one that almost every single person on the planet will ask. Even the most ‘true blue’ naturalist and atheist is likely to ponder whether the God who doesn’t exist will let them into the heaven they believe is fiction. When confronted with death, the word from Ecclesiastes proves true, ‘He has also set eternity in the human heart’ (3:11).  We ask. We even long for an answer in the affirmative. 

What must I do to gain entry into heaven? Who must I be or become to find welcome into God’s home?

Before we get to the answer given by Jesus, let’s consider the President’s plan.

Whether his comment was said in jest or with a doss of honesty, Donald Trump signals that he’s near the bottom of the pile.  His working assumption is that getting to heaven is about moral conduct and or spiritual aptitude. It’s a totem pole or ladder we climb. If the President can bring to a close what is the worst war in Europe since 1945, surely that counts as a big leg up in God’s eyes. 

In effect, the President is relying on the same view of God and heaven that is shared among most of the world’s religions (including distorted views of Christianity): Heaven is reward for the holy, and we achieve this status through self-improvement and helping others, whether it is a volume of good works or spiritual exercises.

The problem with this assumption is that it doesn’t work. It places too much confidence in our ability to create personal righteousness, it belittles our record of personal transgressions, and it thinks too lowly of God’s holiness and too little of God’s grace. Let me explain.

The Gospel of Luke famously retells two encounters where an individual asks the question of Jesus,

“what must I do to inherit eternal life?’”

It’s essentially the same question Donald Trump is asking. 

The first man to approach Jesus was a religious academic. The second man is described as a ruler. He was a local official of some description who also had significant wealth.  One can read about the religious leader in Luke 10:25-37, but let’s focus on the second inquisitor.

A local ruler asks Jesus, ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus turns and asks a question about the requirements in God’s law: Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, and so on.

 The ruler recites the laws, and, whether he’s being honest or dishonest or delusional, he informs Jesus that he has judiciously followed God’s precepts since boyhood. Sounds good so far. But then Jesus went where the man did not want to go: his heart. 

“You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

“When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

The point is not that one can enter God’s Kingdom if our godliness measures up; the point is, no one does. 

If Jesus’ assessment isn’t explosive enough, when the disciples follow up with this question, ‘who then can be saved?’, Jesus states the obvious: 

 “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 

We can’t con God. The bloke who is paying for his kids’ school fees while having an affair is still behaving reprehensibly, no matter how much the school fees are costing him. The President who secures a peace deal (as good as that is, and we pray that he will succeed), does not remove or justify or excuse a lifetime of dishonouring the God who exists and mistreating others. 

In what can only be described as a devastating analysis of human hubris and religious zeal, the Apostle Paul exposes the notion that human beings can ascend to where God is,

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” (Romans 2:1-5)

These words jar and clash with our sensibilities, but thank God someone is honest with us. Paul continues, 

“There is no one righteous, not even one;

 there is no one who understands;

    there is no one who seeks God.

All have turned away,”

We might even mutter an ‘Amen’ to these words as we consider the American President, but the thing is Paul is also speaking of us. 

This is one of the key ideas of Christianity that unsettled the world in those early centuries AD, and again in the 16th Century and still today in many parts of the world. Christianity is not a religion of merit, but of grace.  It’s not about reward, but repentance. It’s not forging a golden staircase to heaven but receiving forgiveness brought about by a bloody cross.

Another American President once preached, ‘ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.’

Jesus preached a very different message. He came down from heaven and announced, ‘what’s impossible for you is possible for God’: salvation is not what we do for God, it is what God has accomplished for us. He then laid down his life to pay for the sins of many. 

Heaven isn’t a reward for the best of humanity; it is the gift of God to the worst.

Once we realise God’s peace plan, it changes us inside out. It requires humility and confession. This grace changes your outlook and ambition; it reorients how we view the people around us.

So, will Donald Trump make it to heaven? According to Jesus, the answer is no, not if he believes in himself and thinks that his ‘good’ conduct is going to impress the God of the universe. If, like anyone who is convinced by Jesus, and so repents and believes God’s gracious gift, then the answer is yes,   Donald Trump will be welcomed by God.  

That answer will probably grate on the many who see the American President as an existential threat to whatever it is you value, and it might bring a smile to those who adore Donald Trump. But both those responses fail to appreciate the nature of grace. Presidents and Prime Ministers, billionaires and the poor, company executives and employees, everyone without exception will meet God and be held to account. That prospect ought to terrify even the most self-confident.

Should God…can God… open his heart and home to the moral incalcitrant and spiritually vacuous? For us, it’s impossible, but with the God of grace through Jesus, it is certain. 

Melbourne, let’s talk about happiness

/ MurrayCampbell

Are you happy? How do we measure happiness? Is Melbourne a happy city?

Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Nick Reece, has announced a grand plan to make Melbourne the ‘most optimistic city’, including KPI’s to measure our happiness.

This audacious vision was conceived out of the recent M2050 Summit where 700 Melbournians brainstormed a future for our city as they enjoyed good wine, cheese and ‘don’t worry, be happy’ on loop (this isn’t a literal translation of what transpired!). 

VIctor Perton from the ‘Centre for Optimism’ is championing Melbourne’s new vision (neither did I know that the ‘Centre for Optimism’ was a thing!). Perton has been interviewed alongside the Lord Mayor to promote Melbourne’ new ethos. 

When a reporter contacted Perton about a Herald Sun article on the topic, he responded,

“The article was dripping with sarcasm. The writer dismissed optimism as fluff, equating it with naïveté or escapism.

How revealing.

Well, our arguments proved stronger than the cynics.

Later that day, the Lord Mayor and I appeared on several radio and television channels, putting forward a clear, confident case for optimism as a civic virtue, a strategic advantage, and a public good.”

Well, I guess it must be true then.

As I delved deeper into the website of optimism, I came across this bold and optimistic claim,  

“The answer to life’s most pressing questions is optimism. 

That is the optimism principle

The Optimism Principle distils the wisdom and insights acquired over ten (10) years of research on Australian Leadership and Optimism. We have found that optimism isn’t merely beneficial; it’s fundamental to achieving personal and organisational success and catalysing positive change.”

Hmmm. Not buying it? Neither do I.  This approach smells familiar, much like the prophets of Jeremiah’s day who repeated the mantra, ‘peace, peace’, all while the city fell apart.

“They dress the wound of my people

    as though it were not serious.

‘Peace, peace,’ they say,

    when there is no peace.’ (Jeremiah 6:14)

Like a naked Emperor parading down Swanston Street or a French Queen with an appetite to, ‘let them eat cake’, just thinking positive doesn’t make it so. You can be the most optimistic person in the world, but like the Yarra River 200 years ago, people see through it.  People need hope with substance. People need answers that go deeper than that iteration of the hedonist dream. 

Now, I love Melbourne. Melbourne is the city where I live and where Susan and I raised our children. I started this blog 8 years ago to offer ‘ideas about and for Melbourne’. So, this isn’t an anti-Melbourne rant. It is rather an appeal to be real, and to recognise that our 5 million plus people need a better hope than what the Lord Mayor is offering. 

The most obvious flaw in the Mayor’s plan is the implicit consensus that we are not a happy city. Melbourne is not an optimistic place, and we are not a particularly happy people. The Mayor wants to cultivate the mood change because optimism isn’t our thing. 

One would have to be lying on a Tahitian beach for the past 6 years not to realise that a dark cloud hovers over Melbourne’s city and suburbs. 

  • Levels of youth mental health issues is beyond blue, it is one of the few true crises facing us.
  • The volume of student absentee days across Prep-Year 12.
  • Our State Government blows out public infrastructure projects by $ billions, and then doubles down when costs are revealed.
  • Crippling State debt that will haunt generations to come.
  • Youth Crime and underworld crime is increasing and police often feel helpless to intervene. 
  • The cost of housing and the cost of living are driving 100,000s of families to despair
  • Children need their mum and dad, but parents are caught in this vicious cycle of chasing the Australian dream, which forces parents to work more and earn more and therefore spend less time at home. 
  • Social fracturing as demonstrated by weekly protests and growing anti-semitism.
  • Public transport that works and runs on time. 

And the list continues longer than the Nepean Hwy.

Despite popular conception, our situation wasn’t created by the pandemic. Two years of almost constant lockdowns and restrictions certainly took their toll on us, but it wasn’t the catalyst that brought about pessimism or diminished energy and positive outlook. COVID functioned like a fast retreating high tide, exposing our hidden skeletons. The pandemic uncovered conditions that were already at work in our city: We are not happy. We are more anxious, troubled, divided and afraid, and with little hope of that trend changing soon. 

Our optimist friends point to, 

“we are cool.

From laneway galleries and artisan coffee to the Australian Open and cutting-edge science precincts, Melbourne has earned global recognition as one of the coolest cities on the planet. A city of thinkers, creators, performers, innovators.”

Sure, I guess that’s kind of true. But is this the sum total of what constitutes ‘happiness’? 

It is somewhat telling that, as far as most global measures are concerned, it doesn’t get better than Melbourne. We are still considered one of the most liveable cities in the world, and yet we don’t feel it. When it comes to education, standard of living, food, sport, and culture, we are the Mount Everest of metropolises, as tall as Babel. Nevertheless, Melbourne is a melancholic city. We are more Nick Cave than Kylie Minogue. We are Marc Rothko, not Andy Warhol, we’re into abstract expressionism not pop art. We are a monochrome city. Our uniform is black on black with only the occasional shade of grey to separate the layers of black. Moodiness is what we do well. Perhaps part of our problem is our insufferable pride. Our expectations are so high and our competitiveness so insistent, that we normalcy and averageness are seen as failure. 

There is also an intrinsic misstep in our approach to life. We decided that we no longer need God and we don’t need a new creation, because we can create heaven on earth. And we succeeded, and it wasn’t enough. 

In 2006, world-renowned psychologist Jonathan Haidt wrote, ‘The Happiness Hypothesis’. Haidt argues, 

“Happiness is not something that you can find, acquire, or achieve directly. You have to get the conditions right and then wait.

“Those who think money can’t buy happiness just don’t know where to shop … People would be happier and healthier if they took more time off and spent it with their family and friends, yet America has long been heading in the opposite direction. People would be happier if they reduced their commuting time, even if it meant living in smaller houses, yet American trends are toward even larger houses and ever longer commutes. People would be happier and healthier if they took longer vacations even if that meant earning less, yet vacation times are shrinking in the United States, and in Europe as well. People would be happier, and in the long run and wealthier, if they bought basic functional appliances, automobiles, and wristwatches, and invested the money they saved for future consumption; yet, Americans and in particular spend almost everything they have – and sometimes more – on goods for present consumption, often paying a large premium for designer names and superfluous features.”

Interestingly, ‘The Happiness Hypothesis’ was followed in 2012 with ‘The Righteous Mind’, and then, ‘The Coddling of the American Mind’ (2018), and finally, in 2024, ‘The Anxious Generation. If we need an illustration that speaks to the unravelling of a generation in 12 short years, Haidt’s thoughtful output is demonstrative. 

We don’t overturn an anxious generation with skin-deep positive thinking, but with hope and a hope that has deeper meaning and consolation than a good coffee and money to pay the rent. That’s the problem, Melbourne’s new vision isn’t honest enough. Sure, we can pump out Pharrell Williams ‘Happy’ all day long, and ‘look at the bright side of life’, but cliches and forced smiles won’t cut it. 

We have lost the ability to forgive. We are proficient at naming and shaming, while we wait for the day when our own sins will be exposed. We don’t know how to forgive, and without forgiveness, there is no happiness.

We have lost our grip on community. We know how much people need other people. Friendships and human connection is a basic life requirement, and yet almost every step in our society works against building community. 

We have lost contentment. Contented lives are anathema in Melbourne, as businesses, schools and sporting codes vie for our attention and promise more.  The contented person is almost frowned upon. How can you be happy with a small house or less than average income? How dare you be happy while living with chronic illness. 

We have lost hope. Happiness without hope cannot exist, but where in our city do we find hope? Hope that depends on us will either lead to pride because ‘we can do it’ or to despair because reality catches up and we can’t. Which leads to this next ingredient essential for true happiness.

We have lost transcendence. This is something Zoomers seem to be waking up to as many under 25s are beginning to ask questions about spiritual realities and are beginning to read the Bible and turn up to churches around Melbourne. While my generation mocks Christianity and even calls it ‘dangerous’, and while Melbourne Councils find little to no room for places of worship in their grand designs, on the ground, there is an emerging recognition that we need God and that we are wired for God. 

Ecclesiastes, the ancient book of wisdom, was right all along, 

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

The Bible’s offering goes deeper than any optimist strategy. The Scriptures address the raw and real of the human condition. There’s no sugar coating in the Bible. We do however, find costly love and sacrifice, and hope for the helpless and joy that will outlast the best of what Melbourne has to offer. 

As a Christian, I don’t subscribe to optimism or to pessimism, because the good news of Jesus Christ breaks pessimism apart and it won’t give room to hubristic ventures. This good news message offers people a way of viewing life with greater clarity, humility, thankfulness and joy. It doesn’t ignore material needs and the gains from improving education and green spaces, and hospitals, it does provide a firmer foundation, and it breaks the world open to what has eternal value.

The world’s most famous book on happiness (joy) is found in the Bible, Paul’s letter to the Philippians. From beginning to end, this short letter is filled with expressions of joy by man who was struck in a prison cell and facing an uncertain end. 

“Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two…

whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him… not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[ Christ… I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”

If we are hoping for happiness, we will need to find forgiveness, friends, contentment, hope and transcendence. I’ll happily argue any day of the week that these realities are found in the person of Jesus and experienced in local churches that are scattered around Melbourne. If these KPIs are missing from Melbourne’s vision, then the project is already bound to fail. 

Our Lord Mayor’s vision for Melbourne is too superficial. We are not plastic people who can be made happy by sensory experiences alone. Human beings are made for communion with God and made for community. The heart cannot be satisfied by material gain alone. As Jesus famously quipped, ‘what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul’.

Doug Wilson & Christian Nationalism make the news in Australia

/ MurrayCampbell

The cat is out of the hat! A prominent Australian newspaper is reporting a story about Doug Wilson and Christian Nationalism. The Age yesterday published this AP piece, ‘Hegseth reposts video of pastors saying women shouldn’t be allowed to vote’.

The reporter’s focus is on US Defence Secretary Peter Hegseth and his association with CREC (a new church association in the United States headed up by Doug Wilson). If it were not for Mr Hegseth reposting a video on X about Doug Wilson, Wilson and his Moscow movement might have remained in the cold, as far as Australian media is concerned. 

The word is now out, and no doubt a large number of Australians are scratching their heads and wondering, what on earth is going on here? Is Doug Wilson a legit Christian voice? Do his views reflect what Australian Churches are teaching and practising? 

Let me bring assurance and a note of caution. First up, no, Melbourne isn’t Moscow, but like a cold Russian winter, the chill can cross borders.

Doug Wilson and Christian Nationalism are not anonymous in the Aussie Christian scene. Thankfully, they are only a tiny voice, and yet it is more prominent than it was 5 years ago. There are now conferences and websites and some churches that regularly appeal to Wilson and Moscow, and invite speakers from their broad tribe to Australia. 

As a quick aside, the Doug Wilson who was preaching and teaching some useful and valuable ideas a decade ago is quite different from the problematic man and his movement today. Whether he always held the positions he is now propagating and kept them quiet, or whether he’s shifted over the decade, I don’t know which is the case. Either way, the Moscow vibe, as I call it (Wilson lives in Moscow, Idaho) brings a chill that we do not need in our churches or country.

The presenting story that led to the AP piece is a view promoted by Wilson’s church, whereby women should lose the right to vote. I wasn’t shocked to read this, as it fits into their view of men and family life. In the last week, I have also heard the scenario where some (a tiny, tiny number) of Christians now advocate that women should not have voting privileges in a church! The idea is preposterous as it conflicts with one of the Bible’s wonderful teachings:  the priesthood of all believers, and therefore the value of all members of the church and their contributions. And what of single women? In the world of Moscow, single women are frowned upon and offered and often derided. More of this in a moment.

It doesn’t need saying (although perhaps it does) that Christianity never fits neatly into any culture; for the Christian message is transcultural. This is one of the stunning truths of Christianity, that whether Korean or Ugandan or Bolivian, the Bible and the Christ of Scripture cross time and place and ethnicity.  Part of that means, though, that there will always be some element of pushback, disagreement, and confusion as to how people understand and respond to Christianity. After all, if Christianity was nothing more than a mirror to Australia 2025, there would be little incentive and reason for anyone to become a follower of Jesus Christ and join a local church. And yet, not every idea preached by every religious leader is an accurate reflection of the Christian Gospel, and hence, when the unbelieving public are perplexed by and even finds a view repellent, they are right to do so. 

There are evangelical leaders in the United States expressing concern over the normalisation of ‘Christian nationalism’ in some circles. Similarly, in Australia, there are voices raising concerns about Doug Wilson and his Moscow crowd.

Stephen McAlpine and myself are among a number of Australian pastors who have been sending up flares to warn Aussie Christians about the rise of Christian Nationalism. Again, while their influence is small,  the Moscow flu is catching on in some more conservative churches in Australia, and it’s an ailment that inevitably makes people sick. Symptoms include public rage, thinking ‘normal’ evangelical churches and leaders have lost the gospel, one-sided politically, anti-authority, and demeaning toward various minority groups. 

Let me observe 2 examples here, one in relation to how women are viewed and one that articulates concerns about Christian Nationalism. 

Christian Nationalists love to talk tough love. Their men are vocal and grow long beards and know how to skin a beaver with their bare hands. These blokey males also have a way of using their strength to demean women. 

A few years ago, Sydney theologian, Dani Treweek challenged Doug Wilson and another American pastor, Michael Foster, for how they speak about single women in churches. 

Treweek said, 

“Wilson and Foster embark on a shared lament about the impending crisis facing churches whose pews are soon to be filled with lonely, unlikeable, tubby spinsters who have nothing in their lives and so spend their days endlessly seeking the benevolent attention of their ever-patient but extremely busy and very important senior pastor.”

She sums up Foster and Wilson’s views on single women as:

  • the reason women are single is because “Baby […] You can do better than this. You’re not likeable” or because they are too “tubby” to be considered of marital value to the men around them (at least the ones they haven’t driven into the arms of Islam);
  • single women are derogatorily dismissed as a “bunch of old spinsters”
  • anyone not married by the time they are 40 are issued the dire warning that they ‘will be lonely’
  • elderly widowed women are depicted as a tiresome burden upon the senior pastor’s time and energy
  • the only valuable and valid expression of love in action is if it is directed towards someone’s own offspring and then their offspring
  • single women are the harbingers of “chaos”
  • unmarried women don’t “have anything” in their lives”

With the surprise of an AFL team beating the local u12 boys team, they responded with a tirade of personal attacks on Dani Treweek’s singleness and theological credentials!.

Then there is this issue with ‘Christian Nationalism’, which readers of The Age may be wondering about. At this point, allow me to repeat a few paragraphs from an article I wrote on the subject in 2023, following up a series of pieces written by Stephen McAlpine as he reviewed Stephen Wolfe’s ‘The Case For Christian Nationalism’. McAlpine eventually gave up reading Wolfe after several bouts of diarrhoea!

“The tectonic plates of belief and hope are moving and causing major disruptions to every sphere of life. One of the answers being proposed by Christians (in some circles) is one gaining some traction in some areas of American and European Christianity, and it’s finding its way onto Australian shores as well: Christian Nationalism. 

It’s not as though Christian Nationalism is brand new; iterations have existed at different points in history, often with long-term disappointment, bloodshed, and Gospel compromise.

I understand why Christians across the United States are concerned and even angry at some of the values and views that have captured hearts. I appreciate why Aussie believers are troubled by various moral agendas that have been normalised in our political and educational institutions. However,  frustration and concern with politicians and the political process is not a reason for reactionary theology and poor exegesis.

We don’t fix one problem by adding another one; that way, we end up with a bigger mess!

Christian Nationalism ends up making the State into the church and the church into a political party and turning the Gospel of grace into a weapon to beat down political opponents. Instead of being God’s message of reconciliation, it distorts the gospel into a message of social conservatism and one that sees political progressivism as the great Satan. Social and moral conservatism can be as dangerous to spiritual health in its intentions to create new forms of legalism and allegiances.  

I’m not saying that Christians in Australia walk away from the public square and sit tight on uncomfortable pews behind stained glass windows. It’s not that Christians shouldn’t participate in the political process. It’s not that we should ignore social issues and cultural debates. Such things are part of common grace and ways we can love our neighbours. Christianity influencing the public square isn’t Christian Nationalism, it is a wonderful byproduct of the goodness and sensibility of Christianity.” 

Australia is one of numerous countries where governments are getting bigger, and the people are looking increasingly to government to be the saviour of all their issues and hopes and fears. This has the unfortunate effect of giving more authority and responsibility to the State and, negatively, it diminishes the role of the community to take responsibility. That critique aside, in the eyes of Scripture, the State is not the main game, but it is the church. In this sense, Christian Nationalism makes a similar error to other heresies, like the prosperity gospel and social justice gospel. They all aim at changing society (and controlling society) through policy and behaviour. 

The problem with that mindset is that it contradicts the nature of the Gospel and the purpose of the church (aka Ephesians ch.2). The halls of Parliament and legislative offices are not the places where God is working out his redemptive plans. It is in the church and by the Gospel of Christ that God is achieving his purposes.

Christian Nationalists may well identify some sins of America (or Australia), and yet the answer according to Scripture isn’t to make America great again or Australia, but to present the Gospel of Christ and make disciples of all nations. Christianity is international and multi ethnic, and any attempt to contract the gospel to a particular nation-state is enormously problematic. 

Make Christianity weird again, not make Christianity skewed again! The message of Jesus Christ has this remarkable ability to weave and connect through every fabric of society. Christianity eventually revolutionised how the Roman Empire viewed women, babies, slaves, and more. Our modern equality sensibilities didn’t arrive by chance, but through Christianity. And yet it wasn’t through some militant takeover bid fueled with rage and demeaning the downtrodden, but with sacrifice and through persuasion, and the God of grace bringing forgiveness and newness of life. 

If there is a ‘sin of empathy’ (yes, Moscow is also responsible for the ‘sin of empathy’ vibe), it is to show empathy with this movement blowing its cold weather in a westerly direction over the Pacific Ocean. My advice, avoid it like the plague. Instead, be captured by the Apostle Paul’s vision for the Christian Church in Ephesus. In that ancient metropolis of commercial and religious influence, Paul reminds the local church of God’s message of peace and being God’s people of peace. I’m convinced, we (churches) will do well to keep working hard at this: 

 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:17-22)

For anyone who wishes to read further on Christian Nationalism, 9Marks published a journal on the subject which contains excellent and easy to read articles and reviews – https://www.9marks.org/journal/a-new-christian-authoritarianism/

Kaeley Triller Harms has written this recent summary piece of disclosed issues with the Moscow movement https://kaeleytrillerharms.substack.com/p/doug-wilsonjust-the-facts-maam

Mike Bird has written a series of helpful articles about Christian Nationalism, including reviewing Wiliam Wolfe’s book, ‘The Case for Christian Nationalism

https://michaelfbird.substack.com/p/review-of-stephen-wolfes-the-case

Be Radical and Read the Bible

/ MurrayCampbell

A challenge if you live in Melbourne. A challenge no matter your age, and especially if you’re part of Generatoin Z

Be radical and read the Bible!

Check out the latest on ‘Tomorrow’s Melbourne’ and how an upsurge of Bible reading in the UK could help us take the Bible more seriously here in Melbourne

Did Melbourne just see a sign?

/ MurrayCampbell

Melbourne was an exciting place to be over the weekend.

No, I’m not referring to the footy. Carlton, what are you doing to me?!

Hundreds of men attended the Belgrave Heights Men’s Convention and sat under the word with Sam Allberry and Stephen McAlpine. Lots of Churches around the city and suburbs preached Christ and believers were encouraged and non Christians were intrigued. I was at the Baptist BBQ while the Melbourne Anglican Diocese met to decide who would become the next Archbishop.

For decades the tide has been going out as the force of secularism and scepticism has claimed moral victory after intellectual triumph. And yet, left behind on the sandy shores around Port Phillip Bay isn’t the kind of happiness and freedom and contentment that we were promised. Instead, our streets and suburbs are floundering under the pressure of what is perhaps the worst mental crisis in our history, and growing social, economic, and relationship strain. My generation and my parents’ generation persist in closing the windows, locking the doors and telling the kids that there’s nothing outside; there is no God worth looking to let alone trusting for life. Not everyone is buying that script any longer. The emptying tide has left behind millions of people and exposed layers of rubbish on the sand produced by the materialist ideal. 

We are not happier. We are not safer. We are not more content. 

Is it surprising that we are hearing reports and stories of a gentle tide coming into shore in the UK and parts of the United States? In some parts of Asia and South America, it is a high tide with huge numbers of people, including Gen Z and younger who are becoming Christians and joining Churches and discovering that the God of the Bible is God today. 

We are not seeing a fast-moving incoming tide in Melbourne, but something is happening. I know there are recent reports of baptismal floods, but I suspect some at least are spurious. Nonetheless, there is something happening. Government and academic institutions are continuing to double down on sexual ethics and religious freedom issues, progressive Churches continue to play those songs on their playlist, and yet there is a gentle counter voice that can be heard.

Anecdotally, across various Baptist churches and Anglican, in University Christian groups, and among our Orthodox and Roman Catholic friends, young adults are experiencing Christianity for the first time. They are ignoring the warning signs that my generation posted on every street corner. There is a curiosity emerging, an interest in Jesus, and an intrigue to discover the meaning of the world’s most important book: the Bible. 

I wonder, if the Anglican Archbishop election is another small sign of a changing tide toward evangelical Christianity. 4 candidates were nominated for Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne; all 4 are evangelical Christians: Wei Han Kuan, Tim Johnson, Megan Curlis-Gibson, and Ric Thorpe. Someone may correct me, but this is rare and possibly the first time in many decades that all candidates are evangelical. This alone is significant and a result for which we should be thankful. 

Ric Thorpe was elected on Saturday afternoon and will be installed as the new Archbishop later this year. Bishop Ric Thorpe is an Englishman with a pedigree from Holy Trinity Brompton and training at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.  He is one of the few Church of England Bishops to uphold a Christian understanding of marriage and human sexuality. He is passionate about evangelism and church planting. These are all great indicators.

Melbourne needs more churches. Melbourne needs 100s more Christ-centred, Gospel-believing and preaching, people-loving churches.

I’m not an Anglican so feel free to take my observations with the same volume of water found in a baptismal font (bad joke). My Melbourne Anglican friends are overwhelmingly encouraged and thankful for all candidates and the outcome, even as the Diocese looks over troubled waters. Like all our Christian denominations, much deep work of theological and spiritual reform needs to take place. Theological liberalism and moral progressivism is like sand in the car after a day at the beach; the granules find their way into different spots and crevices and lingers long afterwards with distraction and annoyance. The fact is, most of our churches (across denominations) are in decline, and biblical literacy and cultural understanding are shallow. That can lead to desperate pragmatism or compromise. But mission with fraudulent theology won’t save anybody, just as sound doctrine without love gives people a spiritual migraine. Church planting without the Gospel is the devil’s strategy. Who would want to be in Christian leadership today?

And yet Christ is on the throne. Evangelism and church planting and revitalisation isn’t God’s Plan B. It’s always been Plan A and there is no plan B. The Gospel remains God’s power to save. The Church is the bride and centrepiece of God’s redeeming purposes. Let’s be thankful for Christian leaders who are convinced of this and who in love can navigate our churches in the shallows and deep.

It may be that as the cultural tide withdraws, small rock pools and large ones will be left behind, and they will become safe places for people to splash and swim and come to know the God who saves. Gospel Churches may be easier to spot and more inviting for those who need rest.

I sense a quiet excitement mixed with soberness as we see the landscape before us. Did we see a glimpse of things to come this past weekend? May it drive God’s people to prayer and eagerness.

Almost as important, someone needs to nudge Ric Thorpe toward the right footy club (Carlton) and teach him how to make a decent coffee and double-check that his visa includes a condition on who to support in the Ashes later this year.

Making too much and too little of the Federal Election: a Christian’s perspective

/ MurrayCampbell

Today millions of Australians will wake up enthused and celebrating the outcome of yesterday’s Federal election. Many others will be despondent and even angry as the candidates of their preferred party lost.  To be honest, I suspect millions more Australians are waking up today with a degree of political indifference as they carry on making breakfast and figuring out how to pay their bills and care for their families and wondering how Carlton’s season ended up this way! A plethora of responses are understandable. For the Christian, who may also empathise with and see themselves at some place along this spectrum, there is one constancy. Psalm 146 famously says,

“Do not put your trust in princes,

    in human beings, who cannot save.

When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;

    on that very day their plans come to nothing.

Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,

    whose hope is in the Lord their God.”

These words remain true, before and after the votes had been cast and counted.

 I understand that in quoting Psalm 146, some people might be a little annoyed and perhaps a tad angry,  especially among voters disappointed by the election result. I certainly don’t mean to sound unfeeling or facile, as though the election was unimportant. I happen to believe elections do matter because government plays a significant role in the life of society; controlling much power and influence. After all, Government is a legitimate institution that falls under the banner of God’s common grace. It may not be the main game, but government nonetheless plays an important supporting role. 

It is also the case that Government has less influence in setting the direction for society as it is about providing the legal, economic, and social mechanisms by which society moves in the direction that it is already preferencing. The old adage about politics being downstream of culture is complicated but still true.

Photo by Josh Withers on Pexels.com

The reason behind sharing the Psalm 146 quotation is that I’m wondering if we are attaching too much responsibility on Government for fixing social ills and rectifying economic currents. This is true for both the left and the right of politics. Have we become too dependent upon Parliaments and MPs for addressing what was once the prevue of churches, synagogues, media, and an array of social organisations? If we have lost trust in those civil and religious institutions (which seems to be the case), faith in our governments is also in sharp decline. There lies perhaps some of our misplaced faith and therefore frustration and despair at the political scene. We are not meant to burden Government with all our hopes and demands and needs. A healthy society needs to spread that load. Indeed, a truly healthy society would not require government to create what we have in Australia: a society wrapped in red tape and wads of laws and rules stickier than gaffer tape.

There are better governments and worse; it’s rarely a zero-sum game.  I suspect there is also a deep suspicion of and discontent toward political parties across the spectrum. Sometimes it’s a case of choosing the least bad option available, or at least that’s how many voters are feeling: I don’t like this candidate, but at least they’re not the other candidates! 

How did we respond to the election at church today? This morning my church prayed for the new state government, as we do regularly for whoever is in charge at Spring Street and in Canberra. And we also prayed for our local representatives in Parliament. That’s what Christians do. It’s one of the few constancies in the unpredictable world of politics; churches pray for those in authority. To the reluctant among us, let’s consider it this way, if the Apostle Paul could pray for the Roman Emperor, then I think we can pray for our governments. 

We should pray for our political representatives because they carry significant responsibility. Given the platform that we build for our leaders (or scaffold as it may be), praying is the right thing to do. Of course, government isn’t the big game in town, but its role impacts life at every level and therefore great wisdom, patience, integrity and compassion are necessary.  

Without some kind of cultural reorientation, I suspect Governments will become bigger and bolder. It is interesting to see how Australians, or at least Victorians, have become more comfortable with authoritarian personality and politically styled governing. The myth of the convict, bushranger, and nonchalant Aussie digger may still exist in local sporting clubs, but as a people group, we are quite accepting of big government and monocratic-styled leadership. I’m not arguing a case either way here but simply noting the public trend.

Of course, my eyesight is myopic and so looking at the next 3 years is an imprecise art. There are, after all, no more prophets! My guess is that in the name of freedom, more laws and regulations will be introduced, and in the name of economic prosperity, more debt-inducing spending will occur, and we will remain desperately ill-prepared for the geo-political challenges that lie ahead. If we follow the now predominant current, I anticipate that we’ll see tighter controls on social behaviour, fewer parental rights and a more pronounced religion-socio education drive. In part, we’re recognising a fragmentation in society and so looking for answers is only natural and desirable (depending of course upon the solutions offered).

So I go back to the verse I began with, Christians should not look to government to be the saviour of society. Don’t put your trust in princes and prime ministers. Honour them and pray for them, but let’s not expect government to rescue society from the deepest and darkest of places.

This is one of the flaws present in much of politics today; people believe and expect Government is the answer.  Big government has devotees on both the left and the right. Hence it’s no surprise to see legislative agendas enveloping society around a new moral religion. It’s interesting to see how churches have become more visible as politicians vie for attention and votes. ‘Social cohesion’ is one of the buzz words. God is optional in the new religion, and where he is worshipped, he somehow always supports the popular moral zeitgeist! 

Among some Christians, there are more strident and public voices. Christians, be careful of voices that speak more about politics than they do the Great Commission and use more words of outrage than they do words of compassion and mercy. By all means, as a commitment to common grace and out of love for your neighbour, keep government accountable. Christians might join a political party and stand for Parliament, but even the most Christian of political leaders and most Christian of political agendas isn’t going to redeem society. That kind of thinking ignores the testimony of Scripture, namely that the gospel is God’s power of salvation and the church is God’s big game in town. Our churches are more likely today to sit on the sideline of culture and be ignored by many,  but nonetheless, the church is the centrepiece of God’s work. Therefore, whatever you do in the name of political inspiration, aspiration or disappointment, don’t confuse it with the Gospel, don’t conflate common grace with saving grace, and don’t fuse the church with the state. 

The best way we can love our fellow country people is by serving your church and being clear on the gospel. Today at church, pray for government and for those in authority, and give thanks for free and safe elections. And be clear on the gospel.  If we love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and strength we will also love our neighbours, and that will have real and positive outcomes for our society. That kind of humble constant Christ-like hope hope-filled living may have a greater effect for the good of society than even an election.

Chutzpadik: Can America Survive Without Christianity? (and what about Australia)

/ MurrayCampbell

This is the question posed by Bari Weiss. We can certainly ask the question of Australia. It’s not as though what happens in America will necessarily follow here in Australia, but their weather conditions often blow across the Pacific Ocean. 

It comes to mind that there was the prophet from Crete quoted in Titus 1:12 and Epimenides gets a mention by the Apostle in his famed Areopagus speech. And let’s not to forget the Aussie band Crowded House who are getting a mention in this week’s sermon at church. There are moments when an unbeliever says something that is true either about God or about the world or Christianity, and their commentary is worth reflecting upon.

My mate Stephen McAlpine has been talking up Bari Weiss’ podcast, Honestly. Another friend drew my attention to one recent episode which I watched with interest yesterday. 

For those who are unaware, Bari Weiss isn’t a Christian. She is a former New York Times journalist who famously resigned and now writes for other publications. Weiss is agnostic (former atheist?) and Jewish and a woman who’s married to another woman. There are obviously some things here out of sync with the message of Jesus Christ, especially the New York Times! (that’s a joke, sort of). Bari Weiss is among a growing throng of intellectuals who are dissatisfied with the cultural zeitgeist and who despite their unbelief, are warming to Christianity, or at least becoming positively disposed toward some of Christianity’s historical, ethical and sociological strengths. It’s as though they recognise that when a society dismantles Christianity, it’s like removing the steel frame from a building; it loses its sturdiness and begins to succumb to the environment and weather conditions surrounding it. 

I have now listened to several of Weiss’ interviews, including a recent one with Jonathan Rauch. And it’s this interview that I wish to shine a light on. 

Jonathan Rauch is an American journalist and Senior Fellow with the Brookings Institute. He has a pedigree from Yale University and writing for The Economist and The Atlantic. Like Weiss, Jonathan Rauch is not a Christian. He makes that clear in this podcast episode. Indeed, Weiss introduces him as an atheist Jewish gay man.  As Rauch admits during the interview, he was no friend of Christianity and Christians and yet something is changing. He says,

“20 years ago I was in the camp that said America was secularising and isn’t that great. Religion is divisive and dogmatic and we’re going to have less of it and we’re going to be like Sweden or Denmark and Scandinavia, and we’ll be happier.

I was completely wrong about that. It has been the biggest mistake of my intellectual career.”

It is worth watching the full one-hour interview, both to hear Raunch’s interesting insights, and also just to hear how two thoughtful unbelievers are now engaging with Christianity.

During the conversation with Bari Weiss, Rauch wants to argue for Christianity in the sense that it provides the necessary pillars for liberal democracy. Rauch identifies 3 key pillars of Christianity and therefore of liberal democracy:

  1. Don’t be afraid 
  2. Be like Jesus
  3. Forgive each other. 

He explains how these ideas were and remain radical and derive from the Christian faith. I would quibble about what are the pillars of Christianity and we can talk about this another time. But these 3 ideas are nonetheless revolutionary and were introduced into the world by Christianity. They have been so successful that we often take them for granted today without realising that dismantling Christianity will create significant problems for social and civil flourishing.

My interest in this interview centres on Rauch’s explanation of thin Christianity and sharp Christianity. It’s how Rauch attempts to call out and even plead with Christians to be more Christian, not less.

‘Thin Christianity’, as the adjective suggests, thins out Christian distinctive such that society finds the ideas palatable. It’s classic theological liberalism. Let’s thin out all those tricky Bible ideas that progressive society finds offensive. That kind of Christianity is still around in the United States and Australia, but it’s generally easy to spot as it’s lauded by social pundits and found in emptying churches.

Rauch also observes the rise of ‘sharp Christianity’.  He looks back to the 1980s and the rise of the political evangelical but notes how this has escalated in the last 8-9 years. It is his view that among American Evangelicals there is a drift from the character of Jesus. To be clear, he’s not clumping all evangelicals under this ‘sharp’ umbrella and of course, as an unbeliever, Rauch isn’t defining these issues in a gospel and theological way. Nonetheless, his point has merit.

Rauch talks about sharp Christianity being ‘political and polarised’. He goes into some detail about how President Trump played for the conservative Christian vote and offered a seat at the White House. As Rauch notes, the promise of power is an ancient one. I’ve read enough over the years to see some evangelicals sacrificing gospel humility and clarity for an invitation to a White House prayer meeting or inside conversations with policymakers. 

Interestingly Rauch differentiates between the older politicised evangelical, which was a top-down movement, and the more recent interaction which is bottom-up. I have certainly heard stories where people began attending and joining churches based on the church’s political stance.

Rauch goes on to make this rather chilling comment regarding young adults in America,

“They no longer believed that the church believed what it’s meant to believe.”

Where this is true, there’s a major problem. 

The rhetoric Rauch is hearing among the ‘sharp Christians’ is,

’We don’t want to hear about turning the other cheek, we want to talk about taking back our country’.

Similar rhetoric is becoming more commonplace among some Australian Christian voices. It may not be the dominant voice, but it is certainly a noisy one and one vying for influence. Just yesterday one Christian pastor suggested I was the Devil for saying Christians should be more like Jesus instead of adding to the anger and fragmentation that’s perforating all around us.

This politicisation of Christianity has the habit of confusing the gospel, conflating Church and State, and misplacing eschatological hope by trying to drag the new creation into the present. I’ve been writing about this unseemly conjugality for several years now. It is not that Christians have nothing to say or contribute to civil society. A liberal democracy enables and needs people of faith to bring their ideas and convictions to the table. And as Jonathan Rauch recognises, a healthy liberal democracy is a fruitful branch born from Christian theism. And yet, as Jesus and the Apostles made clear distinctions between common grace and particular grace, and between the two ages in which we live, so must Christians today. 

1 Peter is very much on my mind as we preach through the Petrine Epistle at church. Peter is pretty clear about where Christian hope lies, what Christian identity is, and therefore how we relate to different parts of society.

He says, 

“ Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.” (1 Peter 2:11-17)

If our language and speech toward others is frequently out of sync with the apostle’s instructions, there is a problem.

Both thin and sharp Christianity share a common goal even if their modus operandi differs. They both aim to win influence and people and to take the culture or country; the former does so by diluting Christian doctrine and life, and the other by using Christian ideas as a sledgehammer. Both may win approval in various quarters and even notch a few political wins, and we likely lose people’s souls and dishonour the Christ whom we claim to worship and follow.

I hope we can say that we want to avoid both thin Christianity and sharp Christianity. Instead, we need a Christianity that is both thick and grace-filled, deep and clear. And the only way to do that is to become more Gospel-centred, not less, more Bible not less, and more Spirit-filled not less. Christians can engage in the public square but don’t take your script from the culture. Public speech is to be conducted out of love for our neighbours, not about punching your opponents to the ground. Engagement in the culture should be about promoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not ensuring your favoured political party wins the next election. I’m not suggesting that public issues are unimportant to the Christian; but surely we have a bigger mandate and vision in mind.

Bari Weiss and Jonathan Rauch are not confessing the Lordship of Christ or believing in the atonement. But their tune has changed. Let’s pray that their appreciation of Christ becomes a genuine trust in Him. If Nicodemus the scholar could approach Jesus at night to ask questions and realise there is something true and good about Jesus,  then those asking serious questions in the light of day may also find what Jesus alone can give.

Christianity isn’t a commodity, it’s about a person. Christianity is more than a political theory or ethical system, but is knowing the God of the cosmos, and being reconciled to Him because of the brutality God’s Son embraced for us.  As Peter explained to the early churches, 

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God”.

There is my Gospel call for today. Let’s return to Christians. The temptation to be a thin or sharp Christian isn’t new. How many times have I now heard someone wanting to be John Knox!

There is warrant to Rauch’s complaint, even if he falls short of where we need to be in following Jesus. Don’t be a thin Christian or a sharp Christian. Instead, be a Jesus Christian (as if there’s another kind!). For one final time, press closely to what Peter the Apostle instructs. Take a couple of minutes to read what Peter says and reflect upon our public voice in light of these verses. Sure, it’s unlikely to win an election or change society overnight, but it is better and it is desperately what the world needs of Christians today, 

“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,

“Whoever would love life
    and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
    and their lips from deceitful speech.

They must turn from evil and do good;
    they must seek peace and pursue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?  But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.”  But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,  keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.’ (1 Peter 3:8-16)

If Peter’s exhortation grates on us, then take that as God’s alarm going off and seek his grace to work out how your heart might more align with His.

Does Daniel help Christians respond to the NSW Conversion Laws?

/ MurrayCampbell

The NSW Parliament last week adopted a set of laws prohibiting the conversion of or suppression of peoples sexuality orientation and gender identity. The laws are not as extreme as those in the State of Victoria, nonetheless, there is clear government overreach. 

Yes, these new laws in places are bad.  They are bad because they introduce needless restrictions on normal Christian faith and practice. They are bad laws because they are defending against practices that are mostly mythical. The laws are bad because they take a smidgen of truth and a lot of illegitimate and aggressive sexology (to use Stephen Mcalpine’s word). The are bad laws because the give Government greater authority over religion (which is an odd position for anyone positing that we are a secular country).

Associate Professor Neil Foster has written a helpful explanation of what the laws do and do not mean and where is ambiguity. I would encourage people to read Foster’s article in light of some misinformation that is floating around and being circulated as fact.

However, Christians have begun to respond to these new laws. I’ve noticed more than a few turning to the Old Testament prophet, Daniel, and have begun quoting that famous incident that landed him in a lion’s den.  I happen to think the story of Daniel is one of many helpful Bible places we can turn to as a guide and encouragement. But if we’re going to use Daniel ch.6 for our stump speech, there are a couple of details we need to first take into account. 

Firstly, what kind of presence are we in society? 

Notice how Babylon’s officials and powerbrokers describe Daniel,

 “At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.” (Daniel 6:4-5)

Daniel is a wonderful example to Christians today. There is something that particularly resonates with us about the life and times of Daniel for he was an exile living away from his home, as are all Christians today.  He is living and working in a context with foreign gods and ideas dominate the horizon and we’re worshipping God is part of a small minority. Part of the wisdom that we glean from the book of Daniel, and it is a book of wisdom, is how Daniel adapted to life in Babylon and worked hard and judiciously for the common good, and yes obeyed pagan Kings, yet without compromising faithfulness to the one true God.

There have been an inflation of open letters and public declarations of late, mostly from a particular quarter of the Christian faith. These are often highlighting genuine issues, but their content and tone often fall short of usefulness.  As someone who has had moments in the past when I’ve employed too many strong adjectives, I’m more conscious these days about precision and not overblowing a situation. It is advisable to read and research before putting your name to a public statement.

As the enraged mood takes hold of so many quarters of society, a Christian voice should be different, but sometimes it is as angry and hyperbolic and therefore indistuishable from others. For example, if your public record is filled with distain for authorities and governments and making antiauthoritarian claims whenever you disagree with a policy or law, when a legitimate concern finally arises, why would those in positions of authority listen to you? It’s like the percussionist in a Symphony Orchestra who is always smashing the symbols as hard as she can strike and often out of time with the rest of the Orchestra. Soon enough the orchestra is going to send you down to the basement and lock you out!

Who wants to listen to the guy who is always shouting at everyone? Who takes seriously the voices who are decrying every issue as a threat to freedom and democracy and religion?

Defiance seems to be the default modus operandi for too many Christians today.  However, this shouldn’t be our baseline approach to life in the world and it’s certainly not the way Daniel approached life in Babylon. 

There will be some other Christians who have no issue with the new laws in NSW and who are trying to con us into thinking that anyone criticising the law is pulling a furphy. I suspect they’ll be among those who volunteer to be part of the firing squad. 

Second, notice how Daniel responded to the unreasonable law.

“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king…”

Daniel continues with what was his normal practice.  He didn’t make a song and dance out of it. He simply continued to faithfully pray to God three times a day.

Daniel’s praying wasn’t attention seeking, or brash, he wasn’t revving up the social temperature or resorting to hyperbolic claims or allegations. The window was always open and he carried on as he had always done, with humility and faithfulness. 

The problem is, and I understand because I know the injustice of the Victorian laws,  too many people are wanting to be David swinging a rock at Goliath’s head,  rather than a humble Daniel who went about faithfully serving the Lord and serving the common good of the city where he lived. 

In case we think, maybe Daniel is just a one off, I’m about to start a new sermon series at Mentone Baptist on 1 Peter. With little imagination required, I’ve given our series the title, ‘Living away from home’. Like Daniel, Christians are exiles and sojourners, and Peter helpfully explains how Christians ought to live as exiles. In one place he says this, 

“Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. (1 Peter 3:13-17)

There is a sense in which we are to embrace suffering for the Lord’s sake. And the manner in which we do also matters according to Peter.  Gentleness and respect…not resorting to malicious speech but with good behaviour. So like Daniel and Peter, choose faithfulness, and like Daniel and Peter (and Jesus), part of faithfulness is speaking and behaving with utmost integrity and with grace and refusing to be that clanging cymbal.

How we treat the human body speaks volumes

/ MurrayCampbell

Hamas has paraded four coffins through the streets of Gaza as though they were trophies. Men brandishing their rifles, flagging Hamas regalia while masking their faces, cheered and accompanied four black coffins carrying four Israelis who had been taken hostage on October 7 and murdered subsequently. The 4 coffins included an elderly man, Oded Lifshitz, 83, the two little Bibas children, and their mother, Shiri.

The remains of these 4 human beings were then presented on a stage wrapped in anti-Israel messages and weapons to threaten.

Once the bodies were handed over to the Red Cross and eventually returned to Israel, propaganda was found stuffed inside the coffins. If such insult and injury were not more than the grieving could cope with, it turns out Shiri Bibas was not among the dead. Hamas had placed the body of another woman inside the coffin.

We ought to feel sickened inside at the pictures being shown around the world; I am. I will not show the footage here. Instead, here are Israelis lining the streets as the coffins are driven by.

To humiliate the body of the deceased is to move into a new level of hatred. It is to join the ranks of cultures who abused flesh and bone to humiliate and cripple them in the life to come. This is the action of a deranged and evil group. Sadly, we can already imagine the excuses and justifications being uttered in Hamas’ defence, such are the times we are now living in. 

Criminals are afforded a proper burial. Even in war, the dead are respected by the enemy. Mustafa Kamal famously said of the Anzacs buried at Gallipoli,

You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.

The human body matters, both in life and in death. Our physical being is part of who we are. God has made us with body, mind, heart, and spirit. Harming the body is an affront to human dignity and life. Mistreating the remains of the dead signals a level of disdain both for the dead and for those who are left behind that is inhuman.

A human body is treated with such respect because the life of the human being is of incalculable worth. To return the wrong body and to return bodies with ignominious glee and to stuff coffins with propaganda is unspeakably shocking.

God values the human body so much that his only Son took on human flesh. He became incarnate, a man. When Jesus was crucified he was buried. When God raised the same Jesus to life, he was resurrected, that is with a real physical living heart beating body. 

There is so much evil in our world. It has been this way since the fall. The hubris of the optimist believed that with advancing science and technology, and with prosperity winning globally, the world will enter a new age of progress and even ‘the end of history’. This is not utopia. Recent years have taught us that humankind is bent on repeating history. 

It is an evil world. Ours is a beautiful world with much to love and enjoy, and yet from the human heart spawns tremendous wickedness. It is astonishing that God should show such patience and grace.

Here is what my Bible reading was this morning, and frankly it is not what we deserve and it cuts against even how my own society often thinks of the human body, and yet it is profoundly good and light and life. In death and life, while enjoying the warmth of the sun or sitting in the darkest place, here is God’s promise, 

“Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.  For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place:

Death has been swallowed up in victory.

Where, death, is your victory?
Where, death, is your sting?

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Corinthians 15:51-57)