'Home'

What do we mean when we use the word ‘home’? Often we seem to mean dwelling or place, but surely a home is much more. My wife and I sold our house recently and said to friends a number of times ‘we sold our home’. But did we? Surely our home was more than the bricks and mortar and the land on which they stood. We are now living in a small apartment at New College before moving to another house. It is nothing like our old house, and yet it feels like ‘home’. We’re happy being together with a small smattering of our possessions. What makes this small apartment feel like home? Surely, in large part, that my wife and I are together in this place. But what if you are the sole occupant of your residence? Is it still home? Can a person living alone be at home? Of course! So home must be more than just a dwelling or cohabitation.

We also use the word ‘home’ to speak of our nation or ‘land’. For Indigenous Australians connection with the land is something that leads them to speak of ‘home country’, a place associated with continuous occupation by their ancestors. Such places are intertwined with shared history and stories. Newcomers to any country can take time to feel at home, and immigrants can long for landscapes lost. Travellers returning to their place of birth also speak of going home and mean more than just a place. Rather ‘home’ means nation, cultural identity, and connection with race and ethnicity. Separation from one’s nation can cause alienation and a sense of loss.

The Israelites experienced what it meant to be aliens and strangers at the hands of the Assyrians. The Psalmist wrote of their experiences:

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’
How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while in a foreign land? (Psalm 137:1-4)

The longing of the Israelites is similar to the longing we have, to be in a place where we can sing our own ‘songs of joy’ with those we love. But more than this, the foundation of this longing for home is rooted in our relationship to God. True ‘home’, as God planned it, is a place of opportunity for fellowship with him, and service that brings glory to him. It is also a place where we can know love, peace, kindness and grace, and in turn understand the need to share this with others.

Graeme Goldsworthy

This idea of longing for home is a key theme in the latest issue of Case magazine published by CASE. There are a number of essays that explore the theme. One piece by Graeme Goldsworthy traces ‘home’ from Eden, through the wanderings of exile, to the New Jerusalem, an eternal home unlike the transient and decaying dwellings of our world.

Alison Payne explores the language of homesickness. This is a sense of disconnection, ‘rootlessness’, loss of shared cultural understanding, and a longing for common stories that bind us together. An echo of Eden lost, which one day will be restored. This longing may account for the distorted ideas of home we find around us—if it could just be bigger, have polished floors, a pool—maybe then we would be satisfied.

In another essay Gordon Menzies and Susan Thorp remind us, a house can become an idol rather than a foretaste of heaven. And at the other end of the spectrum, Michelle Waterford explains that the Australian housing crisis means that finding a place to live is an increasing problem for many people, Internationally, we also see thousands forced from their homes due to persecution, war, and natural disaster. Those of us who live in safety and sufficiency have the opportunity to show hospitality to those in need.

Finally, Erin Goheen Glanville examines the metaphor of ‘hospitality’ and calls for a refreshed understanding of the concept. Christians are to show hospitality to refugees. That is, as strangers we are to help strangers.

The Bible reminds us that while we can experience ‘home’ in this life, ultimately our true home is a heavenly one. In this life we may experience a sense of belonging in nations, places and homes—though many are denied even this—but our true ‘citizenship’ is in heaven (Phil 3:20). One day we will be fellow citizens with God’s people in his heavenly household with Christ as the cornerstone (Eph 2:19-22). We will dwell together, bound by a love founded on and in Christ. This is an experience of belonging that passes understanding and can never be realised in our attempts to capture some sense of what it means to be at ‘home’ on earth.

Subscribers to Case should now have this issue. Individuals can subscribe to receive four issues per year (in hard or soft copy) for as little as $20 AUD per annum. Institutions can subscribe for $120 per annum (there is a special rate for schools and churches). You can also purchase single issues online. Explore all the options HERE. 

Yes is the new Maybe

A Post by Ben Gooley


Two team members arrived at our meeting with a pizza in each hand. I asked where the food came from and they explained that the event they’d just come from had unwisely catered based on the number of Facebook RSVPs.
 
“But, you know, ‘yes’ is the new ‘maybe’ and ‘maybe’ is the new ‘no’, so we all ate and there was still a whole pizza left over for each person who actually came.”

To what extent is this shift a reality, and what are we to make of the shift in meaning for the RSVP?

Late last year, Henry Alford mused on the issue in The New York Times: How the Internet has Changed the R.S.V.P., in a piece that was careful to scatter blame liberally but only lightly. Alford acknowledged the reality of the shift, and its unfortunate nature, but largely saw it as an inevitable consequence of the transition to the ease of the electronic medium for invitations.  Facebook itself has perhaps recognised the problem, now using ‘join’ for those wanting to indicate a positive response to an event invitation. Christians are far from immune from this societal drift. 

What might a Christian response be? Jesus told his disciples

“Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” (Matt 5:37 ESV). 

James expands slightly on this when he writes

“But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” (James 5:12 ESV)

That seems pretty straightforward, except that I suspect many of those who use ‘yes’ to mean ‘maybe’ and ‘maybe’ to mean ‘no’, do so in an attempt to be gracious to those inviting them.  Rather than appear negative by actively and publically declining an event without their reason being clear, indicating ‘maybe’ offers a way to try to show some level of support without committing to actually making the event.  This is a potentially fraught approach, but does offer some scope for giving a public response which can be followed up privately with more detail.

Similarly, joining a large, anonymous event without actually following through by attendance may not have particular negative relational consequences and is perhaps justifiable in certain contexts.  However, responding ‘yes’, or joining an event for which your response has relational and planning implications for the event organiser, but then not attending, seems to be a fundamental breach of trust.  This would appear to fall foul of the principle behind the texts above.

The Christian should be one whose word can be trusted, and whose pledge is solid.  Christians are those who have staked their life on the promises of the One they deem faithful and so godliness is reflected in their own faithfulness to their commitments.  While there will remain times when circumstances overtake a genuine commitment – illness and honest misadventure – the Christian showing the fruit of the Spirit will exhibit faithfulness among their works (Gal 5:22).

There may be legitimate contexts in which ‘maybe’ can be used in place of ‘decline’ and where ‘join’ can be used in place of ‘maybe’.  But the Christian ought to take care that their integrity is maintained.  Paul’s words to Titus still ring true:

“Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” (Titus 2:7-8 ESV).

Taking the time to be a Father

Post by Edwina Hine

Lately, I found the following article (German vice-chancellor takes time off to be a dad, The Guardian) very interesting.  As I was reading it, I was reminded of Case Magazine #12 with the theme 'Family Foundations: What’s important for marriage, parenthood and family life.'

In Case Magazine #12  Professor Trevor Cairney writes about families, and in particular The Role of Fathers: Aligning biblical wisdom and research. It is an in-depth look at fatherhood and explores many issues that affect parents particularly dads. In the essay he sets out with two central aims.

To encourage fathers (and mothers) "...to develop an understanding of what God expects of fathers as men of God; and, second, to encourage further discussion relating to how we can work at reshaping our lives so that those of us who are fathers spend time with our families, loving them, teaching them, instructing them in God’s ways and modelling what it means to “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Photo sourced from SMH

Prof Cairney draws on demographic research to illustrate the changing structure of the family, and discusses how changes in employment patterns have impacted on the family. He discusses how research suggests that changing working patterns are having many adverse effects on families. In particular, highlights that atypical hours of work are problematic with negative impacts on health, relationships, families and children’s well being. He also reminds us what the bible teaches on God-centred families and in particular fathers.

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Eph 6:4

The article referenced in this blog post is available as a free download from the CASE Website. CASE Associates receive Case magazine 4 times per year as part of their benefits. For blog followers who are yet to be CASE Associates you can sign up HERE or order a single copy HERE.

The Heavens Declare His Glory

Guest post written by Patrick Chan

Recently my wife Vivian and I went to the Sydney Observatory at night for our first wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful experience. We managed to learn a bit about astronomy, but we also had a real sense of the 'heavens declaring the glory of God'.

Today, the Sydney Observatory is in the middle of the city near the Rocks, where the First Fleet landed. However, it's set atop a hill so we could see the southern hemisphere's constellations - or at least some of them. Of course, we could see far more - and far more clearly - than if we happened to be in the Central Business District (CBD) or city centre or downtown of Sydney.

Nevertheless, the Sydney Observatory has not functioned as a research facility for several decades primarily due to its location which predisposes it to heavy light pollution. The city lights outshine the starry nights.

Perhaps because we both hadn't been out to simply stare and take in the skies at night in quite some time, we were taken aback by the sheer beauty of it all. Let alone when we peered through the observatory's telescopes and were able to observe celestial objects like the planet Venus and the Moon. And yet, we had to be warned by the astronomer not to expect Venus, for instance, to look anything near as lovely as a digital photograph, and to be reminded that the real privilege lay in seeing the real Venus with our naked eye as well as via a telescope.

Above: Image courtesy of Wiki Commons

As I said, it was all a sight to behold, and it filled us with a sense of awe and humble praise to the Lord God who has "set his glory in the heavens," who, when we considered "the work of [his] fingers, the moon and the stars, which [he has] set in place," in turn echoed in our hearts, "what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" (Ps 8).

Indeed, the moon and the stars serve as fixed points in the present night sky, rotating in concentric circles around the south pole in the music of the spheres, some dipping under the horizon only to rise again in full crescendo. But though they're 'fixed' points, they're not permanently fixed, for the heavenly vault looks different now than it did in days gone past, and distant generations in future millennia to come will see what Vincent Van Gogh or Caspar David Friedrich did not.

Above: 'Starry Night Over the Rhone' Vincent van Gogh (courtesy Wiki Commons)

What Viv and I saw left us with great reverence for God. I can only imagine what previous generations of Christians must have seen, and how it affected them, for I suppose most would not have been city dwellers accustomed to skies occupied by skyscrapers and silence pushed out by the constant hum and background noise. I doubt they would have had to work so hard to peer beyond the fog and daze to see the cosmos glittering with its splendid gems and crystals. Perhaps they had a different, 'better' weight of glory to bear.

Media Matters

The latest edition of Case magazine is set to arrive in mailboxes this week. Our topic is 'Media Matters'.  Why? Because the media we engage with impacts what we do and what we think. It affects how we communicate and who we communicate with. In our varied contributions we reflect on how media is changing the world, and the impact—both good and bad—of those changes.

The first article is by Dr Jenny Taylor of Lapido Media, who discusses the ‘religion taboo’ within the news media. News stories are frequently written by journalists with little understanding of the religious issues involved, and some ignore religious factors altogether. Taylor looks at why this is, how it is changing, and what Christians can do to overcome religious blindspots.

The focus then moves to digital technologies—the new media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and the like. There is little doubt that digital media has changed the way we communicate. It has enabled the establishment of new forms of virtual communities. It has given voice to millions who would previously have found it difficult to share their thoughts and ideas. We see YouTube videos ‘going viral’ as funny, profound, and sometimes even banal images of life spread across the globe in hours. We observe music and books being self-published and promoted in ways that would never have been possible in the past. Individuals and groups like change.org use social media to influence public opinion and to lobby governments. And we have vast virtual stores of information, knowledge and images available globally from desktops and via varied media.

Yes media matters, and how it is used also matters. But there is a tension that has arisen as a result of the massive shift towards digital technology in the last five to ten years. Does this shift serve to enhance social engagement, or do the manufactured personae we inhabit online in fact undermine genuine relationship? Does it facilitate social activism, or an illusion that deceives us and others into thinking we care? Is the removal of constraints that embed us in ‘real’ social and moral contexts liberating or isolating? Do the dangers of being consumed by technology addiction and idolatry mean that Christians should avoid getting too involved, or is the greater danger that of becoming obsolete in a world that has moved on? These are some of the questions we need to consider.

Julia Bollen addresses the reality of the pervasive forms of media that are ‘always on’, and what’s more, ‘always-on-us’. She asks us to think about the impact of the extensive use of new social media, and argues that the Bible places a special importance on face-to-face relationships and our ordained nature as embodied communicators. Looking at a different aspect of social media, Justine Toh exposes the emptiness of its role as a,

‘court of public opinion where we crowdsource notions of justice, right, and what are acceptable or unacceptable views’. 

In her view it is simply an aggregate of individual free choices, isolated from any context against which good choices can be made.

Scott Stephens (well-known ABC media presenter and writer) offers an insightful critique of the art and assumptions of Thomas Hirschhorn. Hirschhorn claims that his art, consisting largely of disturbing images of human carnage resulting from war and trauma, is an attempt to remove the artist-as-mediator to allow the viewer to genuinely engage with a reality usually censored by mainstream media channels. Stephens seeks to turn Hirschhorn’s argument on its head by revealing that his presentation of reality comes with its own form of mediation. In counterpoint, Stephens considers the transformative power of the often gruesome religious images of Christ and martyrs, which, he suggests, have an integrity and connection to deep truths absent from the work of artists like Hirschhorn.

In a short essay and interview, David May highlights the potential digital media has for the church in building up believers and reaching non-believers. The practical essay argues that as Christians we,

‘are privileged to communicate the greatest message of all, so it's worth embracing technology and media for the sake of the gospel’. 

In a brief interview David also explains how he has implemented some of these ideas in his capacity as communications director with his church.

Finally, this issue also includes a fascinating exploration by New College staff member Jonathan Billingham, who considers archetypal narratives and how they can be used by Christian artists. He illustrates his brief essay with his composition, 'Servitude'. A final segment—‘On holiday with C.S. Lewis’—is a collection of short reviews and reflections on the life and work of C.S. Lewis, testament to his ongoing influence on Christians today.

If you are not a subscriber to Case you can always read one or two articles free online from our website or you might sign up to receive your own quarterly edition in paper or digital form for as little as $20 per year. Subscribe HERE.

Veiled in Flesh: The power of music at Christmas

A post by Edwina Hine

Courtesy of WikiCommons

As I get older I continue to appreciate older hymns. Whilst I can still appreciate modern Christian music, some of the traditional hymns seem to capture the gospel so succinctly. As well, they communicate this message so majestically through melody and word that I am sometimes a little disappointed that the traditional hymns are not sung as often as they use to be.

Christmas Carols are no different - if we take Hark the Herald Angels Sing as an example

Hark the herald angels sing

“Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled”

Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:

“Christ is born in Bethlehem”

Hark! The herald angels sing

“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ by highest heav’n adored

Christ the everlasting Lord!

Late in time behold Him come

Offspring of a Virgin’s womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as man with man to dwell

Jesus, our Emmanuel

Hark! The herald angels sing

“Glory to the newborn King!”

Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings

Ris’n with healing in His wings

Mild He lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! The herald angels sing

“Glory to the newborn King!”

We see the the gospel message clearly proclaimed. Right from the the first verse we are told that God and sinners are reconciled through the birth of a new King. The third verse addresses Christ overcoming death and bringing  new life to believers - eternal life. And yet it is the second verse that gave me pause for thought today. This Christmas Carol is being sung countless times this advent season, and not only in Churches, but at secular Christmas celebrations. For example, it is piped through hundreds of shopping centres and sung at public carol services of varied types.

The incarnation of Christ is at the centre of this carol. I suspect that some non-Christians must sing the words and not fully comprehend the enormity of the claims of the words. Christians throughout history return to the debate of reconciling the diverse views regarding Jesus' humanity and divinity.

Looking closely at the second verse of  Hark the Herald Angels Sing 

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as man with man to dwell

Courtesy of WikiCommons

The carol reminds the singer Christ came as a man - echoing John 1:1, 14

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.........
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us 

The carol goes on to tells us that Christ was pleased to take on his humanity "Pleased as man". Christ took on his humanity willingly, for our sake and ultimately his own glory. But why is Christ's Divinity and humanity so important? Colossians 1:15, 19-20 sheds some light on this.
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Understanding the incarnation is essential in grasping what Christmas and Christianity is all about. And whilst the idea is not a simple one to grasp, it has been and will continue to be a well debated point of theology. Case Readers might find an article in the 2011 December edition Selling Christmas a helpful read when considering the Incarnation. The article is entitled "Veiled in Flesh: Can we believe the incarnation today?" (by Dr John McClean). It has been available on online.

CASE Associates receive Case magazine 4 times per year as part of their benefits. For blog followers who are yet to become CASE Associates you can sign up HERE or order a single copy HERE.

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In Secular Times

In our latest edition of Case magazine we explore the topic of secularity. Christians have something of a love-hate relationship to secularity. Its seemingly unstoppable march across the Western world and beyond is lamented by those who attribute to it the passing of ‘Christian values’ from society, a reduction in church attendance, the end of school nativity plays, and sport rather than life-of-Jesus movies on TV on Easter Sunday.

On the other hand, history shows that Christians have frequently benefitted from secular attitudes, and have actively promoted the secular state for the protection it provides against religious coercion and persecution. Edwin Judge delves into the ancient history of secular government and the role of the early church in its development in his article ‘How religion became secular’ (p9). Addressing more recent history, Danny and Debbie Mullins’ plot the French path to secularism which, along the way, also illustrates how secular government can protect religious freedom.

This love-hate relationship may be understood according to where Christianity sits in the relevant power structures when it interacts with the secular. Where Christianity is (or has been) the dominant religion and there has been little persecution—in countries like Australia—a rise in secularity means a loss of comfort, loss of shared assumptions, loss of privileges (or an extending of previously exclusive privileges to other religions), and so it is viewed negatively. However, in contexts where Christianity is on the receiving end of intolerance and oppression from hostile state religion, secularity can be welcomed as a bringer of religious freedom.

But restrictions on religious freedom for ‘other religions’ do not always come from governments that are tied to religion. Legislation that protects freedom of religion itself can cross the line into an aggressive freedom from religion.
 

A secularity that provides space for the peaceful co-existence of different religious doctrines and ways of life (within limits of mutual respect of the rights of others), can slip into a secularism where that space becomes opposed to all religion. Ironically, secularism here becomes itself a kind of substitute religion—an anti-religion—with its own dogmas and practices that all must adhere to or be labelled ‘heretic’.

The political secularism of France is again illustrative of this, with its ban on wearing religious symbols in public educational institutions. Don Carson’s book 'The Intolerance of Tolerance', reviewed in this issue by Alison Woof, also points to evidence of this trend this in North America.

What should be the response of the church in this complex age where debate about secularism is a difficult and significant issue for the Christian church to understand and engage with? Stanley Hauerwas in his essay writes that the Christians are citizens of heaven and that this should lead us to embrace a ‘heavenly politics that makes it possible for us to be a people who are an alternative to the worldly politics’. In other words, he sees the church as serving democracy as a different type of community. This, he argues, should demonstrate respect for adversaries within and outside the church, rather than simply being a '...tributary to whatever secular consensus seems strong at the time'. The difficulties are not going to go away. Christendom has passed, and Christians must again learn ‘like the Jews, to live in diaspora… To so live means we will be without security of place other than heaven, but surely that is the grandest security to be had’ (p8).

In addition to our pieces dealing directly with the issue of secularity in this edition of Case Magazine, David Hohne’s article examines the epistemic and moral burdens sceptics bear in their disengagement from the world, and the relief that may be found in Christ. Finally, in ‘Manufacturing belief’ Dani Scarratt reviews a book on brainwashing, and looks at the implications for Christians on both sides of the persuasive interchange.

If you don't currently subscribe to Case there are many ways that you can read this edition. You could subscribe (here),  and receive a paper or electronic copy of the quarterly magazine. You could also read one of the articles free on the CASE website (here). Or you could buy single issues of the magazine online (here).  I hope that many will find this edition of Case helpful and thought-provoking.