Archive for the ‘Commentary’ Category

Do Justice does just that

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Review: Do Justice: Our Call to Faithful Living

Mark Webster
Chief executive officer
Adventist Development and Relief Agency Australia

Do Justice coverBrowse through the 192 pages of Do Justice: Our Call to Faithful Living and the answer to the questions, “What is justice?” and “Why compile a book about it?” become clear:

  • Justice is a biblical concept central to God’s vision of a world not only created but also living in His image
  • Justice—as an experienced, living thing—is also as complex and diverse as the number of people on this planet

Do Justice effectively and compellingly addresses the statements. It pulls together the wisdom of 27 justice advocates, harnessing their thoughts, experiences and advice into a cohesive whole.

Authors such as Kendra Haloviak Valentine and Ty Gibson explore that foundational nature of justice to our faith and indeed our existence. Dwight Nelson and Lowell Cooper, among others, explore the nexus of faith and justice in the context of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and its beliefs. Lisa Clark Diller and Zivayi Nengomasha join their voices with those of others seeking to make justice an intentional part of their lives. And another group, including Tim Gillespie, Ella Smith Simmons and Mindi Wiygul, share guidance from their own experiences of justice in practice.

In the end, the problem with justice is not doing it: it is the assumption it has been done.

Jesus calls His people to do justice by loving others as we love ourselves. Reading Do Justice will inspire, encourage and equip you to do just that.

Nathan Brown and Joanna Darby (editors), Do Justice: Our Call to Faithful Living, Signs Publishing, 2014

Correspondence

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The Charlie Chaplin Experience

Congratulations on your part in bringing Charlie Chaplin to Cooranbong (“Tramp fans,” Connections Vol 26 No 23). I live in Dora Creek and have a great collection of Chaplin films. Five years ago, I returned to my old home town of Manchester in England. Manchester is the home of the Halle Orchestra. I attended one of the orchestra’s concerts in the city’s The Bridgewater Hall. The concert featured the screening of Chaplin’s film The Goldrush, with the original music played by the orchestra. The memories of the concert—the highlight of my tour to the United Kingdom—still brings tears to my eyes. I would love to see a re-enactment in Australia, perhaps even in Cooranbong.

Bernard Carroll
wp.avondale.edu.au/news

The missing chapter on revival

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

And how its other-focus must confront us

Nathan Brown
Master of Arts (research) student
Avondale College of Higher Education

Nathan Brown 75 75 pxRevival: I’ve been following the theme through denominational publications over the past few years. I’ve been looking for a particular Bible passage—Isaiah 58—but I’ve been disappointed.

The chapter’s ripe for consideration. These religious people—the people of God, no less—are seeking God with fervor. They worship Him daily and “delight” to know His ways (verse 2). They fast and repent, but God seems unmoved and unresponsive, even silent.

Then, speaking through Isaiah, God responds in a way that confronts them and must confront us. The kind of revival I want from you, says God, is to serve those who need your help. Release people from the things that hold them back. Help the oppressed find freedom. Feed the hungry. Provide shelter to those who are homeless and those who need it. Share clothes with those who don’t have enough (6, 7). Even if we have only a little, God calls on us to be generous to those around us.

It’s remarkable: the spirit of Jesus and the heart of faithfulness to God are so other-focused that even our spiritual renewal is not about us, reaching out instead to the poor, the oppressed, the hurting and the hungry.

In Isaiah 58:8–12, God promises blessings in response to this kind of revival. In effect, He says if the people are less focused on themselves, they’ll find Him working with them and through them to bring healing and restoration. This is the revival the people are seeking, a renewal of their hope and purpose as found in God with a real sense of His presence in their lives and community.

We don’t know how these first hearers of Isaiah’s call to this truer revival responded. But as Jesus confronted the same issues (see Matthew 23), perhaps there are always those who are content with mere religion, while others hear the call to revival in a way that truly changes us and those around us. Perhaps that’s why Isaiah’s voice still echoes and challenges us today.—Adventist World

Nathan is book editor at Signs Publishing Company.

Correspondence

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Wendy Jackson: A gender-equal church

God did not create men and women in a hierarchy (“A gender-equal church,” Connections Vol 26 No 7). “He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them ‘Mankind’ when they were created” (Genesis 5:2, NIV). Sinful humans created hierarchies post-fall and God has been trying to bring us back to His ideal—we are all His equal children—since then. It also seems illogical to deny all of the undoubted gifts of half of humanity. The Lulu Wightman struggles should not happen to women in the 21st century. Thank you, Wendy, for your mission and may God continue to be with you.

Colin Crabtree
wp.avondale.edu.au/news

Wendy’s comments about knowing for certain God had called her to theology resonate with every woman who has been called to a ministry leadership position in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Aleta King
wp.avondale.edu.au/news

Reply

Comfortable chaos

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Tragedy is a part of life, but it shouldn’t be.

Sara Thompson
Bachelor of Arts (communication) student
Avondale College of Higher Education

Only four weeks ago, news of the Boston Marathon bombings spread around the world, particularly as images from the fateful event filled our screens and tugged at our hearts. But our lives go on as usual.

It isn’t the first tragedy we’ve seen. Death from natural disasters, mass killings and wars have become an accepted part of life in the 21st century. But what about the loss of life that doesn’t make it to the news bulletins? What about the hundreds who die of starvation, from lack of clean water, from abuse and from human trafficking every day? I know, we’ve heard these tales of woe before, but that doesn’t make them any less real.

Perhaps it’s worth mentioning that life isn’t meant to be like this.

Of course, you say. One day Jesus will return and make it all better. But as we go on as usual, the idea of “one day” fades into the distance and we settle back into our antediluvian lives. We’ve accepted a chaotic, tragic world as normal. We’ve forgotten it isn’t our home.

Sometimes I find myself viewing God as an aloof authority figure rather than an intimate and loving heavenly Father who is so deeply involved in our lives. Death is not a statistic to Him; everything that happens in this world makes an impact on Him. He’s mourning the loss of His children, and not just the ones in Western countries, the ones who have names and faces, but those who suffer, seemingly forgotten, out of our view.

If He knows when a sparrow falls, then how much grief must He experience when His own children cause each other so much pain? How much must He be longing to return and end this suffering?

Tragedy is a part of life, but it shouldn’t be.