Sometimes, in my more lucid moments, as I watch the bickering on Q&A, I’m reminded how lucky our country is that our politicians argue over stuff like where we put timber plantations… these are first world problems. And we have a lot to be thankful for. Luckily we have an incredible capacity to whinge about just about anything.
Author: Nathan Campbell
Nathan runs St Eutychus. He loves Jesus. His wife. His daughter. His son. His other daughter. His dog. Coffee. And the Internet. He is the pastor of City South Presbyterian Church, a church in Brisbane, a graduate of Queensland Theological College (M. Div) and the Queensland University of Technology (B. Journ). He spent a significant portion of his pre-ministry-as-a-full-time-job life working in Public Relations, and now loves promoting Jesus in Brisbane and online. He can't believe how great it is that people pay him to talk and think about Jesus. If you'd like to support his writing financially you can do that by giving to his church.
An open letter to the Australian Christian Lobby: Please don’t use tragedy for political gain
Dear Jim Wallace,
I know. I’ve said some stuff in the past. Less than flattering stuff. About your place in the Australian political scene, and your place in the Australian Christian scene. I don’t doubt that your motives are wonderful, we’d both like to see more people know Jesus, and less sin means a better society for all of us. And we agree that Christianity should be fairly represented and protected in our society. Just like all minorities, it’s important that we Christians have a voice speaking to our nation’s decision makers… I would like you to talk more about Jesus. I’ve covered that. And I would like you to do more than just represent the conservative Australian voice. But I’m not opposed to your very existence. I don’t want you to disappear.
Jim, I notice that the media releases on your website currently deal with really important issues. Like gay marriage and video game classification. These are obviously issues that are important to the people who fund you. There isn’t a lot of funding in speaking out for refugees, or the homeless, or against more complex “sins” like greed. The climate change deniers who are already firmly in the ACL camp are watching their dollars because they are busy funding scare campaigns. I appreciate that you have to pick and choose. That’s the nature of lobbying. You’ve only got one voice, and you’ve got limited opportunities to speak to the politicians on your rounds. And you have a hard enough time getting media coverage (unless you’re saying dumb stuff about gays and Anzac Day, or making bizarrely offensive claims about child abuse).
I apologise for the sarcastic tone of this missive. I really do. But you’ve pushed me a bridge too far. Jim. You’ve made me grumpy. I know you’re a busy man. You may not even be aware of what people have posted on your website in your name. That was the story when a former Family First Candidate (now ACL staffer) tweeted a regrettable message during an election campaign. It’s possible you’re unaware of what you’ve putatively said. But let me draw your attention to this, because it’s bad. And if it’s a mistake you’ll want to sack somebody, or something. Because whoever posted this is doing a bad job for your cause.
I may need to give you a little bit of background. On Saturday, tragically, a gunman identifying himself as a “cultural Christian,” a right wing fundamentalist, caused havoc in Norway. Now some people might want to make comparisons between his ideology and yours, Jim. But not me. What he did was horrific and not consistent with the ideology of any normal person. He’s a sociopath. That’s clear. So linking his conduct to the actions of normal people isn’t really logical. But people will. They’ll start to draw links. Make connections. He killed a lot of people, Jim, singlehandedly. Callously. And since then there’s been a bit of a PR problem for Christianity because it turned out this terrorist claimed to be one of us. I think we’d agree that what he did couldn’t have been motivated by his Christianity. The guy is crazy. It would be wrong to make such a connection between something harmless and his actions. Be it his Christian beliefs, or the fact that he played Modern Warfare, a war game enjoyed by millions around the world. Because he’s not normal.
But he claimed to be a Christian. He wasn’t a Muslim. So you’d think that Christians wanting to articulate a position on this would be, you know, talking about how what he did was in no way representative of the teachings of Jesus. Wouldn’t you? If you were going to say anything at all. That would be the key message to be getting out, if you were going to speak on the issue. We certainly wouldn’t want to see any vulture hijacking this event to further their own policy agenda would we? It always looks so cynical when people do that. When they take a horrible tragedy. Still fresh. And rebrand it, even if it’s a possibly legitimate link, in order to score political points. Usually it’s nice to wait until the furore has died down, till the grieving families have identified their loved ones and laid them to rest. That’s the classy way to capitalise on tragedy. If you must. But not the ACL, Jim. Not the Australian Christian Lobby. In the Australian Christian Lobby’s infinite wisdom, and with a bit of media savvy that belies days of experience, the Australian Christian Lobby has published a media release with the following headline:
Norwegian Tragedy Highlights Impact of Violent Video Games… why no partner release highlighting how drugs killed Amy Winehouse. At least the link there is directly plausible. Why not an acknowledgment that twisted and evil people do twisted and evil things because we live in a world tainted by sin, where we, as humans, are fallen and inclined to do wrong? That would be a Christian response to tragedy. Why not offer a clear condemnation of this man who claimed to be acting as a Christian?
“If there are even a few deranged minds that can be taken over the edge by an obsession with violent games it is in every Australians interest that we ban them.
“The studied indifference of this killer to the suffering he was inflicting, his obvious dehumanising of his victims and the evil methodical nature of the killings have all the marks of games scenarios.”
Do you see how the sophisticated arguments you’ve employed in this statement could be used against the man’s religious affiliation? Do you not see the inconsistency in your position? The guy was a deranged, evil, lunatic. He committed abhorrent acts. In the name of abhorrent beliefs. That could not possibly be born from Christian theology. And you’re trying to capitalise on it for political gain. That’s disgusting. It’s cheap point scoring. It’s tacky. People see right through it. You’re not convincing anybody of anything except the idea that Christians are out-of-touch and only interested in protecting ourselves.
UPDATE: This excellent piece from Tim Challies is a much better response to the tragedy from a Christian point of view, as is this piece from Mitchelton Presbyterian Church
UPDATE 2: See this interview with the editor of Kotaku (who also linked to this post), and Jim Wallace, on Sunrise…
How to meet boys: According to an old school comic
Comically Vintage is probably worthy of its own tumblrweed post. But in a chicken v egg situation I feel compelled to offer this single serving of that single serving tumblr.
Literally a comical guide to meeting boys.
In case you can’t make the picture bigger (hint, click here)… here are the top options:
1. School.
2. Church.
3. Community.
4. Blind dates.
5. Family friends.
Well. Simple. There you have it. I’d say that, broadly speaking, covers just about all the options except work and Bible college.
Put the chop back in your chop suey
Or at least in your San Choy Bow… with the karate chopper lettuce buster thing.
The Executive Colouring In Book
I shared this on Twitter a while back, but forgot to blog it. How remiss of me. A colouring in book for the executive types. A great way to kickstart your career, or at least to catalyse it. Buzz words that render the difference between sentences essentially meaningless are another part of this process.
It is pretty excellent, and there are more pages here (including evidence that it is a real book, or at least a convincing fake).
WWJT: Can’t think of your own lame Christian status update, there’s a site for that
What would Jesus Tweet. It’s an important question for any would be Christian Confucius out there looking to use Facebook or Twitter as a platform for spiritual warfare.
Here’s a not very funny or self aware song that ponders a similar question… (via JesusNeedsNewPR)
It’s weird that when old people try to be hip and cool they use images of Dell desktop PCs from about 10 years ago in their hip, cutting edge, satire.
But that’s neither here nor there. This is a public service announcement for those out there who:
a) think posting one liners worthy of a church sign is of some benefit.
b) can’t come up with their own pithy one liners, you know, by reading the Bible.
c) want to use Facebook to annoy their friends, both Christian and non-Christian, rather than to bolster real relationships.
If you are that person, then rest easy. Here is a website that is a suppository of options, you can pull them out of your… ChristianStatusUpdates.com…
Here’s a sampling from today…
“____ The best way to start any day off right is to tell God how thankful you are.
____ P.U.S.H.> (P)ray (U)ntil (S)omething (H)appens
____ is strong because I know my weaknesses. I am wise because I know I’ve been foolish. I laugh because I’ve known sadness.
____ Don’t pass judgment on someone else’s life without looking at your own life first…
____ You know it’s grace when God gives you something you don’t deserve.”
Here’s the thing: An excursus into the stuff (and detritus) of every day life
Here’s the Thing is a quite brilliant web series that reduces the lives of every day people into the signature things that they own, via a commentated photographic tour of their household. Thanks to the awesome crowd sourcing power of Kickstarter the Here’s the Thing team will be touring the United States.
So what are your things? While I don’t buy into the idea that you are defined by your possessions, it is interesting to think about the impression the odds and ends in your house make about your character. This is the reason I used to take a cursory glance at bookshelves and CD collections (before the age of internet distribution) to get a feel for a person.
I think a tour of my life via our house would include the wedding picture on our wall, my bookshelves, littered with Bibles, theology books, and novels, my laptop and Apple gadgets, an array of coffee paraphernalia, our pets, the musical instruments that Robyn plays, but I don’t, and our litany of kitchen gadgetry useful for creating just about every dish known to man, but largely pulled out upon a whim. Then it would be my series of novelty hats from around the globe, my plastic Bob Hawke head drink dispenser, and whatever other items of kitsch have survived decluttering bouts over the years.
Mobius Ship: bottle this and I’d buy it…
This is a truly sensational pun based sculpture.
Just amazingly clever and intricate. It’s not for sale. It’s art. Incredible art from a bloke named Tim Hawkinson.
Zombie Gnomes: for the black thumbs out there
I don’t have a green thumb. By some miracle the coffee pot plant I bought 18 months ago has seemingly died and been resurrected multiple times since I purchased it, other pot plants have not fared so well. My gardens have been full of dead things for as long as I can remember. Including multiple dead pets (mostly birds… mostly finches… mostly dead in one day… well, 12 of them). Anyway. Should these dead flora and fauna ever plan to come back to haunt me, this gnome (available from Etsy) will provide all the leadership they need.
Absolutely the best image to come out of the News of the World scandal
Wendi Deng’s amazing boxing skills notwithstanding, this is probably the only real legacy of Rupert Murdoch’s “I don’t know, I wasn’t told” appearance in Britain last week.
Via Tumblr somewhere.
Light reading: Five books repurposed as lights
I love books. Physical books. I like reading on my kindle, and even more on my iPad. But the tactile experience of a book, and the visual thrill of a well-stocked set of shelves will keep me heading to second hand bookshops, the book depository, and whatever physical bookshop is still solvent after this year.
Turning books into lamps is now old hat. Well. I saw these ones a while ago. I meant to post them, but then I forgot. The light comes on when the book is opened.
There’s a how to, including a video, here.
I love these ones for the steampunk bulbs. I can’t imagine they’d be cheap to replace if you kicked a soccer ball, or a shoe, or some sort of miscellaneous projectile into it.
This one, from Suck UK is a lamp/bookmark combo.
And here’s another that has a little more spine… each lamp uses a single book.
But for something a little more classy, you could always have a crack at putting together a book chandelier (or just buy one for 440GBP).
John Lennox on science and faith
Like the rest of evangelical Australia I’m a bit of a John Lennox fan at the moment. His turn on Q&A last week was a masterful attempt at presenting the gospel graciously in a relatively combative adversarial format. Those critical of his content (and I’ve seen a couple of Christians suggesting he could have answered a couple of questions better) should pay heed to the format, and the way both Eva Cox and the ABC’s moderator Virginia Trioli were keen to jump in on him before he could finish answering their questions. He articulated the need for forgiveness and the intellectual legitimacy of a God who intervenes in creation in a personal and relational way. I thought he did a stellar job. I thought Virginia Trioli’s banging on about circular reasoning was a little bit annoying because truth will essentially be self authenticating and circular, circular reasoning is a fallacy, but it’s not a defeater.
Anyway. Here’s John Lennox on a topic I wrote an essay about this semester.
Some cute/kitsch Christian music for your Friday night edification
There’s something irresistible about this video, maybe it’s the matching colours. Maybe it’s the bright house. Maybe it’s the incongruous dog. I don’t know. It’s certainly not the worst or weirdest Christian music on YouTube.
Nor is this, which apart from the ghostly severed heads is pretty cute.
Monkey see, Monkey shoot
It turns out it’s less dangerous (as you’d expect) for a monkey to get hold of a camera, where they’ll take delightful self portraits…
… than it is for a monkey to get hold of a machine gun.