An online survey of issues, events and ideas
Gordon Cheng / 31st July 2004
Recent media reports in both Australia and the UK highlight how church attendance continues to drop, with some happy exceptions amongst Bible-believing churches. The latest suggestion for boosting flagging numbers in places where people are staying away is to run cafe churches, where you sit at a table and drink coffee as church happens.
This is a great idea, which could be followed up with Internet cafe churches, where you browse the internet as church happens; library churches, where you sit and read the latest fiction novel as the minister preaches; and supermarket churches, where you do your grocery shopping as the sermon is piped over the muzak system.
Unfortunately one of the suggestions yet to be made is a return to biblical preaching about the atoning death and resurrection of Christ.
Guan Un / 29th July 2004
Recently, I watched and enjoyed School of Rock, starring Jack Black. It's predictable in places, but it never takes itself too seriously, and sets out to have a lot of fun. However, it also made me reflect on the premium that Hollywood puts on truth.
See how many movies or television shows you can think of where something like the following happens:
- Character with humourous one-liners and heart of gold is in a down-and-out situation, through no fault of their own.
- Character finds way to succeed, although extreme deception of everybody involved is necessary. Identity theft may be involved. The decision is easy.
- Character's heart of gold shines through. Everybody loves said character, even though that character is not who that character seems to be.
- Deception is gradually revealed. Everybody is shocked, and then thinks, ‘They meant well’ and promptly forgets about being lied to repeatedly. Happily ever after.
Moral: Duplicity is a fantastic means to an end, as long as you have some humourous quips handy and are well intentioned. Oh, and whatever you do, don't go reading Romans 3.
Gordon Cheng / 29th July 2004
Peter Singer, internationally renowned philosopher and ethicist, is well known for advocating euthanasia as a legitimate option for the severely disabled. Not surprisingly, he attracts protests from disabled groups in many places where he speaks. The last such occasion was on Monday night in Adelaide, on which occasion Professor Singer complained that he'd been misinterpreted, and proceeded to offer this defence of his position:
Look, I can certainly understand why people with disabilities feel that they are sometimes a discriminated minority in this country and that they are not treated as well as they should be. But I don't think it's particularly what I'm saying that should be their target. If that's what they want ... if they want to say that having a disability should never be a reason for deciding that it's better that a child should not live, then their target is really the majority of Australians because the majority of Australians support pre-natal diagnosis, and of course that is very commonly followed by termination of pregnancy when a condition like downs syndrome or some other disability is revealed.
So as far as my attitude to people with disability, it's no different from that of the 80 or 85 per cent of Australian women who decide to terminate a pregnancy when they're told that their foetus will have a severe disability. (reported on the ABC AM programme, Tuesday 27 July)
This argument boils down to saying, “Lots of people agree with me that we should be able to kill the disabled, so why pick on me?” His answer offers neither defence nor comfort.
Another unintended irony: Peter Singer's remarks were made after his address at the annual Don Dunstan Human Rights oration.
Ian Carmichael / 28th July 2004
More evidence of the truth of Proverbs (see below ‘Shock revelation: economists get something right’).
Reuters reports that a German woman became so angry with her husband that she took a hammer outside and started demolishing his car with it, causing $1,700 worth of damage ... at least, she thought it was his car. It was the same colour, but unfortunately when she began to calm down she realised it was her neighbour's car.
Proverbs 29:11: “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control”.
Gordon Cheng / 28th July 2004
Kevin Giles is a regular critic of ‘conservative evangelicals’, most recently, because of their insistence that God the Son willingly and eternally serves God the Father. Giles calls this ‘subordinationism’, and insists that it is heresy.
However on page 31 of his book The Trinity and Subordinationism, he writes, “The Father and the Son are one in being and act, and their love is so profound that no cost is too great for our salvation. The God of the Bible is a God who stoops to save. It is godlike to gladly subordinate oneself for the good of another”.
If this is what Giles believes (and as far as it goes, it is a wonderful statement), it is difficult to see how there could be any problem with Jesus gladly submitting himself to the will of the Father from eternity to eternity.
