Was a tentmaker or carpenter middle-class?

One common midunderstanding about the socioeconomic status of people in the New Testament is the perception that artisans (ie. the carpenters, tent-makers, etc, in the days of Jesus) were middle-class, like a nurse or a school teacher today in the West.

Virtually all New Testament scholars would say that the vast majority of the population in the ancient world belonged to the lower class (>95%; some would say >99%). There was a huge gap between the upper and lower classes. Artisan (e.g. a tentmaker like the apostle Paul) would belong to the lower class. It's true that a tent-maker might be better off than the rest of the lower class, but he's poor socially and economically nonetheless. A part-time tentmaker like Paul would most probably be struggling greatly economically. It is very likely that the vast majority of the people in the earliest church were very poor, with only a small number of exceptions.

This doesn't mean that there weren't some kind of class divisions among the lower class. Those who were at the lowest end of the social heirachy were the widows, the chronically sick, the crippled, the prostitutes, etc.

It is, therefore, important that we bear the above in mind when we read the New Testament. We in the West are among the most wealthy, relative to the rest of the world. We all come to the Bible with our blinkers on, and perhpas we need to enter in the world of the New Testmant - including the world of the poor in the ancient world - in order to understand God's Word better. The fact is that the biblical writers (Paul, Luke, etc) were very much aware of the socioeconomic hardship that they and their audience experienced. Their audience would have heard their writings somewhat differently from us. Let's enter their world and hear them.

Who is Tom Wright?

Some time ago I spoke at a Christian gathering about the righteousness and justice of God as well as the lordship of Christ. I used some of N T (Tom) Wright's material in my presentation. Afterwards someone asked me about Tom Wright's teaching because she had heard some negative comments about him.

I don't intend to defend Tom Wright's theology here. But I think it is unfortunate that Tom Wright has attracted quite a few negative comments about his teaching. Tom Wright is a fellow follower of Jesus who has made significant contribution to the church and the academic community. Wright is not always right. Nor is anyone of us.

One rather unfortunate misunderstanding is the association of the so-called New Perspective with Tom Wright. Some Christians express grave concerns about the New Perspective. But one must note that Tom Wright would have disagreed with certain views of E P Sanders, who is a leading figure of the New Perspective. In Wright's writings he regularly points out how Sanders has got it wrong (but agrees with him at certain points, as every good academic would have done).

In a previous post, I have mentioned how I came across Tom Wright's books. (Click here for the post.) But here I would like to say again that respected scholars like Gordon Fee has spoken very kindly of Tom Wright. Click here for an interview with Fee. Similarly, people like J I Packer have recommended Wright's books. (See back cover of some of Wright's books.) I have read books written by respected respected Christian leaders/scholars like Christopher Wright, Richard Hays and others, and often they cite Tom Wright and use his materials.

(An informed reader would know that there are other opponents of Tom Wright, who come from the other end of the theological spectrum. Space does not allow me to deal with that.)

I also found an article written by Doug Green, who is a professor at the Westminster Theological Seminary. This article is worth reading if one wants to read something from a conservative evangelical perspective. Click here for the article.

It does not mean that Fee, Packer and others would have agreed with Wright all the time. Nor does it mean that Wright would have agreed with them totally. But it does mean that Tom Wright is well received by respected evangelical Christian leaders.

Everyone has to read the Bible and determine whether they agree with Tom Wright. I can only let his own teaching speak for himself. But I feel a bit sad to find that people reject a Christian like him when they themselves haven't read much of him. Let's be a bit more gracious toward one another.

God's plan for us - Jeremiah 29:11

Recently in an address someone said that God had a plan for all of us. I don't want to get into a theological discussion for or against this. But I suppose many would have in mind Jeremiah 29:11 here.

I already talked about the word "prosper" (or "peace") in this verse in a previous post, and said that the original Hebrew word shalom conveys a much richer meaning than peace or prosperity.

Here I want to look at the context of the verse closer. The verse is part of a letter to the exiles in Babylon. The LORD's word to them was that he would bring them back from exile to their own land.

Jeremiah 29:10-14 is one of my favourite passages in the Bible. It's such a comforting passage, and it lifted my heart many times when I was going through the trials and difficulties in life. I have no problems in applying this verse to our individual circumstances.

But I do wonder whether we do take this passage too far at times. Surely the original setting of the passage is that God would rescue his people - a people suffering from oppression and immense hardship, because of their own sin and rebellion, I must add.

If anything else, the passage is about God's love for his own people, despite their own sinfulness and disobedience. But it must be remembered that this people was suffering from political and racial oppression. In the New Testament this mercy and compassion of God is clearly extended to all the peoples in the world, for the gospel is not just for the Jews but also for the Gentiles. (One must also note that this concept of worldwide lordship and compassion of Yahweh is already present in the Old Testament.)

Thus "God's plan for us" must not be understood in individualistic terms. It is not about "what's in it for me". Instead, it is about God's justice and mercy for all of his image-bearers, despite the fact that that image is no longer perfect after the fall.

On the one hand, let's take comfort from this verse as individuals. Faith in Christ is intimately personal. But on the other hand we should not privatise our faith. God's plan is for the whole humankind, and let's share this message of hope with the world, especially those suffering from hardship, poverty and injustice.

Peter Adam on "Australia - Whose Land?"

I just came across this article in Sight Magazine. It's an edited extract of a lecture given by Rev Dr Peter Adam, Principal of Ridley College, Melbourne. It is about I haven't read the whole article yet, but I think it's worth letting the readers of this blog know.

Here are two quotes from the article:

"God in His mercy may have worked some things for good when the Europeans arrived in Australia, despite much that was evil. But that does not make that act of conquest and act of will of God."

"We may think that we are not the ones to repent, because we did not commit the sins. However although the Bible teaches that we may not blame the sins of our ancestors for our suffering in order to claim that we are innocent, it also give examples of repentance for the sins of ancestors."

Click here for the article.

My pilgrimage (2) - Walking with Bible teachers

As mentioned in an earlier post, I am one of those people who try to read the Bible from cover to cover once a year (and, again, that practice does not make me superior to others in any way). Along the way I have come across two Bible teachers who have major influence on me.

Just over 21 years ago I came across a book called How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, written by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart. It is about how to read the Bible within its own contexts and according to the different genres of the books in the Scripture. I learned heaps from it. One of the reasons why I liked it is that what it says resonates with my own reading of the Bible.

As I embarked on my own theological studies and later on worked on a postgraduate research project in the New Testament, I found myself studying and enjoying Professor Gordon Fee's commentaries and books all the time. I would say that he was my best Bible teacher, despite the fact that I had never met him personally.

Some years ago I eventually had a chance to sit in one of Prof Fee's public lectures at Regent College, Vancouver. At the lecture someone asked him which New Testament scholars he liked most. He was reluctant to single out anyone, but mentioned F. F. Bruce and N. T. (Tom) Wright specifically.

(Recently I found a video clip of Prof Fee in which he mentioned Tom Wright. Click here for the clip.)

At the time I was reading Bishop Tom Wright's books on the apostle Paul. Upon Prof Fee's recommendation, I have since read many of Wright's writings. I have to say that they really resonate with my own reading of the Bible. Tom Wright is able to put together a lot of things in the Bible that I would not have articulated in my own words. Yet I find myself agreeing with him because I have read the Bible in very similar ways over the last 28 years.

This does not mean that I agree with Tom Wright and Gordon Fee all the time. Nor does it mean that they are better than all the other Bible teachers. But I do have to thank them for being my teachers in my own journey of seeking God and learning from the Scriptures.

My pilgrimage (1) - Faith hero - Hudson Taylor

I read a book about Hudson Taylor soon after I came to faith in 1981. Here is a famous saying of Hudson Taylor that touched my life as a young (Chinese) Christian.

If I had a thousand pounds, China should have it. If I had a thousand lives, China should have them. No! not China, but Christ. Can we do too much for Him?

He made immense sacrifice for us. Not only that he gave up his career for the gospel. He also lost his wife and some of his children in China. He trusted in God totally for his provision, and never asked people for financial support for his mission.

Instead of working at the coastal areas in China (where other missionaries were, and where lands were taken by European countries by force), Hudson Taylor went inland. He adopted Chinese customs, put on Chinese clothes, learned the language, and used his medical skills to serve the poor. He identified with the sufferings of the Chinese people, and loved them dearly. To me, that spoke volume about the sacrificial love of Christ himself, and the gospel that I have come to embrace.

Book review: Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama

I have just finished writing a brief review on Barack Obama's first book Dreams From My Father. Please click here for the review.

Challenging the culture of our time

I just borrowed Michael J Gorman's Inhabiting the Cruciform God from the library. I haven't starting reading it, but as I flipped through the pages I found a passage that is very interesting. It raises some pointed questions about the popular notion of "national interest" in the Australian political rhetoric. Here is the quote - and over to you to comment!

This brings us inevitably back... to poli­tics, to the "normal" god of civil religion that combines patriotism and power. Nationalistic, military power is not the power of the cross, and such misconstrued notions of divine power have nothing to do with the majesty or holiness of the triune God known in the weakness of the cross. In our time, any "holiness" that fails to see the radical, counter-imperial claims of the gospel is inadequate at best. Adherence to a God of holiness certainly re­quires the kind of personal holiness that many associate with sexual purity. That is one dimension of theosis. But participation in a cruciform God of holiness also requires a corollary vision of life in the world that rejects domi­nation in personal, public, or political life — a mode of being that is often considered realistic or "normal."

Source: Micahel J Gorman, Inhabiting the Cruciform God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), 128.

The scandal of the cross (Derek Tidball)

I just found something in Michael Gorman's blog that is very helpful. Here is an excerpt from his blog (which, in turn, cites Derek Tidball).

“The scandal of the cross continues. From Paul’s day to our own, [it] has never been anything other than a scandal, a cause of offence. People respond to its offensivness in different ways. Some ridicule it. Others try to ignore it. Chrstians, no less than others, have their techniques for reducing its shame. Long familiarity with it has lessened its absurdity and repugnance and led us to turn it into an item of beauty…. Morna Hooker comments: ‘Our problem is simply that we are too used to the Christian story; it is difficult for us to grasp the absurdity—indeed, the sheer madness—of the gospel about a crucified savior which was proclaimed by the first Christians in a world where the cross was the most barbaric form of punishment which men could devise.’”

[Derek Tidball, The Message of the Cross (The Bible Speaks Today; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2001), 200.]

A ticket to heaven? Or resurrection?

For years I thought that as Christians our destiny was heaven. In fact, when I was a pastor I used to say that to the people in the church. But then someone said that heaven was not our final destiny. Then I went back to the Scripture and I found that he's most probably right.

I have heard sermons that say that people will go to heaven if they give their lives to Jesus. But then in Acts - the book in the Bible that records the preaching of the earliest church - we don't really find the apostles preaching that kind of message. Instead, they preached the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah!

In 1 Cor 15 Paul says that what is of first importance is that Jesus died, was buried and was raised from the dead, and then he goes on to talk about the resurrection body. What is important about the gospel is not that Christians are going to heaven. Instead, the Christian hope is about the resurrection, which is based on the resurrection of Christ himself (after his death for those who have put their faith in him).

When Jesus was on the cross, he said to the person next to him, "today you will be with me in paradise." Paul says that after Christians die, they are asleep. This means that, for Christians, between death and resurrection there is a period of rest - in paradise. But that is not our final destiny. Indeed in Revelation it is clear that the new Jerusalem will come down out of heaven (Rev 21:10). It seems to me that our final destiny is a place in the new heaven and new earth, in which life is not about a disembodied existence in heavenly bliss. I see a real sense of human communal and bodily life with the presence of God himself in the future. The Christian hope is that those who are in Christ will be raised to life when Jesus returns, just like Christ himself was raised from the dead.

But why does it matter? What, in practice, is the implication of the difference between "going to heaven" and "being raised to life"? I will talk about that in another post. But for now I may mention two things.

First, for us who believe in the Bible as God's revelation it is always good to stick with what it actually says! There is surely benefit in doing so. Second, in the long chapter about the resurrection in 1 Cor 15, Paul concludes with this statement:

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Cor 15:58)

What is going to happen in the future has implication to what we do today, just as what happened in the past does. The most important event in the past is the death and resurrection of Christ himself, and that means that we are to live for him. But the climax of history will be that Jesus will return, those who believe in him will be raised to life, and the entire creation will be renewed. Paul says here that this future event means that our labour today is not in vain! It is because of this assured future that we are to give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord. The future has profound implication to what we do today!

I will say more in a future post.

Reflection: The kids in my son's school

My son goes to a small Christian school. It's a great community and I have met some wonderful Christian families there. I am very grateful to God for that.

Here is an encouraging story about some students at the school. A group of them were on a school trip to Canberra. On their way back they had lunch in a country town. As they had lunch someone was watching how they behaved and afterwards he commented on their good behaviour and maturity. He is right, I think. The school is a good school. Most of the parents are Christians. They provide a stable and secure home environment, and know how to teach their children to behave.

But my thoughts go to the kids in other schools, schools in the low socioeconomic suburbs of Melbourne. I hear stories of a Christian school teacher who worked for many years in one of those schools. She found herself spending most of her time dealing with the issues that children from dyfuncational families faced. The fact is that it is not the fault of these children that their behaviour is not-so-good. They just happened to have born into families that were less fortunate. For some of them, their parents were migrants from poor countries. They came to Melbourne to flee from poverty and oppression, and found themselves struggling with the language and the culture. They just happened to be born in a country where life was not at all as easy as Australia.

My heart goes out to those children, whose prospects of life will not be the same as children in my son's school. My heart goes to them because they are in fact in our own "backyard", and I suspect that Jesus would have gone to them if he were here today.

"I am a follower of Christ"

Tonight at bedtime my son asked me what is the difference between Presbyterian, Baptist, Anglican and Orthodox churches. So, starting from Jesus, I went through the 2,000 years of church history with him (all in 15 minutes) to explain how the different denominations came about. In my answer I also mentioned the Wesleyans, the Methodists, the Catholics, the Reformation (as an introduction to the Protestants), the Anabaptists, the Mennonites, the Uniting Church (in Australia), the Pentecostals, and even the different types of Orthodox churches - and my son added the Salvos! - and then I said that where I preached this morning was probably an independent evangelical church. I explained to him that there are different types of Anglican churches (high, low, evangelical, liberal, charismatic, etc), and indeed different types of churches within a given denomination.

Then I briefly explained to him the subtle differences between their doctrines, and how often each group thinks that their doctrine is better. Indeed many would argue that their doctrine is closest to what the Bible teaches.

My son actually finds it a bit amusing. I briefly mentioned to him that such divisions in the body of Christ is in fact not what the biblical ideal is.

In the end, I told my son that I see myself as a follower of Christ, rather than a Baptist or a Pentecostal (or whatever denomination). I love the Bible, and I belong to the body of Christ. I won't say that all doctrines (from the different denominations) are equally valid. But I am not sure whether we can say that any one doctrine can reflect the teaching in the Bible perfectly.

Reading Leviticus with your child

Do you think it is a good idea to read Leviticus with your child?

I guess every child is different and hence I won't say yes or no to this question. But I have been reading some selected passages in Leviticus with my son recently, and it has been a good experience. I showed him how some offerings had to be made, and the significance of that to Israel and how that would help us to understand the New Testament. We read about the Sabbath year and the Jubilee, and learned how that worked in Israel's social life and how that protected the poor. I plan to read the day of atonement with him soon.

To me, as a parent I find that even Leviticus can be interesting - even fun - if we know how Leviticus works and how to make it interesting. But I am also aware that every child is different and so probably it won't work for every child. Having said all that, I think reading the Bible creatively with our children will build a solid foundation in our children's lives.

How I read the Bible - entering the text

I remember that before I got baptised, a wise and mature Christian lady said to me that how we understood the nature of the authority of the Bible was critical. I guess I didn't understand her fully back then (it's in 1985!). But I have since found that it is indeed a crucial matter. I will explain why another time, but here I'll share some of my own experience in reading the Scripture.

I am one of those people who read the whole Bible from cover to cover every year. (Yes, I have just finished Leviticus and am reading Numbers! But I have to say that this does not necessarily make me a better Christian, and indeed I can see many better Christians around me.) Since I have been a Christian for a long time, I have read the Bible many times.

In this journey I find that I enter the world of the biblical texts. When I read the Gospels I imagine that I am walking with Jesus as one of his disciples. When I read Exodus I imagine that I am a fellow Israelite walking in the wilderness. When I read the Psalms I find myself praying with the psalmists, pouring my heart to the God of Israel - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

For me, personally, I find that this is an amazing journey. The "text" is not a rigid set of doctrines or commandments (although it contains elements of those things). It comes alive and relates to me. In this way I hear God's voice and learn to walk with him, knowing that he is with me, just as he did with Israel and the disciples.

No wonder the Bible is "God's Word". It's to be heard - and obeyed, because we love him and are grateful to what he has done for us through Jesus.

My work and my academic life require me to read theology textbooks and talk with theologians. My research project requires me to study the Scripture using multiple (technical) commentaries. But I find my own faith anchored on my own daily reading of Scripture, which requires no commentaries or complicated theology. I hope our sophiscation and modern (and post-modern) mindset will not steer us away from the most basic and natural reading of the text.

Reflection: My experience of power, powerlessness and identity

The following is an excerpt from a sermon I preached recently (plus some additional reflection).

Here is an excerpt from Barack Obama's first book.

"Power had taken Lolo [Obama’s step-father] and yanked him back into line just when he thought he'd escaped, making him feel its weight, letting him know that his life wasn't his own. That's how things were; you couldn't change it, you could just live by the rules, so simple once you learned them. And so Lolo had made his peace with power, learned the wisdom of forgetting;… She [Obama’s mother] remembered what Lolo had told her once when her constant questioning had finally touched a nerve. 'Guilt is a luxury only for­eigners can afford,' he had said. 'Like saying whatever pops into your head.' She didn't know what it was like to lose everything,… He was right, of course. She was a foreigner, middle-class and white and protected by her heredity whether she wanted protection or not. She could always leave if things got too messy…." Source: Barack Obama, Dreams form My Father (Three Rivers: New York, 2004) 45-46.

What I find here is the gap between Obama’s American mother and his Indonesian step-father. Here is a contrast between the privileges, freedom and security of being a citizen of the Western world, and the sense of hopelessness and powerlessness of living in another part of the world, where those privileges and security are a luxury if not an impossibility.

I said to my wife that this is the struggle I have in finding my identity as a bi-cultural person living in Australia (someone who has spent half of my life in Australia and half in Asia).

Perhaps the ultimate reason why I desperately long for embrace is that there is evil in this world, which manifests itself through power-relationships. What I experienced in the first part of my life in Asia is something that people around me cannot understand. It was the sense of oppression that we experienced as working-class people in a city going through a rapid urbanisation process.

We were part of a generation in which everyone tried to move from subsistence-level living to an affluent living standard – and to do so within a very short space of time. In this process we became victims of power: The power of money; the power of materialism; the power of capitalism and globalisation, where a person’s worth is measured by how much money they have as a consumer. Ironically, it is the search for power – by trying to move from a powerless position to a powerful one – that we fall prey to power itself.

In my own search for identity I find comfort in my faith in Jesus the Messiah. I find a sense of security in the faithfulness of the Creator God, and the Scripture he has given his people. I find a way to overcome the oppression of "power" through the shalom that God has given to us in Christ and by the Spirit - not by overcoming power with power, but by God's power in my weakness.

What did the Old Testament law have to offer foreigners?

Christopher Wright says that the Old Testament Law says a lot about caring for foreigners.

What did the Old Testament law have to offer such foreigners? A great deal… The Old Testament speaks of protection from general oppression (Ex. 22:21; Lev. 19:33) and from unfair treatment in court (Ex. 23:9; Deut 10:17-19; 24:17-18); inclusion in Sabbath rest (Ex. 20:9—11; 23:12; Deut. 5:12-15) and inclusion in worship and cov­enant ceremonies of Passover (Ex. 12:45-49), the annual festivals (Deut. 16), the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29), and covenant renewal ceremonies (Deut. 29:10-13; 31:12); the economic benefit of the triennial tithes (Deut. 1-1:28-29; 26:12-13) and access to agricultural produce (gleaning rights) (Lev. 19:9- 10; Deut. 24:19-22); and equality before the law with native born (Lev. 19:34).

See also the similarity between the second greatest commandment (as Jesus affirms) and the instruction to look after foreigners (both found in the same chapter in Leviticus).

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. (Lev 19:18)

The foreigners residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God. (Lev 19:34)

I hope these Scriptures can help us to formulate our view on asylum seekers.

Source: Christopher Wright, The God I Don’t Understand [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), page 103-4.

Closing the Gap

This is a good clip from OMF about serving the urban poor.

(More OMF video clips can be found on OMF Media.)

Poverty more than simply a lack of income or food

The following is an excerpt from the book Another Way to Love: Christian Social Reform and Global Poverty (2009). It is really worth reading.

What do Australians need to understand about the nature of poverty and what it is like for people to be living in poverty? How is poverty more than simply a lack of income or food?

Jayakumar Christian: The concrete expressions, or symptoms, of poverty are familiar to us all - social and economic deprivation, low income and unemployment. The causes of poverty, however, are flawed relationships. Poverty is about the oppressive relationships between the poor and the non-poor - how the poor and the social systems relate, and how the poor relate to civil society and government. Within the context of these flawed relationships, power is abused. This abuse of power is then expressed in low income, lack of food security, lack of nutrition and all those usual ways we measure poverty.

(Dr Jayakumar Christian is National Director of World Vision India. Click here for the book detials.)

Reflection: One of my most important faith experiences

I have slowly come to understand that the Christian faith can be understood quite differently in different cultures. I have been living in Australia for over 20 years, and I find that most of my (Aussie) Christian friends have grown up with largely Aussie Christians, or at least their non-Aussie friends have tried to relate to them according to Australian cultural values and social assumptions. But I spent my childhood and young adult years in Asia where it was a multi-faith society. I grew up in an era where our traditional faith and culture collided with that of the Western world.

In Australia, Christians are learning to live in a multi-faith and multi-cutlural society. Some think that Christians converted from another faiths and cultures should adopt a Western lifestyle and Western church culture. This way of thinking is of course problematic, because Christians in the New Testament (e.g. the apostle Paul) did not live a Western lifestyle, nor did their churches look like a Western church.

There are other Christians in Australia who think that all other cultures and faiths are just fine. As long as they love God and do what God wants, what they actually believe in is not that important.

Instead of going into a theological debate, I will share my own faith experience here.

I used to worship traditional gods in our culture, which was a mixture of Buddhism, ancestral worship and other pantheistic faiths. (I think we had about six household gods in our apartment.) Within this belief system it is also believed that there is a supreme god somewhere who rules over everything. Traditionally, we are a people with a high moral standard - not that we live up to it at all, but it's embedded in our mindset.

In my search for identity and reality, the most important part of my faith is the realisation that I am a sinner. I know that no matter how I try to live up to our moral ideals, I fail.

It is in this realisation that I learn to know the love of God in sending his own Son to die for me. It is because of this that I want to give my whole life to Jesus and to serve him wholeheartedly. It is in the resurrection of Christ that we find true hope in all the sufferings and trials in this life. It is because of this that we seek to love God with all our heart, and love the people around us.

Some Christians may find the above a bit boring, for they hear this every Sunday. For others, this may be a new thing, for their churches don't talk about sin that much.

But I thought I might share my own experince because it is so important. Despite all my talk (in this blog) on justice, mercy and the grace of God, deep in my heart the most important faith experience is the realisation that I am a sinner and that God wants us to give our whole life to him and love him with all our heart. It's more than a doctrine or theology. It is an experience (from the Spirit of God, I believe) that is based on the Bible. It is an experience that finds its roots in the faithfulness or God.

For those who have grown up in a Christian community and have never lived in a strongly multi-faith environment, I hope my experience above can be helpful as you try to understand the emerging culture in Australia.

My reflection: This morning at our Sunday service

This morning in our little Christian community we heard two inspirational stories.

We prayed for a man who was taking up a job in a place near Alice Springs. He will be working in some kind of youth at risk program. There are both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Then there was a long-term member of the church asking prayer for her new job. She has been a teacher in a socio-econ0mically poor suburb for many years, helping and teaching kids from dysfunctional backgrounds. Now she is taking on a new job in a special school, where the children suffer from intellectual disability. She says that she is looking after eight children, all of them have great needs. It's been very challenging to say the least.

They are people who want to serve some of the most vulnerable people in Australia, and I am really inspired from them.

Last Sunday we had a lovely lunch with some old friends. I commented that this little church would not grow. One of our friends - who, I think, is capable of making some of the most insightful comments - said that growth is not measured by numbers. (Well, that's my interpretation of what she said.) It is precisely women and men like the above that make our little church such an amazing community. I would say they truly have something close to the heart of Jesus, and they willingly (and sacrificially) use their gifts to serve the people whom God loves.

Isaiah's vision of God putting the world to rights

The following is an excerpt of Tom Wright's recent sermon on Isaiah 11.1–10; Acts 17.22–32.

I find the first paragraph amusing - abstract thoughts of a theologian! But the following comments on Isaiah's vision are profound. We have messed up God's creation, but God is in the process of putting it to rights by transforming it. May that be our vision too!

(Click here for the whole sermon.)

"The theologian tells the time by looking at the future and the past and discerning where we are in relation to both of them. And a great deal of the trouble in today’s world is caused by people who think we’re living in the past, on the one hand, and by people who think we’re living in the future, on the other hand. You and I are called to live in the present, in appropriate relation to past and future, but in a realistic appraisal of the differences between present and past and present and future.

Now that’s horribly abstract, so let me at once jump to something solid, concrete, and actually stunningly beautiful. Here is the vision of the future we heard a few minutes ago, one of the most evocative passages in all poetry:

The wolf shall live with the lamb
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah’s vision of a world put to rights: not only put to rights, but transformed, made to be more fully and gloriously itself, discovering at last what the Garden of Eden might have become if only we hadn’t messed it up. " (Emphasis added)

Living out the gospel as a community

I just came back from a leadership meeting in a Christian community that I belong to. I am so blessed to be part of the community. Here are some reflections from the meeting.

We talked about our building project, and part of the planning permit application is that we want the redevelopment to include provisions for affordable housing for the disadvantaged people in the area. Isn't it great that a building project is not so much about how we can benefit from it, but about how we can walk with the vulnerable and marginalised?

We discussed the challenges we faced in providing accommodation and pastoral care for asylum seekers and refugees. We talked about providing facilities for a local toy library and playgroup. Two members of the leadership team talked about their involvement in the recent Kinglake bush fire relief effort. In case you think that we are a big church with a lot of human and financial resources, we are in fact a very small community with around 50 people in the Sunday service! As a relatively new member of the community I am amazed by the amount of work we do with the community.

In the absence of a full-time minister, we discussed how we might share the load for one another. We want to make sure that no-one is taken for granted. We want to ensure that no-one feels that they have to do everything - ie. everyone should feel that they can say no when asked to do things for the community.

I am learning heaps from this little group of people.

Plans to "prosper us" - What does it really mean?

Jeremiah 29:11 is a well-known verse in the Bible. In fact, it is one of my favourite verses in the Old Testament. Note the different translations below:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (NIV)

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (NKJV)

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. (NRSV)

In using the word "prosper", I think the NIV is trying to highlight the extravagant grace of God for his people despite their sinfulness and disobedience. Israel was going into exile because of their sin, but Jeremiah prophesied that God would restore their fortunes in 70 years.

Unfortunately in our Western world today the word "prosper" carries a connotation that (I think) does not reflect the Hebrew word in the original language. Today, to be prosperous often means "to be wealthy and affluent - primarily in terms of one's material possession and success in the soceity". Also, prosperity in our world today is often measured by the excess wealth and luxuary people enjoy. This meaning (ie. the excess ownership of material possession), I believe, does not reflect what Jeremiah says.

The Hebrew word used in the passage is shalom. What is shalom? According to the usage of the word in passages Isaiah 32, 65 and Ezekiel 34, shalom seems to refer to wholeness and well-being in all our social, ecological, political, agricultural and economical relationships, which are in turn rooted in a restored covenant relationship with God. It is about peace, security, wholeness and well-being in all relationships. It is about what we can experience in Christ as we seek to love God and one another here on earth now, but its final and complete realisation will only take place at the final renewal of heaven and earth.

So let us take comfort in the fact that the LORD knows his plans for us - plans to give us shalom! But let us not turn this into a self-centred pursuit of pleasure and prosperity, which is a temptation in our materialistic and individualistic world today.

Old Testament Law and Justice

I am going through the lectures on Old Testament given by Prof Iain Provan at Regent College, Vancouver. He said some things about the Ten Commandments that are very interesting and important. Here are a few things I note (according to my understanding of Provan's lecture).

The Ten Commandments are not an exhaustive set of laws for human behaviour, and hence cannot be a simple and precise measure of good human behaviour and ethics. For example, when the Rich Ruler said to Jesus that he had kept all the Commandments, the Lord asked him to sell everything and give to the poor. This implies that the requirements of God go much further than keeping the Commandments. Indeed Jesus summaries the Law with the love commands of loving God and one's neighbours.

Then Provan says that even in the Old Testament we see how the ethical requirements of God can be summarised in terms of what should be done to reflect his values: Do justice and show mercy.

Here I am reminded of Micah 6:8, Deut 10:12-22, and Jeremiah 9:23-24 (and more in Isaiah 1, Amos, and Zechariah).

Something for us to ponder on.

Show our love to the children in our churches

Someone at church made two comments today, which I think are very insightful.

(1) For the parents the most important thing is that their children want to come to church. (I guess that is the ideal scenario.)

(2) The children stay at church (when they grow up) because they have had a good relationship with other parents.

As a parent I know that it feels great if the children want to go to church. But at the same time it is not about going to a church where the children can be "entertained" (if I may use that word) with a fantastic program. Instead, it is about relationships that they can have in church. It is not only their relationship with other children either. Rather, their relationship with the adults is also very important. Do they feel welcome by the adults? Do they feel loved and cared for? Do they feel, on the contrary, that they are second class citizens in the church (ie. not as important as the adults)?

People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (Luke 18:15-17; TNIV)

Tim Chester, UK

Here is Tim Chester's website. To give you an idea of who he is and what he does, here is an excerpt from his website.

I am a writer, Bible teacher and church planter. I am married to Helen and have two daughters, Katie and Hannah.

I am a leader in The Crowded House – an international family of church planting networks – and within TCH I lead The Edge Network in Sheffield, UK. Most of our congregations meet in homes. We emphasise sharing our lives together rather than programmes and structures. ‘Ordinary life with gospel intentionality’ is one of our catchphrases. The Crowded House is often described by other people as part of the emerging church movement. It is true that we have a different approach to church to that of most traditional churches. But we are also different from many in the emerging church movement – we are Reformed and evangelical with a strong emphasis the centrality and sufficiency of the gospel word. See also the blog entry on Total Church.

Have a lookat his website!

Tim Chester website

The challenge for a Christian media manager

I am reading a magazine called East Asia's Millions (Jul-Sep 2009). There is an article written by the OMF International Media Projects Manager. Here is a reflection from him.

My other challenge is to tell the whole truth, however imperfect it may be. There's a tendency in the Christian media to create and tell 'perfect' stories, with anything unpleasant or difficult left out. I believe most people realise this filtering goes on and can therefore become suspicious, even desensitised, to most media. What would their reaction be if we told the gritty truth, even about mission? I believe that vulnerability and truth builds trust; after all, our god is a God of truth,...

Want to serve God in Asia?

I like the work of OMF because they have (1) A proven record of long-term commitment to the people in Asia; (2) A genuine international team of workers; and (3) A heart to serve the poor.

For video resources for yourself and your church, just click on the following links.

OMF Overview: Love Asia
OMF Media
A call from the international general director

Love Asia

Looking for a book about hospitality, violence, and reconciliation?

If you are interested in the issues around hospitality, violence, identity, otherness, reconciliation and the cross, I would recommend Hans Boersma's Violence, Hospitality, and the Cross and Miroslav Volf's Exclusion and Embrace.

Their conclusions are different in many ways. But I think they do agree on many points. Both authors cover the issues in a very thoughtful way, and both endeavour to be faithful to the Scripture. The two books are not easy to read. But if someone is going to hold a strong view about peace, hospitality, the theology of atonement, and/or "just war", it would be wise to first wrestle with the issues the books cover.

The God I don't understand

I just started reading Christopher Wright's new book called The God I don't Understand. It looks like a good book. I particularly like Wright's humility. It explores four questions.

What about evil and suffering?
What about the Canaanites?

What about the cross?

What about the end of the world?

I like the fact that the author acknowledges that there are issues that he never understands fully because the Scripture does not give all the answers we want, but at the same time tries to outline what the Bible does say.

Here is a quote on the issue of suffering (page 27):

"Whereas we often ask 'Why?' people in the Bible more often asked 'How long?' Their tendency was not to demand that God give an explanation for the origin of evil but rather to plead with God to do something to bring about an end to evil. And that, we shall see, is exactly what God has promised to do."

Is there such a thing as "just war"? - ask a child

Last night I chatted with my son about the issues around war and peace, and explained to him that there are Christians who believe in "just war" and there are those who are "peace activists". We looked at some Scriptures and talked about why different people arrive at different conclusions. Here are two interesting comments from my son.

(1) Whether the war is just often depends on your point of view. It depends on who you talk to. For example, on which side of the conflict are the people you talk to?

(2) A full-scale war can start simply because of a minor conflict between a small number of people.

I think both my son and I agree that love and forgiveness are the key to understand the gospel and should be our focus in each conflict.

Weakness, shame, honour, foolishness, wisdom, power

"To Paul, weakness is strength, shame is honor, foolishness is wisdom, and humility is the power of God. This is why the Corinthians did not appreciate Paul, did not understand the gospel and therefore did not realize what was required of them (2 Cor 13:5-10)" (Capes, Reeves and Richards)

For the Corinthians, Paul's letter was apparently very counter-cultural. It is probably still very counter-cultural for us today. A big challenge for us all.

(I read the above quote from a book written by David Capes, Rodney Reeves and E. Randolph Richards called Rediscovering Paul (p. 167). The context is 2 Corinthians. It is clear that the Corinthians failed to understand Paul and the gospel. )

Victory over powers of oppression

Hans Boersma (Professor of Theology at Regent College, Vancouver) has written a book called Violence, Hospitality, and the Cross. It is not an easy book to read unless one has had theological training. But the following is a good quote about the place of the church in speaking up against injustice.

"The Christus Victor theme of the atonement is in a real sense the most significant model of the atonement. The result of Christ's work of recapitulation is victory over the powers of oppression. In other words, God's hospitality aims at the freedom of humanity and all creation. The whole creation is waiting to 'be freed from its slavery to corruption and brought into the same glorious freedom as the children of God' (Rom. 8:21). This freedom no doubt includes freedom from social and political bondage. The concrete language with which the Old Testament prophets describe the peace and justice of the coming kingdom of God precludes all spiritualizing that seals off salvation from our concrete historical contexts... The Church must of necessity be careful in asserting its authoritative voice in the particularities of social and political issues. Nonetheless, there are situations of egregious evil and injustice where the Church must speak as Church in order to effect redemptive liberation. What is more, even when the Church cannot speak as Church on specific issues, it nonetheless directs the religious and moral lives of the believers, who cannot but make social, economic, and political judgments that ultimately stem from faith commitments that speak of redemption and liberation." (p. 248)

Book: Unconditional Love brings "dead" women back to life

I have written a book review for a recent book called Dead Women Walking.

Here is an excerpt from the review.

"Dead Women Walking is a book for those who have a passion to see authentic Christianity at work in real life situations - domestic violence, alcoholism, poverty, racial and class discrimination, and even demon possession."

It's available at Australian Christian book stores.

Click here for the review.

Australia endorsed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

On 3rd April 2009 the Australia Government formally endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Australia was one of four countries (along with the United States, Canada and New Zealand) that didn't sign the Declaration in 2007.

Click here for more info.

Coming a child's mouth

I am "studying" 1 Corinthians with my son, who is in Grade 3. Tonight we looked at the Lord's supper in chapter 11. We talked about the fact that the death and resurrection of Jesus was the most important event in history, and that it's not just for "me" as if "I" am the centre of the universe ... and, in a real sense Christ's work has finished but at the same time the full realisation of God's kingdom is still to happen. (I didn't use those exact words.) Here is the analogy my son came up with (my paraphrase):

"It's like baking something in the oven. You have done everything you have to do, and then you put it in the oven. When the time is right, you take the food out and the job is now fully done."

I think it's not a bad analogy.

(Well, one can argue that much more has to be said - e.g. God does want us to live out the values of God's kingdom now through the empowerment of the Spirit. But let's not expect more in a bedtime conversation with a child.)

Performance enhancing drug and band-aid

I am listening to a lecture at Regent College given by Miroslav Volf. One thing that stays with me is his description of a kind of malfunction faith in which people turn faith into a kind of "spiritual performance enhancing drug". I don't have a transcript of the lecture, but I have found something similar on the Internet.

"Most of us would rather think of ourselves as objects of God’s blessing and deliverance than as God’s servants constrained (as we wrongly think) by God’s commands and God’s ways with humanity. So we split up what belongs together: we embrace God’s blessing and deliverance and reject God’s guidance and purposes. The result is kind of a magical religion: we function as fully independent masters of our own lives, living as we please and pursuing goals we deem worthy of our efforts, while availing ourselves of God’s power to help our efforts to succeed and to deliver us when we are endangered or have in some way failed. In the process, we turn faith into a spiritual “performance enhancing drug” and divine “band‐aid.”... This approach, which effectively makes God our servant and we God’s masters, is a fundamental misuse of religion with pernicious effects, especially in conflict situations...."

Source: http://www.yale.edu/faith/downloads/Agents_of_Peace_in_Theaters_of_War.pdf, accessed on 18th May 2009. I have not read the whole article myself.

Feberal Budget: Fairer refugee determination process

What we don't hear much about the recent federal budget (12th May 2009) is that it allows for a fairer determination process. According to my own reading of the Bible, this is a very important issue from a Christian perspective. Here are two reports from the Refugee Council of Australia:

Common Sense Changes Build Fairer Refugee Determination Process

THE 2009-10 BUDGET IN BRIEF: What it means for refugees and those requiring humanitarian protection

Federal Budget: Funding for the poor

Micah Challenge comments on the Australian Federal Budget yesterday (12th May 2009). This is what they say on their website:

"The federal budget was announced yesterday with mixed results. Micah Challenge welcomes the increase in funding towards Child and Maternal health, but would like to see a greater commitment in spending towards the aid budget, in order to see Australia meet 0.7% of GNI by 2015. We believe that as Christians in a nation with plenty, we have a responsibility to be 'Good Samaritans', and care for our poor neighbours."

This is what their email says today (13th May 2009):

"This budget has seen an increase in aid to $3.82 billion (up from $3.66 billion last year), taking the aid percentage from 3.2% to 3.4% of GNI (lower than the expected 0.35% projected last year)."

On this policy I think we should be thankful for the good results and positively encourage the Governemnt and the Opposition to take further action for more and better aid.

Click here for the Micah Challenge website to see what you can do in response. Click here for an ACFID (Australian Council For International Development) analysis of the budget.

Looking for a good book to read?

Here are two books I read last year.

(1) The Kite Runner by Khald Hosseini

The Kite Runner is a tale of friendship, betrayal and redemption. It is about human’s struggles with sin and family traditions. It is about personal and cultural honour and shame. It will also help us understand the lives of Afghan migrants in the West. Read my book review for more info about this book.

(2) The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne

In this book we see what an authentic Christian community looks like. We read stories of Christians living among the ghettos in America. We find followers of Jesus dressing the wounds of lepers in Asia. We see Christian communities in impoverished neighbourhoods. We find Christ’s love shine in the “abandoned places of the empire” (as Claiborne puts it), where there are oppression and economic hardships. Have a look at my book review to find out more about this book.

Coles and Mars getting into ethical chocolate

I heard recently that Coles and Mars are getting into ethical chocolate! Click here for more details.

Mission in the pluralistic West

A friend of mine has posted a great piece in his blog. Here is an excerpt.

"This new world is a world of post-Christendom, post-denominationalism and post-institutionalism. In this new pluralistic world Christianity is no longer the main player on the block. The old denominational and organisational structures are crumbling because brand loyalty is a thing of the past in our consumer-orientated society. Institutions, particularly those of the church, are seen to belong to a style vacuum, since almost everyone is looking for freedom and autonomy in this increasingly anti-authoritarian world."

Click here to read more.

The Crucified and the cross, that "eminently counter-cultural symbol"

Here are two quotes from Miroslav Volf's Exclusion and Embrace. I find them very insightful, and they serve as counter-cultural - even scandalous - statements for the 21st-century world. Something for us to meditate on.

“All sufferers can find comfort in the solidarity of the Crucified; but only those who struggle against evil by following the example of the Crucified will discover him at their side. To claim the comfort of the Crucified while rejecting his way is to advocate not only cheap grace but a deceitful ideology.”

“In a world of violence, the Cross, that eminently counter-cultural symbol that lives at the heart of the Christian faith, is a scandal.”

Book notice: Another Way to Love

Here are what people say about the book (Another Way to Love: Christian Social Reform and Global Poverty) I mentioned earlier. It should be available at the book stores soon. Click here for more information.

"Jesus once told a moving story of a wealthy person who ended up in hell, not because he was wealthy, but because he ignored a poor man named Lazarus who lived right at his gate. In our global village, there are many people just like Lazarus living at our gate. The authors of this excellent book seek to stir us afresh with God’s heart for the poor and needy. With theological insight, historical perspective, and contemporary case studies, they seek to move us to action in addressing the critical social issues of our time."
MARK CONNER, Senior Minister Melbourne City Life Church

“The real question is not whether religious faith should influence a society and its politics, but how? Another Way to Love helps to answer this question. It provides the biblical foundation for social engagement as well as practical examples grounded in World Vision’s long experience opposing poverty and injustice around the world. This is a valuable book that brings together Christian thought and action.”
JIM WALLIS, Author, speaker and founder of Sojourners USA

"Can any theme be more important today than finding a new way to love people in a world that suffers and hurts because of poverty and injustice? This remarkable compilation enables some of the most thoughtful and committed Christians to share their insights and experiences with us in ways that not only inspire and inform, but also encourage us to find our own ways not to miss out in joining what is on God’s heart today. This is a must read for any follower of Jesus who wants to be both relevant to the needs facing our planet and be faithful to our Lord."
ASH BARKER, Director of Urban Neighbours Of Hope and author of Make Poverty Personal.

Here are the chapters in the book:

Don't Trade Lives - Child Slavery by Tim Costello (CEO of World Vision Australia)
A Passion for Hope and Justice by Tim Costello (World Vision)
Climate Change by Dr Brett Parris (World Vision)
A Theological Approach to Social Reform, Advocacy and Engagement by Dr Andrew Cameron (Moore College)
The Nature of Poverty and Development by Dr Jayakumar Christian (National Director of World Vision Inida)
Fair Trade by Rod Yule and Peter Weston (World Vision)
Make Poverty History - Trade, Aide and Debt Relief by Rev Angus McLeay (Anglican minister) and Fiona McLeay (World Vision)
Micah Challenge - Voices for Justice by Amanda Jackson (Micah Challenge)
Voice to the Voiceless by Bill Walker (World Vision)
Christianity and Social Reform by Dr Mark Hutchinson (Southern Cross College)
The Old Testament and Christian Social Engagement by Dr Andrew Sloan (Morling College)
Good News to the Poor by Siu Fung Wu (World Vision)

Christopher Wright and Old Testament Ethics

I find Christopher Wright's Old Testament Ethics for the People of God an excellent book. If you want to have a good understanding of Old Testament Ethics, social justice, ecology and the earth, economics, the land and the poor, etc, this is a good book to read. Highly recommended.

My friend Jim

Here is a webpage of a good friend. (Click here.) Jim is a good man, and was my teacher. I learned a lot from him. Jim is a Christian, and is a Greens member. His views can be controversial. In fact, I don't agree with him all the time. But I learn from him as I listen to him and let him challenge my views. So, have a look at his website and his blog, and get ready to be stretched, to disagree and to be challenged.

Humility and grace

I had the opportunity to hear from the International Director of a major mission ageny today. Here are some encouraging words from him (my paraphrase).

"It is not about our organisation, but about the people we seek to serve."

"We have a great history. But it is not for us to be proud of - instead, it is for us to remember God's faithfulness."

"There is no place for triumphalism or superiority... there has to be cross-centred humility."

Climate Change Day Conference

A day conference on climate change will be held at St Hilary's Anglican Church in Kew, Vic. One of the speakers is Dr Brett Parris, who holds a Bachelor degree in Theology and a PhD in Economics. He is the Chief Economist at World Vision. I think the conference will be good. Click here for the church website for more information, and here for a brochure.

Welcomed by strangers: Asylum seekers raising money for bushfire victims

In previous post (18th April 2009) I mentioned the Christian mandate to welcome strangers. Today I heard that a group of asylum seekers/refugees in Melbourne are running a fund-raising event for the recent bushfire victims. In a sense, they are showing Australia hospitality and love by their action.

I found a UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) report, which shows the following stats regarding the recipients of new asylum seekers in the first half of 2008.

Australia 2,000
Canada 16,800 (10.2%)
France 15,600 (9.5%)
UK 14,500 (8.8%)
Greece 10,200 (6.2%)
Switzerland 5,900 (3.6%)

As you can see, Australia did not take in a lot of asylum seekers at all. Let's be generous towards them. You may want to write you the PM, your MP and the key senators about it.

Lifestory: "I don't want to be poor"

Here is a brief story about myself. Just click here for the article.

My intention is to share something about the Scripture, faith, poverty and wealth, and how they have shaped my life and thinking. I hope the article will bring you peace and hope.