Couldn't Help Noticing

Why not how

Couldn't help noticing in the paper the other day ...

An Israeli researcher has challenged the popular belief that Jesus died of blood loss on the cross, saying he probably succumbed to a sometimes fatal disorder now associated with long-haul air travel.

Professor Benjamin Brenner wrote in The Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis that Jesus's death, traditionally believed to have occurred three to six hours after crucifixion began, was probably caused by a blood clot that reached his lungs.

Such pulmonary embolisms, leading to sudden death, can stem from immobilisation, multiple trauma and dehydration, said Brenner, a researcher at Rambam Medical Centre in Haifa.

“This fits well with Jesus's condition and actually was in all likelihood the major cause of death by crucifixion,” he wrote in the article, based on religious and medical texts. (Source)

When will they stop focusing on the how of Jesus dying and think about the why?

Christians, refugees and the left.

I don't think Australia is alone in suffering a perceived problem of evangelical Christians seeming to hold to conservative politics. There's no biblical reason why this should be so, however, as I tried to suggest in this (unpublished) letter to various Australian papers:

Dear editor,

If the Labor party wants to break the perceived nexus between right wing parties and the evangelical Christian vote, it is of paramount importance that they start to articulate a more humane refugee policy. They mustn't allow a few Liberal backbenchers to make the running for them. Both Old and New Testament portray a bias towards refugees and foreigners, and Jesus himself was a refugee. Christians have a natural concern for good policy in this matter.

Yours etc...

How to help asylum seekers in Australia

The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, has posted a media release on the Sydney Anglicans website, indicating his support for two amendment bills soon to come before the Australian Federal Parliament. The bills aim to improve the current situation for those who come to Australia seeking refuge from their own country.

If you, like me, have felt unsure of how to help the plight of asylum seekers who have been held in detention centres for long periods of time, then write to your local federal MP expressing your support for the proposals (if you agree with them). Details of the proposals and who to write to can be found in the media release.

Christless Chistianity

Our home group is currently doing a series of studies on evangelism. As we've discussed what the gospel is and how we can be sharing it with the people we know, a worrying pattern has emerged, one that perhaps you might recognise in your own speech.

Have you noticed how easy it can be to talk about the gospel, God, spirituality, religion, beliefs etc and yet never actually mention Jesus?

Of course the problem with talking about God and spirituality in our multi-faith society is that we can avoid the problem of defining which God we're talking about. Generally, talking about God is OK. Even talking about Jesus is OK in some contexts. The real problem begins when we talk about Jesus, the man who is God. All of a sudden we've made a claim that creates division. We have asked people to decide where they stand with respect to Jesus. Is he God or is he not? And if he is God, he's clearly not the spiritual power behind Islam, Buddhism, Judaism or any other spiritual path. He's the Christian God, Christ the son!

Let's not leave people in the dark about the true and living God. Let's not leave the name Jesus out of our conversations!

A Tens moment at Corinth

Ten times in the first ten verses of 1 Corinthians, Paul speaks of “Christ Jesus”, “Jesus Christ” or the “Lord Jesus Christ”. After the first three or four mentions, you realise that you have stumbled upon an idea that is of some signficance for Paul and his message to the knowledge, wisdom, power and Spirit-obsessed Corinthians.

Of course, if it is knowledge, wisdom, power and God's Spirit that you are concerned for, where better for a Christian to go than (as Paul does) to the Lord Jesus Christ? “For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’” (1 Corinthians 15:27). And if your obsession with God's power and his Spirit were leading to divisiveness and factionalism, then what better solution than to point to the authority not of some individual Christian, but the Lord Jesus himself?

Immediately Paul has emphasised Jesus and his Lordship, he then goes on to point out to the befuddled Corinthians that in fact, the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrates God's power by one means only—the cross on which Jesus was crucified, redeeming people from sin and selfishness. This “power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18) is used by God to destroy and frustrate the power, wisdom and strength of men.

Many churches today are obsessed by power, wisdom, knowledge, and the Holy Spirit. For them (and us) reading 1 Corinthians, and being reminded of the Lordship of Jesus expressed only through the cross, is a powerful antidote to a focus on spectacular and impressive manifestations of a false spiritual power.