"The peril of postmodernity is that of losing the capacity to be informed and transformed by God's Word; the promise of postmodernity is that of rediscovering aspects of God's Word that enable us to get wisdom rather than mere information." K Vanhoozer
Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let those who hate Him flee from before His face.
"This is the one who like a lamb was carried off and like a sheep was sacrificed. He redeemed us from slavery to the cosmos as from the land of Egypt and loosed us from slavery to the devil as from the hand of Pharaoh. And he sealed us from our souls with his own Spirit and the lambs of our body with the his own blood. This is the one who covered death with his shame and made a mourner of the devil, just as Moses did Pharaoh. This is the one who struck lawlessness a blow and made injustice childless, as Moses did Egypt. This is the one who rescued us from slavery into liberty, from darkness into light, from death into life, from a tyranny into an eternal kingdom (and made us a new priesthood and a peculiar, eternal people)." - Melito of Sardis, On The Passover, circa 160 AD.
How do you feel about people starting prayer with 'Dear God' or Dear Heavenly Father..."?
"Work is the stewarding of Gods creation under Christ's rule, requiring us to fill and subdue it, to care for it and enhance its fruitfulness so that humanity continues and prospers in God's world in communities of care." H/T Rowan Kemp.
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honourable in the sight of all.If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written: "'vengeance is mine, I will repay', says the Lord". To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give hims something to drink; for by doing so you will heap burning coals on his head". Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:17-21
"Don't be conformed to this present evil age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." - Romans 12.2
"The word of God was the sweat of [Paul's] brow, but it was also the life of his mind. Our juncture of history is rather like Paul's in one respect: it requires a Christian preacher to come to the defence of the life of the mind. As Universities daily conform themselves more closely to the school of wizardry in children's fiction, a repository of magic techniques to get startling effects, who else is left to care for how people, as individuals, think for themselves about the coherence of understanding, principle, and purpose that makes the difference between living in freedom and living in servitude? As the young flock in ever greater numbers to our Universities and colleges, who is there to talk to them seriously, and with all the resources of refined scholarly culture, about the meaning of their human existence, about how vast quantity if scatted or organised information can be distilled into something worth a humans being's while to be occupied with in his or her one and only venture in life? Of course, we shall be told that virtue cannot be taught, that the existential dimension of wisdom is something each person must discover for him or herself, not a topic for inclusion in a syllabus, to be "covered" in a tutorial. All of which is perfectly true. Yet wisdom can be present or absent as a goal and a horizon, before which everything covered in a syllabus can begin to assume its real importance. But this requires teachers who believe that learning is not simply perfecting a performance, but has to do with the terror and hope that is due to existence itself. It requires teachers who believe in the human reality of salvation and loss, who live out their academic roles as those who continually ask how they may be saved?" - Oliver O'Donovan, No End to the Word, The Word in Small Boats, 2010.
"[I'm] not really religious; I'm an Anglican.'' - Lindsay Tanner, Federal Finance Ministerh/t Alison
"Why is there such a fury against religion now? Because religion is the one reliable force that stands in the way of the power of the strong over the weak. The one reliable force that forms the foundation of the concept of the rule of law. The one reliable force that restrains the hand of the man of power. In an age of powerworship, the Christian religion has become the principal obstacle to the desire of earthly utopians for absolute power."
6"For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."If there is one thing that stood out to me as during student during my time at Sydney Uni, it is the EU's commitment to the t-shirt truth that "Jesus Christ is Lord." This is the gospel we proclaim and live out on campus.
Alison and I are both involved in ministering to International students at our church. We are really thankful for the opportunities we have to share Jesus and our lives with people. But it has made us really aware of how poorly treated international students are. They are charged an incredible amount of money come here and study, and then receive no financial assistance in terms of travel insurance or medicare. International students will often work long hours each day, and are usually underpaid. Unaware of their rights, I've heard too many stories from students in the past three years who have been taken advantage of by the employers."...[W]e need to get serious about the services we provide to overseas students. Each student we welcome into Australia is a person with complex needs and aspirations, unlike the volumes of coal and iron ore that have traditionally dominated our links to Asia. Students should not be perceived as cash cows to be milked at every opportunity. Sure, overseas students make a huge economic contribution but why shouldn't state governments recognise this by, for example, treating them like other students and providing travel concession cards?" - SMH
ay forward is for universities to provide more on site or local accommodation for international students. He also notes that "our education links are often as strong as, if not stronger than, our diplomatic links." I think that I agree with him. However, I want to take it further; because it is not only institutional change that is needed. It's not only our governments and universities that see overseas students as "cash cows", but employers who work international students on 12 hour shifts and pay them a pittance. Our landlords who charge students $200 a week to share a two bedroom apartment with seven other people. What is need ultimately is a change of heart. As agents and victims of sin and evil, what we need is to be set free.
As part of the 2010 Sydney Festival, ABC Radio National hosted an event called Hope 2010: Crisis, Catharis, Renewal. Nine panelists were asked to talk about what they hope for in 2010. The Australian public were also able to "offer their hopes, fears and dreams for 2010."
