Letters to the editor

Madeleine Collins | 26 September 2006

Font size: + - | print | email to a friend

Confused value system

I was pleased to see that Michael Jensen’s article, ‘The fight over Aussie values’ (SC, Aug) drew attention to the danger of the ideological commitment of the Howard government to a particular view of Australian history and what constitutes ‘Australian values’.

However, Mr Jensen seems to be rather confused about what he means when he talks about values and he fails to develop an argument for effective Christian values education.
Most Christian educators would agree that they have a responsibility to help their students acquire such important values as: understanding, free inquiry, integrity, and tolerance which are part of our reformation heritage, and are core values in Australian secular education, but Christian educators have a further responsibility to introduce their students to Bible-based ethical decision making, values clarification and to guide their students in the development of an active, compassionate, evangelistic Christian faith.
Geoff Donald
Cabramatta, NSW

Christian or convert?
Thank you to the archbishop for urging us think about the appropriateness of asking people ‘how were you converted?’ (SC, Sept). Rather than focusing on a past conversion event I’m more interested to know ‘why are you still a Christian?’ This is a question every Christian has an answer to every day, and the answer is automatically relevant to all, not just those thinking of (or being encouraged) to become Christian. My own answer: ‘because Jesus is still King of the world and I still need saving.’
Antony Barraclough
Petersham, NSW

Parenting dilemmas over gender
You must be joking. Please say you were when you printed the article on ‘raising boys and girls’. (SC, Sept) Are we in a time warp? Surely we have moved on from the intellectually elastic ideas of women ‘not competing but completing’ of girls developing their ‘intuitive personal touch’ while boys are proud to use their ‘upper body strength.’ Are we to be encouraged to take our lead from Victorian English novelists who espouse the virtues of females being modest or could we perhaps acknowledge we are now living in the 21st century? When there is so much challenging and thought provoking literature available on raising our children, we do both our sons and daughters a disservice by printing this.
Sarita England
Dover Heights, NSW

Thanks for publishing Ann Benton’s article last month. I did not agree with every detail. But as a father of young girls, I share some of the author’s concerns about contemporary culture’s attitudes to gender and sex, as it impacts our children. The Bible teaches that men and women are not identical, and that’s the way God designed it. So we should give some thought as to how this might work out in practice, as we raise our children into adulthood.
Personally, I have found John Piper’s short book What’s the Difference? helpful in this broad area of thinking about the significance of manhood and womanhood.
Sandy Grant
Wollongong, NSW

I would caution people strongly that generalisations in this area can be incredibly difficult and damaging for those who don’t fit them. We need to be very careful that what we say is biblical or those who don’t fit the mould will be made to feel unfeminine or unmasculine when really it’s not a Christian pattern that they are violating but a particular sub-cultural ideal.
Having said that, I think the author very helpfully said some important things about encouraging boys and girls to be godly, have right relationships and have a strong sense of self and worth that is derived from their status before God and not appearance or achievements. That continues to be worth saying.
Jenny George
Melbourne, Vic

Humility of the wise
Thank you for advising us of the death of Dr. Leon Morris in the August edition of Southern Cross.

Every time I picked up one of his commentaries I was saddened by the knowledge that he was living with Alzheimer’s. What a joy it is for us to know that he is now with our Lord whom he so faithfully loved and served.

I count myself privileged indeed to have had the benefit of so many of his writings. “The Apostolic Preaching of The Cross” was ever so clear in demonstrating that our Lord’s death was a propitiation for our sins.

Rarely a month passed when I wasn’t dipping into one or another of his commentaries. My favourite was his great work on John’s gospel. Like all his works, so clear and so warm. The scholar and the pastor were never separated in his writings.

Many years ago Dr. Morris came to Perth to speak at a BCA day I had organised. A friend confessed that when he was introduced to Dr. Morris he wondered why he had bothered to come. After the first sentence of his first talk, in a series of 3, on his favourite theme: the love of God (from Jeremiah 31:3), his mind was changed. My friend still remembers the impact those talks had on him. Dr. Morris was the epitome of the humble, yet profoundly wise, Christian teacher. We experienced that as he spoke.

I thank God for the gift to our generation of such a gracious and godly teacher.
Peter Brain
Bishop of Armidale

Quick mail

Hope in despair
Mark Thompson’s article, ‘Luther’s Raging Torment’ (SC, Sept) offers an interesting insight into Martin Luther’s battle with despair. Chronic despair can result in a person lacking in motivation, indulging in acts of self-harm and impulsive behaviour, and create confusion of identity and purpose. At worst it can result in isolation from others and encourage unstable relationships. My experience with despair is that God’s love can powerfully break through its darkness; in seeing ourselves as he sees us (as children loved and redeemed through the love of his son) we needn’t live without hope. Knowing that God is in control of the universe and broke the power of death so that we no longer fear it (Hebrews 2:14-15), we’ve nothing to lose.
Haydn Sennitt
Strathfield, NSW

Ministers unchanged
John Sandeman (SC, Sept) rightly observes that the language of the churches is often complicated, jargonistic and difficult to understand for many ordinary people. He notes that many churches have already begun to debunk this language and cites the Uniting Church, which he says has voted to call its ordained ministers, ‘Pastors’. In fact, when the Uniting Church’s 11th Assembly Triennial met in July, it introduced a new specified or non-ordained ministry. From 2008, Pastors will replace the existing non-ordained ministries of Lay Pastor, Youth Worker and Community Ministers. Ordained Ministers will continue to be called Ministers.
Gavin Melvin
Manager National Media and Communications, Uniting Church

Wild at hearts changed
Hendry Wan’s review of John Eldredge’s book Wild at Heart (SC, Sept) was disappointing. To give another view of this book, this way of thinking has changed my life and brought me closer to the creator of the universe and closer to be the man I was made to be than any other book.
Jeremy Thomas
Nowra, NSW

Click here to comment on this article for the next edition of Southern Cross