Is it to impress God that people practise abstinence and wear special colours during Lent? I doubt if God would be so easily swayed by our outward displays. Surely, it’s about the state of the heart, not the art.
Hendry Wan
Matraville
The Australian, Tuesday 18-3-2008
I’m baking hot-cross buns this week. Would it be religiously insensitive to serve them for morning tea at a multi-faith workplace?
What can Wan man do? (I’ve been waiting to use that for days):
age:
Doubting Danny?
THREE things are certain in life: Good Friday, Easter Sunday and their denunciation. Bets on publicity-hungry clerics, writers or scholars stirring up some controversy with their dressing down of Jesus’ divinity and resurrection. If it’s not some esoteric discovery purporting to throw new doubts on Jesus then it’s some reinterpretation of biblical material to assuage post-modern sensibilities. There is nothing new under the sun. Doubting Thomas will poke Jesus, perhaps with a different finger each time. Even so, it’s the same pair of hands.
Hendry Wan, Matraville
Also on the same topic in the age, the moody man is in with lead letter, and there were a couple of other good ones:
Something more than buns and eggs
DANNY Katz writes about the whacko differences between religions but there are also important similarities: all the great faiths look beyond this world and fret about what will happen when we die. All religions acknowledge that there is something wrong with humans and that something needs to be done to bring us back to God.
The distinctive message of Christianity — the “Good” of Friday — is that whatever is wrong between us and God, Jesus has already died to mend it. Because of Jesus’ death we can be reconciled to God no matter what we have done. There is forgiveness without denial of guilt. There is liberation from the need to think of ourselves as better than others. There is something better than over-priced buns and tasteless chocolate eggs. I know, it all sounds strange, but if you think about it for a while it turns out to be the most sane thing of all.
Andrew Moody, Blackburn South
Try a little love
DANNY Katz’s article “How religion can make us look like the Easter Bunny” (Metro, 20/3) highlights how our society’s celebration of Easter masks its true significance. Christians remember and commemorate and celebrate Easter for similar reasons Australians commemorate Anzac Day.
The words of Jesus Christ in John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this to lay down his life for his friends”, are repeated on innumerable rolls of honour throughout this country. Christians are in awe that God loves people so much that he died for us and paid the price for our sins. The good news of Easter is that this love offering is available to all who receive Jesus and believe in his name.
John Clarke, Dubbo, NSW
and also in the age:
I smell hypocrisy
I NOTICED that in his uproariously funny satire on religion, Danny Katz passed up the opportunity to take the micky out of Muslims. I presume that would have been due to lack of space?
Facts and friction of Easter - John Dickson in the Herald
Easter highlights the risky, even vulnerable, position of the world’s 2 billion Christians. I am not just thinking of the blockbuster headlines that frequently coincide with their holy days - the discovery of Jesus’ tomb (complete with his remains), reports of his marriage to Mary Magdalene, and so on…
From today’s SAT SMH here’s one letter writer who wasn’t convinced by
SMH Friday editorial :
A ripping yarn
What? The resurrected Christ didn’t even look like Jesus (Editorial, March 21)? Talk about Monty Python. I suppose just before he ascended to heaven he shouted “Look over there!”, and when the disciples returned their gaze the Messiah was gone. Nice editorial, but you ought to print actual news and leave the fables to those who still believe in them.
after a couple of unpublished shortlists lately, finally got one in, in response to the recent twelve tribes cult/common ground cafe expose
for context, here is the initial letter, smh tue 25/3/08:
Your paper has recently been full of accounts of the chaos in Aboriginal communities, where undisciplined children prostitute themselves to earn money for drugs. I do not suggest we impose the strict discipline that your article suggested was common practice among the Twelve Tribes community ("Sect woos recruits among fairy floss”, March 24). But before we dismiss the principles that underpin such communities, we should at least compare the outcomes of such an upbringing with the alternatives.
I believe all religions are hokum. However, clearly some are less harmful than others. I have frequently dropped into the Common Ground cafe at Rozelle, partly because of their excellent coffee and cakes, but also because the staff have created an atmosphere that is rare in these days of globalisation and mass marketing.
I suggest that those who wish to deplore Common Ground’s practices should first go to their cafes, sit quietly and compare their detached politeness with the ersatz “have a nice day” politeness in McDonald’s, Starbucks or Gloria Jean’s. They may be deeply religious, but they don’t ram their beliefs down your throat, they don’t blow up aeroplanes, and I can’t imagine the children of this community offering themselves to truck drivers for $50.
Tony Letford, Ashfield
and my reply, smh wed 26/3/08:
I agree with Tony Letford (Letters, March 25) that the Common Ground cafe in Rozelle is a lovely place to enjoy a good coffee in “an atmosphere that is rare in these days of globalisation and mass marketing”. I used to go there frequently until one day last year when I took home some Twelve Tribes literature along with their delicious organic bread.
I did some research and quickly decided that, no matter how delicious the goodies, I could not support a cult which practises brainwashing and child abuse. There are plenty of other good local - and even multinational - cafes that offer Fair Trade coffee and cakes. I guarantee that even if it isn’t quite the same, it will leave a better taste in your mouth.
Justice Kirby claims my colleague has turned a blind eye to the “central loving message of Jesus of the gospels”. Christ speaks of forgiveness but also commands us to repent. Sometimes I find it hard to hear, but I still appreciate those who gently but firmly point out my own, very real sins.
The Reverend Sandy Grant Wollongong
Herod did not appreciate John the Baptist calling him to repent of his sexual immorality either. Could the Herald’s treatment of Richard Lane be the modern-day equivalent of seeing John’s head on the plate?
Andrew Mitchell Gladesville
Richard Lane deserves praise and not condemnation for pointing out the inconsistency between Christian teaching and homosexuality. The current popularity of a sin does not make it right, no matter how distinguished the person. If God is going to judge all of us because of our sin, then we should be thankful to anyone who risks public crucifixion by warning us about this truth, even if we do not want to hear it.
The Reverend Gordon Cheng Kingsford
And not sure if SA:
If Michael Kirby was in the surf and Richard Lane saw a shark approaching, would we not expect Lane to sound a warning?
To be fair - there has been a range of responses from “Sydney Anglicans”. Including this one that was left out (At least - I assume they are a SA). I’m not agreeing with it - just putting it on record.
As a member of the Anglican Church and a recently elected member of the synod, the abuse of Justice Michael Kirby saddens me ("Admit your sins to the Lord, priest tells gay judge”, April 10). The Reverend Richard Lane’s attack, as reported, is the language of the Pharisees, whom Christ drove from the temple. Unfortunately these attitudes and language are typical of the Sydney archdiocese, as seen in the recent letter of the bishops justifying them not going to Lambeth. Long known for its patriarchal and implacable opposition to the ordination of women, the Anglican Church in Sydney under its current leadership has become obsessed with matters of sexuality and sexual preferences. The church should focus on its real mission of love, compassion and dialogue, extending Communion and the faith to all.
I do hope Geoffrey Sherington will brush up on his New Testament facts before representing his parish at synod.
As I recall it wasn’t the Pharisees that were driven from the Temple....
But I do have a delicious mental picture of what it might have looked like if Jesus had done it . . .
Letter writers might like to consider shooting off a Christian-related letter on the subject of Anzac Day and sacrifice. I just have, making reference to John 15:13.
Ideally do it before midday, as the letters editors seem to have made their selections by 3 pm.
PAUL Bugeja (Letters, 25/4) is indicative of the general ignorance of teachers’ situations that is rife in the community and the present State Government. Although not a teacher myself, I am married to one and know many others. I experience first-hand the workload teachers have and the kind of commitment and dedication required, not simply to survive as a teacher, but to excel.
Cameron Bell (Letters, 25/4) mentioned the preparation and administration done during the 10 weeks of student-free time (what some call teachers’ “holidays"); he also mentioned the weekly after-hours work during term time. However, he missed the regular weekend work and the relentless concern most teachers show in their search for the best resources for their classes.
Teaching is a mode of life, not a job. And the State Government’s miserly offer of a pay increase for an increase in “productivity” is insulting.
I hope that the frequent posters on these forums will keep making the effort to write to newspapers. It’s a good discipline and a great opportunity for gospel ministry.
The “clubs catastrophe” says a lot about the Australian psyche. Who would have thought that reducing the number of people dying from passive smoking and the money being wasted in gambling would have been a “catastrophe”? I know clubs do a lot for their communities. But if people want to support their club, why do it by gambling? This “catastrophe” is an opportunity for us all to do a bit of soul searching.
THE AUSTRALIAN Government’s commendable refusal to acknowledge same-sex marriages is really a recognition that historically, and across all cultures, marriage has never been recognised as anything other than defining one particular relationship between a man and a woman. So, rather than take over and redefine this word and institution, Rodney Croome (Comment & Debate, 1/5) and others (Letters, 1/5) should invent their own new and separate word for their chosen unions, and press for that word to be included in the law. At least that would be more honest.
Great to see your letter in the Herald today, Lydia.
Marriage by the book
Regardless of what Trevor Green can remember from his distant Sunday Masses (Letters, May 2), the biblical definition of marriage has never changed. It remains the same in the Old and New Testaments, from Genesis to Jesus, and has always been between a man and a woman.
While it may be appropriate to redress some discriminatory aspects of our society, for Christians, marriage has been instituted by God. It’s designed to be run by His rules, and they don’t change. Lydia Smith Mudgee
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