Christian Hope

Is Wes Huff correct, did Jesus believe he is God?

/ MurrayCampbell

Joe Rogan’s interview with Wes Huff has reached millions of views. As a (now former) non-Joe Rogan fan, I wanna say that it is well worth the 3 hours, not least for Rogan’s masterful conversational style.

Until last week Wesley Huff was little known outside the icy lands of Canada. Huff is an academic and Christian apologist who is currently undertaking PhD studies in the New Testament field. His field of expertise relates to ancient texts, in particular studying ancient New Testament manuscripts. In case you’re thinking that this is the making of a somewhat dry and brief Rogan episode, think again.

If you’re keen, here is the link to the interview. My interest here is not to regurgitate the entire 3 hours or comment on every online response. I’m interested in one salient point that came out during the interview and which has stirred the waters since.

During the interview, Wes made a series of assertions about Jesus in quick succession,

“You have this Jewish itinerant guy who is walking around Roman occupied first century Judea, he is making some pretty audacious claims; he claims to be God himself and then he predicts his own death and resurrection…’

It’s the line about Jesus ‘audaciously going around claiming to be God Himself’ that has grabbed attention and has created something of a stir. Isn’t it fascinating how Jesus’ identity remains a hot topic today as it was during his lifetime? No matter how many elements of culture try to tame Jesus, he continues to surprise and subvert and reignite interest.

Alex O’Connor is a popular YouTube influencer with more than 1 million followers on his ‘CosmicSkeptic’ Channel. He put together a response to the Rogan interview and has tried to dissect and rebut some of Huff’s statements. Gavin Ortlund has done a fine job responding to O’Connor’s critique. I want to speak to this one particular objection O’Connor made to Wed Huff, and that is, Jesus claimed to be God, 

“[Jesus] was audaciously going around claiming to be God Himself. I don’t think that’s true. Nowhere in Mark, Matthew, or Luke does Jesus actually claim to be God in His own words. At best it’s just in John’s Gospel that divine claims begin to appear.”

O’Connor’s suggestion is big news, if true. If he’s right, it undercuts 2000 years of Christianity and in all probability, destroys Christianity’s credibility. Of course, his claim isn’t new. I’d be surprised if you haven’t heard people making similar conclusions whether in your own education or among friends. In 2015, Australia’s Phillip Adams interviewed Frederic Raphael where Raphael threw out as though it was vernacular truth, ‘the Jews who would not accept that Jesus was the Son of God, nor of course did Jesus’. 

Who is right, O’Connor or Huff? In our cyber connected world that’s deluged with opinions and comments and points of view, finding the truth can be tricky. Sometimes it feels as though the truth has been locked in a vault and cast into a blackhole somewhere past Uranus and well beyond our scope. 

And the question of Jesus’ Divinity is about as big a question as they come. It is not, however, one of the questions where we are left to ruminate and wonder and remain in the dark. We can go to the sources and investigate for ourselves (which is one of Huff’s main theses). Scholarship and academia is useful and insightful (can be), but one of the qualities of the Bible is that it is an every person’s book. Anyone can read and grapple with it for themselves. When it comes to the question, ‘Did Jesus claim to be God’?, open a Bible and find out.

Is it the case that Jesus claimed to be God? The question, is Jesus God?, is slightly different from the former one, but they are nonetheless intimately connected.

Obviously, this is a huge topic and one could write a 27-volume tome exploring it, but I suspect few would read it (including myself). Plus, I’m currently on holidays and so brevity is the way to go. What I wish to do here is note a few places that indicate not only Jesus’ Divinity, but also demonstrate that Jesus understood himself to be God the Son. 

In the below list of Jesus quotations, I am including ones from John’s Gospel, because John, like the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) belongs to the New Testament Canon. O Connor wants John excluded from the discussion (presumably because he thinks John is a 2nd-century document, a view which scholarship widely discounts today).  Imagine a detective explaining to the court, that we have discarded this this evidence because it doesn’t fit with the conclusions we had already made!

Each Gospel, including each of the synoptic gospels, offer different perspectives and material and emphases, but none contradict the other others, but rather they complement one another. The fact that there are a couple of details that leave scholars scratching their heads to this day, says more about our own limitations than it does about the Bible texts where there is extraordinary coherence and synthesis.

Even if we take up O’Connor’s challenge and leave John’s Gospel aside, there is ample evidence that displays Jesus’ self awareness of being God. But given John’s place in the Canon, I will at times include Johannine references. 

The clear but subtle awareness of Jesus’ Godness

Jesus’ ministry was not set in 21st-century Australia or America, as though he is answering our questions by using stories about the iPhone or analogies from cricket or Taylor Swift. Jesus was a first-century Jew.  He lived in a Roman occupied region and who’s ideas, words, and actions were consciously steeped in and fulfilling Old Testament themes and promises. That means, that when Jesus talks about himself, he regularly deferred to the Jewish Scriptures and spoke in those categories. One of the implications of this is that as we understand the meaning of Old Testament names and images for God and we see Jesus applying them to himself, we begin to see a picture of the One who says he is God.

Take for example, the title, Shepherd. Shepherd has connotations with King David and therefore Messianic expectations, but in places like Ezekiel ch.34,  God equates himself to shepherd who will come, deliver, protect and provide for his people, 

“‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.”

Famously in John 10, Jesus declares, ‘I am the Good Shepherd’. Not only does Jesus speak the unspeakable name of God, he attributes the name to himself (ἐγώ εἰμι).  Jesus sums up his person as the God who is the Good Shepherd. For those who wish to keep John’s Gospel to the side for this debate, it’s not only John’s Gospel that makes the connection between Jesus, God and Shepherd. The Synoptics also do this (cf Matt 2:6; Mark 6:34). In Matthew, Jesus explains his own mission as coming to find the ‘lost sheep of Israel’ (Matt 15:24). Now, is this an explicit claim of personal Divinity? When read in its context, Jesus certainly seems to be making the case. 

Another motif that comes from the lips of Jesus is that of Divine forgiveness. He not only taught that God forgives sins, he did so. When Jesus forgave sins, both his interlocutors and adversaries understood the Divine authority Jesus supposed behind his words, 

“Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:21). It is this charge of blasphemy against Jesus that sets the trajectory of opposition toward Jesus and which ultimately leads to his crucifixion. 

The themes of Shepherd and forgiveness are but 2 of many that are taken up by Jesus to ascribe and describe himself and his ministry and mission. There is subtleness in much of Jesus’ language and today’s readers may not pick up the connections if we’re unfamiliar with the Old Testament, but one thing is clear, Jesus’ enemies got the message, and with time Jesus own disciples and friends also understood: Jesus is saying that he’s God.

Jesus’ self revelation as God is not restricted to his words, but also to his life and deeds. Whether it is controlling a storm at sea or raising the Lazarus from the dead or throwing out demons and evil spirits, his life repeatedly signals more than a man of great kindness and love and strength, but one who is excising Divine authority and purpose.

Jesus’ words

“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matthew 4:6-7)

‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” (Matthew 22:32)

“It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father.  Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life”.  (John 6:45-47)

“Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live”. (John 5:25)

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58)

Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. (John 8:54)

“I and the Father are one” (John 10:30)

“Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father.  But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” (John 10:36-38)

“How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work” (John 14:9b-10)

The many ‘I AM’ sayings of Jesus in John’s Gospel are less about English grammar and is the holy name of Israel’s God, revealed to Moses at the burning bush. The religious intelligentsia rightly understood Jesus’ use of the phrase as calling himself the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

In addition, Jesus’ most frequently used title was ‘Son of Man. While it’s meaning was somewhat enigmatic, Jesus spoke and acted in ways that accorded with the Old Testament and therefore it is difficult to conclude that Jesus viewed the title, ‘Son of Man’, in a way that differed from its use in Daniel chapter 7, where the ‘Son of Man’ is described as one who is given the authority and power of God, and is worshiped accordingly.

What about the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20? Here are told that 11 disciples (remember Judas Iscariot had killed himself) are meeting with the resurrected Jesus and worshipping him as God. Like a document that doesn’t whitewash history, Matthew notes that some still doubted, but generally speaking, the penny has dropped and the disciples are worshipping Jesus as God. Does Jesus reject this homage? Instead, he claims an authority that only God has and he reveals the One God (notice how Jesus says, ‘the name’ singular) who is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

This is a crystal clear example of Jesus claiming to be God and accepting worship as God.

Words from others that Jesus did not repudiate

“The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” ((Matthew 4:3)

“What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” (Matthew 8:29)

“Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:33)

“Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)

“Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” (John 9:16-17)

“When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:20-21)

“Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” (John 10:31-33)

“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:27)

“Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)

The reason for Jesus’ crucifixion

Jesus wasn’t crucified because he was leading a rebellion or not being nice to his neighbours. Authorities wanted Jesus dead because he claimed to be God. 

“For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God”. (John 5:18)

“The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” (John 19:7)

You can’t ignore the rest of the New Testament

Alex O’Connor suggests that we leave John’s Gospel aside and he doesn’t even entertain what the rest of the New Testament shows us about Jesus’ identity. In this, he’s mimicking Red Letter Christians who surmise that Jesus’ words are the only ones we need to take seriously, as opposed to other bible words and writers. That fails to read the New Testament on its own terms and it fails to take Jesus’ own words seriously

Not only does Jesus insist that all Scripture is about him and fulfilled in him, he spells out to his disciples that under the direction of the Holy Spirit they will teach and provide what we call today the ‘Apostolic testimony’, which is the foundation of Christian truth and life today. Jesus won’t let us think that the disciples’ words are somehow less true or reliable than his. Rather, their words are his words. What Peter, John, and later Paul would write to the churches can be trusted. Their theology of God is Jesus’. Their insistence on both the humanity and the Deity of Christ is perfectly in sync with Jesus.

“the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. (John 15:26-27)

To summarise the evidence:

  • On numerous occasions Jesus indicated that he is God’s Son.
  • Jesus’ opponents believed that Jesus was claiming to be God, and for the said reason they had him killed.
  • Many people believed that Jesus was God and Jesus did not correct them
  • Jesus’ life, character, works, miracles, death and resurrection are unique in the entire history of the world, and each adds weight to his claim of Divinity, not detracts.
  • The first Christians, many of whom were eye-witnesses to the life of Jesus and others were at one time opponents, were prepared to suffer imprisonment and even death for the confession, Jesus is Lord.

Conclusion

The evidence weighs heavily against Alex O Connor and falls in agreement with Wesley  Huff. Jesus made pretty audacious claims, claiming to be God. 

Dripping from this key question of whether Jesus is God, there are all kinds of topics and issues relating to the most momentous things. What kind of God is he? What does it mean for the world if Jesus is God? What does it say about the world? What does this say about me?”

The question of Jesus’ Divinity is more than an interesting topic of conversation among friends or for a podcast. It is too big and important to remain stuck in the books of academics and theologians and philosophers. This world could not contain the message of Jesus Christ in the first century, neither can it today. It demands our attention. Let me finish with the question Jesus once asked of Peter, ‘Who do you say I am?”

It’s Biblical

/ MurrayCampbell

‘It’s biblical’. The disaster is of ‘biblical proportions.’

The Age newspaper ran this headline to describe the terrifying fires in Los Angeles: ‘It was biblical.’

It’s fascinating to see how quick we are to turn to and lean upon biblical language and imagery when trying to make sense of events in front of us. This isn’t specifically a Christian trait, it is a cultural one. In fact, it is a near-universal tone for people grasping for description and explanation of what has befallen them.

The fires in and around Los Angeles are truly epic and terrible. As a Melbournian, I am familiar with fire. Every summer breeds conditions that can be whipped into a firestorm across our hills and outer suburbs within a very short period of time. Though we live across the Pacific Ocean, we are watching with understanding and trepidation for our American cousins.

The observation that I wish to explore for a few moments here is the regularity in which the idiom, ‘biblical’  is used to describe events of monumental significance, and most commonly, those that are tragic in nature. It’s not only the use of ‘biblical’ in the vernacular but our almost subconscious reliance upon the Bible in order to make sense of life’s events. The Bible has so influenced our epistemology and morality and spirituality, that we defer to its words and ideas, often without realising or without belief. 

What does it mean to be ‘biblical’?

On one level, it makes sense that we use the word, ‘biblical’ to describe overwhelming tragic events. After all, the Bible contains a large volume of events with awesome power and of cosmic consequence. Whether it is the Noahic Flood, the Plagues on Egypt, or the destruction of nations and humbling of kingdoms, the Bible depicts massive occasions and crises.

However, one of the mistakes we can fall into is assuming the Bible’s presentation of disaster as simplistic. This is far from the case. Comprehending the whys and what’s of grim events isn’t as easy as dividing the world into good and bad people, or equating blessing with moral people and suffering with sinful people. This is one reason for engaging seriously with the Bible text rather than relying on easy sloganeering. Learn our theology less from Dante and more from the Bible, and when we do we discover that the Holy Scriptures presentation is far more fearful and freeing, awesome, overwhelming and also consoling. 

Let me show you. Take, for example, these five elements that are traced throughout the Bible’s storyline and which intersect and develop as we move from Genesis to Malachi and from Matthew to Revelation. Rather than picking and choosing or making a bland pot of tea, there is more to this ‘biblical’ than we may first realise.

First, disasters, whether ‘natural’ or manmade, signal to us that the world is not okay. The world in which we live, work, and play is amazing and replete with good things, and yet hardship and suffering meet us at every intersection. This is not a utopian world. The greatest minds and technologies still cannot control the forces of nature. We cannot ever curb human instincts toward evil, let alone human error. Indeed, we often use our imaginations and advancements to continue ill, rather than to cure. In this, the Bible is an honest story. The Bible is real to life. The Scriptures don’t ignore the heights of human joy and love and life, nor the greatest ignominy and ignorance. 

The Bible isn’t a fictitious fable where everything ends well and the Princess rides off with the pony. The Bible exposes the cruelty of loss, the horror of death, and the thousand ways life is upended.

Second, today’s disasters are prelude to a day of Divine judgment. The presence of floods, fires, and disease are not moot experiences, simply to be endured.

As C.S Lewis famously wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world”

In his famous ‘apocalyptic’ sermon, Jesus likens both natural and human-made disasters to a pregnant woman entering labour,

“Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains.” (Matthew 24:5-8)

In other words, not only is tragedy and pain signalling a world that is in turmoil, but these preempt, like a siren or rolling thunder, that a cataclysmic event is approaching. Jesus is saying, that as awful as these things are, they are reminders that we will all one day meet the God who is a consuming fire, holy and awesome.

Third, tragedy strikes everyone. We ought to step with extreme caution as we try to understand events in our lives and in those of other people. It is too easy, and erroneous, to suppose the tragedy only strikes the ‘sinner’ and blessing for the ‘righteous. Don’t be like Job’s friends!

In Los Angeles this week, the poor and wealthy alike, Hollywood stars and house cleaners, have shared the same loss. I know of Christians who have lost homes and Church buildings that become ruin and ash.

There are occasions in the Bible narrative where disaster falls on particular people as Divine judgment for specific sins. Many of the most serious words and actions are directed by God on his own people because of their continued evil and unrepentance. Moreover, the biblical testimony describes the world in which we live as fallen and corrupted, and all experience the moment. On one occasion Jesus gave an explanation of tragedy which should caution all before attributing specific Divine judgment for particular events in our time. 

On one occasion when Jesus pushed back on the view that tragedy is necessarily linked to some specific horrible deed lurking in your past. Jesus mentions to local events, one was a massacre and the other a building collapse, and he used both incidents to rebuff the idea that suffering equals guilt, 

Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?  I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.  Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:2-5)

Fourth, we long for Divine intervention and grace. Why do we pray? When we lose control and when hope dissipates why is prayer the near universal default? 

Jesus won’t have us believe that this is some evolutionary residue or chromosomal leftover from less developed times.  Jesus (and therefore the Bible), won’t let us think that God is in any way less Sovereign today than in any moment of history. Rather, it is because God is God, and because he is a good God, that we can cry out to him, ‘Abba Father’.

Fifth, and perhaps most important of all, ‘biblical’ does not only denote terrible events, but also the wonderful and life giving.

Not all the ‘biblical’ is bad and disastrous – the truly biblical includes exquisite and extraordinary, grace and goodness. The pages of the Bible are filled with stories of immense love and of extravagant mercy and forgiveness. Even judgment is often met with redemption, and grief finds consolation.   Above all, the most horrifying event of all history, the cross of Jesus Christ, also turns out to be the defining event that produces forgiveness, peace and new life. 

The incarnation is big time ‘biblical’. That God the Son should come into our space and share our humanity and experience every gamut of human suffering. Jesus went further and grabbed hold of human sin and guilt and bore Divine punishment for us by his death on the cross. 

This event of ‘biblical’ proportion is matched by his resurrection. The God Man who died and was laid in the tomb, was raised to real life on the third day: breathing, walking, physical and cognitive functioning life. 

Within hours of the fires erupting in Los Angeles, people were looking for explanations and for people to blame. Indeed, investigations and enquiries will no doubt take place. Such things are important. Lessons need learning. 

My point here is a simple one, equating events to ‘biblical’ isn’t a bad starting place. Most of us will do this, and do so without knowing what is ‘biblical’. In 2025, believers, sceptics and investigators will each turn to the Bible to image, explain and interrupt the events in our world, both great and small. As we do, let’s not mythologise the Bible or reduce the Scriptures to monolithic meaning, but embrace the whole.  

We won’t grasp the ‘why’ of every tragedy in this life and world; such wisdom is beyond our pay grade. What is remarkably Biblical is to realise that God entered human suffering in the most personal of ways. Jesus’ life was marked by suffering. He walked alongside the sick and the destitute. He loved the poor and the outcast. His crucifixion entailed every manner of pain and violence, such that he satisfied the right wrath of God.  He has even extinguished the power of death so that we might share ultimately in his life forever.

What Michael Leunig’s Art Said to Me

/ MurrayCampbell

I was saddened to learn last night that Michael Leunig has died at the age of 79. It’s as though a little part of Australia has died with him.

Leunig’s family announced his death with these befitting words, 

“The pen has run dry, its ink no longer flowing – yet Mr Curly and his ducks will remain etched in our hearts, cherished and eternal.” 

25 years ago, Susan and I were enjoying dinner at a friend’s home when I saw it hanging on the wall above the dining table.  It was a drawing of a man sitting at a grand piano. The man had a particularly large rounded nose, which I had seen before.  There was little colour on the canvas. Like Matisse, the artist conveyed all he needed with two or was it perhaps three tones. 

The etching was simple and clean, almost like a cartoon.  It conveyed something of the simple pleasures accompanying the piano. As someone who had until that time spent virtually his entire entirety life learning to play this magisterial instrument, I was immediately drawn to his work by Michael Leunig; it made sense to me.

Leunig’s cartoons, drawings and paintings communicate life and provoke us to question and consider the Divine design behind the canvas.

Life is beautiful. Whether it’s the inquisitive duck or his vibrant trees or musicians,  Leunig painted a beautiful life. Life is precious and is a wondrous gift.  Acknowledging God who gives life, is both an obligation and a joy. 

Imagine their existing a masterful painting on the wall at home and never stopping to gaze upon it, to understand and enjoy it. How often do we walk about and consume and enjoy the world without stopping to give thanks to the one who designed and enables us to live and participate?

Leunig was renowned for his use of subtle humour to elucidate critical thinking and moral evaluation. It reminds me a little of Jesus who added humorous, almost silly liners while teaching things of great import, 

“You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel”

“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.”

One of Leunig’s better-known drawings is this betrayal of Jesus’s crucifixion. In a mood faithful to the original crowd who mocked Jesus on the cross, Leunig paints a soldier calling out,

“Look at that? Brilliant! You kill the leader and you nip the whole movement in the bud”.

The joke is on us. The cross makes us fools. The cross turns our power into ineptitude. Indeed, the joke is on us, filled with intellectual hubris and moral certainty, as we turn down the only redemption available.

Leunig’s work pushes us to say ‘no’ to ambivalence. It is a gentle and humorous rebuke toward an Australian culture that even today wishes to paint over the most pivotal moment in history.

I know next to nothing about Leunig’s personal life. Whether in concert or in contradiction, his work conveyed a bright message that is being overshadowed by a compounding grey.

Today Michael Leunig no longer needs his paintbrush, for he gets to see his Creator, the One who crafted with his word every colour and shape and mountain range, every ocean and even the stars. And the pinnacle of his creativity, making us, his image bearers.

Again life is beautiful. And life is too easily cut short even at 79 years of age. Life ebbs away, and the blotch of tragedy, sadness, and yes also, evil marks every home. How much do we need a story where such things are overcome.

I don’t know what Christmas is but Christmas time is here

/ MurrayCampbell

“I don’t know what Christmas is but Christmas time is here.”

Did you know Guardians of the Galaxy is more than a sci-fi Marvel franchise: they have a Christmas Special!

Peter Quill is missing Christmas on earth. His friends have noticed his despondent face and decide to cheer him up by kidnapping Quill’s hero, Kevin Bacon, and wrapping him up like a slice of prosciutto for Christmas.

And because rock music apparently exists on other planets, an alien band is playing a tribute song to Christmas: ‘Bzermikitokolok and the Knowheremen’. 

The lead singer is chatting to Peter Quill about, “one of your earth traditions…”

This alien rock star (despite an uncanny similarity, not to be confused with your typically aged rock star), explains to Peter Quill that he’s done his homework, 

“Everything I know about Christmas I learned from rocket who learned it from Cosmo who learned it from Kraglin, who learned from you… so I thought I would take it back to the source and make sure I understand this all correctly. This is after all a historical document.”

So far, so good.

The band then starts playing their intergalactic carol, 

Out on the third planet closest to the sun

There’s a special celebration

And it sounds quite fun

A jolly old fellow brings toys to everyone

On a holiday they call Christmas

Now I’m not gonna lie

It makes no sense to me

But here’s what Earthlings told me

About this Christmas mystery

Santa is a furry freak

With epic super powers

He flies to every human home

In under fourteen hours

He’s a master burglar

A pro at picking locks

If you don’t leave milk and cookies out

He will put dung in your socks

Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho

Earthlings are so weird

I don’t know what Christmas is

But Christmastime is here

Or maybe it’s there

Or it’s somewhere

I don’t know, I don’t know






It’s funny. The words are obviously confusing and conflating different ideas surrounding Christmas. It’s as though in outer space, 2 turtle doves and 5 gold rings equals larceny and arson!





Why quote this space Christmas pop song? Because the joke is closer to reality than we might think. Allow me to explain.





With Christmas, we throw all kinds of things into the mix. We have this conception of Christmas that is like a gigantic tinselled blender where we get to toss in a hundred ideas and traditions and somehow together it all tastes amazing.















Let’s leave Turkey and Christmas trees aside, and should we eat Christmas pudding (the answer to that one is obviously, ‘eek’). We can even leave aside December 25 because we don’t know the exact date when Jesus was born and there is no Bible rule about having to celebrate December 25.





Many of our Christmas traditions are like garnishes; nice, but not the essence.





“I don’t know what Christmas is but Christmas time is here.”





I suspect this sentiment is more earthbound than the interplanetary travellers realise.





‘Bzermikitokolok and the Knowheremen’ get one thing right; go back to the source. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Why float around with third-hand notions and rumours when we can open up the original and best source for what Christmas is about? 





The Bible gives us the original and superlative story. It is the one indispensable message. For example, in Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus, we read, 





“The angel said to the Shepherds, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”





With a few words, the world changed forever:





God isn’t silent: here is a message is from God





God is no grinch-like character: his message is good news that brings great joy.





The message is about a Saviour. The Saviour’s name is Jesus, and he is ascribed the titles ‘Messiah’ and ‘Lord’. Far from vague and ambiguous meanings,  God’s good news message points to a humble birth with huge God given credentials. As we read from other parts of the Bible, these credentials are tied up with ancient God given promises to bring salvation to a world that is broken and filled with wickedness.





As much as I enjoy roast Turkey and the smell of pine trees, these don’t come close to the magnitude of this Divine word for the world.





A new French restaurant opened in Melbourne recently, Maison Bâtard. The menu is mouth-watering. A host of celebrities were invited to a special gala opening event and were the first to taste the menu. If you’re a famous Melbournian, wealthy or have the right connections, you may have made the cut. Perhaps you were invited!





That’s not how God chooses. When we visit the sources and uncover the message that gave birth to Christmas, we discover something wonderfully subversive and counter-cultural. God’s message is of incalculable importance and God chose to announce his good news, not to the famous and important, but to a group of underpaid, uneducated and probably unlikeable Shepherds. This speaks volumes about theGod who exists.





God doesn’t work according to who’s popular, who’s powerful, or who’s likeable. God acts according to his own character. That God announced his good news to the Shepherds signals grace and mercy. That means, God’s message can be for me.





On that holy night, there was no confusion, no myths, or hearsay. This is a clear announcement from God about his Son Jesus who came to save. 





We know from the sources that as Jesus grew and later began his public ministry, a lot of people pushed against on his message. Some people thought he was a joke. Some people thought Jesus was evil. Others again, dismissed Jesus as though he’s not for me.





These are traditions we continue to this very day. 





This raises a pertinent question, if not Jesus, where do we turn for good news? Where are turning for news that brings about forgiveness, hope, and peace? Where will we uncover substantive and reliable good news that will overcome the sorrow, fear and wickedness we see around in society and also see in ourselves?





There is a serious message revealed that night in Bethlehem. Whether we are living in Eastern Europe or in the Middle East or Eastern Australia, we need good news that will overcome the darkest night and deepest fears.





As we explore the original sources, we learn that God doesn’t just make bold promises, he keeps them. This same Jesus born in the manger, lived out the promise of salvation, even though it meant death on a cross, and from the grave to resurrection life.





“I don’t know what Christmas is but Christmas time is here.”





Except we can know. People celebrate Christmas for all kinds of reasons, and that’s ok. It is possible to distinguish between the add-ons and garnishes and uncover the truth and power in the historical document. The Shepherds responded to the good news announcement by visiting Bethlehem and investigating for themselves. Perhaps now is the season for us to do the same. 

			

	


			
				


	

							
Myer’s Perfect Christmas Message
						

			 / MurrayCampbell								

			


		

		






“Gifts for the naughty and the nice. Share the Joy”





Has Myer rediscovered the evangelistic drive of its founder, Sidney Myer? 





Most Australians may be unaware, but 104 years ago, Sidney Myer became a Christian. Myer was an upcoming Melbourne entrepreneur and businessman. Despite growing success, he had made some rather poor choices in life, one of which resulted in his first marriage ending.





One day, another Melbourne businessman named Lee Neil, had his company bought out by Sidney Myer. Neil then went to work for Myer. Neil was a Christian and over time he shared with Myer his most precious possession, God’s good news of Jesus. 





Sidney Myer could not buy or afford this news of Divine forgiveness. As the Apostle Paul once explained, 





‘it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God’





Once Myer realised this message, this gift of God transformed the way he did business. Generosity was part of the parcel of his success. Myer included his employees in the benefits of a growing company and he shared his profits among those who had little. He even celebrated Christmas by organising lunches for 100s of people. Today, Sidney Myer remains one of Australia’s great success stories, but few are aware of the Divine gift that prompted his philanthropy. Indeed, he rarely made mention of it during his lifetime, apart from a few occasions when he was encouraging others to join a charitable cause. 





Has Myer recaptured Sidney Myer’s greatest vision? 





Perhaps? I suspect not.  The furry creature who features on the billboard is named, ‘humbug’, and apparently you can buy your very own soft and cuddly humbug in Myer. From doing a little research today, I’ve learned that humbug represents the annoyance and grrr most of us feel at some point around Christmas (sound familiar?). Whatever the marketing intention, the statement is true: “Gifts for the naughty and the nice. Share the Joy”.





 In fact, I reckon Myer’s marketing department has underestimated how true their slogan is. Consider these amazing words from the Bible, 





“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”” (Matt 1:21)





“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 2:15)





If anything, humbug underestimates the seismic problem of the human condition that Christmas exposes, just as the red-suited man from the North Pole gets it wrong. We are more than a little grumpy, and unlike jolly Mr Claus who keeps his studious eyes on 2 very different lists, the God of Christmas delivers a very different message. It’s not the righteous who find blessing and the sinners get lumps of coal; everyone sits on the same page.





Here lays the cutting edge of Christianity, which makes the Gospel unlike every other story, philosophy and religion. God doesn’t choose between the naughty and nice. He says, ‘Christ died for the ungodly…God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us… the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! (Romans 5)





The message of the Christ is one of overflowing love and mercy toward those who are undeserving and unable. Imagine a God who gives gifts unmerited! Imagine God whose only Son sacrificed himself to deliver us from every iniquity, even death?  Imagine if the real message of Christmas isn’t ‘be nice not naughty’ but, you are forgiven; come home to God. Of course, we don’t have to imagine. Look at that night in Bethlehem. Check out the infant Jesus and his life, words and deeds. Above all, come to terms with why the only good man chose to die on a Roman cross.





Thank you Myer for your Christmas message this year. I for one, will ‘share the joy’. Jesus really is good news, God’s “Gift for the naughty and the nice.” 

			

	


			
				


	

							
Tragedy for Beaumaris
						

			 / MurrayCampbell								

			


		

		

‘My eyes have grown dim with grief;





    my whole frame is but a shadow’










Two young women from the local community died tragically this week in a foreign land while enjoying a vacation together.





The names and faces of Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones have become global news, and shocking a nation as their lives were needlessly taken from them, following someone mixing methanol in their drinks in Laos. 6 people have now died as a result of the poisoning. 





Both girls are from Beaumaris, across the road from Mentone and from where I live and where I serve as Pastor of Mentone Baptist Church. They went to school in the area and played footy for Beau.





I didn’t have the privilege of knowing Holly and Bianca, but when a community grieves, we all grieve. Connections are not far apart.





I want to express my own sadness to the families of these two young women and their friends. I don’t want to pretend to understand how you are feeling and the thoughts you are processing, but as a father of 3, including a 19 year old, I can only imagine, and even then I don’t wish to.















One thing I have noticed over these last few days is how people across the political and social divide has become united, to express anguish and reach out to the neighbourhood as people come to terms with the unspeakable.





Talking and sharing is important. It doesn’t remove pain or resolve questions, but these points of connection help in tiny ways. More so, I’m reminded of the Psalmist who cries out to God when words cannot fathom what wrenches the heart, 





“Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.” (Psalm 31:9)





The Scriptures don’t pretend by giving simplistic answers to the question of why, but these Divine words encourage us to shout and whisper and implore God who listens. 





The Psalmist looks to God for mercy, for where else can we go? The inexplicable is not beyond His attention and care, although we may be overwhelmed by every doubt and anger, and grief and sorrow. We need a God who understands while we cannot. We need a God to whom we can turn and plea. We need a God who understands and empathises with every grief.





One day, Jesus’ friend, Lazarus died and we are told, ‘he wept’. Three short words in the original language: ‘wept, the Jesus’. We are also told that as Jesus reached the grieving community, ‘he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled’.





This is a portrait of God’s attitude toward death. The story goes on, and demonstrates that Jesus will do more than sit with those in sorrow. His opposition to death is great and absolute. He spoke words to Martha, a sister of Lazarus, words that have resonated ever since,





“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”





The thing about death is that it’s worse the worse. Let’s not pretend otherwise. The story of the Bible however doesn’t leave us there. Jesus’ pronouncement at Lazarus’ grave was more than empathy, they are efficacious. 





The God of the Bible speaks of his only child, his Son, who came upon death. He is the Father who understands the grave. But the very same event provides the greatest offer of hope the world can ever know and which remains the hope for those living in Beaumaris and Mentone. 





The consolation of the ages is often read aloud in times of grief. I pray that as people gather together in their profound sorrow and others as ponder with speechless words the brevity of life and of the beauty and wonder of every young life, may the light of resurrection hope, pierce the dark,





‘Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—  in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.  When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.





“Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”





 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’

			

	


			
				


	

							
Coldplay’s prayer in Melbourne
						

			 / MurrayCampbell								

			


		

		

Coldplay is in town. It seems like every second friend has bought tickets and is  joining in the chorus of ‘Yellow’ and singing, ‘I used to rule the world’





The last time Coldplay performed in Melbourne was in 2016,  and I took my 2 boys to the concert.  The eldest, who was 11 at the time, had aspirations to be a drummer like Will Champion. The night was a kaleidoscope of colour and light and memorable tunes.





Coldplay is back in Melbourne and singing a prayer. 





By prayer, I’m not referring to fans hoping to see Guy Berryman after illness forced him to miss out on performing with the quartet for the first time in their 27 year history (I believe he returned last night for their second Melbourne concert). Coldplay’s latest hit song is called, ‘We pray’.





‘We pray’ was written by lead singer, Chris Martin, in conjunction with a group of musicians from around the world, and it explores his personal journey in spirituality and understanding the human condition. 





The song itself is a congregational invocation to prayer. The lyrics are deliberately vague for no particular god is addressed and his character and personality are unknown. The song is about the human longing for help, hope and forgiveness.















‘We pray’ is clever because people can fill in the gaps however the wish, but is that point of prayer? The word grabs onto some vague and universalist notion of the Divine: unnamed and unknown. 





It’s hoping without knowing, it’s needing and not possessing.





Take a look at some of the lyrics, 





Pray that I don’t give up
Pray that I do my best
Pray that I can lift up
Pray my brother is blessed
Praying for enough
Pray Virgilio wins
Pray I – I – I
Judge nobody and forgive me my sins
I pray we make it
Pray my friend will pull through
Pray as I take it
Unto others I do
Praying on your love
We pray with every breath
Though I – I – I’m in the valley of the shadow of death





Pray that we make it to the end of the day
And so We Pray
I know somewhere that heaven is waiting
And so We Pray
I know somewhere there’s something amazing
And so We Pray
I know somewhere we’ll feel no pain
Until we make it to the end of the day





Coldplay is, of course, singing a similar tune to one that is all over our streets and suburbs today.





Human beings are deeply spiritual. The sum of who we are cannot be reduced to skin, bones, blood, and organs. This is one reason why the new atheism was always doomed to be little more than a cultural fad. The materialist world cannot sustain or explain the needs and hopes found in the human soul. But neither are we left in the realm of guessing and taking a stab in the dark.





New Atheism is dead. In places like Australia and the UK, neo-paganism is gaining traction, Eastern religions are growing (largely through migration), and people are dabbling in alternative spiritualities in volumes I’ve not seen before. Why? The soul needs peace. We need hope.





‘We pray’ is a descriptor of the human condition but it doesn’t give any substantive answer.





Prayer isn’t a magical amulet that I rub and repeat. Prayer without relationship with the actual living, listening and loving God is little more than a placebo. What if real prayer was possible?





Coldplay’s idea of prayer isn’t original. The city of Athens was renowned in ancient times for its religious pluralism. In fact on the day the Apostle Paul walked through that great city, he noticed a statue to the Unknown God. The citizens of Athens erected a monument to a God with no name, just in case the pantheon of gods had missed one and so people could pray and pay homage to this unknown divinity, hoping to find blessing and help.





Paul, this early Christian leader, made a commentary about this Athenian spirituality, when the leading intellectuals invited the him to address the famous Areopagus, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 





What follows is one of the great speeches of history. The words of this address, both astonished and intrigued people in what was the equivalent of Oxford in the day, and I suspect there is good reason for the people of Melbourne to be similarly astonished and intrigued today.





“People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.





“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’





29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17)





In summary, he explains:





    

  • There is a God and he is the powerful and purposeful creator of the universe.
    • 




  • This God doesn’t need us but provides us with life and breath. 
    • 




  • God has made himself known
    • 




  • We don’t fashion God’s existence.
    • 




  • The world will be held to account by God (how we need a God is right and just and will do justice)
    • 




  • The definitive proof of God is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
    • 






Understand, these points are but the introduction to all that Paul had to say, but straight away he eliminates vagueness and universality. There is God and he is this God. It’s not guesswork and speculation, but the resurrection of Jesus is proof. 





Does it matter to whom we pray? Is the efficacious nature of prayer found in the activity itself or in the one to whom we address? 





Why does it matter which God we pray to, if the spiritual and psychological benefit lies in the activity?





By way of illustration, would it matter if  I spoke to any individual and in any way, assuming or hoping that they were my spouse? Would it be appropriate to pour out my heart in a married kind of way with any random person who happened to hear me talking out loud on the street?





Apart from the fact that they have no duty to listen or respond to my words, how belittling and insulting it is to the person who actually is my spouse!





To whom we pray does matter. 





On one occasion Jesus speaks about lostness.  This being lost is a way of describing our natural state; being disconnected from God and the forgiveness and life that can be found in him. We wander about and test and experiment, looking for a way to leave behind this state of hopelessness and uncertainty. Jesus says, he is the way. He is the One who came to seek and save the lost.





Don’t believe me? You don’t have to take my word, check out the resurrection of Jesus. 





I love this prayer that Jesus taught. It is to God who is named, known, who is just, who forgives, and in whom we can depend,





Our Father in heaven,





hallowed be your name,





your kingdom come,





your will be done,





    on earth as it is in heaven.





Give us today our daily bread.





And forgive us our debts,





    as we also have forgiven our debtors.





And lead us not into temptation,





    but deliver us from the evil one

			

	


			
				


	

							
Australian Catholic University speech causes mass walk out
						

			 / MurrayCampbell								

			


		

		

The media is having a field day over a story that erupted at a graduation ceremony yesterday for the Australian Catholic University (ACU). 





Former Union chief, Joe de Bruyn, was awarded an honorary doctorate and delivered a speech to the newly graduating students. What followed led to 90% of students, staff, and family members walking out in disgust. 










I know very little about de Bruyn and I’m not making a judgment about where his heart is, but his speech may well go down in the annals of ‘how not to present a Christian viewpoint’ (if indeed this can be classified as Christian).





In his 15-minute address (which ACU heads knew about in advance), de Bruyn offered a critique of all that is evil in Australian society. He hit at 3 subjects in particular: abortion, IVF, and same-sex marriage. 





Unpopular opinion: it is possible to agree with the substance of his concerns (or agree in part) and also think de Bruyn’s speech is counterproductive and even unChristian.





First of all, I believe abortion is a terrible practice for society to accept. Taking the lives of the unborn isn’t a sign of cultural maturity and success; quite the opposite. Second, I accept Jesus’ understanding of marriage, and how marriage is between one man and one woman, intended for life. Third, I disagree with de Bruyn’s cancellation of IVF. IVF, like so many technological developments, presents us with ethical dilemmas that require much wisdom. For instance, a Christian couple may proceed with IVF along with agreed conditions, thus using the technology but with a much narrower moral parameter than what is set by law. More importantly, framing all these issues without the Gospel of Jesus Christ, will in fact distort each one and therefore misrepresent how we ought to speak of these issues in both church and society.





Second, why do I suggest that the speech was unwarranted and unhelpful?





There are 3 key components that work together and de Bruyn failed in 2 ½ of these:





i. What he said…





ii. How he said it…





iii. The occasion in which he said it…





Let’s start with the occasion. This was a graduation ceremony at a university, albeit a Catholic one. Being Catholic, I imagine this provides more latitude for Christian language and ideas to be present than if it was a secular institution. Even with this, is a graduation service the appropriate time to list all the evils in Australia and to vent all one’s personal axes and anxes onto the students and their families? I would be stunned if such a speech was delivered at a Christian theological college, let alone a mainstream university. 





Second, I’m reminded of how often the Bible tells us that how we speak is as crucial as what we speak. 





Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”





The Apostle Peter exhorts, 





“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” (1 Peter 3:15)





Paul writes, 





Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  (Colossians 3:12)





Speech that is void of love is like a cymbal repeatedly clashing in your ears; it’s jarring and we do your hearing no favours. As the Apostle says,





“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1)





Of course, truth can and often does offend, even when spoken with the gentleness, patience, and kindness of Christ. Look at how society responded to Jesus when he taught and showed the grace of God! Nonetheless, this doesn’t legitimise aggression or slander and a host of accompaniments that betray the Christian message. It may also be worth pointing out that when anger is expressed by God, Jesus, or the Apostles, it is often aimed at religious people for their hypocrisy and their failure to live out the faith they claim to have.





Why I am writing about Joe de Byun’s ACU speech? A reason for making a comment is because this address is symptomatic of a theme that is becoming far too common and accepted today in ‘Christian’ circles. It’s as though angry words mean faithful words. No, it doesn’t. Yesterday’s incident is all the more bewildering given that he was invited to speak, knowing his track record, and with some knowledge of what he was planning to say. 





Too often we are seeing angry Christians throw around words in the public space as though they are faithfully representing Jesus. Don’t get me wrong, anger has a place, but it shouldn’t be a regular go-to in public discourse. Are we trying to win applause from vocal supporters or are we trying to persuade people of a Gospel vision for life?





Hundreds of people walked away, a few staunch supporters remained, while others sat uncomfortably and embarrassed and required to continue with their duties. Did anyone leave with a better understanding of the Christian Gospel or of a life-affirming view of God?





Thankfully there were other words spoken at yesterday’s ACU Graduation. These words aren’t being reported in the newspapers but they were shared and how much more befitting,





 “As you take you next step, remember our mission. 





First, Act in truth and love. These words are from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Paul was writing to a community of Christians struggling with persecution and division. The love Paul talked about here doesn’t translate perfectly into English. He wasn’t talking about romantic love or the love between friends. He certainly was not talking about an emotion or anything sentimental. Paul was talking about a decision – an act of will – to live in ways that serve, and meet the needs of other people, especially when doing so is hard, and costly.





Second, Pursue knowledge. Knowledge founded in truth, and communicated with grace and compassion. We see every day the ugliness of discourse as it exists on social media. I encourage you to make the decision to mediate the knowledge you gained through your study at ACU by acting with gentleness and kindness.





Third, remember that all people are valuable. As you grow in confidence in your professional lives, don’t forget what it was to be unsure, vulnerable or unpopular. 





Finally work for the Common Good. My hope for you is that your professional lives promote the wellbeing of the peoples you encounter in your communities and in the wider world.   





… I’d entreat you though to remember that the real test before you as you enter the next stage of your lives as teachers, knowledge professionals, pastoral workers and business leaders is how you work for the good of others when you get no thanks or acknowledgement, when those ‘others’ are very different from you, when they challenge your patience, when they are hurtful and when your differences seem irreconcilable. As an institution inspired by its Christian ethos our mission would have us love the unlovable and reconcile the irreconcilable. 





Commit to this as you step through life and I am sure you will leave your piece of the world transformed for the better.    





Once again, my congratulations to you all and I wish you the very best in all you aspire to achieve”

			

	


			
				


	

							
Where is our mission confidence?
						

			 / MurrayCampbell								

			


		

		

Last week, I enjoyed Xiao Long Bao with the family in a restaurant just behind Bourke Street in Melbourne City. On our way back to the car, we walked past two billboards casting their messages onto the famous Swanston and Flinders Street intersection. 





The first billboard was hilarious; it advertised Melbourne’s Fringe Festival by emulating Paris’ Olympic Opening Ceremony with a Last Supper mock-up. Melbourne’s creatives apparently have the comedic and artistic flair of the inside of a vacuum: ‘Let stupidity repeat itself’! (no I’m not offended, except by the boorishness).





The second billboard stands outside St Paul’s Cathedral. This gothic lookalike sits on the busiest intersection in Melbourne’s CBD. It is a favourite spot for news reporters, city workers, protesters, and more. In every direction a tram is clicketing with passengers heading to the MCG or to theatre shows and the symphony. 





With this kind of amazing frontage, which is probably unbeatable anywhere else in all of Melbourne, what message would you like to convey to the 100,000s people who pass by every day? Your Church has an opportunity to say something interesting, provocative, or encouraging to Melbournians on their way to work and home at the end of the day, what button should we press?















 I’m not a climate sceptic, so don’t dump that label on me, but is it really the best message we can send to the city? St Paul’s isn’t alone in this. In fact, it has become the norm for churches to talk about and be known for social concerns. This isn’t new. The term ‘wowsers’ entered the Aussie vernacular because of Christian concerns over alcohol and related social problems. Of course, Churches since the earliest days have cared for the vulnerable. Praise God!





At the same time, Churches understood and prioritised Gospel proclamation, making disciples of Christ and growing churches. Today it sometimes feels  that this task is either getting lost, or in too many cases, is no longer believed to be necessary 





In other words, we are losing the vertical priority of the Gospel in favour of the horizontal. By vertical, I’m referring to the Bible’s idea that God is above all in holiness, authority and glory, and that sin is foremost a rejection of God’s rules and purposes. The primary issue facing people today is that we are separated from God on account of sin and are sitting under his rightful judgment. Hence, the greatest need we have is God’s forgiveness and reconciliation that is freely given through Jesus Christ.





By horizontal, I’m talking about relationships between people, hence social issues and creation care.  





This shift from evangelism to social action didn’t happen overnight, but it has become a huge problem and one we need to talk about. The reasons for preferring the horizontal over the vertical are fairly obvious. Social issues are more tangible than talk about heaven. We can see family discord and poverty. We can hear about the terrible plight brought on by gambling and alcohol. We are regularly reminded of environmental issues facing the globe. The horizontal appears more pressing because in one sense it’s more obvious than talking about the wrath of God and needing God’s mercy and the cross of Jesus. 





Social concerns are also more agreeable to the broader community. The city loves churches that provide foodbanks, clothing, and shelter. It’s a win! 





People from all walks of life appreciate when churches do the heavy lifting for social needs. Such activities and messages are way less offensive than the bits of  Christianity that involve preaching and talking about sin and hell and the cross and resurrection. Promoting the horizontal is palatable whereas focusing on the vertical is vulgar. 





It’s not that the horizontal is unimportant. Loving our neighbours belongs to loving God.  I think both the Mosaic Law and Jesus were pretty clear: we are not loving God if we are not loving our neighbours. There is something odd if we think that preaching a sermon is suffice and that somehow it’s okay to neglect my neighbour’s broken fence or ignore a child’s cries for help. The resurrection of Christ proves that the whole person matters. But let’s not fool ourselves into thinking we are faithful to God’s mission if we are not prioritising the proclamation of the Gospel to make disciples of Christ and grow his church. Indeed, we’re not fully loving people if we’re not speaking the Gospel into their lives. Don’t buy into delusional hubris that thinks we hit a 6 when the media praises a diocesan decision or the local council gives you another grant. 





We don’t choose between the vertical and horizontal. Did Jesus? No. But neither did He allow pressing issues to hijack his mission in the world, 





 “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” (Mark 1:38)





“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.  Father, glorify your name!” (John 12:27-28)





In fact, by minimising the Gospel priority of the vertical, we distort the horizontal and the mission becomes less effective.  It’s the Melbourne mirage; let’s do what the community wants so that we become more ‘successful’.  We think we’re kicking goals. To state the obvious, why would people join your church or become a follower of Jesus if our offerings are little more than a cheap version of what the Government can give us? 





Read statements from Archbishops and scan agendas for denominational meetings. Listen to Easter and Christmas sermons, what’s the message? How often does your Church talk about and encourage evangelism? How much of your church’s budget is given to spreading the Gospel and starting churches?  When your denomination meets annually, is preaching Christ and calling people to repentance and saving faith in Jesus Christ on the top of the agenda? Does it even appear? 





The recent Lausanne gathering in Seoul, South Korea is a case in point.  I was invited to attend but due to other commitments was unable. This gathering of 5000 Christian sisters and brothers from around the world to discuss and pray about world evangelisation must have been an incredible experience. The privilege of listening to and learning from brothers and sisters from every corner of the earth would be a joy of a lifetime, a foretaste of heaven.





Each Lausanne Conference produces a paper to reflect, articulate, and explore the nature of reaching the nations with the gospel. For some time there have been some concerns, or at least questions raised, that evangelism and verbal proclamation of the gospel seem to be losing its central place amidst other important issues facing the world today.





There is much to commend in the Seoul Statement. I love the section calling on Christians to holiness. The Seoul Statement includes sections on technology and on human sexuality and gender. There is much to praise God for in these statements. The affirmation of biblical anthropology is a key issue in the 21st Century, where rejecting the Bible’s teaching about men and women leads to a rejection of the Gospel. These things are all really helpful and important. However…





Ed Stetzer is among notable voices who are, however, expressing mild concern that the vertical is being lost. Lost is perhaps too strong a word, but Gospel proclamation seems smaller because of the way horizontal issues are being framed and focused upon. He writes,





“Lausanne: The Need to Prioritize Evangelism…in a time of aggressive religious pluralism (when evangelism receives such significant pushback), evangelism (“declaring”) needs greater focus, particularly in a time of evangelistic decline….“The full name of the Lausanne Movement is the Lausanne Committee on World Evangelization. A stronger statement on the priority of evangelism would help the Seoul Statement. These statements will influence a generation, far more than the congress itself, so let’s make it stronger and not leave #L4Congress without the world knowing that we know mission drift happens—and is already happening in many places in evangelicalism. Let’s help an entire generation know that we are deeply committed to holding evangelism central to the mission.”       





I share Ed’s concerns.





Again, Christians shouldn’t choose between the vertical and horizontal. This is not an either/or situation, but neither is it quite a both/and situation. There is an ontological and time priority to the vertical (preaching the gospel and making disciples).  Think of it this way, when an oncologist diagnoses a patient, they will treat and care for presenting symptoms and tackle secondary causes, but they will also delve into the root cause. Sin is foremost against God. The Christian mission is about articulating the Gospel of what God has accomplished for us in Christ through his death and resurrection, which brings Divine forgiveness and reconciles us to the living God. This subsequently reconciles us to one another. This incredible coming together in peaceful relations then results in drawing further praise to God  (cf Ephesians 2). 





The problem is, that too many churches are either giving up on evangelism or no longer see evangelism as essential or it’s getting lost in the myriad of needs. I recall a missions seminar I attended in my denomination where the speaker focused solely on social action. When he was asked about evangelism, it was simply not on his radar.  





When has evangelism ever been cool? When has explaining sin and salvation ever been popular on the community charts? When has evangelism ever been easy? And yet without evangelism, churches decline, Christians lose hope, and people go to hell. 





Melbournians can be forgiven for thinking that our problems are primarily horizontal ones and God appears little more than in the shadows. Indeed, some churches explain away the vertical dimensions of sin with such Bultmann-like force that we are left wondering whether God is little more than a sociological or psychological category to justify human longings. Stripping God of his Divine power and denuding the Gospel of its vertical imperative is the ultimate humansplaining. 





As Tom Holland recently suggested to Christians, “*Keep Christianity Weird… Don’t accommodate to the ideological mainstream, instead major on the supernatural…”





To be clear, I am not suggesting that St Paul’s Cathedral isn’t doing or not believing in evangelism, but their messaging is symptomatic of a disappearing Gospel confidence to provoke people in the best of ways, and to comfort them in eternal ways. The irony is, while the St Paul’s billboard communicates a positive image to one part of society, it’s saying something radically different for those who disagree with zero carbon.  And will anyone who agrees with the billboard’s message be warmed to Christianity and think, you know what, I need to get with God? The message wasn’t necessarily wrong, but it’s not the church’s mission.





At the previous Lausanne meeting,  held in South Africa, John Piper put it like this, “We care about all suffering now, especially eternal suffering”.





If your Church or denomination has a problem with that statement, then your church or denomination has a problem











			

	


			
				


	

							
Talks from ‘Sex, Gender and the Good News of the Gospel’ now available
						

			 / MurrayCampbell								

			


		

		

Last week’s ministry conference in Melbourne was an encouraging and stimulating day. Many thanks to David Starling and Dani Treweek for serving us well. Each of the talks and the QandA session are now available for listening to on youtube.