Today is Otago Anniversary Day. The Province of Otago existed from 1853 to 1876: I have a soft spot for the constitution of that time, with its limited franchise, federal structure, and provision for traditional tribal law. I also have a soft spot for the imperial structure of the time. However, parliament had the ability to amend it. Which it did. Repeatedly.To the Nations’ detriment: the original capital was in Auckland (which is volcanic) but it was moved to Wellington (which sits on a very active fault line).
Idiots. The only rational places for the capital and archives are not on fault lines but extinct volcanoes — Auckland and Dunedin.
Looking around the structure of or society today, the Victorian colonists would be horrified. So would the Maori: by 1853 the bulk of them were Christian,, and all would be reading on this day… the nature of our society is now as broken as we would be after an earthquake. We cannot paper this up.
So when I consider the text today, I am stymied.
Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.
Today we neither acknowledge that we were made and fashioned by God, nor that the child in the womb is a creation of God and of great value, or that the commandments of God are true and righteous.
This leaves us in a great quandary. To stand, to be faithful, we have to be countercultural. And this will lead to opposition. For we do not play by the rules of this world.
30They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; 31for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” 32But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.
33Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” 34But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. 35He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” 36Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, 37“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
38John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40Whoever is not against us is for us. 41For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.”
Hmmm. Firstly, down time is important. There were many cripples. There are many poor. But Jesus needed to teach his disciples. He retreated from the public for a season.
Secondly, there is no power but for service. In Christ, we do not honour those who are great, but those who are faithful with those things that are small. We should not pursue success — as measured in turnover, dividends, share price, assets and political power — but faithfulness and service. If we concentrate on prayer, worship and faithfulness, then we may he able to keep the commandments. And thus seeking his kingdom and his righteousness, other things will be added to us.
Finally, we should not be exclusive. This is an error of those who think too much. If someone who is clearly in error does good in Christ’s name, we should help them. Perhaps the spirit is working with them more powerfully than us. Perhaps we are being sent there to help them.
What does this mean for here? Well, this is not a site for those necessarily who live in my city, province or nation. Nor for the reformed (there are far more erudite theologians for that). It means that I allow posts with errors.
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PS. Yes, I was born and raised in Auckland, and now live in Dunedin. I’m biased. So?
Finally, we should not be exclusive. This is an error of those who think too much. If someone who is clearly in error does good in Christ’s name, we should help them. Perhaps the spirit is working with them more powerfully than us. Perhaps we are being sent there to help them.
[* I meant to reply to this sooner, but I’ve been busy getting ready to move/go back to college. In Japan, the school year begins in April].
By “error” do you mean non-Christians?
It’s wrong to assume all non-Christians are intentionally rejecting Christ. Many countries don’t have large active Christian communities. They’re not “in error” they’re just in the dark. I think if Christians were nicer to non-Christians, then maybe more people would be willing to look into Christianity.
This article is sort-of a good example:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/23/christians-pay-medical-bills-for-atheist-protestor_n_1375684.html
I know a lot of Christians who would say “good, he deserves to be sick!” and not help him. But that’s not the proper Christian response. He was surprised the Christians helped him.
No BF.
I was thinking about Christians. We all say a lot of rubbish a lot of the time…. and get distracted into race realism, social justice, the ecology, or why women (or men) are like (or not like) that.
Which can be fun, but we should not prescribe.
Consider dress. Alte wears scarves and covers her head. Elspeth does not. You like Kawai’i (Cute, and I am not sure if I transliterated that correctly). Son one likes Manga, and (to my horror) Jethro Tull. Doesn’t matter.
I prefer linux and Nikons. My friend prefers Apples and Canons. Does not matter.
I disagree with David C on saints, holy days, the number of sacraments, and the place of the virgin. At one point, Christ will tell us we were correct here and incorrect here.
Non Christians? Well, depends. I find, for instance, Shinto and Confucianism far too bureaucratic and worshiping order for my antipodean egalitarian sensibilities. But the issue there is Christ.
Among ourselves, there is freedom tempered by our love for each other. There is nothing morally wrong with wearing a bikini. (Or nothing). What is wrong is wearing it in such a way that all men are drooling. Yes, it can happen, but reducing us all to wolves is not that charitable 🙂
You like Kawai’i (Cute, and I am not sure if I transliterated that correctly)
Nope, you’re correct. Although there’s subsets of Kawaii fashion. I lean towards Fairy-Kei
fashion.
Oddly enough, this month’s issue of KERA magazine [a Harajuku street fashion magazine] had a feature on Traditional Catholic style. ’cause rosary beads and frilly modest dress looks “way cool”. I’ll scan the page, and post it on my blog.
Son one likes Manga, and (to my horror) Jethro Tull. Doesn’t matter
Did your older son ever read Battle Royale? It’s the Japanese book Hunger Games ripped off [along with Stephen King’s the Running Man]. It’s also been made into a manga. It’s very violent, but it’s not girly [your main complaint of the Hunger Games].
Personally, I get a kick out of how the Naruto manga depicts young women in battle. Sakura [the main female supporting character] only became a ninja so she could flirt with/impress her crush. She’s weak, whiny, and generally a burden to her male teammates. I think it’s an accurate representation of a 13 year old girl on a dangerous battlefield. “*giggles* cute boys! Oh no, we’re being attack! *hides*” Toss the average teenage girl into a Hunger Games-scenario, she’d act more like Sakura than Katniss.
Non Christians? Well, depends. I find, for instance, Shinto and Confucianism far too bureaucratic and worshiping order for my antipodean egalitarian sensibilities. But the issue there is Christ
Well, Catholicism is bureaucratic too [making sacraments also involves paperwork].
I like the reformed church, because the mass is concise, yet profound. The BCP really is beautiful.
Older son hated the Hunger Games, but enjoyed the Hunger Pains (spoof).
It was a set text at his (all boys) school. Some teachers are tone-deaf. And I have seen the Battle Royale books and also think that HG is a huge ripoff. He hasn’t read it.
Poor boy has a problem He writes a review on 1984 and I remind him it is a reprise of Zamayatin’s We. Dad has read too much.
But does not read manga or play Halo. He can be an expert there.
I’ve never heard of the book We. When it came to the book 1984, I had to do the standard compare and contrast with Huxley’s Brave New World. So I assumed it was influenced by Brave New World.
Gosh, this is bringing back nightmares of studying for my English A-Levels.
There is a good review in Wikipedia
link to book is http://www.amazon.com/We-ebook/dp/B003VPWWQQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333013785&sr=1-2