TV and the Great Commission

I've recently been listening to some of the Matthias Media "EQUIP Women" 2004 conference CDs. Wendy Potts made many good points in her talk "Making the most of opportunities". The CD inspired me to trust God and look for opportunities to connect with people who don't know Him. As CDs on evangelism go, it was good and worth recommending.

One thing, however, was of concern to me. In a section of the talk about finding things to work on in your life, Wendy said "I need to work on watching more junk TV". She went on to explain that watching TV shows like Sex and the City might provide opportunities for spiritual conversation. As I thought more about this (with our TV stowed safely in the cupboard), two things came to mind.

Firstly, are we supposed to enjoy watching these shows? If we don't enjoy them, how can we connect with others on the basis of these things? I find it impossible to enjoy TV shows that make comedy out of vile things. Since marriage, sexual immorality has become increasingly horrifying. When I read facts about it in the context of someone's life (such as in a newspaper or biography) I feel a kind of horrified sadness. How can something so wonderful and pure be turned into something so impure and destructive? Should this not grieve us?

Secondly, the purpose of evangelism is to bring disciples into the church. The Great Commission commands us to disciple the nations in all God has commanded. Numerous times, God commands us to flee and to hate what is evil. I don't suppose TV shows are excluded. While Wendy may be able to watch these things without sin, there would be many immature Christians in her audience. It is easy for new Christians to be crippled when they continue with viewing habits that legitimise sin. They often have a desperate need to be renewed in their minds, and portraying junk TV as a positive part of life is surely unhelpful.

I recognise, as I write these things, that many godly people I love watch a whole lot of junk TV and have a many justifications for it. I clearly disagree with the what-you-watch-doesn't-matter folks, and am grieved to hear of what others enjoy. I've tried to be careful not to rant in this post, however, and hope I've conveyed love for my brothers and sisters who disagree. I can't comment on TV better than John Piper does in Don't Waste Your Life:

TV still reigns as the great life-waster. The main problem with TV is not how much smut is available, though that is a problem. Just the ads are enough to sow fertile seeds of greed and lust, no matter what program you're watching. The greater problem is banality. A mind fed daily on TV dinimishes. Your mind was made to know and love God.

The Great Commission is about teaching people to know and love God. I really don't see how Sex and the City will help.

Read more...

Get Married!

I highly recommend Kara's two posts about Candice Watters' new book Get Married: What Women Can Do To Help It Happen. This book appears to avoid some of the pitfalls of Getting Serious About Getting Married and to encourage a more contented attitude of trust in God. I cannot do justice in a few words to the themes Kara explores in her posts. All I will say is that they are well worth reading! Check out part one and part 2 of her review. I would like to read this book in order to better help young women who desire to be married.

Read more...

Read more...

There really is a baby in there

Yesterday I went to the doctor at the public hospital and she did a very quick scan to measure the baby. Sure enough, there really is a small Drew present with us :). He/she waves and kicks. I'm not that excited about fetal development, having learnt so much about it through pro-life involvement. It is not new and exciting to me anymore! However, it is exciting to see my own baby on the screen. 28 weeks to go, God willing.

I haven't written much about my pregnancy. There are a couple of reasons for this.

1) I've been trying not to whine about being sick/tired.

2) I'm also trying not to turn this into another Mummy blog, much as I love some of them. This may be a short lived and futile aim, but you'll note that the title of my blog is still "A Deeper Love" and not "Pregnant Mum Muses" or something like that. I want motherhood to be a minor theme of this blog, not a totally dominating one!

For those who are curious though:

• I have finally started looking at maternity clothes for no good reason. I am just as thin as ever. I even got Dave to come and look at some with me :)
  
• I've developed a horror of my home being filled with cutsie and pointless toys. Is it possible to prevent this??
• Today I went through boxes full of my sister's baby clothes and more, and brought three boxes home with me. It is fantastic to have so much given to me, and means we will have to buy much less than many new parents.\
• I keep wondering what colour scheme the "spare room", which we hope will soon be shared with baby, should have. Does pale gold and deep red sound good to anyone else?
  

Read more...

From White Australia to Woomera

Have you ever wondered about the composition of Australian society in comparison to that of other countries?

Do you think we are one of the most multicultural societies on earth?

Have you felt unduly swayed by newspaper reports, and wanted to understand immigration more deeply?

Do you fear a "Muslim invasion"? Or perhaps an Asian invasion, or some other variation?


If so, this book may be for you. A rational, detailed and often dry 220 pages of analysis from an expert in the field, it will leave you with more information and (hopefully) fewer prejudices. Thanks to the White Australia policy, that existed until the 1970s, Australia became one of the most British societies outside the UK. This continues even to the present day, with 3/4 of the population speaking only English and describing themselves as Christian. James Jupp provides analysis of White Australia, the movement to multiculturalism, the policies of various governments, the need for immigration, and much more.

Amongst the most helpful aspects of this book are the author's definitions of racism and xenophobia. James Jupp writes "By 'racist', I mean a fairly complex position which argues that clearly identifiable races not only exist but are hierarchically graded." Racism is an ideology that views all members of a race as superior or inferior to members of another race. "By 'xenophobic', I mean a simpler psychological reaction to people who originate in a different homeland and who are believed to be physically or culturally different." Jupp argues that this is an almost universal reaction, but must be controlled in a civilised society. Xenophobia can include fear of another religion or language.

This is a secular book, but it has aroused all kinds of religious questions in me. What does responsible dominion, as taught in the Creation Mandate, mean for a country's immigration policy? What is a loving response to refugees? Should Christians advocate that all people "fit into" society and adopt Australian values? Should we support the evaluation of people primarily on the basis of their potential economic contribution to society? How can we, who know that fear and worry are expressions of lack of trust in God, fear Muslim people coming to Australia? Should we not rather view their prescence as an opportunity? I don't have the answers to these and many other questions. However, they need to be asked if Christians are to develop a loving and biblically based response to immigration.

Read more...

Creation Ministries Event

For those who live near Hobart, this event may be of interest:

Friday 24 October 2008 at 8pm

"Design, Deluge & Dilemma

plus

The Most-asked Questions - Answered!

Dr Jonathan Sarfati, Writer/Co-editor for Creation magazine

Kingborough Life Church
5 Mertonvale Cct, Kingston

Especially if you have never attended a creation event, it will be worthwhile to check out the biblical message presented.

Read more...

Cultural story-telling

I have argued previously that the Creation Mandate is a cultural mandate. What we call "education" (and the Bible terms discipleship or teaching) is the way we transfer that cultural mandate to others and equip them to continue its advancement.

Fernhout explains it this way, as quoted in the notes of my Wesley Institute Diploma of Education Biblical Studies course:

"If education is, at bottom, a process of cultural story-telling . . . then the educational engagement of Christians should be imbued with, penetrated by the biblical story and its life-world. Each new generation of Christians needs to be steeped in that story so that their lives can tell the same story as the biblical story . . . Christians are to live in the biblical story as the community whose story it is, and from that indwelling they try to understand and cope with events int heir time in order to carry the story forward."

It is vital to understand the world through the biblical text, and to do this students must both know the text and how to apply it. Significantly, much of what we call "education" today does not disciple students to apply the biblical story. In fact, it disciples students through the lens of alternate stories. It should not be a surprise when students grow up to live those stories, or try to combine them with the biblical story.

Read more...