Magazines

I don't know of many magazines that are published for general reading by Christian organisations; the ones I do know of are for Christian consumption (and not always helpful in that regard, I might add: I think of Southern Cross, the Anglican tabloid), New Life, a more generally marketed paper, the self-consciously pretentious Eternity put out by the Bible Society; but that's about all. There used to be On Being, later called Alive, I think, and then a purely e-publication now seemingly disappeared, perhaps due to its drift to irrelevancy. For those who liked controversy, there was Robert Brinsmead's Verdict (I'm harking back to the early 1980s, and no, I have no SDA connection), and any number of US and UK publications.

However, these were or are all very internal, not for the general reader, and of no interest to the non-Christian, yet, here is an opportunity; print media still works, you can leave it around, put it in waiting rooms, and so on.

At a visit to the local SDA hospital with a relative recently, I picked up a copy of Signs of the Times. This fits the bill. It doesn't always hit my buttons, but for general interest and popularised Christian themes (even soft-peddling the SDA bit) it works. I read it from cover to cover and it was upbeat, practical and helpful. No offensive new age like twaddle, just straight talk for grown ups.

Buy expensive

Today's sermon, in keeping with the new tradition in our church of social engineering, urged us to avoid buying cheap clothes because they involve sweated or slave-like labour.

I'm all for not supporting such things, after all, my late father was a Union organiser, but one consequence of avoiding such purchases is that already poor people would be out of work. Australia could impose tariffs on goods from sweated labour, again that would reduce demand and create increased poverty.

There is no easy solution...opps, yes there is, but its long term. It is reverting to Christian mission and aggressively pursuing the proclamation of the gospel and locally building up people to work for justice. This rings with the Songs of Praise episode on ABC-TV today, which touched on the work of British Primitive Methodists in fighting politically for better conditions for ordinary workers. THAT is Christian action. Indeed, my father was in that tradition, I'm proud to say.

Meanwhile, I'm happy that the church has endorsed my love of hand made shoes: John Lobb and Edward Green spring to mind; craft made suits and leather goods. I'll keep shopping at Henry Bucks and in the specialty shops of Florence, Milan and London. Goody.

What to know: for high school

In my post 'What to know', which was canvassing the idea of equipping children for the major stages of their intellectual development, I suggested that we aim to have children know certain things, or have certain faith-capabilities for their start at high school, then their start at university.

What, then, should we aim for our children for their start at high school, or what by the end of  year six should the church have equipped them with?

Some suggestions below.

The biblical landscape. Familiarity with the names and types of all the books of the Bible, and those that represent the 'arc of salvation'. To my mind that is the peg-points of: creation, crisis (fall and flood), confusion (Babel and dispersion as ground for the state of our world), covenant (and knowledge of the major episodes and people of that period, extending from Genesis 12 to Malachi), Christ/crucifixion, church and consumation.

Outlines of Christian belief (systematic theology: the great creeds would be a useful starting point) and how these are understood from the Bible; church history and apologetics.

Christian spirituality practices: prayer, devotional Bible reading, giving (of self and means). This would extend to memorisation of significant verses and longer passages.

The reason we have the Bible and its origins. Canon and sources, in more technical terms.

I would see this being delivered over the 8 years from early Sunday School/kids' church, youth group, school religious education, including some full day or weekends away (with parents).

Look here for the next lot: prep for university.

Christian pacifism...

Any opportunity to disagree with John Piper is welcome: here's a great one on the pacifism that Piper extols by Ronald Cherry.

What to know?

The education of children in Christian faith is up to the church to deliver expertise (parents deliver modelling and family instruction and encouragement); the local church, helped by school religious education that is provided through local churches.

From what I hear, most 'education' is story telling. Stories have a place, of course, but that place is the context of biblical knowledge.

To equip children to grow as Christians we need first to nurture their faith: that they become Christians is paramount, but that they obtain the knowledge to live as Christians and proclaim the faith, giving answers to questions whether asked or implied is also vitally important to their spiritual and intellectual development.

I think we should have two aims: preparing a child for the high school environment, where they will meet challenges to faith from other religions, blunt instrument secularism, and articulated atheism; with the occasional 'village atheist' fellow student.

The next challenge is preparing then for university and/or the workforce.

At university they will meet ideas from some of the brightest and most inventive intellects that have ever lived. Many of these will assail their faith, and, without their own intellectual equipment being prepared will result in their faith being submerged, denied, or atrophying.

Same God 2?

I wrote a short time ago on a theologian from Wheaton who thought that Jehovah and Allah were different names for the same identity. She clearly obtained her theology qualification from a packet of corn flakes.

American Thinker has an article on this same subject.

Church move

Our first Sunday in temporary premises has passed hitch free.

While our building works are underway, we are meeting in the capacious Turramurra Uniting Church premises. They are so capacious that there will be three morning services simultaneously! Two of ours and one of theirs.

I'm looking forward to the combined morning teas after the services when we will all get to mix.

Maybe we'll pick up some Uniting Church ideas and they will pick up some Baptist ideas!

One thing I am very impressed about with the Uniting Church facilities is that the original building; over 100 years old, has foundation stones laid, not by denominational or even local church worthies, but my a number of 'ordinary' members. All women, and I guess, young women; its disappointing that (young) men are not also recognised as part of the church, after all: "neither male or female", but at least it is ordinary members: very Christian, and true to the Methodist roots.