We are Australian

Now that the memorial service has happened I think we can begin to get some perspective on the terrible tragedy that our nation has faced. The bushfires in Victoria have been awful.

Musician Bruce Woodley wrote the song "I am Australian" 22 years ago. While out of the country last week, Bruce was rung and asked to pen two new verses and perform the stirring song at the memorial service for the bushfire victims.

Look in particular at the lyrics of one of these new verses:

There are so many heroes
who’s stories must be told
they fought the raging fires of hell
and saved so many souls.
From the ashes of despair our towns will rise again!
we mourn your loss
we will rebuild
We are Australian!

I watched some of the memorial service and was saddened by how shallow it seemed. Yes, it was great to see how traegdies like this bring out the best in some people. There was a great spirit of 'mateship'. However, there was no hope. Well, no hope apart from trust in ourselves. As a nation we were called to worship at the altar of positive thinking.

Just look at the words of Bruce Woodley's verse above. At first glance it seems full of hope. But look carefully. On what basis? I realise that arsonists started the fires but, in general, the whole point of natural disasters is that we cannot stop them happening. We might limit the damage but we cannot prevent them occurring. Albert Camus wrote an essay called The Myth of Sisyphus, based on the original story from Greek mythology. In the final chapter he compares the absurdity of man's life with the situation of Sisyphus, who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a rock up a mountain, only to see it roll down again. Apparently if this devestation happens again, it's okay because we will just rebuild and start over. Such sentiment only brings hope if we are actually heading somewhere, achieving something. If this life is all there is then Bruce is actually writing a song about the absurdity of human existence.

More significantly did you recognise the allusions to the Christian gospel? The fire-fighters are compared to Jesus who really fought the fires of hell and really saved people's souls. Once more Woodley's song collapses under the weight of its own rhetoric. No one assumes he believes hell is real, so what is he saying? He is comparing something horrific and very real, with something even worse but (allegedly) not real. It's like a scene from Edmund Blackadder - "So let me get this straight. You're saying that something which you have never seen is slightly less blue than something else which you have never seen?"

Let's pray for the people of Victoria as they rebuild. Most of all pray that they will build on solid ground, and not the shifting sand of Woodley's song.

'the worst natural disaster ever'

What is a Christian response to a disaster of this magnitude?

Most of all pray. Then pray some more. When terrible stuff happens make like a Psalmist and stop talking about God behind his back and start talking to him instead.

Here are some jumbled thoughts going through my head at the moment:

Worst natural disaster? But if it was started by arsonists then how is it natural?

Worst natural disaster ever? What about all the Aborigines who died through small-pox etc. when the Settlers arrived?

Pastor Danny Nalliah? says that it is God's judgment on Victoria for passing abortion legislation

Oh dear. While it is true, according to Romans 1: 18, that God's wrath is being revealed against godlessness in our present age, Jesus also made it clear that there is not always a direct consequential link between sin and suffering in this age. (See John 9.)

Therefore these terrible fires do act as a warning of God's righteous judgment but not in the way that Pastor Danny means. In a society full of sinners, those who play with fire get burnt. At this moment we should be looking to the arsonists. Besides, shouldn't it be the Victorian parliament burning if this was God's judgment on those who passed the legislation?

The human story. All in all the bush fires in Victoria are the human story writ large in bright burning letters. We are terrible sinners and our sin (of arson in this case) has terrible consequences - it destroys all those around us. Humans are capable of wonderful acts of kindness. God's common grace is evident here too. It has been touching how quick the Australian public are to help out in times of trouble.

The Christian gospel. Only Christ makes sense of all this. Only the gospel makes sense of a scene like this one. Adam and Eve, created in God's image and yet fallen. The first Adam made to be good, but in desperate need of redemption by the second Adam. The worst natural disaster ever is known as the Fall. The best supernatural disaster ever is known as the Cross.

I found Jesus, and lost ten pounds!

I know it's not really the title of a Christian dieting book, but it should be.

For example there's Gwen Shamblin and her Weigh Down Diet that sold more than a million copies, making her the bestselling Christian weight loss author of all time. Her second book, Rise Above, recycles the same thinness is equal to godliness theme and emphasizes submission to a scary extreme.

On Sunday morning we were thinking about feeding on God's Word and Greg asked a good question - shouldn't we distance ourselves from all these books on the market which view the bible as ... a diet manual ... a parenting manual ... a Scientific textbook etc.?

As usual, my response is 'yes, and no.'

There are two equal and opposite dangers to avoid here. Both dangers are extremely prevelant in modern Christianity.

1. The Manual approach - typified by the dieting book above. The bible is seen as some kind of textbook on every possible practical subject under the sun. Supposedly we can deduce good diet tips from the OT food laws and learn about controlled crying because 'no crying he made' ... er, that's from a carol anyway ... oh, well, never mind. However, the diet for nomads in the middle east is not going to be the same for us living where we do. Likewise, the bible doesn't actually tell us anything about different birthing methods.

2. The religious approach - is just as common. Here the bible is only seen as relevant to our religious life. God's word teaches us all we need to know about how to behave in church, how to pray, and how to evangelise. But wait a minute. Didn't Paul have a lot to say about greed? (Their gods are their stomachs!) Isn't the bible full of principles concerning parenting? (What about all those proverbs?)

Seems to me that we need to reject both approaches. The bible applies to all of life and we should be encouraging one another to apply it. But that doesn't mean that it is meant to be used as a 'one size fits all' instruction manual for these kinds of areas.


Which is a shame really. I was hoping I could make millions with my 'Drink more beer diet.' (But just remember that you heard it from me first.)

The elephant in the room

Population.

John Feeny from the BBC discusses the question of global over population - here .

Is the environmental disaster we seem to be heading into due to too many people? These questions always come to the fore in a recession. It raises questions for any Christian:

• What about Genesis 1? Aren't we supposed to be 'fruitful and increase in number'?
• What about Australia? Is the water shortage just going to get worse with increasing immigration?
• What about immigration? Do we really want Pommies coming over here to our churches?