Missions – A Glimpse of Heaven

I got an Email from one of my Russian Brothers in Christ on Thursday. It was awesome to receive an email from him as I had not heard from him in ages and I was having a really bad day and feeling kind of depressed. Anyway, in this email he said to me what he believes was the best moment together in Russia

You know the moment of that I remember best of all, when we were worshiping God together on the river bank in Ashan.

I have to agree with him on this. Worshiping God together in Ashan was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. I treasure the friendships I have with the Russians and the time I have spent with them and keep on praying for them and the journeys God is leading them on. Anyway back onto repeating this story.

For the first couple of days at Ashan, I suffered from not having any language and found the worship times really hard as the songs were in Russian and I couldn’t read the Russian Language at all ( I still can’t read Russian that much and my Russian is Ploika). Anyway at one of the worship sessions in Russia I had an epiphany. I realised that we could worship God and that it could cut past the cultural barrier. Especially with the songs that were translated in English to Russian or the really fun simple songs like the la la la la la song. It showed us what we had in common. I came to realise that in worshiping we were participating in a version of heaven on earth. In The reason is that we were both from two different countries, backgroundss, languages, and we were worshipping the same God. This for me this is a glimpse of what heaven will be like. In Revelations it says

Then they sang a new song, "You are worthy to receive the scroll and open its seals, because you were killed. And with your own blood you bought for God people from every tribe, language, nation, and race.
(Rev 5:9)


Mission has the aim of bringing “the nations into the white hot enjoyment of God's glory.” (John Piper) In many ways I felt that this was one of the most spiritual moments of my life. Its funny because many would see the times which are sensationalised, quite overdone. But for me it was the occasion where I discovered a profound truth. Seeing what the aim is of our life is on earth. To see people come to know Jesus, worshiping for him and living for him passionately.

Something else about heaven, we are going to see the end of hate, pain, suffering war. Imagine it. Peace will be finally achieved between once warring tribes. Hutus and Tutsis, Irish Catholics and Protestants, etc, etc, will be worshiping the same God in heaven. They will at last get past their differences, and actually get to see the similarities between one enough (they both know God, and have been changed by his love and grace.)

When I went back to Russia this year, one of the things I really looked forward to was the times of worship. Because of the glimpse of heaven I was able to see in these times.

Vocational Aptitude Tests - Jesus' Disciples

I stole this from someone else. I think its pretty cool.

It seems to me that God likes to choose people who seem useless so he can show how awesome his power is. He doesn't need people who have been well trained, highly skilled, with perfect speach and reason. All he needs are people who are willing to say "I want to be you hands and your feet and I will go where you send me," He does the rest! We aren't expected to be perfect, but we are expected to go out into the world and show people the love of God.

TO: Jesus, Son of Joseph, Woodcrafters Carpenter Shop, Nazareth
FROM: Jordan Management Consultants, Jerusalem

Dear Sir,Thank you for submitting the resumes for the twelve men that you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests, and we not only run the test through our computer, but also arranged for personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultants. The profiles of all test are included, and you'll want to study each of the carefully.As part of our services for your guidance, we make some general comments. It is the staff's opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitudes for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capabilities.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers--James and John--the sons of Zebedee, place personal interests above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel it our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He's the man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind, and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, and responsible. We recommend Judas Escariot as your comptroller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.

Sincerely, Jordan Management Consultants

Hard to Believe Review

I was not looking forward to reading John McArthurs Hard to Believe when it was given to me by Sym, and it has proved to be quite a frustrating book to read. For numbers of reasons. But it also had numerous good points about it.

Reading this book I was reminded with a point from some Americans evangelising in New Zealand through campus crusade. This book is written to a particular audience and to a particular situation. It is written into a culture, particularly the America where going to church in many states equals a way of life. Particularly those who go along to church do it because it is part of the culture and they do not know what it means to be a true Christian. It is written also written as no-nonsense response to those who try to water down the gospel and make it more acceptable to society, and keep numbers of church attendance up. Those who teach that the if you have Jesus all will be well and good. The reality is much different. As a Christian you will be persecuted, you will be forced to live a life of self-denial and change how you live.

The awesome thing about John McArthur is his commitment to the Gospel and teaching the Gospel. He has amazing bible knowledge and that he contends for the gospel with such force. He is uncompromising in his approach, and believes that there is only one way to heaven. He knows so much, and is a great expositor of the bible. I have met few people who have knowledge of the bible like him and can explain what the bible meansin such an authorative way. John McArthur is right to say Christianity is a hard path. It costs much to be a Christian and to live passionately for Jesus Christ.

But I have a number of Issues with John McArthurs book…

Even though I believe that there is only one way to heaven through Jesus Christ. I think that John McArthur ‘narrow’ doorway into the Kingdom means that the eye of the needle has shrunk even smaller than what Jesus was talking about. He seems to have shrunk the eye of a needle to a pinprick. I think this results from the fact that it seems that he makes it sound like if you are still sinner than you cannot be a Christian. While he does not underestimate the total depravity of humanity, I sometimes think John McArthur underestimates total goodness and the grace of God. I found it very interesting in his example of John the Baptist he excluded the piece if the story in which the uncompromising man of God doubted that Jesus was the Lord he had been proclaiming throughout his ministry that the Messiah would come and declared that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus got a message from John saying "Are you the one we should be looking for? Or must we wait for someone else?" (Matt 11:3) John even though he had spent so much time declaring the message that the messiah had come had become discouraged in prison, he needed reassurance that Jesus was lord. Jesus gracefully replied and reassured him Jesus answered, "Go and tell John what you have heard and seen. The blind are now able to see, and the lame can walk. People with leprosy are being healed, and the deaf can hear.The dead are raised to life, and the poor are hearing the good news. God will bless everyone who doesn't reject me because of what I do." (Matt 11:4-5) John was a prophet and the greatest prophet in the scriptures, he had spent his life preaching and prophesying, but he was also human, and was prone to doubt. Even though it seems he was a very spirit filled and spirit led man. John’s humanity reveals that there are no superhumans, we all needs Gods grace as much as the other and rely on the saving love of God, no matter what.

I think that is what the book by John McArthur lacks, for all its worth, is grace. It talks a lot about the hard road of the Gospel, and this is important, as many people leave this part out, but talking about the struggle of faith and living as a Christian without talking about grace does a disservice to the bible. I think it is as bad as sugar-coating the Gospel. The Gospel has a whole other side that he does not talk about in this book. All the humans in the bible have their struggles with doubts and sin. All the men of faith had their limps, and things that they could look on and not be proud of in their Journeys through their lives. Look at Paul, the greatest missionary whoever lived and writer of many of the letters we find in the New Testament who said the he was the worst of all sinners (1 Tim 1:15). I would like to see John McArthur saying how he has struggled, and continues to struggle to get it right. Because I know I still sin, I hate it, and I struggle with it constantly. I still doubt, and have issues with my faith. But I know through the grace of God that I’m saved, and I live passionately to see his will done on earth. I want people to come to know God, and fall in love with him and follow his will on earth. I believe that Jesus is lord and I will contend for that passionately no matter the cost.

I want to end on a better note; this book is challenging and was making me think through the whole reading of it. It challenged me to know my bible, and to learn more scripture, and to spend more time with God. It challenged me to have a heart for the gospel and spreading it throughout the world and live passionately and see that Gods will is done on this earth. I just want to do it in a way that doesn't compromise the Gospel, shows compassion and is relevant to the situation I live in. I don't beleive that is a sin.

Who said Body Piercing was a Sin?

Discipleship and Faith

Lately I've been really challenged on how I live as a christian. I beleive that Jesus Christ is lord of my life and that he died for my sin and I want to live a life that puts him in the drivers seat of my life. For me this means a number of important things.

1) I want to reach out to those around me. Proclaiming the truth of the Gospel with my words and my actions.

2) I want to see people catching the fire that I have for the Gospel.

Both points are important for me, and frankly at times I'm crap at both these thing.

In my cell group tonight, one person asked why people did not seem to be doing anything in thier lives. I became very self-righteous in my thought and thought to my-self "Maybe they should think about whether they are a christian or not".

I then realised that maybe this wasn't the right response. Considering how lacking I can be on this point myself. I can be rather timid at times in how I share the Gospel.

We were talking about this and it occured to me that there was a solution for this plight I was having. It is that instead of sitting on my ass, being Judgemental, it is better to solve the problem. When we someone struggling along in thier faith we should be there to help our brother or sister out. We should be willing to pray, to listen, offer guidance and if when suitable rebuke.

God wants us to be teaching one another, sharing in the lives of those around us. We are not individuals on the journey. We are a community of beleivers, sharing in the same goal, to see people come to know Jesus.

I know when I've shared my struggles with others and they have offered me advice I have seen change in growth. The challenge for me in the comming while is to be proactive and available for those around me who are struggling. I want to see people grow closer to God, to love him more passionately, to come into deeper relationship with Jesus, and live for him with enthusaism. This can only be done by spending time with people, praying for them, and being an example of christ to those God gives me spiritual responsibility for. This is a challenging road and one that can not be taken lightly.

Fossilized CD Release Party

My Brother Joshua's Band (Fossilized) is having a CD Release Party
It is on the 28 October 2006 at 7.30 PM
@ the Wesley Church Old Hall Taranamki St
Tickets are $4 for entry and $15 for entry and CD
They also have an EP for sale for $5

Come, They are a great band with awesome talent!

Parachute Artists 2006

The Last Artists for 2006 have just been released

They are
Thousand Foot Krutch.

Followed By
Third Day, Falling Up. Rebecca St James, Hawk Nelson, Shawn McDonald. Also kiwi bands Detour180 & The Lads, Nesian Mystic and Spacifix

Sounds like an ok lineup. But I'm dissappointed neither Switchfoot or Pillar are coming

The Petition just keeps growing

Since I blogged Yesterday the online petition agianst labours validating legislation has increased to 27683 people and is the fastest growing online petition in the world which is truly astounding for a country of only four million people!

This again shows how arrogant labour was for passing this legislation without going through the right channels.

It also shows how democratic New Zealanders, and the desire they have to see the democratic system of New Zealand upheld

Paul Jesus and Christian Ethics

This Is an essay I wrote for my Pauline Theology Paper. Tell me what you think.


Living an ethical or ‘good’ life is an important issue for Christians today. Many Christians look to the life and death of Jesus to find an example of how they live their life, but often in churches, it is not Jesus’ teaching that Christians are being taught, but the writings of Paul and his interpretation of Jesus’ teaching. An important question needs to be asked: are Christians following the teaching of Jesus or are Christians inadvertently following Paul’s Christian beliefs and practice, which could be completely different from what Jesus originally intended? In my essay I discuss this issue making reference to both the maximalist and minimalist readings of Paul’s epistles and come to the conclusion that Paul knows of Jesus Christ’s life and teachings. I then discuss possible allusions to the life and teaching of Jesus Christ in the writing of Paul, with reference to Paul’s ethical teaching in Romans 12:9-21 and the hymnal material in Philippians 2:6-11. I then discuss how Paul deals with the issue of the law and how he uses the Christ Event to show that this fulfils the requirements of the law, and argue that for Paul the will of God is fulfilled by living a life that conforms to the image of Christ – it is a life which is cruciform – self sacrificial and loving. I argue then that the only way that a Christian can live an ethical life is by the saving love of Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit working in their life to conform them to the image of Christ.

The range of opinion on whether or not Jesus’ teaching influenced Paul’s thought falls across a massive continuum. Some scholars have tended towards maximising Paul’s knowledge of Jesus, while others have tended towards minimising Paul’s knowledge of Jesus. Rudolf Bultman in particular has argued that Paul knew little about the historical Jesus.[1] Bultman argues that Paul was more concerned with the fact that Jesus actually existed rather than what Jesus actually said and did.[2] Bultman bases his argument on the fact that Paul hardly ever refers to the historical life of Jesus and there is hardly any mention of the pre-Easter teaching of Jesus in Paul’s writing. Paul refers directly to Jesus’ teaching only six times, three of which are not mentioned in the Gospels (1 Cor 7:25; 14:37; 1 Thess 4:15-17). Another is concerned with the words of the Lord’s Supper and was probably learned from a Eucharist tradition of the church (1 Cor 11:23-25). The other two concern Christian divorce and payment of Christian ministers (1 Cor 7:1-11; 9:14), which could have come from early church ethical teaching rather than Paul’s personal knowledge of Jesus’ teaching.[3] Paul also fails to use direct references to Jesus’ teaching in many cases where it could have been used to persuade people to his point of view. Because Paul doesn’t make reference to Jesus in these arguments it has been argued that Paul was ignorant of Jesus’ teaching. The third argument is that in the light of the event on the road to Damascus, Paul did not need to know about the historical Jesus as he had received the gospel “through a revelation of Jesus Christ”, and as a result Paul did not need to consult with human beings about the revelation of Jesus Christ.[4]
In light of the minimalists’ claims that Paul knew little about the historical Jesus, the maximalists have argued with evidence from Paul’s epistles and Luke’s Acts of the Apostles that Paul was concerned with knowing Christ and living the example set by Christ and he wanted his own church members to follow Christ’s example. In several passages, Paul claims to “imitate the Lord.” (1 Cor 11:1; 1 Thess 1:6, 2 Thess 3:7-9) To imitate someone was the highest form of praise in antiquity. When Paul was a Pharisee, he would have strove to imitate his master, Gamaliel. After his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul strove to imitate his Lord, Jesus Christ[5] – it is hard to imitate someone if you know nothing about them. Paul’s knowledge of Jesus’ teaching is hard to pin down, but we can glean some points from his own epistles and from Acts. As a Pharisee, he knew enough of Jesus’ life and teaching to conclude that Jesus was an apostate and his followers needed to be suppressed (Gal 1:13-14; Phil 3:5; 1 Cor 15:9, Acts 7:58; 8:1-3; 23:6; 25:5). After his conversion, Paul spent a considerable amount of time in the Church at Damascus (Gal 1:17-18, Acts 9:19-25), presumably spending time learning from other Christians about their beliefs and faith and soaking up their traditions. Later Paul became a member of the community in Antioch, which was founded by refugees from the Hellenistic wing of the Jerusalem church, who would have brought knowledge of Jesus’ teaching. Three years after his conversion Paul had a fifteen day visit with Peter, the lead disciple of Jesus, and Jesus’ brother James (Gal 1:18-19). The conversation would have involved Paul trying find out about the historical Jesus.[6] Paul then used the tradition that he had learned about Jesus and interpreted it for the situation that he was writing to. Paul lived in a different situation than Jesus; he taught to a mainly Hellenistic cosmopolitan community made up of people from all social classes, while Jesus taught to a Jewish audience and his ministry was mostly focused on those based on the social margins. As a result, Paul had to interpret Jesus’ life and teaching in a way that was relevant to the community of believers he taught. [7]

There are a number of places in the writing of Paul where we can read between the lines and see allusions or echoes to the ethical teaching of Jesus. One in particular is Romans 12:9-21. In Romans 12:9-21, Paul explains in a set of short, concise phrases what types of attitudes a Christian should expound.[8] Paul’s teaching and exhortations are not only influenced by the Old Testament and other Jewish teachings, but also the life and teaching of Jesus. Paul believes that the best way to deal with the disunity in the Roman church is to appeal to Jewish scriptures as his foundation, but also to show how the actions of Jesus fulfil the requirements of the Jewish scriptures and the will of God.
Throughout Romans 12:9-21 the ideal of Agape (sacrificial love) is central to Paul’s teaching and ethics (cf. Gal 5:6; Rom 13:10; 1 Cor 13).[9] It was also central to Jesus’ teaching as can be seen by Jesus’ infamous reiteration of Lev. 19:18. Paul himself believed that the death of Jesus on the cross was the supreme example of Jesus’ love for humanity (Gal.2:20).[10] Paul believed that sacrificial love is central to Jesus’ teaching because it fulfils the law and is also the solution to pride and hypocrisy. In Jesus’ teaching, he told his opponents to stop looking at their outward appearance as a sign of their holiness, but to look at the inward condition of their hearts.[11] In Matthew 7:5 and Luke 6:42, the hypocrite condemns his neighbour and their shortcomings, but fails to notice his own shortcomings or do anything about them.[12] Paul did not want the Roman Christians arguing between one another about who was the most holy but wanted them to realise their dependence on each other, serving and showing the love of God in their actions (Mk. 3:35//Mt. 12:50//Lk. 8:21). The believer is to be a humble servant to their fellow followers in the body of Christ.[13] Paul’s teaching can be linked to the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 23:12 and Luke 14:11, for example.[14]
Romans 12:12 and its call to persevere in suffering can also be closely linked to Jesus’ life and teaching. For example it is closely linked to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:12, as well as in Matthew 10:22; 24:13 and Mark 13:13. This teaching is rooted in the story of Jesus life (Mt. 5:12) and his death on the cross, and the experiences of early Christian apostles who took joy in their suffering because it was the will of God (cf. Acts 6:17-42).[15] Paul’s final comments in this section on ethical teaching deal with Christians participating in the needs of the saints and being hospitable to strangers. This can be echoed in Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25:35: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Hospitality was an important virtue in antiquity: Jesus himself had relied on it in his itinerant mission, and he had commended hospitality and a model of divine generosity that his followers should follow (Mk. 2:15-17; Mt. 11:19//Lk.7:34; Lk.14:1-24). Christians are to be kind to neighbours and to strangers, showing them the love of Christ, and providing for their needs.
Loving one’s enemies is also linked to Jesus’ ethical teaching being deeply imbedded in the synoptic tradition (Lk. 6:27; Mt. 5:44). But Paul bases his teaching as much on the Old Testament tradition as on Jesus’ teaching, quoting Deuteronomy 32:35 and Proverbs 12:20 in Romans 12:19. This is because the idea of loving one’s enemies as a common theme throughout the Old Testament scriptures (Ex 23:4-5, 1 Kgs 3:11; Prov. 7:14; 34;17-18,19, Lev. 19:17-18,34; Deut. 10:18-19 and Jonah). The main reason for doing this is to show the reliance of Christian ethics on the Old Testament and that their fulfilment is found in Jesus’ life and death.[16] However, the verses Romans 15-16 particularly take a radical step further than the Old Testament. Paul tells the Roman believers that it is their obligation to bless and show love and compassion for their enemies, and share in their joys and in their sorrows[17] – they are to repay evil with good, and in the process show God’s righteous, loving, merciful character in their actions.
Paul’s teaching on Christian behaviour does not make explicit reference to Jesus. But it could be that Jesus’ example is implied in these scripture, and there is evidence that Jesus’ teaching influenced Paul’s thought and teaching in Romans. Indeed, David Wenham has found Romans 12:17-20 and Matthew 5:38-43 to be very similar, showing that Paul is interpreting Jesus’ ‘new Pentateuch’ in a way that would fit the situation of the Roman believers. Wenham has argued that these passages are both dependent on a pre-synoptic dominical tradition that is also found in Mathew and Luke.[18] James Dunn argues that the fact that it is later followed by the command in Romans 13:14 to “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ” confirms that Paul is referring to the life example and teaching of Jesus Christ and that Paul wants the Roman Christians to conform to the image of Jesus Christ.[19] The solution to the Romans’ division is to “put on” the characteristics of Christ, showing love to one another.
Another example of Paul linking his ethical teaching to the example of Christ is in the hymnal material of Philippians 2:6-11. Paul uses Jesus’ life, death and resurrection as an example of how to live an ethical life in a hostile environment, and also to encourage the Philippian community. Paul explains that when Jesus took on human form, he did not hold onto his rights, but gave up his exalted place in heaven and took on the image of a servant when he came to earth.[20] Jesus humbled himself, and rather than believing that he had the right to give orders he took orders and became obedient to the will of God while he was on earth. For Paul, death is not a personalised power that Christ is subject to, but is the extent to which Christ went to be obedient to God.[21] The example of Christ is used to explain the way the Philippians should act toward their persecutors and toward one another. The believers should be unified, not fighting within each other, and should be of one mind living together in selfless unity.[22] Paul urges the Philippian Christians to put on the virtue of humility – shown by the precedent set by Christ (cf. 2:5). The Philippians should give up all partisanship and conceit, and become humble servants, not obedient to their own will, but conforming to the will and image of Christ. [23] In Philippians 2:12 Paul then reminds the Philippians of their past obedience, and asks them to continue to obey. Through their obedience the Philippian community will fulfil the will of God, and will be vindicated from their suffering, just as Christ was, and bring glory to God.[24]

For Paul, humans can not become righteous through their own efforts; it is only through Christ’s saving act on the cross that humanity can begin the process of being transformed to the image of Christ. Humanity is totally reliant on Christ and the cross to change. This can be seen in Romans, where there is a significant link between Romans 6, which talks about the importance of the saving act of Christ, and Romans 12, Paul’s ethical teaching.[25] Paul holds a pessimistic view of humanity. In Romans 3:9 he concludes that 'all men, both Jews and Gentiles, are under the power of sin’. (cf. 6:6,20; 7:14). The way of Adam – and all humanity – is bondage to the power of sin and thus living in disobedience to God.[26] Paul had realised from his own life as a Pharisee that the law does not ensure freedom from sin. Paul’s zeal to follow the law led him to become a persecutor of the church (Phil. 3:6; Gal. 1:13) and thus led him to act against the will of God.[27] For Paul, liberation from sin and fulfilment of the will of God is only made possible through the Christ Event. The coming of Christ proves to be a turning point in history; Christians are no longer slaves to the old order of sin and the flesh, but live in the new era of relationship with Christ in the Spirit, living a life of love and conforming to the image of Christ. (Rom. 8:4; 12:8-10; Gal. 5:14).[28] The heart of Romans 12:1-2 is to see the Roman Christians not conformed to the image in the present world and their old life, but transformed by the renewal of their minds to the image of Christ, so that they might fulfil God’s perfect will.[29]

Dealing with the question of the law and its relation to Christian ethics is vital to Paul. Paul’s main concern is to make Gentile inclusion in the Christian community possible and free Jews from the bondage of the law (1 Cor 9:20-21).[30] Paul’s view is that the law of God that was given by Moses was an expression of the will of God. The problem with the law is that it was never given to produce righteousness, but was given to reveal humanity’s reliance on God, and convict them of their sin.[31] But with the death and resurrection of Christ, and the coming of Spirit – which produces love and obedience in the heart of the believer – there is no need to live according to the Mosaic law, but a call to live a life in accordance with the ‘Law of Christ’ (Gal 6:2). The Christian no longer lives by the letter of the Mosaic law, but by the fruit of the Spirit.[32] The fruits are given to Christians by the spirit of God, and their purpose is the edification and service of others (1 Cor 12:7; 14:1-5).[33] The Spirit to Paul is the Spirit of Jesus and the fruit of the Spirit is above all love.[34] The law of Christ is fulfilled by living a life in which the Christian serves and loves his neighbour self-sacrificially – conforming to the image of Christ.[35] The law implies that for a person to be declared righteous they need only to fulfil the standard - but this is not love. Love is an action, not a formula that must be fulfilled and achieved.[36] The question is not how well you fulfil a set of standards, but how your heart responds to God’s righteousness. The heart of the Christian responds to the love shown to them by God, giving themselves and living their life in obedience to God and conformity with Christ, guided by the Spirit, it is not a grudging acceptance of a set of moral precepts.[37]

For Paul, Christian ethics and Christian spirituality are ultimately linked as it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that Christians can be transformed. Calling oneself a Christian does not rely on one’s theological positions or ritual initiation such as baptism, but the manifest presence of the Spirit of God (Gal. 3:1-5).[38] Everyone who is in Christ is possessed by the Spirit and life in Christ is only possible by the Spirit (1 Cor 23:1-7; Rom.8:9b).[39] In Galatians Paul tells the congregation that they are to “walk by the Spirit” and through this action it is promised that they “will not fulfil the desires of the Flesh” (Gal 5:16). The Holy Spirit is given to be the power to live differently from living under the power of the flesh. Through the Spirit, the Christian lives a life where they “put on Christ” and by doing so conform to his image and the will of God.[40] Dunn argues that the ethical standards that Paul wants Christians to live by were not new ideas. Ideas such as “brotherly love” (Romans 12:10) were widely commended by other moral philosophers, so was the obligation to provide hospitality to the stranger – which was deeply rooted in Greaco-Roman Antiquity (Roman 12:13). Paul believed that through Christ, living an ethical life could become possible. As Marshall points out, “it is not so much that Christians live by entirely different standards of conduct as that they live by a new and different power that enables them to put into practice those standards which even pagan wisdom recognised to be virtuous.”[41] It must also be understood that Paul understands and appreciates the continued weakness of the flesh, and that the Spirit and flesh are at constant war with one another, in the “overlap of the ages.” But the Christ Event and the coming of the Spirit is the beginning of the salvation act.[42]

In my essay I have argued that Paul knew of the teaching of Jesus Christ and applied them to the situation that he was living in. In Romans 12:9-21, Paul’s ethical teaching alludes to the words and life of Jesus Christ. In Philippians, Paul uses the story of Jesus Christ to teach the Christians of Philippians how to deal with the situation they live in. In all his writing Paul appeals to love: a love which is sacrificial, humble and gives everything. Paul believes that living a life that loves others and is conformed to the image of Christ fulfils the spirit of the Mosaic Law and as a result fulfils the will of God. Paul believes that it is only through the saving love of Christ that we can fulfil the will of God, and that to be saved, the human must live in obedience to the will of God, as made apparent in the life of Jesus. It is through the Spirit of God that humans are given the power to live a life which conforms to the image of Christ. Jesus’ life and teaching are central to Paul, and Jesus gives the ultimate example of how humanity should act towards one another so that God’s righteousness can be established on earth.
[1] Chris Marshall, ‘Paul and Jesus: Continuity or Discontinuity, Stimulus, Vol 5, No.4, p33
[2] Ibid, p33
[3] Ibid, p.34
[4] Ibid
[5] Ibid, p.39
[6] Ibid
[7] Marshall, ‘Paul and Jesus’,.pp35-36, N.T. Wright, Paul: In Fresh Perspective,(Minneapolis Fortress Press, 2005), p155,
[8] Michael Thompson, Clothed with Christ: The example and teaching of Jesus in Romans 12:1-15:13, (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1991), p.90
[9] Ibid
[10] Ibid, p.91
[11] Ibid, p.92
[12] Ibid, p.93
[13] Ibid, p.94
[14] Ibid, pp.94-95
[15] Ibid, pp.94-95
[16] Ibid, p.100
[17] Ibid
[18] Ibid, pp.109-111
[19]James D.G Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998), p.677
[20] Stephen E.Fowl, The Story of Christ in the Ethics of Paul, An Analysis of the Function of the Hymnic Material in the Pauline Corpus, (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1990), pp.56-57
[21] Ibid, p.63
[22] Ibid, p.88
[23] Ibid
[24] Ibid, 1990, p.96
[25] Thompson, p.79
[26]John Ziesler, Pauline Christianity, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990. pp.76-77
[27]Ibid, p.77
[28]Wenham, p.227
[29] Wright, p.165
[30] Stephen Barton, ‘Was Paul a Relativist?’, Interchange ,No.19. p.166
[31] David Wenham, Paul: Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity, (WM.B. Erdmanns Publishing Co: Michigan, 1995),p.227
[32] Ibid, pp.226-227
[33] Michael J. Gorman, Apostle of the Crucified Lord. A Theological Introduction to Paul and his Letters,( Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004), p.126
[34] Wenham, p.231
[35] Ibid, p.224
[36] Michael Winger, ‘The Law of Christ’, New Testament Studies, Vol 46, p.539
[37] Dunn, p.644
[38] Ibid
[39] Gorman,, p.124
[40] Ibid, p.121
[41] Marshall, ‘For Me to Live is Christ’, p.107
[42] Dunn, p.630

New Zealanders are not happy!

There is a online petition that is being taken over the Appropriation (Parliamentary Expenditure Validation) Bill which was pushed through parliament yesterday. The amazing thing about this petition is the number of people signing the petition. It has already been signed by 8,300 people since yesterday and is the second most active online petition in the world.

The Petition has a number of flaws to it, but shows that many people are concerned with the legislation that was passed yesterday.

It will be interesting to see whether the Appropriation (Parliamentary Expenditure Validation) Bill and Labours misspending will continue to be an issue in the New Zealand Political scene. The Issue will probrably die and not be important in the coming elections. But we shall see.

Woop Woop!

Yeah I have finished my last 300 level Political science paper. So I have unofficially finished my degree. Time to celebrate, then figure out what I'm going to do in the coming year.

Christian Ethics - Christ Centred, Cross Focused and Missional

I read an article by academic Stephen Barton a few weeks ago asking the question "was Paul a relatavist. It caught my interest and got me thinking. Stephen Barton argues that Paul was a “principled Situationalist”, and that the problem is that contemporary evangelical Christianity has become so caught up with the law that it has forgotten the freedom of the Gospel. Christianity in itself has become obsessed with morality and legal precepts, rather than the flexibility and freedom of the Gospel, and that the issue for Christians today as it has always been is to find ways not to compromise the Gospel, but express it in a way that is free of cultural and legalistic baggage. The challenge for Christians thus is to both be evangelical, and also to be missional.

Paul’s ethics and ethical teaching are linked to his mission, to pronounce the Gospel to both Jew and Gentile, while showing them how to live as Christians. His ethics are based on the primacy of self-sacrificial love which is set by the Jesus Christ (1 Cor 8:1-3 and the primacy of the weak brothers rights over the strong (1 Cor 8:1-3; 10:23-30). These principles inform his ethics and the way he conducts his ministry. Paul’s main aim is the unhindered proclamation of the gospel of Christ, particularly to the Gentiles.

Paul believes that he is free from all men (1 Cor 9:19) due to his being in Christ (1 cor. 1:30; cf. Gal 2:4) and his mission. Paul sees himself as ultimately responsible to Christ. (1 Cor 4;4) Paul is a slave to the mission that Christ has given to him. He can do nothing else!

His mission can be shown in the fact that he adapts to the situation. “To the Jew he becomes as a Jew” (1 Cor 9:20) so that he can gain their acceptance and attention. He does this through his circumcision of Timothy in Jerusalem (Acts 16:1-5). To those who are under the Law he becomes like one under the law. When surrounded by weaker Christians he would take on the behavioural norms that they followed so to not to lead them into temptation and sin. He would do this out of sacrificial love. And to the Gentiles Paul would become like one of those outside the law, to show the love of Jesus in a way that was relative to them.

Paul saw the Laws role as primarily negative, its aim was to convict people of their sin, and show them the way to live, (Rom 7) but it was not the means to Salvation, It shows people that they rely on the mercy and righteousness of God, and that they can only be given salvation through the saving act of Jesus on the cross. Pauls allegiance was not to the law, or the Jews, but to his Lord, Jesus Christ. Paul believed that Christ has ushered in a new order, which superseded the old order. For Paul the law that superseded the Mosaic Law was the law of Christ. This holds that freedom is held in constant tension with love. The aim of Paul’s teaching was that new Christians would neither fall into following their own selfish and sinful desires (Gal 3:13), but directed towards love and service to one another(Gal 3:13b). The works of the Law are replaced by the ‘Fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 22) which are outward expression of the work that the Holy Spirit is doing in the believer’s life. Paul believes that “against such there is no law.” (Gal 5:23) Instead of being guided and restricted by the moral precepts of the Mosaic Law but that the Christian will walk by the spirit and give each other in sacrificial service to one another and to their Lord, Jesus Christ, in this way they will fulfil the law and the will of God. Paul’s aim was to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, So Paul became a to those who were outside the law. Paul’s aim was to be uncompromising to the Gospel message, but he wanted it to believed that the message needed to be opened to the Gentiles.

Pauls ethics are principled situationalist ethics because they are not set by a strict set of moral precepts, but are guided by the spirit and the law of loving one another. Paul, also will not compromise his quest to see the gospel of Christ spread. Paul believes that Christians are to be sacrificial, Christ centred and Cross centred believers and he plans to teach the churches that he has planted how to do this; relevant to the situations they are in. Paul accommodates to the needs of non-Christians, he adapts his message to the culture that he teaches to, and in this he is truly missional, but he does not compromise the message and his theological convictions. The Gospel is centre. Paul is not a legalist, but is committed to Christ and his mission to the Gentiles, and does not want to compromise the saving message of the Gospel. I believe that this important for the Christian these days, the Christian needs to share the gospel in a way that is relevant to the culture that they live in, without compromising the reality of the Gospel. The Christian should not be constrained by moral convictions, but rather for their love for their neighbour, they should be aiming to serve, rather than to judging people for not following ‘the rules’ which might not actually be the ‘law of Christ’ (It should be said also that when Paul’s churches didn’t follow the law of Christ he explicitly told them to repent and change). Their aim should be to show Gods love and mercy through their actions, not saying look at me, but look to Christ because only through him can you be changed, saved and have new life.

The Radical Jesus I Follow

Oh Yeah!



















I Love this Portrayal of Jesus!

Underoath - Define the Great Line

This album is probably the hardest sounding album in my music collection. I don’t listen to much scremo or hardcore so I’m probably out of my depth writing this review.

This is an awesome record. I have been listening to this album on high volume since I got it. It has got me dancing and my head banging constantly for the last few days. There is something that is highly addictive in Underoaths latest project that I can’t pin down. This album is definitely a lot harder than their last release They’re Only Chasing Safety, but it is a brilliant record, and I think that this is probably one of the best screamo releases and one of the best Christian releases to come out in the last year. The thing is my brother was listening to the songs off it, and he isn’t a big scremo fan. He’s more into the Britpop music and bands such as oasis, coldplay and U2, but he found it really catchy and was nearly dancing to the music as well. You know the music is good when my Brother starts enjoying the music as well.

The album is classic Underoath, but with a more intensity and energy. You can hear a lot of really punky sounding. The vocals are a lot more intense on this album than on They’re Only Chasing Safety. There is a lot more screaming on this album from the main vocalist, and less of the melodic harmonies that come from the drummer. The album continues with hard-hitting rifts and fast drumming. What you find is that in this album the intensity is nearly overwhelming at times but is brilliantly cohesive and channelled well in the music. I find throughout underoaths music that they have quite strong punk roots, so it makes it quite easy to dance to, while also quite and intense listening experience.

My favourite track on this album isn’t really a track at all. Its an instrumental, and in the middle of it there is a Russian who starts praying. Then it mixes with a American evangelical conference where this hyped up preacher is speaking. I found it cool because to me it seemed to have a really cool mission focus. That there is a bigger plan outside of our own country, there is something going on throughout the world which is changing lives and we can play a part of it. I thought this was a really cool message! I found it even cooler because it had someone speaking in Russian!

I won’t recommend this album to everyone, because it is a very hard album. Its not like P.O.D or Pillar. It is a lot harder, even though scremo has become quite popularised with the Emo kid crowd. Like I say, this is not really the type of music that I usually listen to myself, but it is certainly really really good.

Underoath have made an album which is highly relevant to the Non-christian emo scene. It is highly positive in a music scene that I to be find to be both very dark and also very selfish as well (if you’ve heard much of the emo music around its all about look at me, look at how bad everything is, look at how crappy my life is – people don’t understand me in my comfortable middle class life). They shine out hope to this scene. Asking people to look and find the and true, but challenging people to realise that God wants us to change. They put God at God who is loving the centre, and tell the emo generation that God can take you out of your pain, hurt and suffering and wants to focus your life on a different purpose around giving hope, acting out in love and kindness. It is hard and challenging, and a bit daunting, put alot more fulfilling than navel gazing about life. and how bad life is.

For many Emos they see a superficial world that doesn’t care. Underoath tells these misunderstood youth that there is a new way to be human, that there is hope and good in a world which seems contradictory .Underoath aim to show that there is someone different, loving caring, kind, will never lie, and offers hope in the hopeless world of the emo generation. That that person is Jesus Christ, and he understands the pain and suffering they feel, but we can’t be selfish and prideful as well. Jesus offers a new way to be human, but we need to drop out selfish actions and lifestyle. Its not all about us. Its about a greater plan. Instead of been angry and focused on ourselves and our needs, it is about showing love to our friends, family, and the most radical of all, showing love to our enemies.

Underoath have a hope that they want to share with the world in a relevant way to a hurting group of young adults, and they do this by offering a totally different lifestyle and a totally different set of beliefs than those fostered in the world. Jesus is offered as the solution to the hole found in peoples lives, and it is Jesus who offers the model of the New way to live and guides people in a relationship with him. It is positive and aims to share the gospel in a way that is relevent to this group of youth.

Creating a missional life and missional community

In New Zealand and many western nations numbers attending christian churches have been dropping. In New Zealand, less that 10% of people attend a church. We live in an increasingly secular reality, where christianity is just one of many faiths contending for peoples lives. It seems christianity isn't relevant to many people any more.

But what is the matter, is it that "christianity isn't relevant any more" or that we have forgotten about the relevancy to many people.

In our quest to make christianity relevant to people we have forgotten the message of salvation and have missed the point. Instead of living lives that are changed loving examples of Gods righteousness, we have become marketers, trying to sell our message that "God Loves you" - Christianity has become a commodity that we try to sell. Christianity has become one of the many products that we can use so we can have a better life. The church pastor has become CEO and his elders, a board of representatives, the music team, the marketing team and the mission statement the slogan that makes that church different from the rest other churches and religions out in the marketplace. This all sounds well and good and many have come through christ through this model but there are problems with this, in our aim to do this we have watered down the truth of the gospel to make it feel good, we have sold Jesus the solution to lifes unhappyness and pill to solve all our worries.

Lets look first community of beleivers. They were left to figure out how to make the message of christ relevent to thier environment that they lived in. If you look at the message its rather laughable, the message was of a crucified messiah who rose again on the third day. The cross of all things isn't really cool. To a first centuary Roman citizen it was both an object of terror and an object of scorn. It was foolishness to beleive that a man who died on a cross could show a gods love for humanity. In Jewish tradition a person who died on a cross was seen to be cursed by God, it didn't seem possible that the Jewish messiah, a man chosen by God would die a cursed death on a tree. On top of this there were many more faiths that you could follow, from the cult of the emperor, to a mix of pagan beliefs. Many Greeks pursued the wisdom of the stoics and the cynics and beleived that if they chased after earthly wisdom while giving up the passions of the here and now they would find fulfilment. The early Christians were living in a world quite like ours. They had a message that was foolish, and were competing with a whole lot of other religious traditions vying for the attention of the Roman citizen.

The astounding thing about the foolish message of the Gospel is that people came and became christians. Why did people do this.

Something in the community of followers of beleivers made them look different. Something made the early christians look and smell different from the world they lived in. Something made them a dangerous subversive force in the world they lived in. What was it?

I beleive that the reason why the early Christians became to be seen as attractive was that they were different from the world that they lived in. They served one another first and then they served the community around them. They lived at peace with other, while others fought and complained and bickered with one another. They sacrificed their lives for one another while people in the world put themselves first. They put christ and his cross at the centre. They served the poor and healed the sick. They were Jesus to the community that they lived in. And as a result people realied something was different about them. They were attracted to the good God deads they did.

Our Ministry should aim to put Christ at the centre, intending to live a life like Jesus. It should share the good news of the Gospel that Jesus came to earth as a man humbly and obediently living a life in communion with his father. Jesus came to serve and teach people and then show the love of his father for his creation through his obedient death on the cross. He called people to repent and take up thier cross and follow him. We should do this too! His whole life showed the love of God for humanity, and showed humanity what it means to live differently than the world, it attracted people, criticism, pain and suffering and changed the world forever. (cf.Phi 2:6-11)

I will end on this point, we are not perfect, we aint going to get this right all. It is only by the grace of God and by his spirit. We are going to fall and God is going to pick us up, but we strive to immitate our Lord, and by doing so, show Gods love to the world. Even through our weakness we show Gods goodness.

Our aim in that we should see the world reconciled to himself, sharing the wonderful message of reconciliation to all humanity (2 Cor 5:19).

First Year Gone of Blogging - Reflections

This Blog is one Year old! Crazy! Amazing what can happen in one year. I have blogged on many issues

What will this blog be like in a years time. I've grappled through a number of issues of faith, wrestled with God and continue to. My beleifs change and I grow - but my dedication to my lord and saviour, Jesus Christ continues. My mission is to show the saving love of Jesus in a seeing that God wants to both bring salvation in the here and now, and give people future hope where the kingdom of God is fully established here on earth. This blog continues to show that I'm unfinished, and I'm happy with that fact. I want to change and continue grow. I won't have all the answers this side of heaven, but I aim to be live my life in a way that pleases my father in heaven - I'm still finding out what that means and will continue to blog frustrations, process and growth. I will fall down and graze myself sometimes ending up with a limp and lots and lots ofr pain, but God graciously picks me up. I will learn from my falls most of the time will continue to change. This process of course wont be finished here in this life, but I am on a Journey, where I am changing and growing. I look forward to see how this blog pans out it the coming year. Its a work in process, just like I am!
Wow it is exciting!

Paul's Spirituality and its relation to Christians today

The role of the spirit is important in the Christian life and plays part in the wholistic nature of christianity. The role of spirituality has become more important and has been rediscovered with the rise of the 'renewal movements' in western Christianity. The importance of the spirit and the the chamismata (The Spiritual gifts) have acquired new importance and meaning as the Christian faith has continued in its journey and going in its ebbs and flows, particularly in a world that sees spirituality is the new cool, while organised religion has become a dirty concept.

For Paul the spirit is not central, Christ is, but the spirit is close to the center and is the means for living the Christian life. The spirit is the power behind ethics and living a life that is different from the world around Christians. The motive of the spirit is to live a life of love, encouraging Christians within the body through the spirit and showing the power and love of God to those who are outside the communities of the believers. For Paul, all believers are given the gift of the spirit and are possessed with Spirit. The spirit of God is proof of being in Christ and being part of the covenant community of God. The Spirit frees Christians from the power of sin and the flesh over their life, so that they can live a life that brings glory to God. The work of the spirit is shown by the fruit of the spirit, these are ethical characteristics, that describe what life in the spirit should look like. It is contrasted with the works of the flesh. The fruit are the reproduction of the characteristics of Christ in the life of the believers and the community of believers. The spirit works in the community of believers to being about a community of love, which follows the pattern set by Christ. It is self-giving and it is given so that the church can be lifted up. Through the spirit, all are equal, all in the community of believers – race, gender, socioeconomic condition. All Christians are given the spirit (Gal 3:28). The promise of the walking by the spirit is that a Christian will not fulfill the work of the flesh but will fulfill the work of the spirit, and will fulfill the spirit of the law, which is to love one another.

Pauls spirituality and relation to his theology
Many have found a tension between rational thought and spiritual experiences. Particularly in the modern day and age, rational thought and knowlegde was more important than of experience. The importance was put on “knowing”. In the Christian faith this has meant that people have put memorizing bible verses off by heart and being able to give an apologetic for biblical faith as being more important than experience. But the other side of the coin is that the person whose reality is based on experience, particularly in the charismatic and pentacostal church have come to view experience as more important than knowledge, they become reliant on seeing the miraculous to believe that God is at work in their life and their community.

For Paul though there is an interaction between his experiences, and knowledge that he is received. Paul theological convictions are based on a number of pillars. His Jewish convictions that he had been instilled with all his life, particularly his belief that there is only one true God, YHWH and that Israel are the chosen people of God. He is also deeply influenced by the traditions of early Christianity. Throughout Paul's letters we see him incorporating early Christian Hymns, prayers, liturgies and creeds and instruction is his Epistles. He has come to see Christs life, death and resurrection and his coming return as central to Gods plan for humanity. Paul also uses his knowledge of the hellenistic traditions to relate to his audience, both using imagery and Greek rhetorical and philosophical practice to make his point. We Then come to his experience, for Paul, it was his experience of God that led him to interpret the traditional elements of his Jewish thought and give them new emphasis. This happened through the experiential event on the road to domascus, where he encountered the Risen Jesus (Gal 1:11-17; 1 Cor 15:8-11). This for Paul caused a change in world view, particularly his complete reavaluation of the Torah and its meaning to his life. This event should not be seen as a existentialist event, where Pauls theology was downloaded into his brain by God at his conversion, but the point that Paul maintained as a reference point for future reflection. For Paul there is an interdependence of his spiritual experience and the tradition that he holds. He does not throw one or other out, but hold's them in a creative tension, one that Christians should learn from in their own spiritual journey. Christian spiritual experience should be seen as important, indeed necessary, but it should be tempered by knowledge of the scriptures and understanding of the Gospel.

God Righteousness: A Liberal View on Pauls Story of Salavtion and Gods Righteousness

Righteousness is a misunderstood and loaded theological term in Christian circles today. It has been smudged by Christian interpretations over the century's and its meaning has been changed to the point that maybe Christians have forgotten its true meaning and how it explains Gods character in this day and age. God ‘s righteousness has been explained in terms of his righteous anger and Judgment, and the punishment of sin, rather than seeing Gods righteousness as the ultimate example of Gods love and mercy for humanity and Gods longing the restore right relationship with humanity. Ultimately God wants right relationship with humanity, but also to see humanity restore right relationships with each other, an world in which peace and justice reign – the new age.

Gods promise of Righteousness
The Story of the Old Testament scriptures of how a perfect world that God created was put into chaos by the reign of sin. God’s goal for the whole of creation is shalom, that is making everything right once again and put creation back into order according to Gods perfect plan. In the Old Testament God chooses the people of Israel to fulfill his plan and bring the world back to shalom. God’s righteousness to all people will be shown through his covenantal faithfulness to Israel. In Jewish tradition, a covenant was formed between Israel and God, a covenant is a lasting relationship set on a long-term commitment, they had to be obedient to the mosaic law to that their covenantal relationship with God would be maintained. The Problem is for Paul and others that Gods righteousness hasn't been shown through Israel, the dream of the Jewish people hadn't been fulfilled, indeed a whole lot of catastrophes had come along the way and Israel was under the control of a Pagan empire at the time that Paul wrote.

For Jews, Gods Justice is central to understanding their world view. Something has gone terribly wrong in the world and Gods righteousness is the rectifying power which will accomplish justice and shalom on Earth. In Jewish theology this represented the coming age and the victory of God on Earth over sin and death. Paul reinterprets this in view of the Christ event. Jesus comes to earth, lives an obedient life to God, proclaiming Gods righteousness, and the coming of Gods righteousness to all. He lives this obedient life to the point of a humiliating death on the cross and then God raises and exalts him as Lord above all, and name above all names (Phil 2:6-11). Through Jesus' death on the cross, all creation can be repaired and brought back into shalom. Paul Sees the Christ even as restoring Israel and all nations into right covenantal relationship with God.

Gods Justice is active and restorative. The Focus in the bible is on doing justice rather than the way that western societies think of enacting justice through a law court. For example, the Jewish people are to follow the ethical and religious activities prescribed by the mosaic covenant. To be righteous is to be faithful to the covenant that God has put in place. To be unrighteous is to break this covenant, thus being unrighteous, not caring for the broken hearted, the poor in spirit, putting ourselves first and not loving others. Following the pattern prescribed by the covenant is to live in shalom. When the covenant is broken, covenant justice is fulfilled though not by punishment like we have in western court systems, but by the restoration of shalom – through repentance. Pain might be inflicted, but this is a consequence of the failure, a result of not following the right order (If you don't wear a seatbelt and you crash you are going to suffer the consequences.) God is continually faithful and merciful to his people and is active in restoring the relationship with his people. No matter what Israel does, God still leaves room for them to repent and restore relationship once again.

Christians are supposed to enact Gods righteousness in their own life. Many times Christians have been so focused on justification by faith and being against legalism, that we have forgotten that one of our main aims is to live lives that enact justice in this world, based on a holistic view of creation rather than one based on crime and punishment. Christians aim is to be in partnership with Gods will and Gods restorative justice. Obedience to Gods will is about enacting shalom. It is not a way of gaining salvation but about being relationship with God and fulfilling his plan for this world. Christians can bring about an aspect of shalom in their own life by this and fulfilling social justice. Christians should be looking for ways that they can liberate the oppressed and show them the good news, so that the whole world will be blessed through Gods righteousness shown through Christians. We should also be willing to forgive our neighbors, not willing to get even, but to get right with them, restoring relationship with them. How much better would the world be if we saw people seek forgiveness rather than retribution for past wrongs; we wouldn't have had the wars between the Protestants and Catholics in Ireland, or the wars between the Hutus and Tutsis. We would see the fulfillment of shalom, rather than its undermining. This is a radical call to change our relationships between one another for peace on earth.

Pillar - Nothing Comes for Free EP

I have got to say that this is just an awesome ep, and it left we waiting for more. Pillar are a great band, who are showing thier maturity as a band on their latest ep. These guys keep getting better and better and show that they desserve the success that they have gained.

Nothing Comes for Free is a seven long EP, with three new songs, and 4 live recordings from Blue cats (I don't know where that is, but it sounds like it was an awesome gig from the recordings!)

The first song on the record Everything has all the qualities of a great Pillar song, it has the raw energy and killer rifts found on their last LP Where do we go from Here. This song holds true to Pillar, who have never let go of thier beliefs for fame. They fully tell their listeners that to be a christian is not an easy road, and that it costs everything and that for a christian to gain the prize which means everything (Christ Jesus, our salvation!)

The second song, called Escape Continues to tell the evangelical message that Pillar pumps hard and fast. Jesus is our hope, and is our only escape from sin, death, pain, suffering. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. This song will not be on the full length album - The Reckoning, but it deserves to be! This song again follows from thier last album. It has alot of punk sounding rifts and chords, and reminds me alot of Holding On, But it is a slower song

Dangerous is another great song and is my favourite song on the record, and for me should be one of the signature songs of Pillar, I can't understand why it has not made the cut for The Reckoning. They must have some awesome songs for the coming record. It is a full on pumping song. Classic, classic pillar! The song keeps me rocking for the whole 3 1/2 minutes.

I'm not going to comment on the live songs, only to say that it sounds like they played an awesome concert that day, makes me hope that they will come to parachute and play a concert. The one thing they should have had on this EP was an acoustic version of Simply. That would have made my day!

I am really looking forward to The Reckoning. This album was supposed to come out early this year, but its worth the wait. The new material that did not make the cut for the album is awesome, and hopefully means that the new album will be just brilliant. Otherwise I will be slagging off pillar in a month. It sounds like pillar have moved further away from the rap core genre, and are doing solid, hard, alternative rock, with a splash of punk in thier music which is great. I think thier next album will show that this band is maturing to the next level.

Paul, Sex and Marraige - Reflections on 1 Cor 7 and its relevance to today

Paul and his teachings on marriage and sex have long been misunderstood by readers. Paul has been viewed by readers as a misogynist and a puritan when it comes to sexual practice. Paul has been the subject of blame, rather than the forces of history and the misinterpretation of these texts. In light of this the first question that comes to my mind is ‘Paul, what were you trying to say when you wrote 1 Corinthians 7?’ Indeed I have tried to answer this question in my essay with reference to modern hermeneutical study on this passage. In doing this I have made reference to the situation in Corinth at the time which Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, and to his theological convictions. Paul’s writing needs to be critiqued and the question needs to be asked whether or not it can be directly applied to the time in which we live. In my view we have to take historical situation into account and ask how this applies to us now. We live in a different time, and a different world from the one Paul wrote to, and our situation is thus different. The art of good hermeneutics is getting into Paul’s world and coming up with an interpretation that helps us live a life in the here and now. I try to do this in this essay.

Paul starts 1 Corinthians 7 with the statement, 'it is good for a man not to touch a woman.' Some early writers, and often others have become confused with what Paul is saying here. Paul is not saying that 'it is good for a man not to touch a woman', but is responding to this statement. Commentators generally agree that some of the Corinthians had formulated this statement as a guide for right living and Paul was responding to this maxim[1] One position argued by scholar Antoinette Clark is that a group of woman prophets in the Corinthian Christian community had withdrawn from sexual relationships (Cor 7:1-40) and were advocating asceticism as a means to gain personal holiness. The Church in Corinth had misinterpreted early Christian teaching believing the new age had come already. If they had access to the Jesus tradition they would understand from the teaching in Luke 20:34-46 that marriage did not occur in the new age and that sexual relations should be avoided.[2] The Corinthian were even more confused because the teaching of stoic and hellenistic philosophies urged celibacy or if married, abstinence from sexual relations if you wanted to gain spiritual wisdom.[3] The problem is that being married and abstaining from sexual relations asks for trouble, especially in a city like Corinth, which was known for its sexual temptations.[4] Paul’s response to the situation in Corinth is a balancing act where he upholds sexual relations between men and women while still advocating celibacy as a perfectly good lifestyle choice. Paul in fact prefers singleness to the married state (1 Cor 7:37). In this whole section Paul walks a pragmatic line with his reader. He knows that a position promoting asceticism and celibacy is untenable, as it affronts Roman mores which advocated marriage and it would run the risk of leading to immorality in the Corinthian community. These are both evils that needed to be avoided by the Corinthian community.[5] In the marriage relationship Paul allows a concession - a man and wife can abstain from sexual relations when three conditions are fulfilled: that there is mutual consent between the man and women; that abstinence from sexual relations is only for a time; and that it would be for the seeking of the Lord in prayer.[6] Paul reaffirms in these passages that sex and marriage are both good and holy, and that each partner should look out for the needs of one another. In fact Paul makes it clear that there should be equality within the marriage relationship (vv. 4-5) and that there are obligations both ways to care for one another. A husband doesn’t even have authority over his own body, his wife does; and a wife doesn't have authority over her own body, her husband does! This is a very challenging call for anyone in a marriage relationship. How this works out in the marriage relationship will be different for every couple and every situation, but the principle is that marriage partners should care for one another, make compromises and grow in their relationships with one another.[7]

On the issue of widows, Paul walks the thin line between the acceptable and unacceptable once again. He wants the reader to be free from the social pressures of the Roman society which advocated remarriage, and the pressures of those in the church who advocated celibacy. Paul states that for widows 'it is good and well for them to remain [single] as I am' (v. 8) but Paul offers the concession that if self-control is a problem they should remarry (v. 9). Paul advocates celibacy, but those who do not have the ‘gift’ of celibacy should marry, since ‘it is better to marry than to burn’.[8] As we have been alerted to earlier, Paul is aware of the situation that these single Christians face and the temptation of living in a cosmopolitan city such as Corinth, and that it is better for them to marry than fall into temptation. Paul wants the Christian to be able to choose the best solution for themselves, being free from outside influence.[9] This in my view is very freeing, both is the past and in the present situation. Many times we are driven by social conditions to fulfill certain social requirements, the need for a new house or car, et cetera. The same can be said for marriage. In this day and age in the evangelical Christian church marriage has a lot of appeal to Christians. It is seen by some as the ultimate in life to get married, settle down and have a family, but this is not the same for all people, and the church should recognize this. People in the church should not put pressure on people to marry and have a family. I have heard of many occasions where people have been hurt by members of the church, as they have been urged to quick pace, hurry up and get married. This is not what Paul was teaching. There is a flip side to this; in the Catholic and Orthodox churches it has been seen as the highest type of devotion to God to remain celibate. Holiness is not defined by your marriage state but your relationship with God. Christians should be able to make their own moral choices, through the spirit, and not be driven by a prescriptive teaching on marriage. Many will choose marriage, but some will not, and as Paul states: ‘However that may be, let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned, to which God called you. This is my rule in all the churches’. (v. 17) We should be content with where God places us, desiring to do his will in that situation.

Paul’s teaching on divorce is the only point in this section of 1 Corinthians that Paul lays down a command. He refers to the teaching of Jesus and the command that Jesus made in Mark 10:9 and bases his teaching on divorce.[10] Paul believes that divorce was never intended for God's children. Men and women and made in God's image, and there is something mysterious about this relationship which reflects God's image back onto the world. Destroying this bond brings damage to the people involved and also dishonours God.[11] Under Roman law, the man or the woman was allowed to institute the divorce; Paul accommodates this by stating that he does not allow either man or women to divorce.[12] Paul’s advice to those who have divorced is that they should either ‘remain unmarried’ or ‘be reconciled’ with their partner.[13] To those believers married to unbelievers he admits that his advice is his own opinion. He echoes his earlier advice in v. 11, extending Jesus’ teaching on divorce, stressing that the marriage should continue if the unbeliever still wants the relationship to continue.[14] He then gives further rationale for his advice. He holds the hope that the unbelieving spouse would become a Christian, as they are shown the love of Christ in the marriage relationship. The other rationale is that the children would be made ‘holy’ rather than unclean, and, being under the influence of one Christian parent, the love of the God and the power of the Gospel would be shared with them, and that they would be brought up to live a Christian life.[15] But, if the non Christian partner did not want to be associated with the Christian partner and Christian movement, Paul would not oppose the split. The problem with Paul’s teaching is that it doesn’t deal with the complexity of relationships. It doesn’t answer questions on what should be done when a spouse is abused by the other in particular. Almost all would agree that in situations of abuse that the partner should leave both for their welfare and the welfare of the children involved.

For the unmarried, Paul has no word from the Lord, but he has his own maxim for them. His maxim is ‘in view of the impending crisis, it is well for you to remain as you are’ (v. 26). He then states that if you marry, you do not sin (v.28). Paul’s maxim and advice is bound up with his belief that the impending conclusion of history and of God's work began in Christ.[16] Paul’s view that the end of the ages is coming shapes his opinion on believers' present conditions and the institutions of the present age and how Christians should relate to them. Does it make sense to marry and start a family if the end of the ages is about to come? Not really. What would people do presently if we found out there was going to be a massive cataclysmic event in the next two years, especially in a community of faith who believed that salvation came through the gospel? The most important thing for the Christian to do would be to share the gospel, not to start a family. [17] So what does this mean to Christians who live today, 2000 years after these letters were first written, who still haven’t seen ‘the end of ages’ talked about so regularly in the New Testament, and don’t have the same sense of an impending end that the early Christians have? Tom Wright suggests that it should bring the sense for the Christian that they can never settle down and treat the world as if it is going to last forever. The Christian should be not alarmed with the turbulence and the stress of the world around them, and should not be distressed in having to put off the life that one would expect to enjoy or experience. Paul wants his readers to reevaluate their whole view of the world and how they react to the world around them.[18] 'Remaining as you are' is seen as a way of maximizing devotion to the Lord – which is seen as the better option for the Christian in this time.[19] The aim of the Christian should be to put as much focus into the Christian community as possible, and bringing others into that community as well. Those who are betrothed/engaged should remain single in this time and devote their time to the Lord, but if their passions are too strong, and they are acting inappropriately towards their fiancée, they should get married. Paul does not consider this a sin.[20] Paul concludes with the belief that pleasing your spouse and pleasing the Lord ultimately lead in different directions.[21] This is a highly negative and disturbing view of the marriage relationship - believing the rationale for marriage only is to stop physical temptation. He does not even suggest that the intimacy of the marriage relationship can be pleasing to the Lord. Nor does he suggest that a Christian marriage can be helpful in achieving similar ministry aims and strengthen a person’s ministry. His conclusions are driven by the strength of his eschatological convictions rather than these other concerns.[22]

Paul’s teaching on marriage, sex and divorce is written to address a certain audience with a set of concerns. Paul’s teaching on marriage and the marriage relationship seems rather brief and not very deep, and is not prescriptive either, but aims to deal with the pastoral needs of those to whom he is writing. His desire is not to produce a treatise on the marriage relationship, but answers the concerns of his readers. It would be wrong to say that it is an adequate guide for marriage counseling in this day and age. It probably was never seen as a guide for marriage counseling. It's a set of answers to questions that Paul was given. So what then do these teaching mean for us? Paul’s personal view seems to be that singleness is the preferred state, but he does not oppose marriage and sees it as good and holy. Paul views his readers as rational beings who can decide for themselves what state of lifestyle they should choose, not driven by social mores. Paul’s rationale for marriage seems to be rather negative but should be viewed in reference with his eschatology. He is primarily concerned that Christians put their relationship with God first and not get caught up in the desires of the world. Probably his strongest word is on divorce, echoing the commands of Jesus and trying to dissuade people from divorcing. This comes from his belief that the Marriage covenant should not be broken because of the emotional damage it causes and the dishonour it causes to God. The most striking and important remark from Paul is on equality within the marriage relationship. Taking this to light, Paul should not be considered a misogynist; rather he is very bold and revolutionary in this proclamation. These words are still some of the most challenging and relevant words from 1 Corinthians for the Christian involved in a marriage partnership. Living a life of love, and giving yourself wholly to your partner is a central element of the marriage partnership and these are the most important words to me in this day and age.
[1]J. Paul Sampey, 'First Letter to the Corinthians', in New Interpreter's Bible, Vol X, Nashville, p865
[2] Brendan Byrne SJ, Paul and the Christian Women, Homebush, 1988, p18
[3]N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone – 1 Corinthians, (2nd ed), London, 2003, p77
[4]Ibid, 78
[5] Bonnie Thurston, in the New Testament: Questions and Commentary, New York, 1998 , p42
[6] SJ, p.20
[7] Wright, pp.78-79
[8] SJ, p.22
[9]Wright, pp81-82
[10] Wright, p82
[11] Ibid
[12] Sampey, p875
[13] Ibid
[14] Ibid, p877
[15] Wright , p84.
[16] Sampey, p.885
[17] SJ, pp24-25
[18] Wright, pp91-92
[19] Sampey, p.890
[20] Ibid, p889
[21] SJ, p25
[22] Ibid

Gemmas an addict!

This could be the real reason why Gemma is deaf and blind. Gemma shame on you sniffing pens!

Cars - Beware of attacking Peacocks

I thought Id just share this Gem from Richards Photos. I think this is really really cool, and quite funny. Hope you enjoy

TNT Last Night - The Return of Kristin!

Kristin Returned to us from the US of A so we decided we would throw at lil bit of a party. It was really really fun. When and Sym and Claire are away the TNTers will play!






















Cranium that is!





















Or maybe they will play some good old fashion tea towel fights. Guess who won this fight!
















Proof the Kristin was at TNT last Night

















Luke with weapon in hand, Hoping to win the world campionship in tea towel fighting




















Lizzy with camera in hand, not realising that I'm taking a photo of her.