This is an odd time to be male. The traditional rules are disavowed and denied until there is a crisis. Then it is women and children first, and woe betide any man who is rescued. MacDoctor comments...

We do not condemn a civilian from running away from gunfire, but we would certainly condemn a soldier.

Schettino is clearly in the latter category. He is not a lay person thrust into an unexpected situation, he is supposed to be a professional who has been trained to deal with precisely this situation – a sinking ship filled with passengers that he must evacuate. There is no doubt that he has been well trained – he did extremely well initially by swinging the ship round and beaching it in shallow waters. He probably saved many lives doing this. He then promptly abandoned ship leaving 4000 people to mill around in panic. Metaphorically, the doctor took a lunch break.

No one expected Schettino to “go down with the ship”, or some such romantic nonsense. No one expected him to attempt heroic rescue missions for trapped passengers. No one expected him to be a brave person.

We just expected him to do his job.

Now, it would be interesting to see what people would say if (a) Schettino, the captain of a ship with about 4000 on board and where all but 20 were rescued, was a woman and (b) if getting families off together is more orderly than the Birkenhead drill. But the commentators have still a romantic expectation of men… that they will rescue, that they will be heroes… but if a modern man is aggressive they are damned.

But there has always been a need for warriors, for a militia, for trained violence.

Genesis (14:1-7) 8-24

¹In the days of King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim, ²these kings made war with King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ³All these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea). ⁴Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, ⁶and the Horites in the hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the edge of the wilderness; ⁷then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and subdued all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar. ⁸Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim ⁹with King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar, four kings against five. ¹⁰Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country. ¹¹So the enemy took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way; ¹²they also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who lived in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

¹³Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner; these were allies of Abram. ¹⁴When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. ¹⁶Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot with his goods, and the women and the people.

¹⁷After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). ¹⁸And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. ¹⁹He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; ²⁰and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

And Abram gave him one tenth of everything.²¹Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” ²²But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the LORD, God Most High, maker of heaven and earth, ²³that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ ²⁴I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me — Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.”

Hebrews 8:1-6

¹Now the main point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, ²a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent that the Lord, and not any mortal, has set up. ³For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. ⁴Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. ⁵They offer worship in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one; for Moses, when he was about to erect the tent, was warned, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” ⁶But Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted through better promises.

Some notes.

1. Male violence, like male anger, needs to be channeled. The aggressive impulse needs to be trained. Men are supposed to defend, and the soldierly arts are not sinful per se.  If we require men to be non aggressive we asking them not to be men.
2. As an expansion of this, the entire anti violence movement relies of the trained violence of police and the armed forces. The only reason that the feminist judiciary can enforce misandrist rules against men being aggressive is because they have police… and the police now use pepper spray, tasers and pistols to enforce this.
3. And… the priestly role is a role set by God. Not the courts. Not the judiciary. It has qualities akin to kingliness and peace: but acknowledges the warrior. The Priest has to be a military chaplain.

Now, the soldiers I know don’t listen well to women. Male nature. We need to work with this, not legislate against it.

This morning I attended kirk with my father, and the (quite young) preacher was going on about the goals of the year: that we should own our circumstances, choose good influences, and build great things this year. He used a poor example: building a great marraige not a good marriage. Now… this can be something you work on but all the leadership and prayer in the world may not keep a woman with you if she chooses to leave….. and in a similar way we cannot at times be great in what we would like to be because we are limited by where we are or who we are.

So his positive message backfired. A bit like the weather: it is snowing, when it supposed to be high summer, in the passes towards home.   Nothing new here: Paul had to defend his ministry and in the same way we have to defend good teaching.

Galatians 2:1-10

Over the next few days I am visiting my parents with my sons… as I live some distance away time for the sons with their grandparents is precious. Last night we were watching some costume drama and this led to a discussion of my grandparents and their generation. My Dad pointed out that there was no welfare, minimal divorce (people who were thinking of divorce waited until the children had grown) and that we need men to again return to the church and to see caring for and raising a family as the highest goal.

Dad spends a fair amount of time teaching in the poorer parts of Auckland, and sees a clear lack of fathering in the children. We then moved onto the stoic qualities of the women of that era… and how no fault divorce has led to fathers being forced away from their parents.

We had no solution.

When I looked at yesterday’s comment about the woman I realised that many people don’t have the gospels in their head and that I had alluded to the previous verses…. about a Samaritan woman who came to draw water in the heat of the day (when no sane woman would). This woman now causes a town to come to Christ.

John 4:27-42

27Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” 28Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29″Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” 30They left the city and were on their way to him.

31Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” 34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

39Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41And many more believed because of his word. 42They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

Well, the testimony of any person has power. And that of a shamed woman having the confidence to say that Christ had discerned all her secret shame and still talked to her was enough… to get the town out to listen. No one can say that this was not God working in her live, or her actions after meeting Jesus were illegitimate.

Nor can we say that God only works through men.

But we can say… that Jesus used this women, and this situation. to teach those (male) disciples of his that the harvest they were sent to get… their mission field.. included those despised Samaritans, women, and those who had lost any reputation for good.

Christ was preached to our forefathers when our society was profoundly pagan… unless you are Jewish, when your Forefathers had Christ himself preaching to you. Without Christ, our societes regress all to quickly to paganism and to fascism.

Women and men are different. (Thank God). But God uses us both.

Yesterday we drove down to Cairns, and today this is written in Cairns airport. The Australian today is all about the proposed acknowedgment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders by way of a constitutional anmendment. Now words can mean nothing or everything. But we can be distracted by the highfauliting principles and miss what needs to be done. For instance, jobs have decreased in Australia.

This woman was being confronted, gently, about her sin, Instead she raised the issue of the Samaritains. This is a distraction. Jesus bought her back to the isssues at hand.

But most of the time, in the church, we are chasing chimera such as racism, sexism and ecological stewardship instead of encouraging repentence.

Because preaching repentence is hard and unpopular. But it was Jesus’ practice. And it should be ours.

John 4:16-26
16Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” 17The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” 19The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” 26Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

This town is weird. I’m staying in a hotel with the boys (you try using backpackers and motels with two teenagers. Booking from another country. Simply does not work.

In the meantime, the world bank is predicting a downturn, google and wikipedia are protesting the current attempt by the USA to block the internetz and this town has a brothel in the main street next to the shopping centre. Which means I need some mind bleach. Again.

Psalm 36

1 Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in their hearts;
there is no fear of God
before their eyes.
2 For they flatter themselves in their own eyes
that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3 The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit;
they have ceased to act wisely and do good.
4 They plot mischief while on their beds;
they are set on a way that is not good;
they do not reject evil.

As this time I am not very confident in our leadership or the elite that are guiding our culture. The only thing I can do to protect myself is ensure that I, personally, amd debt free and not a wage slave, and try to minimize any involvement with authorities.

Working on this at an internet cafe concentrates the mind wonderfully. Particularly when twenty minutes costs three dollars. So, as far as News is concerned: kangaroo tastes like a cross between turkey and beef, Will. Had some last night.

And the rain everyone is talking about arrived today. The wet season hath just arrived, and the boys are counting the days until we are out of the tropics.

On the issue of unpopular teaching, I was dismayed to read that Pat Robertson is allowing divorce for those who have a sick spouse. Look, it’s horrible when the person you love disappears into a series of strokes or Alzheimers. Seen both, with three of my grandparents (the other died far too young). But divorce damages you. I am divorced, and at times worry that the ex reads this, but the process is prolonged, painful, and hurts your children, family, and you. Divorce should be limited… And I may be an old male, but we have lost this teaching.

Onto today’s readings: the old law still stands, and principles remain. God expects those who call themselves by his name to act like him.

 Psalm 15

I am in a part of the world with limited internet accessibility, no cellphone coverages, and a ferry between me and the mainland. And I will be here for the next few days. I am told that the cassowaries are doing well… and to stay 3 metres from any river bank in case the crocodiles decide to make me lunch. And you cannot swim on the beaches because of poisonous jellyfish.

Psalm 123

This is one of the psalms of ascent: traditionally sung when you were going to Jerusalem. And one of the things in this is accepting the scorn and contempt of those who are proud and are at ease.   Believers have never been popular. Believers will never be popular. We will not be happy here.

Jesus himself did not get a free ride. He was not proud nor at ease. Instead, he obediently suffered.

Hebrews 5:7-14

We managed to find a church in North Brisbane yesterday, but it was difficult. I ended up driving randomly around praying under my breath (which probably breaks some law about being distracted when driving) and found the North Beaches Baptists who had just moved into a high school hall.

Great sermon about the main reason for church is to make disciples, and how moving to this place (and not building a building) was the correct thing. Great bunch of people there.

But back to church governance and a little bit of praise.

Psalm 145:17-20

¹⁷  The Lord is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
¹⁸  The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
¹⁹  He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry, and saves them.
²⁰  The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

Hebrews 4:14-16

¹⁴Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. ¹⁵or we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

This reflects on one of the core doctrines of the Reformation: the priesthood of all believers. This doctrine was seen as dangerous, as Rushdooney points out.

To understand Puritanism, it is important to recognize the role of a key doctrine in shaping the Puritan mentality. It should be noted that Puritan doctrines agreed in the essentials of soteriology (salvation) and theology with Calvin and Luther. It was a difference of emphasis which produced differing results in the Christian life. Thus, Luther wrote, of the priesthood of all believers, in The Babylonian Captivity of the Church:

As many of us as have been baptized are all priests without distinction. . . . For thus it is written in I Peter ii, “Ye are a chosen genera­tion, a royal priesthood, and a priestly kingdom.” Therefore we are all priests, as many of us as are Christians. But the priests, as we call them, are ministers chosen from among us, who do all that they do in our name. And the priesthood is nothing but a ministry, as we learn from I Corinthians iv, “Let a man so account of us as the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God.”[2]

Luther indeed has a central role in the formulation of this doctrine, but, in the practical realm, Lutherans are about as docile in relation to their clergy as Catholics are. Calvin also set forth this same doctrine clearly and strongly, but with about the same results. Some Reformed churches are almost as “priest-ridden” as their Catholic neighbors. Clearly, we have a problem here: a great Biblical doctrine is revived, but its practical consequences are none too great. Great differences mark Rome from Geneva and Wittenberg, but the priestly role of the laity is not one of them. This does not mean that the doctrine was without consequence. The priestly role of the believer as head of his household gained strong emphasis in both Lutheran and Calvinist circles, but not within the church as an institution. The reason appears in Calvin’s reference to the doctrine in the Institutes;

For we, who are polluted in ourselves, being “made priests” (Rev. i. 6) in him, offer ourselves and all our services to God, and enter boldly into the heavenly sanctuary, so that the sacrifices of prayers and praise, which proceed from us, are “acceptable,” and “a sweet-smelling savour” (Eph. v. 2) in the Divine presence. This is included in the declaration of Christ, “For their sakes I sanctify myself”; (John xvii. 19) for being arrayed in his holiness, he having dedicated us, together with himself, to the Father, we, who are otherwise offensive in his sight, become acceptable to him, as pure, unpolluted, and holy. This is the meaning of the “anointing of the Most Holy,” (Dan. ix. 24) which is mentioned in Daniel. For we must observe the contrast between this unction and that shadowy unction which was then in use; as though the angel had said that the shadows would be dissipated, and that there would be a real priesthood in the person of Christ. So much the more detestable is the invention of those, who, not content with the priesthood of Christ, have presumed to take upon themselves the office of sacrificing him; which is daily attempted among the Papists, where the mass is considered as an immolation of Christ.[3]

The doctrine of the priesthood of all believers was of central importance to the Reformers in attacking the validity of Rome ’s doctrine of the priest­hood. The only earthly priesthood after Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension is the priesthood of all believers; the church is led by a ministry, but it is a congregation of royal priests. The practical import for the institutional church or Christian synagogue of that congregational priesthood was not explored. Furthermore, the relationship of that priesthood to the soteriology of the Reformation was not explored. This link Puritanism has made. If grace is sovereign and free, then what happens to the church, its authority, and its traditions? If grace is sovereign, how then can priest, prelate, or king lord it over man? We should not forget the connections, in 1381, of the Peasants Revolt with Lollardy. Then or later the slogan was born,

When Adam delved and Eve span
Who was then the gentleman?

The Lollards had stressed strong personal devotions, the study of and meditation on the Bible, and a high standard of sexual morality. They refused to leave such things as doctrine to a priestly class. Thomas Hoccleve wrote against this Lollard perspective thus:

Hit is unkyndly for a knight
That shuld a kynges castel kepe
To babble the Bibel day and night
In restyng time when he shuld slepe.[4]

Lollardy threatened society with a break-up of the old order. If knights and commoners became Bible readers and babblers, then what would happen to authority? Lollardy was seen as a disruptive force, and, later, Puritanism was viewed similarly. True, many Puritans feared their own doctrine. New England ’s Puritan hierarchy wanted the people to be a silent democracy within church and state alike, but, in spite of their inconsistency at this point, they did see the saints, in civil and ecclesiastical governmeivers. Now, this doctrine was seen during the time of the reformation as dangerous, and some argue that this led to reformed churches again forming the clerg ndnt, as a royal priesthood and democracy.

I think Rushdooney is too American here. He is conflating the urge for democracy and a certain anti authoritarian streak among those rebels ot 1776  with the justification they made for this.

And he is missing part of the British culture, the honour of the working man, and the respect of the chapel. This did not come easily, it was a long fight to let dissenters and Catholics be citizens and not recusant subjects of the crown.

So let this be simple. Christ is our high priest. The rest of us just minister. And some of us are called to lead, some to administrate, and some to care. Together, we are the body of Christ, and there is order in that body.

And our duty as the lay? to support and pray for the paid. For there should be not lords of the church, nor priests carrying symbolic blood, nor ritual, but a brotherhood.

Well. “Cornithian” was a term of insult: it implied that you were flagrantly effeminate and bisexual. The temple of Aphrodite had cult prostitutes. Male and Female. Corinth was sin city.

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

12“All things are lawful for me,” but not1 Corinthians 6:12-20were all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13“Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food,” and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16Do you not know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, “The two shall be one flesh.” 17But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. 19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.

OK… we are not to be a pick up artist, or a user of whores. Nor are we to neglect our bodies. We need to walk, to diet, to care for our bodies.

We need to be discipline ourselves, like an athlete. None of this is taught frequently. For it is unpopular. But it is not our task o be popular. For the west, currently, makes the inhabitants of Corinth and Sodom look like a bunch of pikers. We dishonour the true and correct and glorify the camp.

The Church should not reflect this. Thus, if we are popular, we are not doing our job.

200mm zoom from the hotel room.

Roo, Palm cove