This photo was taken yesterday with the cellphone: there are others taken in that hour, on fine winter days, when the world is bathed in golden light. This world is broken and it is under the dominion of the evil one, but there is still beauty, and both are in the image: the obelisk at the top of the hill was put up as a memorial to those who were in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and are now buried from Gallopi to Ypres.
[And yes, it is a volcanic cone: Dunedin’s harbour is a caldera]
Now, some might say that I am being pessimistic. That the ruler of this world is God: that this world is good and beautiful, and that my Calvinistic bleakness is showing. However, today we turn to the teachings of Jesus, when he promises that we will be persecuted by those who think they are doing the work of God.
1“I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. 2They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. 3And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. 4But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9about sin, because they do not believe in me;10about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer;11about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
12“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
If we think that in this world and at this time we are going to have a simple life, and no one will bother us, we are deluding ourselves . Let’s look at the opposition for a few minutes. On one hand there are the Islamics, who believe that they are doing the work of God if they destroy us.
Qadhi quotes Muhammad saying: “I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify la illaha illa Allah [there is no god but Allah].” He also says: “The life and property of a mushrik [one who worships others besides Allah] holds no value in the state of jihad… which means if they don’t say la illaha illa Allah, their lives and property are halal” — that is, they can lawfully be seized by Muslims.
Qadhi has an impressive Islamic academic record. According to his biography on the Rhodes College website, he “studied classical Islamic sciences at the University of Medina in Saudi Arabia. There, he completed his second Bachelors in Hadith Studies, and an M.A. in Islamic Theology.” How could someone who has dedicated his life to studying Islam and has studied it at the city where Muhammad had his headquarters not be expressing what is mainstream Islamic belief? This may be why Muslims in Memphis and elsewhere in the U.S. have remained silent about his hateful statements: they know that Qadhi was just teaching basic Islam.
The videos that such preachers make are available: for it is not that difficult to record, now, one’s services and sermons, and they are all fighting on the internetz for attention. Another group that opposes the faith are the liberals, both within the church, and without. Those who preach tolerance, and not the law. Those who see that any standards are in some way unloving, or unchristian.
A small-town pastor has caused widespread controversy after revoking the church membership of a 72-year-old Southland woman who is living in a de facto relationship.
The Gore woman had her membership at the Calvin Community Church in Gore stripped by church elders.Commenters on The Southland Times’ website and Facebook page were mostly compassionate about the couple’s situation, with some questioning how “Christian” the church’s actions were. One person said this was “unbelievable in this day and age”. “In my view I do not think anyone can be judgmental on someone else’s marital views.”
However, others were sympathetic about the church’s stance, saying it was an “honourable stand by the church on principle for what is morally right”. Riccarton Community Church elder Alan Aitken emailed The Southland Times saying it was “almost routine for churches to have some basic expectations of members and to hold people to them from time to time”. “The standards may vary a bit from group to group but the underlying reality is pretty constant.”
Others contacted the newsroom to say they had similar experiences at churches in the past and it was unacceptable in this day and age.
These commentators forget it was Christ who told us that the spirit would condemn us: for we did not believe in Christ, and it would condemn this world, for the ruler of this world is already judged, by Christ, and conquered, by Christ.
Opposition is inevitable. If we get punished for doing right, we are told to count it as a blessing. And, in these times when many are against the word of God, we need to take care, every day, evil not to do.