What do Easter eggs have to do with Easter?
The other day I posted a link on my Facebook to a news story about a New Zealand university Christian group who’d come up with an interesting ‘marketing’ tactic this Easter. Throw eggs at Christians!
The catch? You have to let them share the gospel with you.
I posted this through, and a friend commented to ask what coloured eggs had to do with Easter. I replied nothing, but nor did they have anything to do with the story.
But it got me wondering about something. In my past life, I used to be quite contentious about Easter, Christmas and some other minor Christian calendar events.
Why? Because of their history.
For me, at a stage in my life following paganism as a spiritual belief, there was something offensive to me about these Christians making a festival all about their God and their Jesus when that wasn’t what it was all about in the first place. The perspective was one of these Christians barging into countries who didn’t want them and taking over the place, turning the holidays into Christian holidays, and manipulating the people into giving up their own, older religious beliefs for this new one.
A little history lesson: Easter, like Christianity, does potentially have some origins based in the ancient pagan religions. There is some evidence of a Germanic goddess, Eostre (or Ostara) as being a goddess over spring in ancient times, however the first mention of her does state that the festival was already extinct, and there are some scholars today who argue that she may have been invented by Bede (the scholar who first wrote about her).
I’m not saying one way or the other, personally, because to me it doesn’t matter – and I’ll get to that.
What I want to pause and think about, really, is the whole thing about Christianisation of pagan festivals. As I stated above, once upon a time I took this as an offense, as a sort of espionage tactic by the Christians to make it easier to impose their religion on the people of another one.
I think, while it might be possible, it’s certainly less feasible than the other angle.
See, even whilst not walking with God, I still celebrated Easter and Christmas. I went looking for reasons to justify continuing to celebrate them given a lack of belief in Christianity, but I still celebrated them all the same.
Now imagine, say, 1500 years ago, whole villages and towns were coming to Christ. You become Christian in January, and suddenly April rolls around – here’s the Spring festival that you’ve been celebrating your whole life, but suddenly the gods you were worshiping aren’t the same anymore. What do you do?
You party anyway, and you celebrate with God.
If you travel around the world and stop in at Christian meetings throughout the nations, you’ll see differences in the way they worship depending on culture. The advantage of Christianity, and that we celebrate a personal relationship with God, is that there aren’t specific rituals that say you must worship in X manner. The way different cultures worship is an example of the freedom that we have in Christ to worship God and to have our relationship with Him in a manner that fits with us.
So when it comes to Easter, Christmas or anything else, then regardless of their origins, we can celebrate also. It’s not about ‘stealing’ the celebrations from the pagans; I genuinely don’t think that’s what happened. I would suggest that it was simply a cultural adaptation – they had a party last year, the year before, and every year before that too, so why not have a party this year with God?
And as for Easter Eggs?
I was surprised, actually, because this one does actually seem to have stemmed from a Christian tradition. Observation of Lent (I’m not even going there – I’ll eat steak when I like, thank you) had people not eating red meat or dairy, and eggs were included in this. So before refrigerators, they had all these chickens laying eggs, but nothing to do with them.
How rude of the chickens not to observe Lent, I say.
But hey, if you have a whole heap of eggs that you can’t eat, why not do something with them? Paint them up, colour them in and give them to one another. Still better than just throwing them away, right?
Did I F***ing Stutter?
So in the tradition of weird little memes that float around the interwebs and Facebook these days, I’ve noticed a new one come along on a few friends’ walls the past week or so.
It’s a picture of Jesus talking to people, and the conversation is listed as going as follows:
Jesus: “Ok, here’s an idea. You love them, like I loved you. Make sure you take care of them and don’t judge them.
Others: “But what if they’re gay or worship other Gods(sic)?”
Jesus: “Did I f***ing stutter?”
Now let me make one thing clear: I’m not interested, right now, in getting into a discussion about the rights, wrongs and otherwises about homosexuality and paganism. What I am interested, is talking about this attitude and more importantly, about emulating the love that Jesus had for people when he was alive.
When Jesus was on Earth, he spent time not with the ‘good’ people, but with the ‘scum of society.’
Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that he eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”
When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” ~ Mark 2:15-17
I have a question for the people who are posting this image up as an attack on Christians who disagree with their views on same-sex marriage.
How about we replace the middle line there?
Others: “But what if they’re murderers, rapists or abuse children?”
Right: Time for a disclaimer.
I am not making a statement that equates homosexuality and murder, or anything like that. I do not believe that, and this question is not asked with the intention of suggesting that perspective. My intention with that statement, is to point out that Jesus loved everyone – and declared that everyone should be loved.
There are three key commandments that Jesus gave us throughout his life.
Jesus Answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ~ Mark 12:29-31
Finally, Jesus left Earth with the Great Commission.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. ~ Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus told us to go and make disciples, teaching them to follow all the commandments that he had given. He also told us to love God, and love our neighbor like ourselves – which brings me back to the image I was discussing initially.
Paraphrasing Jesus, the creator of the image has said that we are to love Jesus how he loved us; and that we shouldn’t judge them.
It’s interesting that the first story that comes to mind when I think about all of this, is the Pharisees bringing a woman caught in adultery before Jesus. To tell the story briefly, they bring this woman before him, reminding Jesus that the law says she should be stoned to death for being caught in adultery (the law also said the bloke should be stoned, but apparently he escaped.)
Anyway, Jesus looks at them, and tells them that whoever’s without sin, go ahead, stone her and he bends down and starts writing on the ground. A few minutes later he gets up and they’re all gone. It’s just Jesus and the woman, and he asks her if anyone’s condemned her.
She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” ~ John 8:11
Jesus didn’t judge the woman, but he did urge her not to sin. Jesus didn’t judge her, but neither did he tell her to go jump back into bed with whoever she was caught sleeping with. Jesus didn’t judge her, but he did guide her along the right path.
Let’s, then, bring the topic back to the murderers. What did Jesus tell us to do with them?
Love them.
Rapists?
Love them.
Child abusers?
Love them.
Even as I write this, it burns inside me. It’s so hard to be publicly saying that we should love these people, because I’m so passionately against their actions, and I am incapable of conceiving how anyone could possibly do those things.
As are – I would assume – most people.
Why? Because we know that it’s wrong. I would think there are very few people (if any, but you never know) reading this article who would disagree with me that any of those actions – along with many others – are wrong.
So here’s my point: A large percentage of the people reading this article, I would suggest, also believe that homosexuality and paganism are wrong.
And to take it even further: Many of those same people would also believe that telling a lie, speeding or dishonoring one’s parents is also wrong.
So if we’re going to love people like Jesus loved us, then what should we do?
To the liar: “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”
To the drug addict: “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”
To the homosexual: “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”
To the pagan: “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”
To the murderer: “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”
True love does not just let someone wander off and do their own thing uninhibited.
When my friend goes through a tough time, and tells me that they’ve done something wrong, do I just shrug at them and tell them to do whatever they want? No.
When a parent catches their toddler about to run out into the street, do they just watch, smiling, going, “Oh little Johnny’s become so independent so fast.” No.
Real love, the love that Jesus shared and told us to share doesn’t just let people walk in front of a bus, jump off a cliff without a parachute or do things that are harmful to ourselves and others. Real love is the love that does not judge, but guides to better actions, thoughts and morals.
And as good as sin may feel; or as harmless as it may seem, God guided us against it for a reason. We may not know that reason, and we may not agree with his rules all the time, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t obey them. God’s guidance comes out of an ultimate love for us that we can never understand from our human perspective.
We do, though, need to love one another with that same love – or as best as we can do.
“Have you tried internet dating?”
I never would have thought that I’d be making 7AM appointments for coffee. Welcome to the world of the working man, hmm?
Anyway, this morning I’m having coffee with a friend when, after the generic pleasantries are out of the way, the conversation steered towards the love life direction.
I find it amusing, actually. When you’re single, this is one of the most important questions that people have to ask you. My grandmother’s been asking me every time she sees me for years now, “Have you got a girlfriend yet?” Or something along those lines.
Not to say that over those times I haven’t had girlfriends at different stages (just to clarify), and I understand her perspective – she wants more grandchildren on her knee while she has the chance, so I should hurry up for her sake!
It amazes me, though, that it is so important to so many people – perhaps even more important to many of them than it is to me!
However; there was a long period of time where it was vital to my own existence – and I can’t help but ask the question now: Was it so important to me because it was so important to everyone else?
Is there peer pressure to be in a relationship?
When one of the first questions that almost everyone asks you is reinforcing the fact that you’re single, then does that actually serve to produce the feeling that you need to be in a relationship in order to be on the same level as your already-involved friends?
It becomes a pressure. While it’s probably not the conscious message that people are trying to send when they ask you about your love life, the fact is that there becomes this impression that you aren’t complete if you don’t have a partner. It’s as though we’re meant to be defined by who we are in a couple, not who we are individually.
And that’s wrong.
When it comes down to it, I’m actually happy where I am at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have someone to share my life with, but it’s not anything I have to rush. The fact is, I don’t want to be defined by my relationship. I’d much rather the two of us being defined as individuals who complement one another and enhance what are individual and independent qualities.
Second, I accept that right now I’m probably better off not in a relationship. There are other things I want to focus on, build and grow in my life so that I am the best person I can be when that wonderful lady comes along.
I hope you’ll hear my heart here. I’m not saying by any means that this isn’t the case for other couples. I do think it’s a fair statement to say that some couples are together out of a need to be with someone rather than the right one, but that’s not for me to judge, and if it works for those people, then great. For me, though, I’m happy to be single until the right one shows up.
So my statement is this: Singles, Unite! (See what I did there?) Don’t feel a need to be defined by who you are as half a couple, but be defined by who you are as a person – and find someone else who is defined by who they are as a person too!
And when that friend asks you if you’ve thought about internet dating? Well, you never know – I know it’s worked for friends of mine, and it might work for you too. You never know where you’ll meet someone these days, and in a world of online communication, maybe that’s where the best options are. To quote the friend who asked me about internet dating: “You’ve got to drop your hook in where the fish are!”
Five points of umbrella etiquette that will keep you dry…
…And uninjured…
It’s raining.
It’s Tasmania, that’s not a big deal. The joys, though, about rain is that one of the banes of my existence come out and colour the grey with their brightness.
It’s the umbrella.
Don’t get me wrong, I totally get the value of umbrellas. The classic black, long one allows an extra step of class on a wet day when you stroll down the street using it as a cane – not to mention an advantage if you ever get into a duel. Then, they do also protect you from the wet.
The problem I find is that the moment people put up an umbrella, they seem to forget that there are other people on the footpath too, and suddenly, it makes me want to hit you.
So here’s a few points of Umbrella Etiquette to remember.
- Get off the wall.
Okay, this is the big one, and my main reason for venting on the topic. I don’t know how many times I’m walking down the street in the rain, and some jerk holding an umbrella is walking pressed up against the wall, where the minimal amount of shelter is – and forcing other people without an umbrella to walk out and around them.YOU HAVE AN UMBRELLA!Which means YOU can be the one to step out into the rain, and let others who don’t have that protection get the little bit of coverage they can.Seriously, I actually find myself wanting to push you out of the way when you do this.
- You’re not as small with it.
Okay, this should be common sense. When you’re holding an umbrella, it takes up more horizontal space than you do (okay, in most cases it does). You need to take into account that the gap between two people might fit you, but your umbrella might not. Lift it up, or walk around them rather than between them. - You currently have spikes.
Following on from point two: You have spikes, so when you do try to walk between those two people, not only do they get hit with said umbrella, but it’s quite possible that you’ll take someone’s eye out. I don’t normally advocate an eye for an eye, but in some cases… - It’s wet.
That stuff the umbrella’s protecting you from? It’s water. Water flows. So when you stop at a set of traffic lights next to someone, chances are that water’s going to drip off your nice protection and get someone else even wetter than they already are.
And trust me, while I might be okay with dealing with the softness of rain, when I suddenly get a flow of water like someone turned a tap on over my shoulder, I will always declare that the following flailing fist was an involuntary nervous reaction to its sudden drenching. - It folds up.
If you’re not in the rain any more, fold it away – you can dry it out when you get home. At your house. On your carpet.
So next time you’re strolling down the street and want to pull out the umbrella and stay dry – feel free, but remember those of us without one. Rain rage doesn’t exist yet – but don’t rule it out!
Punishing Privacy Policies ~ Google’s Turn
These days, whenever a major company releases a new privacy policy, we seem to get an uproar from the public (read: the media). This time it’s Google’s turn on the gallows.
Across their products, Google has over 60 privacy policies – which means that those of us using the Google products need to know what information’s going where depending on which product we’re using. Gmail might have one policy, while Picasa has another, and my Android phone has a third – add in Google docs, Adsense, Blogspot and anything else you use, and suddenly things start getting very confusing.
Therefore, Google’s streamlining their privacy policy into a single document that covers all of their products and services. This policy defines how they’ll use the information collected across each website that they own. Examples suggested by Google include:
- Reminding you of a meeting based on your location.
- Figuring out what you mean when you search a term like ‘Apple’; ‘Jaguar’ or ‘Pink.’
- Tailoring ads that you see to topics that you’re interested in.
Now the thing is that Google’s been doing this for years. The collection of information on the internet is nothing new, and it was happening well before Google became the be all and end all of searches. What Google’s doing, though, is streamlining things so that the information collected can be used as effectively as possible.
I, personally, like the analogy on Google’s site explaining it all. I go to my local café several times a week for my morning coffee, and now, the staff there greet me by name, ask if I’m having the chai or the latte today, and get to making it. I don’t have to order, I get a nice personalised service, and I’m in and out quickly.
No, Google isn’t a barista, and isn’t having a conversation with me while I look up the Wikipedia article of my current fascination, however, what they are doing is providing me with information that is relevant to me.
Fact: Nothing is free. Google provides me (and you) with a free service, but they have to make money. No money means no servers, no power, and no Google, does it not? Therefore, they have to sell advertising. It’s just going to happen. Why shouldn’t that advertising, then, be something that’s tailored to me? Personally, I’d rather see an ad for the latest cricket equipment than something for the latest in beauty therapy. Why is this a bad thing?
Fact: I use my phone to keep track of appointments, to check Facebook, to look up directions to where I’m going. I’d love for my diary to sync with my email to sync with my directions! Think of this: Someone emails me asking for a meeting next Thursday at Big Joe’s Sandwich Bar over lunch. I reply and say yes, and then save it to my Google calendar all on my desktop. At 11AM on Thursday, my phone beeps to remind me that I’m meant to be having lunch with Bill, and includes the Google Maps directions from where I am to Big Joes, including an estimate that it will take half hour to walk there. Great, I can leave a couple of minutes before noon and get there on time! Why is this a bad thing?
Fact: I choose to utilise these services. I like Gmail for its ease of use, storage and functionality; I use Google+ as a social networking tool (not as much as Facebook, but I’m on there occasionally); I use Google to look up information; I use Youtube to look up videos. I think it’s great that any relevant information shifts across these sites smoothly. In particular, the ‘Search Plus Your World’ feature in Google Search. After all, let’s look at it this way – if I’m looking for a new hairdresser, who am I going to turn to? There’s a good chance I’m going to ask my friends who their recommendations are. Same for a mechanic – I’ll ask my mates who they recommend. Now when I search online, Google is going to include in the results pages that my friends recommended or liked. Why is this a bad thing?
Seriously, people, get over it. If you’re online, your information’s going to be collected. Live by the adage that you can’t take back what you put onto the internet. This isn’t a Google thing, it’s an internet thing, so get used to it, or stop using it. Second, if you want Google to be free for you, then someone needs to pay them so that they can do that. Again, if you don’t like it, don’t use it.
And that’s the kicker. You can choose not to use Google’s services. They can’t do any of this unless you actually have an account and are signed into it.
And from me? Thanks, Google, for a smoother service that’s providing me with a better experience.
Deuteronomy 34 ~ The Mountain
Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your dsescendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.” ~ Deuteronomy 34:4
You know, throughout this journey of the Israelites, from Egypt to Canaan, I’ve consistently used the Promised Land as a metaphorical reference to our own individual destinies in God. The fulfilment of the plan that he has for our lives.
First of all, going to the very end of the chapter.
Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. ~ Deuteronomy 34:10
As far as prophets go, Moses is the top of the crop, he’s the one who knew God face to face.
But even then, he wasn’t perfect. The reason he was standing on Mt Nebo and not entering the promised land was because he didn’t trust God completely. He ended up disobeying God and doing his own thing – and it was something that would seem to us, so minor, but it was a big enough thing to God that Moses was not allowed to cross over into the promised land.
And that’s the thing that most stands out to me as I read this chapter. Mt Nebo, the mountain that Moses climbed at the end of his life, and gazed out over the promised land, over the gift that God had promised his fathers, and his nation.
It doesn’t say how Moses reacted, but I think he would have been heartbroken. Standing there, looking out over the promised land at the destiny God had, knowing that he could have gotten there if he had only trusted God that little bit more when it mattered.
When it comes to the end of my life, I don’t want to stand on Mount Nebo, looking out over the destiny that God actually had in mind for me. I want to cross the Jordan and walk into it, and look back across the river, at the journey that I’ve taken to get there.
And so comes to a close the book of Deuteronomy, and the Pentateuch.
It’s taken me just shy of twelve months to get this far. I started on 27 July, 2010 – and what a journey it’s been.
When I started, my intention was to provide a – what some might call ‘New Age Interpretation’ of the bible, reading it through as a book that had a lot of good moral teachings, but was wrong in some places, right in others, needed improving in others. That was basically the intention I had, as someone who wasn’t following or in a relationship with God.
It really is a love letter from him, though. Between studying God’s very word, and the influence of some absolutely wonderful people whom I love dearly, things changed.
So thanks: Steve, Donna, Cody, Sara, Anna and Pastor Dave – in particular, you were people who God used, each in a special way, to help bring me back into this relationship with him.
I’m so grateful, now, to know the love of my Father in a way that I never knew before.
Now, I’m just eager to keep going. That said, I’m going to take a couple of days break again now – I know I’ve had more days off than writing this blog of late, but I’ll start with Joshua on Sunday evening.
Metropolitan Tolerance Level
This is cool, I can blog from my tablet.
So, I’m currently in Sydney.
I was explaining to someone today that this really isn’t my favorite location in Australia. In fact it’s probably my least favorite.
Over the years, I have gotten past the trauma that came from my early trips here, and I don’t hate the place like I used to, but even so, I’d still rather be elsewhere.
And I think it’s more than just association with negative experiences, I was walking through the city today for a meeting, and realized that I just don’t like the size and atmosphere of this place.
I grew up a country both, kind of. Not on a farm or anything, but in a more rural location, and the fact is that it’s as though Sydney goes beyond my Metropolitan Tolerance Level.
Basically, it’s too big. I’ve lived in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, and while I have a distaste toward Brisbane for much the same reason as my negativity towards Sydney – experiences – I’m comfortable in those places. Much moreso than I am here.
It makes me wonder how I’ll handle places like New York and the like.
Clearly, even if you take the boy out of the country, you can’t always take the country out of the boy.
Reviewed: Jonnday ~ One Type of Falling (Film Clip)
Some people reading this would know that after Youth Alive Tasmania brought them down to play at a rally last year, I became a bit of a fan of an Australian group called Jonnday. Their single, ‘One Type of Falling’ has been available as a free download at their website when you sign up to their mailing list.
And hey, anything free is worth it, right?
Well, maybe not anything – but this certainly is.
Anyway, today, Jonnday release the ‘One Type of Falling’ film clip, and I was fortunate enough to be granted a sneak preview ahead of schedule.
And what a privilege it was. I’ve just finished watching it a few hours ahead of the public release. This film clip stands out far above what you’d expect from a Christian band hailing from the Central Coast of New South Wales.
I don’t want to give too much away, because I’d hate to spoil the surprise for everyone else. So I’m refraining from giving away much in the way of details.
What I will say is that there is a level of surrealism to the whole clip that lends itself to something far more epic than I expected. To be honest, my expectations weren’t overly high, not out of a lack of faith or low opinion of the group by any means. I was waiting for one of these more standard ‘first effort’ clips with lots of footage from live performances, things like that.
Certainly not something that seems like it could come out of some Hollywood fantasy film.
The quality of this video is brilliant. I loved the costumes and can just imagine that Jonnday would have had a lot of fun actually making this clip. It rings reminiscent of The Secret Garden or Alice in Wonderland – in my mind, anyway.
Great work, high standard, and just so entertaining. I’m off to watch it again!
Keep an eye out later this afternoon and view the clip for yourself at Jonnday’s Youtube channel!
Interlude – From Perth with Love
So, for the past 36 hours or so I have been in Perth, Western Australia!
Itäs (It´s – I´m typing on a Finnish keyboard so it´s difficult to work out!) absolutely amazing. This place has been such a blessing to me already. I´m meeting new people all the time, such wonderful people, too!
So I came here via Melbourne. In Melbourne I got to catch up with my brother and his partner, and my two best Melbourne mates. It was so good to see them again, after two and a half years.
Since being here the holiday has really started. It´s been so hot, sunny, and just awesome. It´s SO good to see Cody again! (See her blog on the left to stay up to date with her YWAM journey!)
Yesterday we went into the city, it hasn´t changed much really, but felt so good to walk through again. I actually didnät remember JUST how hot it gets here in Perth though!
My brainäs all over the show right now. IÄm working on a new article for tis site which I started this afternoon, but also just looking forward to actually getting into some more time with God! The suggestion has been made that Sara and I might be able to drop in on some of the DTS lectures – so if we can, then that could be really awesome!
Went to church tonight. Metro Church, and had a rather weird moment. They had some song performances going on, and started singing a chorus that was “To God be the Glory” (The old hymn), and as they started into that song, I just burst into tears! Happy tears, like, tears of gratitude and love, but it was still rather strange!
Anyway, thatäs the main update for this trip so far. If I get a computer again later in the week, will update again!
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