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. 















			

	


			
				
				


	

							
Sex, Gender and the Good News of the Gospel
						

			 / MurrayCampbell								

			


		

		

Congratulations to Dr Dani Treweek on winning Australia’s Christian Book of the Year, for her outstanding work in, The Meaning of Singleness: Retrieving on eschatological vision for the contemporary church.





Dr Dani Treweek and Dr David Starling will be speaking at this special ministry leaders’ day at Mentone Baptist Church on September 6th. 















In an age that is increasingly confused about sex and gender, what are we meant to think? What is a Gospel way to think through these important issues? 





Click on the link or QR Code for further information and to book tickets for what will be an encouraging and equipping day.





https://events.humanitix.com/sex-gender-and-the-good-news-of-the-gospel-sbjsm9s9






			

	


			
				
				


	

							
The Olympic Vision: ‘My Way’
						

			 / MurrayCampbell								

			


		

		

The Paris Olympic Games began with the humanist anthem, ‘Imagine’ and closed with another, ’My Way’. 





This notion of a world where humanity climbs to the top of the Eiffel Tower (or Babel!) and no longer relies on God, is as common in France as the baguette. Indeed, the French Enlightenment has profoundly influenced how we look at the world today: secular humanism. 





Whereas Imagine empties the world of ultimate meaning, design and hope, My Way is the crooner’s funeral dirge. 





‘And now, the end is near





And so I face the final curtain





My friends, I’ll say it clear





I’ll state my case of which I’m certain





I’ve lived a life that’s full





I traveled each and every highway





But more, much more than this





I did it my way’.





French singer, Yseult, performed ‘My Way’ with gusto and fireworks, but the song is delusional. ‘My Way’ is a self-justifying way of looking back over life and saying, ‘yep, I screwed up, but at least I did it my way!’










Don’t misunderstand, I’m not an Olympic critic. I enjoy the Olympics as much as any diehard sporting fan. And watching the Green and Gold outdo the Red, Blue and White is kinda ‘slay’. 





There was, however, a hubris weaving throughout the Games that tarnished the gold, silver, and bronze. The alkaline isn’t achievement and success, it’s Rousseau’s imagining that set the Olympic message from start to finish: secular humanism.





The humanist project is appealing for it hooks onto every aspiration for personal freedom and success. The dream is then set within the possibility of imagining no hell and heaven, and no religion too. It’s very French. It’s thumbing our noses at the establishment (whoever they may be), and a finger salute toward religion. Ironically, and as the Olympics have shown, secular humanism is as religious and worshipful as the Temple of Artemis and any local Mosque or Church across Paris.





Like the moon glistening over the Seine at midnight, the Olympic message is romantic… until you jump into the river.  It is a myopic vision in these 3 ways.





The Backdrop





The backdrop to the Olympic Games is Venezuela, Myanmar, Gaza, Ukraine, and Bangladesh. Political and social unrest is found in English cities and Australian streets. Geopolitical tensions are so high that political leaders are not asking if there will be a global war, but when?





‘My Way’ just isn’t believable. Doesn’t the message feel somewhat empty when we look outside the Parisian bubble?





Tony Estanguet, President of the Organising Committee, presented this stirring offering at the Opening Ceremony,  





“Tonight you have reminded us how beautiful humanity is when we come together.





And when you return to the Olympic Village, you will be sending a message of hope to the whole world: that there is a place where people of every nationality, every culture and every religion can live together. You’ll be reminding us: it is possible.





For the next 16 days, you will be the best version of humanity.





You’ll remind us that the emotions of sport form a universal language that we all share.”





There is a smidgen of truth and goodness here. It feels kinda right. But then we see that the words are canvassed by imagining a world without God, and without ultimate justice and hope. It’s up to us and we can do it! 





What’s the answer Mr Olympics? Sport unites? 





I wonder how this resonates for those who can’t return home because of war or persecution?





The Backhand Swipe





The Olympic message also serves up a backhanded spin toward all those parts of the world who don’t buy into this self-human deification.  





I guarantee there are more than 3 athletes uncomfortable with the Imagine My Way vision of life, and more than 4 viewers. The message is a backhanded slap in the face to many people in the 2/3s world who don’t buy into humanism.  Today, much of the world is turning to the gospel of Jesus Christ and is looking at the West with weird fascination as they see celebratory pride in the midst of decline. It’s Camus’ Myth of Sisyphus. Except, Sisyphus is no longer pushing the boulder uphill it’s fast chasing him down the hill and yet strangely Sisyphus is shouting,  ‘Look at me, I’m free!’





There is an arrogance attached to the humanist project. It relies on hubris because humility requires depending on a source and foundation that is other. The ‘My Way’ syndrome can’t afford to accept the human condition and it relies on the notion that we won’t repeat the mistakes from the past.  And yet we do. Secular humanism has become a lame duck that employs all the boisterous noise of an Olympic triumph; mesmerising and leaving behind a truckload of debt. 





A Modern Heresy





A third way the Olympics is short-sighted is its failure to understand how secular humanism functions as a Christian heresy. It’s not a Monet original, it’s a third-rate copy.





Tom Holland, Glen Scrivener and others have effectively shown that the air we breathe in our culture is oxygenated by Christianity. The Olympics doesn’t derive notions of equality from thin air! Even our anti or post Christian beliefs are immersed in the teaching and person of Jesus Christ.





As Christopher Watkin notes, 





‘The most interesting migration of all concerns the secular itself. Claiming to have chased religion from its home, the secular has moved in and kept all the furniture. The secular is built on the assumption that there are two domains— the religious and the secular—and that one can grow as the other shrinks. As Tom Holland points out, this is a thoroughly and deeply religious idea, reaching back to Augustine’s notion of two cities. When secularism arrived on the scene it “came trailing incense clouds of meaning that were irrevocably and venerably Christian,” and the very idea of secularism witnesses not to Christianity’s decline but “to its seemingly infinite capacity for evolution.’





While trying to keep her love child in a backroom closet, secular humanism is courting a new friend from the depths of pagan Europe.





From Bacchus the Smurf crashing the Last Supper at the Opening Ceremony, to the ‘Hymn of Apollo’ that was set to music for the Closing Ceremony, neo-paganism is trending again, 





‘I will remember, nor could I forget, far-shooting Apollo,





 whom gods tremble before as in Zeus’s abode he is striding—





 then as he comes up close to the place they are sitting, they leap up,





all of them, out of their seats, as he stretches his glittering bow back.’





Let’s leave aside the irony of thinking that it’s cool and inclusive to sing a hymn to fictitious gods, yet honouring the God who gives us breath and strength is anathema!  The repeated dipping into neo-paganism is more than acknowledging the Olympics’ story of origin, it’s looking into the murky Seine and needing to explain the world and provide a moral compass should Christianity be taken to the guillotine. It’s an impossible task of course, because without Christianity, all our best values lose their mooring.





Tom Holland exposes this forced marriage between Humanism and neo-paganism. He points out how the ancient gods of Greece and Rome, “cared nothing for the poor,” and “to think otherwise was ‘airhead talk”. 





It’s Christianity that changed everything and yet we want to sing ‘Imagine’ and ‘My Way’. It is Christianity that transformed the way we view the poor and the excluded. It is Christianity that gave rise to feminism’s first revolution in those early centuries AD. It is Christianity that altered the way society looks upon the young and the vulnerable. Any hints of moral goodness flowing through secular humanism has its roots in the very thing it wants to dismantle: Christianity. 





Because of this, perhaps ‘My Way’ was a fitting end to the Paris Olympic Games. The Olympic flame was snuffed out, its dying embers a sign of where ‘Imagine’ becomes reality.





Another Way





There were glimpses of a better way sneaking through the Olympics. There was Nicola Olyslagers at the Village, accompanying athletes from across the world on the piano in song and praise to God. There was the Fijian contingent in one voice proclaiming Jesus. Again, there was Nicola Olyslagers who chose to glorify God in her sport, 





“My worship may not be singing, it’s in my feet jumping over a bar”.





There is America’s gold medallist, Sydney Mclaughlin Levrone, 





‘What I have in Christ is far greater than what I have or don’t have in life…he has prepared me for a moment such as this. That I may use the gifts he has given me to point all the attention back to him”.





Hubris or humility?





Self-seeking or God-glorifying?





As the athletes flooded into the Stade de France for the final time, the music pumped out, ‘no time for losers’. Athletes swayed with arms raised to the heavens and shouting out, ‘no time for losers’.  Should we mention the 90%+ of the world’s Olympians who failed to medal in any event? And what of thousands more who failed to make an Olympic team?





Secular humanism is a temporary fix for the strong and successful. Christianity is the gospel for losers. The message of Jesus Christ is for those who have failed and lost and grossly miscalculated. This is the true Gospel of liberty and equality and fraternity because the onus and hope lays with  God and because this salvation is by grace. This message is about the God who came down and drew all the world’s evils and suffering and went to the cross.





As Jesus puts it (I’m mulling over these words before preaching this week)





‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’





How?





‘“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.’

			

	


			
				
				


	

							
Olympic ‘Last Supper’ depiction with a French Twist
						

			 / MurrayCampbell								

			


		

		

I do enjoy French quirkiness and the absurd. It is often playful and sometimes provocative. And sometimes it is attention-seeking and puerile.





I loved much of the innovation and freshness that the French gave the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The interplay between art and athletes, and the sitz im leben of the city instead of stadium was pretty cool.





During the Opening Ceremony, there were many highlights, and of course, there was controversy. There was the mass reenactment of Marie Antoinette’s beheading with geysers of blood reaching the skies. If blood lust didn’t do it for you, another scene was depicted, and unsurprisingly it was most controversial, consciously so. although as myopic and unoriginal as a school kid’s impression of Monet’s water lilies. 





I’m still unsure how Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper relates to the Olympics. Let’s leave aside that the painting is Italian, not French. The French do however enjoy the question and leave us without the answer.   In this Olympic staged drama, the French have, as artists previously mimed, revised this Biblical scene where Jesus teaches his disciples over the Passover meal, on the night before his crucifixion. The French Jesus isn’t a male. Of course, let’s turn Jesus into an obese woman with a halo hovering over her head. The disciples can’t be men either. No, let’s have men in drag and a child and a splash of androgyny. 










More than a few people are angered by or upset by this depiction of Jesus and his disciples. I don’t like it either. Mocking Jesus is kinda stupid and unoriginal. It’s a pale copy of the original setting where the crowds, Pharisees, and soldiers mocked Jesus every step to and on the cross.





Bear with me, but this reminded of the sermon that I’ve prepped for church tomorrow. W e are looking at that most famous and intriguing saying of Jesus,





“the truth will set us free” 





Without giving too much away ,there is a line in my notes where I explore contemporary understandings of freedom and at one point, already with the French in mind, I say this,





‘When it comes to art, in painting, music and film, it does is pushes into the absurd or obscene, because freedom requires difference, new and fresh.”





The French have just provided a classic example! In this sense, the artistic directors for the Opening Ceremony are doing little more than conforming to the overdone narrative that is now basic to university education, social commentary and Parliamentary halls. 





France is famous for revolutionary undertones; it’s part of the kindergarten curriculum: how to protest and exhibit violence 101.  For example, French Protestant Christians were nearly wiped out in the 16th and 17th centuries, and Christianity has been a tiny minority ever since. In a way, Christianity is an easy target for the French (and yes, for Aussies too). Although, if the organisers had thought for more than a French moment, they’d have realised that more many African and Asian and South American Olympians, Jesus isn’t a parody or obtuse figure of derision; he is worthy of more honour and glory than all Olympic gold combined. Maybe they aren’t so concerned about social and international tolerance!





If the French were really daring, they would imagine an Islamic scene and the prophet Mohammed But of course, we know how that would quickly turn into real bloodshed  (by the way, I think that would be a really dumb idea for all kinds of reasons: not least, because it’s not a way to love our Muslim friends).





So why depict Jesus and his disciples in feminine and trans robes? Is it a call to equality or sexual expression? Is the city of love trying to deconstruct the patriarchy? Like many things French, who knows! One thing on display however is this return to paganism that is popping up in Western cultures. The Olympic Games have their origins in paganism and as recent Olympic Games have intimated, we are returning to these superstitious waters.





This dramatic display turns the Last Supper into a hyper-sexualised trans orgy with Greek mythological overtones (hence Bacchus the smurf turning up).





I suspect this is not the intention, but there is in this boorish parody of The Last Supper, something that at least opens a question to what Jesus was showing that night.





The revolution planned by God before all eternity and carried out by his Son involved the shedding of blood, as the Passover meal vividly showed.  The bloodshed didn’t involve chopping off the heads of his enemies, but dying in their place for their salvation.





If we are looking for the absurd and obscene, the beautiful and original, the cross of Jesus Christ to which the Last Supper prepares, is as French as it gets. It is the efficacious symbol for the peoples of the world.  Not for the glory of sport, but where God’s good news draws people from everywhere corner in freedom and truth and love and grace. And yes, this will include people whom we find unlikable and uncomfortable or just different from us.  That’s true originality: the cross speaks volumes about the foolishness of freedom searching without God and of staggering Divine love for these very people.  As those who don’t fit gaze upon the crucified and risen Christ, there is not an emptiness or sterile religion, but a holy and loving God who forgives and frees. Stick that in your baguette and enjoy it!










Update Jul 29. 





Olympic organisers have apologised. They confirm that the scene was depicting the Last Supper, infused with Greek paganism (Bacchus the blue smurf). It was a conscience artistic and moral judgment to sexualise and trans the Last Supper and with pagan elements added into the mix. 





The apology sounds like the unrepentant juvenile caught stealing on CC TV, but I can afford to accept the apology. 





One wonders what the closing ceremony will include!





https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/28/paris-olympics-organisers-apologise-to-christians-for-last-supper-parody










 https://www.yahoo.com/news/paris-olympics-producers-confirm-last-173957068.html?






			

	


			
				
				


	

							
Beware of local cults
						

			 / MurrayCampbell								

			


		

		

This year I’ve received 2 phone calls at the church office this year from young women reaching out to local churches and offering to help us engage with young people and help them navigate life and follow God. I suspect there have been more, but we didn’t answer the phone.





On both occasions, the callers were young women who were incredibly polite and gracious. Straight away, their smoothness raised questions in my mind and their offer to look after or help out the young people at church was certainly strange. Their spiel very quickly turned to Bible study groups that they offer which will apparently save a generation from all the pitfalls of today’s society. 





Maybe I’m suspicious by nature, but something didn’t sound right, so I asked what organisation they represent. Their tone changed immediately and became nervous and defensive. It’s like they were reading off a script and didn’t know how to handle the question. On both occasions, the callers weren’t keen to share the name of their organisation. Alarm! In addition, I asked them for a website that provides information about who they are and what they’re about. After trying to avoid an answer, one of the women gave me a website (which turned out to contain zero information). Another alarm was triggered.





It was fairly clear that they were representing a religious cult or sect of some sort; the only question was, which one. Eventually, they gave me their name, Zion Christian Mission Centre’. I hadn’t come across that name before, so I asked the Elders at my church and the pieces came together. The ‘Zion Christian Mission Centre’ or ‘Zion Church’ is a front name for the Korean cult, ‘Shincheonji Church of Jesus’. 





I knew about this group because they have been targeting university students across the country for several years. In particular, they are effective at taking vulnerable international students who are wanting to learn about Christianity.  Christian university groups have given specific warnings about this cult.





 Trying to extract students from the ‘Shincheonji Church of Jesus’, is no easy task. Sadly, they are also manipulating people in the general community and targeting churches as well. One friend of mine has watched someone they know swallowed up by the Zion Church, like seeing a friend swept away by a flood and not wanting to be rescued. It’s really sad and dangerous.





The Herald Sun published today an article warning about Shincheonji Church of Jesus and how they’re weaving their way onto the Australian Catholic University campuses. Well done HS. 





The ABC published an exposé back in 2021 which is worth reading.





Another AI attempt to depict a cult. Instead, think t-shirts and jeans in a lounge room





There is no point mucking around with this; cults are dangerous. Cults have existed across cultures and societies since ancient times, and despite the bad rap they receive, cults are alive and active today. I ask AI to give me an image of a ‘cult’. The first showed a ‘colt’ outside a barn. On the outside a cult may appear friendly and furry, but inside they are quite something else!





Some cults, because of their success and size, are no longer considered such, and we find they are recategorised and morph from cult to ‘sect’ or even a Christian denomination, even though they are not such. It’s part of the difficulty of defining such things.





Cults (and much like religion) latch onto human vulnerabilities and hopes. They offer community. They promise hope, security, or that thing which are affections are wanting to be met. We shouldn’t be surprised by such groups. Jesus warns that errant and self-seeking groups will come about to confuse and steal and destroy people’s lives.





On the surface, they may appear Christian-like and caring.  Who doesn’t want to find a caring community? And studying the Bible is a great thing to do. How can we discern between a cult and a genuine Christian Church?





Cults share these 3 ingredients:





Heterodox teaching + controlling behaviour + false promises





Their teaching doesn’t reflect the Bible doctrine (which is affirmed and articulated in historic Christian creeds and confessions), but they add to or subtract from orthodoxy. For example, they might deny the full and eternal Divinity of Jesus Christ. They often have a leader who gives prophetic words that contradict Biblical teaching about God or heaven/hell or spirituality. 





In the case of the ‘Zion Church’, it started with a man in South Korea named Lee Man-hee. He claims to be a last-day prophet and even Messiah-like figure. Apparently, the book of Revelation is written in code and only a special prophet like Lee Man-hee is able to discern its meaning. To be saved and have heaven you must be a member of Shincheonji Church of Jesus and abide by the teachings of Lee Man-hee. 





Second, despite the warmth and acceptance you receive at first, the more engaged you become, the deeper the tentacles of control become. Do they recommend you leave home and join a shared house with their members? Do they urge you to cut ties with your family? Do they claim to be the only true church?





Third, they offer false promises. Like a tongue that’s been sliding in gallons of castor oil, cult are slippery and we offer your promises and deals that they are unable to deliver and is not theirs to make.





Of course, a religious group (even a Church) might have one or more of these elements but when all three are present, the language of ‘cult’ is not amiss. While cults in the West traditionally take on a Christian favour, they do exist in other cultural and religious settings. 





Cults are like gangs; once you’re hooked into the mob it is very difficult to separate yourself. They are secretive, controlling, and legalistic. There are hidden truths that tantalise and can only be revealed as you commit more of yourself and ascend the leadership structure.  Soon enough, you find that more of life becomes controlled by the group leader, and rather than hearing a grace-filled message (which is the Christian Gospel), it is a spirituality of laws and rigorous requirements that determine spiritual health and success. 





Over the years I’ve dealt with people from all kinds of places, and so I have experience in asking questions and discerning real from fake. When I took those phone calls, I might have smelled a rat in the first 30 seconds (or wolf), but I couldn’t name which one straight away. Even then, sometimes a fraud is sophisticated and convincing and sway pastors. We can all be taken in by a good story.





Beware of ‘Zion Christian Mission Centre’ and whatever other names they might go by.  Here is some advice:





Should you receive a random message or call, or walk up at uni or knock on the front door by a stranger, ask questions. 





    

  • What is the name of your organisation?
    • 




  • Tell me your website and socials so I can look for myself.
    • 




  • Don’t agree to anything on the spot.
    • 




  • Don’t hand over personal details.
    • 




  • When unsure, ask a mature friend to see what they think.
    • 




  • If you’re part of a church or Christian group on campus, go to one of the leaders and ask for them for wisdom.
    • 






Warnings:





    

  • If a so-called Christian group is unable to or reluctant to provide basic information about their name, website, what they believe.
    • 




  • They offer to meet with you 1-1 to read the Bible intensely and with high commitment.
    • 




  • They misdirect when you question them and what they teach. 
    • 




  • They use guilt to control you and draw you in further.
    • 




  • They distance themselves from mainstream churches, thinking they alone are right and true
    • 




  • Does their teaching contradict key Christian beliefs and practices?
    • 




  • Do they require a ‘special leader’ to rightly interpret the Bible?
    • 











Finally, if you do find yourself entangled in a cult, there is hope and there is a way to be freed. Don’t feel shame, ask for help. 

			

	


			
				
				


	

							
Horoscopes are on the news!
						

			 / MurrayCampbell								

			


		

		

Since when does superstition qualify as news?





Look no further, astrology is coming to a news channel near you. Channel 7 has announced that their nightly news will have a new and regular segment on the stars to inform viewers on what Sagittarius and Capricorn are up to today. 





Laugh not; the producers are quite serious. 





It’s been reported, 







“Channel 7 has defended a new daily astrology segment to be introduced as part of its evening news bulletin.





The network has confirmed it will be bringing in the new segment featuring an astrology report from Natasha Weber, also known as ‘Astro Tash’.





Ms Weber’s new segment will be about 20 seconds and will be aired after the weather forecast.  





New Director of News and Current Affairs Anthony De Ceglie said it was part of “exploring new ideas and concepts”







Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.com





Channel 7s entertainment reporter, Peter Ford, explains that the decision is motivated by shrinking audiences on commercial television,





“the EPs of the news services in Melbourne and Sydney are under a lot more pressure than in Perth, because the competition is much, much tighter. So this is a response to that.”





He also admits that Natasha Weber is a real believer in horoscopes, 





“She’s deadset serious about it all.”





What a juxtaposition, following the daily meteorological report will be a report on the stars. It’s science versus superstition. Horoscopes now equals journalism!





This shift is less surprising than we might think. Sure, it feels like desperation, but I reckon the Seven News boss Anthony De Ceglie knows something, and that is, belief in alternate spiritualities is on the rise in Australia. 





In one sense, this isn’t new, but it has been suppressed by the weight of hubristic rationalism and the ride taken by the new atheists.





When we remove God from the picture,  we must find an alternative to create meaning and fill life. The new atheists put up an effort for 20 years, but their ‘godless’ alternative leans either toward a moral and spiritual vacuum or a gladiatorial arena where power wins and the weak are trodden. A world without God is brittle; no wonder issues of identity and self worth are paralysing a young generation.





The Gospel Coalition have reported how in the United States, astrology and horoscopes are finding popularity primarily among millennials. It’s not sceptical Generation X or the latter-day baby boomers, but teenagers and young 20-somethings who are grasping for meaning and hope.





Why is this the case? Hard-core materialism doesn’t work. Millennials are smart enough to see through that crusty materials don’t satisfy and they have been sufficiently indoctrinated to assume organised religions, especially Christianity, can’t be trusted. So where we do go? Like swings and roundabouts, let’s revisit pagan Europe and source wisdom from the gods of Greece and Babylon. Let’s turn our gaze again to the stars as though they offer droplets of guidance and words of hope.





For all the talk about science, human beings are a suspicious lot. For all our reasoning and cognitive faculties, our society is replacing empiricism with emotion,  and truth with neo-paganism. Part of the reason is the emptiness offered by secular humanism and the new atheism. Another reason is a biblical one: God has wired us for eternity.





‘He has also set eternity in the human heart’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11) 





We are made to worship. At our core, human beings are worshippers, seeking Divine purpose and design. 





Don’t misunderstand, the Bible isn’t anti-science. Far from it; it is the biblical worldview that can gave rise to much modern science and intellectual growth. I’m simply affirming the BIble’s thesis, that the default setting in our heads and hearts knows there is a God and spiritual realities that govern and interact, subject and even save. 





For example, the former juggernaut of the new atheists, Ayaan Hirsi Ali,  is now a professing Christian and follower of Jesus! She speaks of her mental agony and former belief that ‘she can do all things by self’ but with ‘humility’, she has experienced a ‘spiritual awakening…my life has changed, it’s been transformed’.





Ali has found that the alternative to crippling unbelief isn’t to believe in anything and everything but to grasp a concrete hope in a real God.





It seems that  Channel 7 news will be following the weather by reporting a very human imprint on celestial gaze. But it’s not news and it’s certainly not journalism. It’s old fashion suspicion and gaslighting. 





Will I fall in love?





Should I buy that house?





How can I find meaning?





 Does life have real purpose?





Don’t worship the stars. Worship the God who made the stars.





Psalm 8 puts it like this, 







“Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!





You have set your glory
    in the heavens.





Through the praise of children and infants
    you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
    to silence the foe and the avenger.





When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,





what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?”







Last year at church, a woman was baptised after becoming a Christian. For many years she immersed herself in alternate spiritualities, what we often call ‘new age’. While her attention didn’t lay with horoscopes, she tapped into almost everything else. This is some of what she had to say, 





“My New Age practices were strengthening as I became focused on positivity and not allowing negative energy to flow into my life. I’m not going to lie, it was exhausting. Having routines and rituals, having crystals, stones, special essential oils, cleansing spaces, clearing your mind and meditating. The New Age practises which are supposed to be to clear your mind so you can just ‘be’ involved doing the exact opposite. They involve work, concentration, work and more work on your part and if you get it wrong, you’re the one to blame.”





Then she read the Bible and in those words, she met Jesus and like an exploding star, she found peace, for God had found her. She continued,





“After becoming a Christian it’s been amazing to see how God has opened my eyes to so many things. From that moment onwards my life was different. God had given me new eyes. Everything I once saw in the New Age and believed to be good I realised had come from darkness. I also had a sudden awareness of my sin, things I had done and how I had fallen from God. 





Since becoming a Christian I wake every day with a sense of peace. Peace about why we are here on earth, our purpose, which of course is to glorify God. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t thank God for sending Jesus to die for my sins. For those of you who see me here, I often hide in the back, primarily because even now, 3 years on I still get so emotional and teary singing in church about God’s grace and the grace he has shown in saving me. I often think people must look and think ‘who is that crazy girl crying at the back’. 





Since becoming a Christian, going to church and attending growth groups here at Mentone I have been blown away by the impact God has had in my life. The first and biggest change is the sense of peace I have in my heart. Whilst there are the obvious happy and sad events that take place in life… put those aside and I now live in a place of contentment. There is absolutely nothing anyone could give me or take away from me to take that. No money, no person, no material object can bring me and more joy or peace. I already have all the peace I need inside me from Jesus. He is my peace.”





Don’t listen to the horoscope, listen to Jesus. 

			

	


			
				
				


	

							
Christopher Watkin speaks on creating a healthy society
						

			 / MurrayCampbell								

			


		

		

On July 25th at Mentone Baptist Church, Dr Christopher Watkin will be addressing one of the key social issues facing Australia in the 2020s:





‘How can we build a healthy society in a fractured age?’










Australia is wrestling with important issues surrounding religious and social freedoms and responsibilities. Dr Watkin will help us navigate a way forward.





In 2021, Chris addressed political and community leaders in Parliament House, Canberra, outlining a positive vision for civil society. It’s a great opportunity for Melbournians to engage with ideas that can shape tomorrow. 






Dr Christopher Watkin is the ARC Future Fellow at Monash University. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Biblical Critical Theory’ and numerous other volumes including, ‘Difficult Atheism’.





Reserve your tickets today:





https://events.humanitix.com/building-a-healthy-society-in-s-fractured-age






			

	


			
				
				


	

							
Brian Cox is angry at the Bible
						

			 / MurrayCampbell								

			


		

		

“The Future Is Real. The Past Is All Made Up.” (Logan Roy)





“Let God be true, and every human being a liar.” (The Apostle Paul,  Romans 3:4)





Brian Cox is a brilliant actor, but I suspect he needs some direction when it comes to understanding the Bible. He is angry at the Bible. Cox is raging against the Bible. In a recent interview, he let loose his fury as though gathering up Logan Roy, Agamemnon, and Ward Abbott into a single character, and creating a whirlwind of resentment. 





To say Brian Cox is not a fan of the Bible is an understatement. 





“The Bible is one of the worst books ever, for me, from my point of view. Because it starts with the idea that out of Adam’s rib, this woman was created, and [people will] believe it cause they’re stupid enough.”















“They’re not dealing with who we are. We’re dealing with, ‘Oh if God says this and God does that,’ and you go, ‘Well what is God?’ We’ve created that idea of God, and we’ve created it as a control issue, and it’s also a patriarchal issue.”





“We have to honor [women], and we have to give them their place and we’re resistant to that because it’s Adam and Eve. I mean, the propaganda goes right way back.”





It’s hard to argue against this cogent line of thought. Stupid people! Yes. all these Bible-believing people are idiotic, intellectual shrimps. What on earth was Augustine ever thinking? It’s all become clear, Aquinas, Isaac Watts, Medal, Faraday, and Calvin aren’t intellectual giants from the past, but shrivelling stupids whose ideas should be ditched.  Let’s also add C.S Lewis to the rolls of stupids, and J.S Bach, Wilberforce and more. When I think of the Bible, my mind naturally turns to all those dull-witted Christians in my church with a PhD and even who dare lecture students in our universities: science, law, and philosophy. What about those poor sick people in our cities who are attended to by medical doctors, who give the impression of medical expertise but are secretly carrying a Bible app on their phone?! 





Brian Cox, obviously you have a gripe against the Bible, and against God, but calling people stupid on account of their positive view of the Bible is akin to claiming Shakespeare is a third-rate literary hack.





Leaving aside Cox’s erudite assault on Bible-believing men and women, in his performative speech act, the Scottish actor failed to mention several salient points. Or rather, perhaps he is unaware he is plagiarising the words of another. 





Let me explain,.





First up, Brian Cox wants to blame the Bible for certain views about men and women, in particular where women are viewed as lesser than men.   To be sure, there have been some pretty horrific attitudes toward women in history,  including by many of the characters Cox has played over the years. Agamemnon is hardly a model for positive masculinity! While he is letting loose on the Bible, perhaps Cox would like to share what he thinks about how women are treated in Islamic countries or the Hindi practice of Sati? 





No sensible person (Christian or not) denies that women haven’t always been given the respect and dignity deserved, even under the guise of Christianity. It is also undeniable that the very notion of female equality and worth is deeply rooted in the Bible, and yes, from its earliest pages in Genesis chs.1 and 2. The very notion of gender equality comes from the Biblical idea of the image dei. 





The great egalitarian project is a direct product of the Bible’s anthological vision. As the Apostle Paul wrote almost 2000 years ago, 





“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)





It is this thoroughly Judeo-Christian notion, exemplified in the life of Jesus, that shocked the Roman world and with time, transformed attitudes toward women, the young, the elderly and the most marginalised in society. Historian Tom Holland, explains





‘Christianity gave women a dignity that no previous sexual dispensation had offered’





Instead of men using their ‘power’ to subject women and use them for sexual gratification, Christianity taught that sex should be reserved for marriage and that a husband is to follow Christ’s example and lay down his life for his wife. Christianity drew boundaries which began to dismantle mysogeny, 





“over the course of the first centuries of Christianity, this understanding of sex eats like a kind of acid through the understanding that the Romans previously had of how sex operates. And over the course of Christian history, the church imposes on believing Christians this sense that being a powerful male does not license you to have multiple wives and concubines. You have to focus on one.”





Sexual restraint was an anti-roman view of the world,  and it’s one Tom Holland notes is alive today and whose pushback is anonymously Christian, 





But it turns out, as we see now in America, that this idea that free love is a great thing, have sex any way you want, actually turns out to be better for men than for women, because essentially, it’s licences for men to sexually harass their social inferiors. And that’s what the Harvey Weinstein Me Too thing is all about. And, and, in a way, the perfect illustration of this paradox, a kind of moral Mobius Strip, is that when women go on their marches to protest against sexual harassment, many of them will wear red robes and white bonnets.





This is the uniform that they’ve taken from The Handmaid’s Tale, a novel by Margaret Atwood, which then became a TV series: a dystopian satire set in a future America that’s become basically fundamentalist Christian. And it’s drawing on the model of Puritan New England. But what is it that these women are demanding? They’re demanding that men become Puritan.”





So Brian Cox is irritated by the Bible even though it is the Bible that gave birth to the glory and value of womanhood.





The irony of Cox’s confessions continues. As I listened to Brian Cox’s rage against the Bible, it’s hard not to notice that he is being incredibly biblical. He’s playing a character from inside the pages of the Scriptures. Even his unbelief is a product of the Bible. Whether it’s Pharaoh or Herod, Cox’s words conform to the pattern of Biblical unbelief. As in the case of Pharaoh, Pharaonic hubris and obstinacy against the God who speaks did little except reinforce what God had spoken. 





Cox is also angry about the role religion plays in global violence and unrest. Preach it, Brian! As a Christian, I also find it distressing. Indeed, take a look at the Bible and we’ll find more than a few verses that express God’s anger at human conflict. For a moment, let’s play along Cox’s script and close the Bible for good, as though that were actually possible. Let’s now imagine how peace-loving and egalitarian our world would be…or should tell someone tell him about all those atheistic peace-loving regimes who created utopia for their people: Lenin, Stalin Mao Zedong, and Pol Pot.  And let’s not forget that bastian of Freedom, North Korea.





Brian, you may well believe everything you have said about the Bible, and if you want to be consistent, then you really ought to reject the very ideas and values that originate in the Bible. I suspect you are not keen to return to the days of ancient Rome or the times of the Trojan War and validate the Agamemnon’s, the Paris’, and Andrew Tate’s of the world?





Religion is problematic and so is its removal. And this is where, Brian Cox, you have greatly misunderstood the Bible.





One of the brilliant things about the Bible is how it does not fit neatly inside any single culture or time. The Bible confronts and comforts, the words on the page astonish and shake, they subvert and heal.





Regardless of how we feel about the Bible, this book is the most extraordinary volume ever written and the work that has had greater influence upon our world today than any other. We might respond with anger, but we cannot ignore it.





I guess I could write a version of the Bible that conforms with every idea and attitude I want validated. It might possible to write a story of the world where I get to define righteousness and truth. But then the Bible would lose its independence, authority, and power. It would turn into one of Logan Roy’s lackeys, rather than the words of a loving Father appealing for reconciliation and offering grace.





The God of the Bible couldn’t be further from the vindictive, spiteful, and manipulative Logan Roy and power abusive Agamemnon. To be sure, the God of the Bible believes in big T truth and a big R righteousness. Do we really want to live in a world without ultimate truth and justice? Accompanying these epistemological and moral necessities is the Bible’s central theme: grace. 





I’m preaching this Sunday on a portion of the Bible from the book of Hebrews and there in chapter 9 we come across the idea of inheritance. Receiving the father’s inheritance is not performative or about power, aka Succession, but grace. We might suffer siblings from rivalry, and plot the Father’s downfall as though God’s name is Logan Roy. But the God of grace longs to extend grace and offer as a gift, an inheritance that will never spoil fade or disappoint. 





You see, the Bible is about Jesus. Act 1 of the Bible is preparing for and pointing to the coming of God’s only Son.  Act 2 reveals the Son. The Bible is about Jesus, and he gets to tell us what God is like.





You may not like the Bible, but at least understand the Bible’s message and how many of our greatest needs, hopes and values, depend upon the promise of these very Scriptures. 

			

	


			
				
				


	

							
A suburb called Mentone
						

			 / MurrayCampbell								

			


		

		

The Age has tonight published a little write-up about my suburb, Mentone. 





I don’t know the author, Sofia Dedes, but let me say,  ‘hi neighbour’!





Sofia notes the eclectic nature of Mentone. There is little to resemble its namesake found along the French Riviera, other than a splash of seawater along the edge. 





Melbourne is famed for sport, food, coffee and street art. Mentone’s reputation doesn’t quite include any of these. Mentone doesn’t represent cool or vintage, ostentatious wealth or extreme poverty. Mentone isn’t the most multiethnic part of Melbourne, although this is slowly changing. The streets don’t boast stunning architecture or botanical gardens. And yet to thousands of people, this is home, and a great home it is.





I have lived and worked in the area for 19 years now, and my wife and I have raised our 3 children here, and life here counts as a blessing. From kindergarten in Acacia Avenue to Mentone Primary School, from Little Athletics at Dolamore Oval, to playing cricket at almost every ground in the area, we sometimes feel as much part of the local environment.





 










Sofia correctly alludes to the huge gaping divide that appears like a seismic crack – the Nepean Hwy.  I’m accustomed to traversing the barrier almost every day, along with a tangle of busy roads that crisscross Mentone, including Warrigal Rd and Lower Dandenong Rd. Together they chop the suburb into quarters, like a charcoal chicken readied for lunch.  





Yes, there is the beach (which we seldom visit) and a forgettable train station. Sofia  Dedes is right, Mentone is a suburb with potential, but with few to cast a vision for what can be. 





Our streets witness happiness and sadness, success and tragedy. It is a place of fond memories and nightmares.





Some things have changed. Mentone is no longer an affordable suburb, although where in Melbourne is today? The price reached the ‘magical’ median price of $1 million some years ago and has steadily moved northward since. Moving into the area requires money, and this sadly squeezes out many. And yet like our multi-sided suburban sprawl,  local schools are growing if not booming, as is the traffic!





Mentone’s future includes a younger population with money to invest, an unused cavity in the middle of the shopping strip, and a beach where pollution sometimes conquers the waters. 





Is there more? Sofia Dedes have offered the rest of Melbourne an impression of Mentone, but something was missing in her picture.





If anyone is interested to gaze into the future and see what Mentone could become, there is a little ‘secret’ in our community. Okay, it’s not exactly a secret but it is often overlooked as people walk by and cars drive along Warrigal Rd each day. The building, like the area, is eclectic. There is a red brick hall attached to what can only be described as a retro-styled ‘I want to be funky and never will be’ auditorium. The yellow and orange stained glass windows are the same vintage as John Lennon’s coloured sunglasses, but without the cool factor. 





Inside these forgettable buildings is something quite special. So ordinary, but also quite remarkable. Meeting regularly is a growing community of men, women, and children, from all kinds of backgrounds. There are doctors and lawyers, factory workers and students, teachers and architects. More exciting than this, the people come from all quarters of the earth, from China and Colombia, Uganda and Ukraine, India, England and more. 





It’s not little old Mrs Smith with her pet cat playing the organ to empty pews, but a place that regularly creates more noise than the Mentone Tigers winning a home game.





This community is Mentone Baptist Church: plain, ordinary and spectacular. The message that forms and brings together such diversity is an ancient one, and one that continues to give hope and meaning to people across the suburbs and streets of Melbourne. We can’t agree on which footy team to support, but we agree on life’s biggest questions.





At Mentone Baptist Church the people may have little in common, and yet in Jesus, we have everything together. That’s one of the exciting fruits of Christianity. Church is a visual display of what can be, where encountering the living God changes lives with the kind of generosity and gentleness, love and selflessness, that every community desperately needs. As our Church sign famously ascribes, ‘Jesus Saves’ and ‘Christ our Hope’.





When all is said and done, we are made for more than material security. Mentone offers schools, beautiful homes, sporting clubs,  and a 2-minute drive to one of Melbourne’s best coffee roasters (albeit in Cheltenham), but these good things don’t satisfy the soul. They don’t last forever and they can’t take away the burdens and guilts that we all carry.





Many residents of Mentone have tried religion. Many others are convinced there’s no point looking. Others again are enjoying the demands and opportunities afforded us to live in our ordinary yet affable suburb. And yet, the nagging sensation, is there God and what he is like?’ remains. 





Something is going on in that awkward-looking church building along Warrigal Rd: a belief that a dead man is now alive and he is God and has the power and love to forgive and reconcile. I get it, it sounds kinda weird if not old school; it’s certainly different to the slogans splashed on the billboards along Nepean Hwy. After 2000 years of history there remains nothing like this ancient message of Jesus. In our suburb divided by roads, the good news of Jesus is bringing together people from all manner of life, and I think that says something pretty special.





As Jesus once said to a friend who was grieving





 “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?”





Next time you’re driving past the ‘church with the sign’, pull over and visit us one Sunday. We’d love to see you.