Being Too Nice ?

 

This year the New Zealand Government voted in legislation for Abortion up to birth along with other life and freedom destroying laws. There is more in the pipeline. At the March for Life procession last Saturday (5 December 2020) some Pro-Lifers brought along gruesome posters depicting aborted foetuses. Definitely not the thing for a “family-friendly” event.

One of these pro-lifers told me that being too nice hasn't worked and that we need to show pro-abortionists the consequences of their decisions. He went on to say that generally we have been too soft and that there is a growing movement of people who will do what it takes to turn things around.

Though I went along with his thinking, my rejoinder was that we need self-discipline and the wisdom to know the time and place for the in-your-face approach. 

Jesus certainly came to bring fire to the earth: he got immersed  in the pressure and he caused divisions even in families. (See Luke 12:49-53)   Perhaps it is time for a discussion for some of us to take the tough approach.

What do you think?

Republicans and Hispanics

In this morning’s Wellington newspaper, a New Zealand journalist reflected on the re-election of President Obama. He noted that the crowd celebrating the election with Obama looked like a cross-section of American society, whereas the crowd listening to Governor Romney’s words was white and well-dressed. He suggested that the USA had moved from government by the established European groups to government by the consensus of minorities. He commented specifically on the Republican Party not attracting the Hispanic vote.

I thought to myself, why had that large group of white Americans not attracted many voters in the Hispanic Community? After all they spoke about faith, family-values and rewarding hard work which are all characteristics of the Hispanic Community

The focus of this blog is the Gospel-in-action, so I am not looking at the socio-economic issues here.

A couple of weeks ago, I heard an American member of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) speaking on God’s way of doing things in a Nation. Over twenty years ago I noticed that YWAM had developed the ability to take the Revelation of God, divest it of our cultural baggage and connect it with new situations. Landa Cope is in that tradition and she reminded me of our constant need to keep returning to the core biblical principles and applying them to new situations.

Studying the first five books of the Bible, Landa realized that God was not only concerned about our salvation from sin but in discipling (i.e., forming by word and example) a nation. Following on from that, Jesus preached more than the Gospel of Salvation; he preached the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Landa gave us a sliced pizza view of God’s concerns beyond our salvation from sin. God is concerned with Government, Economics, Science & Technology, Church, Family, Education, Communication, Arts & Entertainment.

A few of the thoughts that I came away with:

God is integrated into everything we do.

The beauty of Beauty is that it doesn’t have to be explained.

God hates ugly; ugly is less well thought through.

The Kingdom works through influence and persuasion.

God gave the People the right to choose their leaders from their tribes.

God have the People the right to be wrong.

God chose the Levites; the Church doesn’t vote on absolutes.

Where the economy does not benefit all, we have slave shops.

God reveals himself in the things he has made.

If you don’t have free speech, you can’t tell the truth.

Adam and Eve married each other.

Parents have no authority over married off-spring.

Chinese, Japanese and Indians are smart because parents are in charge of education.

After 70 years only 20% of Russians were communists: parents knew better.

We can take back marriage with or without government.

Government is a line-keeper; it gives order.

Business is the best way to deliver services.

When business gets greedy, government steps in.

How much responsibility are the People taking for government?

God’s Kingdom uses checks and balances.

Well, there are a few teasers. See Landa’s website and her book ‘The Old Testament Template’ to get more.

The crunch point is that people can come to salvation by repenting of their sins and receiving salvation through the Cross, as many Hispanic and White Americans have. But to bless a Nation requires putting God’s principles into action in all aspects of society. Republicans could find common ground with Hispanics with that approach.

But for all of us who put the Gospel into Action, we have to act on the message of the Kingdom not just on the message of Salvation.

The Paranormal

In 1953 my family lived in Inverlochy House. It was an old house within ten minutes walk of the main street of Wellington, NZ. It had been divided into eight apartments when we lived there. It is now an art academy.

These days Inverlochy House is well known as a haunted house having appeared on local television. So it was interesting last week when I met up with a paranormal investigator, James Gilberd, to learn that his team only had ghost stories that went back to the 1980s. So I was able to tell him my family’s story from the 1950s of an apparition in the night.

One of the reasons that I had got in touch with the investigative team was that believers in paranormal activity often got an assertive response from believing Christians instead of an understanding one.

I found that one of the challenges an investigative team has is balancing the need for objectivity with the need for empathy with people who can be quite upset by what they perceive.

This team also looks for the simplest explanation of a phenomenon. For instance, at one place a plaster skull would ‘fly across the room’ from a shelf. It was discovered that the fridge in the next room was hard up against the wall and it would vibrate, hitting the wall as it started up. This could knock an object off a shelf. So they simply shifted the fridge a little away from the wall, which is what we should do anyway.

Since my meeting with James, he e-mailed me to say: I swapped the 'flying' one with her (the client) for another plaster skull I had. I retained the flying skull for weighing and testing, to see how it fell, landed, rolled etc, and what impulse was required to make it land where she said. (I haven't quite worked out that last bit yet. I want to recreate the position, fall and viewing angle in a video to see if I can get it to look like it's flying.)

From my discussion with James, I would say that the nine people in the team are basically open-minded skeptics, which is a healthy way to be. Also, they like to follow through an investigation to see if they can find an explanation.

To them it is an interesting hobby and I suspect they would love to find hard evidence that something is so strange that it is unexplainable from a scientific perspective.

I will probably follow up in the area of the paranormal, partly because in the Church we accept that the preternatural exists. But also because, as one Pentecost minister reminds us, people who are ‘hypersensitive’ in this area should not be shut out from the Gospel, but should experience the saving love of Jesus.

If we are putting the Gospel into action we need to have more than a “Just throw holy water at it” mentality when we look at paranormal activity. Investigators using scientific methods can help up us with our understanding.

Take a look at these web pages:

A Wellington Paranormal Investigative Team http://www.photospace.co.nz/strange_home.htm

The haunting of Inverlochy House http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1ed2aPP-Z0 (2001)

James Gilberd and Inverlochy House (2011) http://www.3news.co.nz/A-tour-through-Wellingtons-haunted-house/tabid/309/articleID/222539/Default.aspx

A Pentecostal Pastor’s perspective on the paranormal http://christ-spiritpower.blogspot.co.nz/

A Catholic understanding of the preternatural http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=35762

Euthanasia Discussion

Voluntary Euthanasia - murder or mercy?

In the New Zealand Parliament, right now, a private members bill is being draft to legalize euthanasia. Last night I attended a Discussion hosted at the Wellington Museum with about 150 people attending. The panel was {L to R} : Dr Anne Maclennan, (Palliative Care); Janet Marsland (Voluntary Euthanasia Society): Paul Russell (HOPE); Dr Grant Morris (Law School).

You can find the issues in the debate elsewhere; they would be similar in most western countries. John Kleinsman's article "No case for killing society's most vulnerable" summarizes our present NZ discussion well.  I am only giving a couple of reflections from last night’s meeting.

Turning Doctors into Executioners.

Because the meeting was conducted politely, given the dignified surroundings of the Museum, I did not say this out loud: “You want our doctors to become executions!”

Janet Marsland gave some heart-wrenching cases of people seeking to die and, in all honesty, she said that legalizing the assisting of the terminally ill to die would mean killing them. It was pointed out that we don’t need doctors to do that; some other trained professional could do it!

My thought was, given the legal prescription around mercy-killing, which Grant Morris would want in place, the person coming into the room, no matter how dignified the circumstances, would be acting like an executioner who kills in a humane way by lethal injection.

It is repugnant to me to presume that doctors should carry out that duty. As part of the fabric of our culture we hold dearly to the clause “Do no harm” written in medical codes of conduct. If the Vulnerable, such as the comatose, the mentally impaired and the severely disabled cannot trust our doctors not to yield to pressure to kill them, then we are well on the slope to barbarism.

Protecting the Vulnerable

This brings me to my second reflection, that the law against Euthanasia protects the Vulnerable. As Paul Russell put it: “Patients need to know that their doctor can’t kill them.” Drawing on her experience in palliative care, Anne Maclennan said that it was very rare that a patient has a persistent desire to be euthanized. When it does occur, it is most often because of other issues which can be worked out. She, in particular, inspired me to protect the Vulnerable by seeking to maintain the law as it stands.


For the Dangers see:
The Dangers of Euthanasia: A Statement from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops

Prayer at Parliament

Last Thursday I had lunch with a friend of mine, Gordon Copeland, who was a Member of Parliament for a couple of three year terms. He invited me to a prayer meeting that evening in the Grand Hall in Parliament Buildings.

With the help Gordon and his wife Anne, I  worked my way through the security checks and into the Grand Hall where about 130 people were gathering. There were old faces from the time of  the Charismatic Movements Conventions about  35 years ago and of course lots of new faces. The Honourable Chester Burrows welcomed us on behalf of the 4 Members of Parliament who were present.

Our prayer was focused on political party leaders and cabinet ministers, then on the other MPs and staff  right through to the cleaners and caterers. The final session of  prayer was focused on the particular issue of child abuse in New Zealand.

I learnt more about the people in parliament and the issues they are dealing with. Also I was reminded of  our responsibility to pray for our political leaders. This can best be explained in the words of Rasik Ranchord, the Convenor:

About Prayer at Parliament

Over many years of ministry I have observed that churches pray for various issues e.g. for the flock, the sick, the needy, for their ministry programmes and mission yet prayer for those in authority in other sectors of society was largely neglected. We have not taught our people to pray for those in authority adequately.

Why Pray for Our Leaders?I was drawn to two passages of scripture. Firstly Romans 13 which instructs us that all powers that be, derive their authority from God who is the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe; that human authorities were therefore God’s agents for the promotion of the common good and the preservation of law and order.

From 1 Timothy 2 we learn that in Apostle Paul’s agenda for prayer, praying for those in authority heads the list. We are to pray for "kings and all in authority". The late Derek Prince’s observation confirmed my own: "Extensive experience has convinced me that the vast majority of professing Christians never give any serious consideration to the topic of prayer. Not merely do they not pray for the government, first, they scarcely pray for it at all! They pray more or less regularly for groups such as the sick, the preacher, missionaries, evangelists,....... anything and everything but the one group that God puts first, the government. It is no exaggeration to say that many who claim to be committed Christians never pray seriously for the government or their nation as much as once a week."

It was out of these observations and convictions that the vision for Prayer@Parliament was born some 8 years ago.Our policy is not to endorse any one political party but to pray for kingdom influence in every party. To pray for Christians and also for those who are followers of other faiths or no faith at all because of the function they perform in Parliament. The function itself is ordained by God. When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans and to Timothy there were no Christians in Government! 

It is a Christian Prayer Gathering that is open to all. Over the years many members of Parliament from across the political spectrum have attended and many have been invited to participate. This includes Ministers of the Crown, former Speakers of the House and present assistant Speaker.. Besides people in central government we also pray for those in local government, Mayors and former mayors and councillors have participated. "Seek the peace and prosperity of the city. Pray to the Lord for it because if it prospers You too will prosper" (Jeremiah 29:7)

We also pray for those involved in various sectors of society besides government; Education, Social Welfare, Youth, Public Health, News Media. Many from these backgrounds have participated.

Christians from all denominations and from the whole of the Wellington Region and beyond attend these gatherings. Prayer is a uniting factor and where there is unity there God gives his blessings. Prayer is a Declaration of Dependence-upon God. Our nation needs God.

Rasik Ranchord
Convener

Ordinary Folk

Last Tuesday I spent the day in the newly built Supreme Court in Wellington, NZ. Not only did the building impress me, but also I was impressed by the way proceedings were conducted. Abortion can be a heated topic and I have been overseas in a courtroom which was electric with emotion. Here, the Judges wanted to give those involved a fair hearing, they would give the lawyers advice if they were not making their case well and there were moments of humour. There were no ‘airs and graces’ but a warm respectfulness.

The reason for being there was that I now live within walking distance of the Court House, I have the time and I wanted to express my personal support for Ken Orr who I had met on a few occasions in Christchurch.

Ken Orr is an ordinary bloke.  You could easily miss him in a crowd. People might say that he is ‘dogged’. Yet, with the support of other Pro-lifers, he has seen a case against the Abortion Supervisory Committee through to the Supreme Court. He had won in the High Court, lost of Appeal and could well win again in the Supreme Court. (The five Judges are deliberating at this time)

You can read about what Ken has done at: http://www.spcs.org.nz/2008/thank-you-ken-orr-right-to-life/ 

The point that I would like to make is Ken is not the most attractive or gifted personality. A lot of people I know would write him off on that score. He can be a bit of a nuisance. But he is always polite and unassuming and quietly gets things done. But it can be ordinary folk like him who put the Gospel into action and go places with it.

You can read more about Ken himself at: http://righttolife.org.nz/2010/11/15/papal-award-presented-to-ken-orr-for-services-to-the-church-and-the-pro-life-movement/

Among the Greenies

 Last night I went to a meeting about the Food Safety Bill that is now before the New Zealand Parliament. A Green Party Member of Parliament , Steffan Browning, was to speak and the documentary film Food Inc was to follow.

A great way to spend Saturday night! But that is Wellington for you. It's a little city, less than half a million residents. So we take our role as the seat of government very seriously.

There I was amongst the Greenies who vote pro-abortion and I was not looking to chat till I had got the measure of this lot.  A bloke about my age (most were) came over. He saw my little wooden cross and asked about my christianity. He said 'there are four of us here' and that it was good for us to be at meetings like this.

I thought this was an example of the Gospel principle of 'leaven in the dough' (See Matthew 13:33). Jesus had got out of his comfort zone and mixed with all sorts of people and he certainly would have been happy to mix with those who were concerned for the poor and under-privilaged. His heart would have resignated with those who cared for animals and the environment as a gift rather than out of greed. (See Genesis 1:28ff and 2:15 which feature humanity before we sinned.)

I left at the end of the meeting encouraged by the intentions of the Greenies and their allies and by the presence of  these Christians. It was an example of the  Gospel in action.

Bye the way, the documentary Food Inc. is well worth a watch. And if you can't, then check out the comments on the internet.

Steffan Browning's Comments on the Food Bill are will worth reading