You think that's freedom you're breathing....?

I would like to draw some attention if I may, to the high esteem and somewhat overinflated value we place on that concept our society calls 'freedom'. Most of us in the west point to it as a great icon. Something to be held up and displayed in contrast to other countries' and their forms of governance. Especially those ones that happen to have a single totalitarian leader or others that we might label oppressive like the old favorite 'communism' or the new kid on the block 'taliban'. These regimes in their practical form have exhibited quite repressive ways of dealing with their people and we are quick to point out their faults. What I would like to explore here however is our own capitalist system's apparent infallibility, we are the free ones after all ... aren't we?
With this question in mind I'd like to draw a little analogy with a scene of one of my favorite flicks The Matrix. The point where Morpheus is fighting Neo in a digital dojo and after Morpheus has given Neo a decent hammering. During the pause as Neo is getting himself together for a second round Morpheus takes the opportunity to lean in close and ask "you think that's air your breathing right now?"
I love this movie the more I see it.
The point I try to make here is that with all the impulses and drives within us. With all the exterior drives and expectations from our society and environment I have to ask. How much freedom do I really have?
Let's look at some of those exterior drivers: The valued freedom to move and travel... as long as I can pay for the trip or for the car to get there. The freedom to have my own castle and plot of land... after I shackle myself to that bank for half a life. The freedom to give my kids a better education... for an additional price. The freedom to have that stuff I need now... forever linked to internal drivers like: my sense of value and meaning within my society. These always come at a cost and usually with interest!
All of this compounded by an ever present media telling us exactly what we need, what real value is, what meaning is and effectively what my purpose is in this life. Am I building enough of a Matrix picture here to show where I'm coming from?
How much of our lives are spent making sure these valued ideas mentioned above become practical?
Is this time spent wisely?
How much do we wander through our lives oblivious to the undertones. To the constant caressing invite telling us we require more?
How much does this constant barrage push us into our personalised individual space and detatch us from our community?
How strong is the drive for comfort that it causes us to push aside the needs of our neighbours?
Perhapse it's time to wake up to what's happening to us and our society and stop going into debt to buy yet another 'blue pill'. (ooh look another Matrix analogy)

Please forgive my broad brush strokes. I know I only scratch the surface of this issue.

Let's go out with some more music appropriate for the theme.

Freedom by Rage Against The Machine.

Rebel, Rebel.

Well for any that are unaware, its all happening at South Brisbane! Look what happens when someone who has kept a mantle of tradition (or at least an appearance of one) but then through conviction is moved to challenge those traditions. Father Peter Kennedy who has been a parish priest in Brisbane's south for 28 years under Roman Catholic authority has shifted, along with his congregation, away from many of the norms of Roman Catholic Liturgy. This shift has finally come to a dramatic head as Fr Peter's efforts to 'remain under the radar' have come to an inevitable conclusion.
The Empire has inquired into what has gone on, and is displeased at what it sees. Fr Peter's acceptance of Gays into the fold, inviting females to have ministerial roles, laying down his own ministerial position to be on equal terms with his community, changing traditional practices and even seating arrangements! has all landed him in hot water.
There was a minor confrontation four years ago, people were notified and a letter was sent but ignored. Now things have been ramped up somewhat and Fr Peter has had his status as a priest revoked. He has been told to remove himself from his ministry but has refused to budge. He remains because his 1000 strong congregation stand squarely behind him. This defiance has come to a head in the last week as the ordained replacement for Fr Peter is due to arrive and take over.
Local police were called but not wanting to be the meat in the sandwich they asked for the new replacement to use common sense and stay away. At the same time the congregation gathered in a show of protest against the removal of Fr Peter. As all this was going on, just to add to the drama, someone made a phone call: a bomb threat toward the new replacement warning him off.
So the push and pull between postmodern revolutionaries and fundamental traditionalists rages to a head.
Now the latest chapter is that mediation has been called. There will be a civil hearing into the matter overseen by a QC.

Anyway I was excited about Peter and his conviction to lead his flock in this way. Following the lead of the great revolutionary who flew in the face of both Empire and the religious elite of His day. Feasting and communing with the outcast, the downtrodden with an attitude of service rather than dominance.
I was wondering how the RC Empire was expecting to win this one? It's a bit of catch 22. Can't keep up those age old traditions without losing the congregation. Will it be a matter of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.....again...?

Are you for real! Don't even start you inconsiderate.....

Danny Nalliah this barrage is for you! I don't even know where to begin with this moron. I guess I better start with his latest insensitive rant that made its way to the Age Newspaper recently.

Firstly I would like to say without any apology that I take this kind of misconception personally. I have good mates that I work with. One has lost his family to these fires and others are coming and going from the horrific scenes there with stories that eat you from the inside out. Mr. Nalliah you might need to take a walk in the shoes of some of these guys for a day or two to get some perspective on the devastation that you inadvertently played down with this B*#@$&!t political agenda of yours. What infuriates me more is that you are on a pedestal in front of many proclaiming you are a minister showing the way and love of Christ and many have lapped up this vile filth coming from your mouth without question. All the while the public watches you from the sidelines making judgements on your Christianity. I can already see what the verdict is! Anyway enough about you.

I want to give praise and admiration to a man who exemplifies true Christianity in this truly horrific event. All I know is his first name is Thomas and they had a brief story of his selfless and truly beautiful and inspirational efforts on TV last night after the news. He was one of the lucky ones living in one of the areas affected: his house and family both came through; He has a business that allows him to have access to generators and electrical equipment. He has been able to use his contacts and knowhow to restore immediate water and electricity to many of his neighbours. He has worked tirelessly since the fires to make as many in his community as comfortable as possible in the aftermath. He has opened his home to five families (the most he could reasonably fit). He intends to secure the temporary use of caravans to bring onto his property to help up to twenty more families. No one in his community are surprised at what he is accomplishing. "He was always like that. It's just him... he helps everyone... its his nature... he would do this for anyone."
His own words betray his selfless nature "Don't look at me I'm not the hero. All these folks who have lost family, lost homes walking around today with smiles on their faces... they're the real heroes. I'm just doing what anyone else would do."
If his late night torch lit Bar B Que at his home with the families staying with him is not a picture of Communion in this blackened community I don't know what is.
It's not that hard to see where Jesus is hanging out in the aftermath of this devastation.

Obviously Tom's actions are a somewhat infectious and other inspired members of communities all around are giving what they can.

Here's some video of what Bushfire Tom's up to. Just pan down and look for "Bushfire Tom" tab on the left.

The Heart of Man

When I woke up on the morning of the 29th of January, 2009 I wasn't expecting to have the worst day of my career. I was actually looking forward to seeing my 6 year old boy off at his first day at school. Little did I know that it would be the horrific premature end for another's child who was also meant to be heading to school that day. Have a read about that here to get some perspective.
So as I was at the top of the bridge and looking down and the word came through that the body laying at the bottom was actually a child, that odd process of attempting to comprehend the incomprehensible began. I Don't ever expect to make complete sense of it.

What I just wanted to mention here is that this incident should be a clear beacon. A sharp sobering indicator about the heart that is inside of every one of us and the depths that it can sink to. Not in order to look at this from afar and judge the man. There has already been an abundance of that. But to reflect and look within and perhaps recall the depths we have sunk to at times in our own lives. To be wary of and acknowledge our own internal impulses and weaknesses.

Some of the most striking parts of this story come from hearing that this man was not a monster nor was he psychotic. He was described as a loving father. He was 35, Caucasian, worked in IT and lived in upper middle suburbia. Yet a specific set of circumstances were put before him and this horrific outcome was the result.
Surely at some point should we not ask ourselves: what are my 'set of circumstances'? What would lead me to such a dark place?
I believe it's these types of questions to ourselves and this analysis of ourselves that leads us not to judge others and assists in the process of forgiveness towards those we thought we could never forgive.

This kind of forgiveness is what I think of when I contemplate the words 'take up your cross and follow me'. Those piercing words told by the one who walks the walk. The one who looks us square in the eye when we try and cop out and say "but I can't" and says "I already did!"

New Worship?

Anyone who knows me will know I love this band. I have loved them even more over the past couple of years.
Over a number of posts I would like to put forward an idea that may not sit well with some. I would like to review a number of songs, by this band and others, and see how they blend, (in my mind anyway) with the drive, the groan, the desire for things like justice, siding with the oppressed, resisting the oppressor, uplifting the downtrodden, peace and hope that I believe Jesus intended in the story his life told.
Along with this I would like to place these songs into the arena as worship songs. Songs that may not immediately or comfortably fit the conventional idea of worship songs as seen in church today but fit other criteria that were present in Jesus' life. Criteria that I believe have been sorely overlooked throughout the history of what we have come to know as Christianity.
As a precursor I would point to some of the attributes of Jesus' life that tend to be ignored or played down in order to keep the 'Western' image of conservative Christianity.

1. He was born a fugitive on the run. A king with an army behind him wanted His blood in the earliest days of His childhood.

2. During his most formative years, those spent teaching and expressing the Kingdom of God, he spent homeless.

3. He was hated by those in authority because his ideas threatened the very fabric of that authority. Some of His ideas taken literally would turn all forms of governance and domination on their head.

4. His teachings of the Kingdom of God and their ramifications are some of the most dangerous and subversive ideas put to print.

5. In some of his teachings he purposely placed himself in the shoes of the downtrodden, the lowly, the poor and those in prison to expressly have his followers treat them with love and respect.

6. His one act of violence was against his own people in a literal overturning of those with money and power.

7. His death was symbolic of the removal of power structures and ideas expressed on earth and their replacement by the subversive ideas of the Kingdom of God. A dangerous story told and retold by the ritual of communion.

With these ideas in mind I would like to portray these songs as anthems that provoke. Songs that force us to think and struggle with the world around us. Songs that move us out of apathy to engage injustice, poverty, violence and remind us of the downtrodden.

So let our first song in this series rip!

The song is called "Wake Up" by the band Rage Against The Machine.
Some may fondly remember it as the parting anthem of the movie The Matrix (a movie that deserves a post of it's own).
Just a few words about the music: It's hard edged guitar is a really driving and groaning sound. Good for getting that @rse of a pew! This song also has a wailing guitar at the beginning and end. It's kind of like a siren alerting one out of a stupor, an affect Rage use in a number of their songs.

Here's some selected lyrics:

C'mon!
Standing with the fury that they had in 66

Fist in the air in the land of hypocrisy,

Movements, come and movements go

the puppets, the police, the judges, the feds

20 20 visions and murals with metaphors

They gave the power to the have nots
and then came the shot

Whado I Whado I have to do to wake up
to break the culture up, to break the structure up

I think I heard a shot!
Wake Up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How long not long
'cause what you reap is what you sow!

Of course this song is using US politics in the 60's as a driver pointing out names like King and Malcolm X and implicating the US Government and FBI but on a deeper level I believe it speaks against any authority using oppression. Telling those that sit idly by in a silent majority that just sitting there is an act of acceptance. In our world that often means blindly consuming or hopelessly believing that injustice cannot be faced or addressed due to an overwhelming status quo.
I believe this song is a driver to get us motivated and out of that pessimistic mentality.
Let's listen and WAKE UP!

Leviticus = Whips and Chains.

I was roaming around on Facebook (Crackbook?) today and found a controversial little group that could be joined: Lets start with just 1,000 people to support Gay Marriage in Australia.

Intrigued I had to take a look at the forum and found the obligatory post from the Fundy Right perspective. You can imagine the run of the mill anti gay banter going on - peppered with 'justifying' scriptures. (Genesis 1:26-27, 9:6). (Romans 1:24-27). (Genesis 2:22-24). (Hebrews 13:4).

At the end of this rant theres the obligatory, loveless I know you better than yourself spiel. You'll love this:

If you are homosexual, we encourage you to look deep inside yourself. Are you joyful and happy? Look at your anatomy, what do you see? This is who you are created to be! There is help, just a prayer away. Acknowledge your situation, confess it, and turn to Jesus. He is there. Secure support from others who have been in your situation and have escaped the lifestyle.

Excuse me while I blow some chunks
*Insert Pavement Pizza Sounds here*.

I was ready to stop reading there but I found this gem of a reply:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from you, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die?

i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.

Absolute Gold!
I can't top it!
Can you tell I love sarcasm?

Justified.....?

Folks I'm a little worried, a little disenchanted. Apparently I have it wrong. I should be justified when I want to support my country and it's Government as it sets policies that condone war. Apparently it is condoned even by God to invade foreign sovereign countries in the name of "they started it!"

It must be true. A soldier who fought on the ground in one of those foreign countries said so.

This is what he said:
I am a Special Forces Officer and veteran of combat in Afghanistan.

The 6th Commandment of the Christian Bible (and Jewish Torah) is "Thou Shall Not Kill" or "Thou Shall Not Murder" depending on the translation of ancient Hebrew.

I prefer the "Thou Shall Not Murder" as it is the more accurate translation.

I would like to stop it there a moment and mention the convenience of the alteration in interpretation of just one word from "Kill" to "Murder" and the implications of that.
Removal of the word kill which is a blanketing word that encompasses all forms of violence against another causing death leaves no real room for movement and we can't exclude warfare that causes death and begin our justification of that.
Murder is a legal word in our current English language and according to most Western legal systems one must have intended beyond a reasonable doubt to have taken another's life. There are reasonable defenses to the charge - the main being self defense or defense of another under serious threat from the person killed.
So the implications here are that one "is justified" in killing another with some specific conditions.

Let's hear some more:

Becoming a Christian is not a suicide pact. It does not mean that now as I am a Christian that anyone can come and beat me or kill me, rape women in my house and take anything you want from me and I will not fight back. That I will just lay there as a slug (or run away) because of my religion.

Interesting first sentence because Jesus has called many to serve him who have died in his name many quite violently as is attested by the accounts of Christian martyrs through history. I bring to the fore a recent martyr's (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) prophetic words regarding this "when Christ calls a man he bids him come and die."

The rest of this paragraph paints a noble, male supremist picture and builds with it a narrative of the 'enemy that is not in my home' which conveniently slots into that wider narrative of 'the enemy that is not in my country or doesn't follow my superior belief system'.

Let's go on:

Defending yourself is not murder. This is very clear in the Bible.

Also, "Thou Shall Not Murder" ties in completely when Jesus was asked what he thought was the greatest of the 10 Commandments

Matthew 22:37-40 -- Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

And Jesus also said "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." (Luke 6:31; Luke 10:27 (affirming of Moses) and Matthew 7:12)

If I saw "bad men" breaking into my neighbor's house, I would go and defend my neighbor. I would willingly put my life in danger to prevent my neighbor from getting murdered, raped or beaten. That is also the way I would want my neighbor to treat me. I would be a coward and a very bad neighbor if I knew bad men were killing my neighbor and raping his wife and I did nothing. I would be evil if I justified "doing nothing" because I am a Christian.

I am still scratching my head at the twist of logic here. The scriptures are plainly pointing me in a direction and clearly telling me how to treat my neighbour and how to situate myself in relation to God.
The scenario after the scriptures is going back to the White Night narrative we saw earlier where he is identifying an enemy 'bad men' (obviously pigeon holing a type of person) putting them on a different level to his 'good' neighbour that most likely shares his values and beliefs. He then goes on to paint an unlikely picture that nowhere near fits into the wider scenario he is attempting to justify. Lets not kid ourselves he is attempting to fit this narrative into the invasion of both Iraq and Afghanistan.
If my neighbour America is such a good neighbour I would be expecting that he would not invade me and my home. I would expect that he would consult me on who is and isn't my enemy. I would ask him to assist me in restraining my enemy instead of thrusting his superior beliefs on me and tearing my loved ones and home apart in a vendetta against his self made enemies.

There's more:

What makes murder inherently wrong is not that it feels wrong, but that a transcendent Creator to whom we are answerable commands: "Thou shalt not murder." What makes kindness to others inherently right is not that human reason says so, but that God does: "Love thy neighbor as thyself; I am the Lord."

This doesn't do much for the argument. I would just say that an inner conscience would reflect the Creator's commands of though shalt not kill and usher us toward kindness.

As far as being a soldier in the American Army. The American Army and the American solider does not invade countries for money or booty or for power (as most armies do). We go (and fight and die) in hard places around this brutal world to liberate people and to bring freedom. This is what good neighbors do. I would leave the American Army if we invaded Iraq just to kill or Iraqis or invaded Afghanistan to take all their gold and make them slaves.

We were attacked on 9-11. 3,000 American died. More Americans will die if the terrorists are not confronted. We either go after them or surrender to them. Again, being a Christian or a Christian nation is not a suicide pact. It does not mean you just lay there and let people do whatever evil they want to you without fighting back.

Self defense is not immoral - not by an individual or by a nation.

God sent David to slay Goliath. Did God break his own Commandment?

Just the way I see it.

Best Regards,

The first paragraph reads like a narrative of one who is working against their conscience and needs to somehow justify the actions of their country. I am glad that many are beginning to see America for what it is and the motives behind it's Government's policies. Every aspect that this soldier says that America doesn't do, IT DOES DO!
I don't want to play down the fact that American and other country's soldiers don't go into difficult, horrific situations overseas. They do an extremely hard job under difficult circumstances and often die for that cause.
What I do want to question and oppose is the idea that the soldiers in these places need to be where they are and specifically doing what they are doing. Driven by questionable policies that are in place for the profit of a few and the detriment of many.
I would also question the automatic notion that Terrorists will flourish if not confronted. If internal American and Western policies were to shift away from accelerated corporate gain at the expense of neighbouring countries I don't believe these minority groups would have a reason to attack us.

But hey that's just the way I see it!